Charge notice from John Lennon Airport for “No Stopping” - ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

Wilkes1402

Hello,

Wondering if you would be able to provide some advice on a “charge notice” that I have received from John Lennon Airport for “No Stopping”.

The charge was sent to my own company via the car leasing company. It includes pictures of the car being loaded with suitcases.

Contravention date: 24/10/2023

Issue date: 06/11/2023

Received via lease company: 16/11/2023

I have read the advice in the Newbies thread and sent a modified version of the following (as per the advice from Edna_Basher)

 

“Dear Sir,
Parking Charge Notice Ref. 123456: Vehicle Registration FU02PPC

We are in receipt of the above-detailed Parking Charge Notice ("PCN")
dated 8th August 2018 and issued by Topher Ltd to our company [ABC Ltd]
("[ABC]") in respect of an unpaid parking charge allegedly incurred
at Homebase, Bath on 1st May 2018.

We confirm that ABC is the vehicle's hirer and keeper for the purpose of the
corresponding definitions under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act
2012 ("POFA") and we write to dispute this PCN.

Although the PCN states the reason for issue as "overstay", it
provides no evidence to support this claim. In the absence of any conclusive
evidence in support of the alleged breach, we trust you will agree that it
would be unreasonable for Topher Ltd to expect us to pay this charge.

Notwithstanding this, the PCN failed to comply with the strict requirements of
Schedule 4 of POFA and consequently Topher Ltd has forfeited any right to claim
unpaid parking charges from [ABC] as the vehicle's hirer and keeper.

Within 28 days please provide us with written confirmation of Topher Ltd's
acceptance that it cannot and does not hold [ABC] liable for this parking
charge and that this is now purely a matter between Topher Ltd and the driver.

Thank you for your cooperation and we look forward to receiving this
confirmation.

Yours faithfully etc.”

In which I received the following response:

“We refer to correspondence received from you concerning the above numbered Charge Notice. You state that our Notice is not compliant with the Protection Of Freedoms Act (POFA) 2012 on the Notice issued to you; however we have not cited POFA 2012 nor stated that you are liable for the Charge as the vehicle keeper. 

The following options are now available to you at the portal www.myparkingcharge.co.uk; you will need the serial number of the Notice issued and the registration number of your vehicle to log in to the portal: 

1. If you were not the driver on the date in question and wish to transfer liability for the Notice to another person, you may change the liable party details by visiting the above portal address and selecting the “Enter Liable Party Details” button on or before the 06/12/2023. 

2. Submit a full appeal to us by visiting the above portal address and selecting the “Appeal the PCN” button. Please remember to include all information relevant to yourappeal including any relevant documentation and photographs on or before the 06/12/2023. 

3. Pay the Charge. Payments can be made online by visiting the above portal address and following the links for "Pay Now", or over the phone by calling 0845226 9138 and using a valid Credit or Debit Card to make payment. It is your responsibility to ensure that payment is received within our office by the date specified. 

As a gesture of goodwill we are willing to re-offer you the original discounted charge of £60 as full and final settlement of this Notice, if payment is received withinour office on or before the 06/12/2023. If payment is not received by this date, the amount payable will revert to £100, payable by 20/12/2023. 

Failure to pay this charge within the stated times, may result in Debt Recovery action been taken and further costs up to an additional £70.00 been incurred.”

Should I now ignore this as the registered keeper? Or should I be responding with more mitigating factors?

To give a bit of background, the driver was picking up his partner and 3 young kids all with heavy luggage who were struggling to walk to the car park. It was roughly 30 seconds of being stopped; off the main road in the entrance to another company’s estate. Unfortunately it’s a 2 hour drive to check sign postings etc so unsure of what is displayed in regard to the “No stopping”.

Thank you for any help / advice

Fruitcake

It would be helpful if you told us what you actually put in your appeal.

What the driver did is irrelevant to your appeal. Mitigating circumstances won't work, and runs the risk of blabbing about the driver's identity

It doesn't matter whether VCS mentioned the PoFA in their NTK. What matters is that it is the law, and you are using it.

You could ignore it, or appeal again with more detail about the PoFA (para 3) being relevant because the site is not-relevant land since byelaws apply, meaning neither the registered keeper nor the hirer/lessee (who is the day to day keeper for the purposes of the PoFA) can be held liable.

Do mention that their payment line mentioned in para 3 of their response uses a premium rate number that breaches Regulation 41 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. These regulations took effect on 13 June 2014, and must not be used.

Wilkes1402

Thanks for the response fruitcake, annoyingly I submitted the appeal via their online portal and stupidly didnt save a copy for myself. From memory it was this:

Dear Sir,
Charge Notice Ref. 123456: Vehicle Registration FU02PPC

We are in receipt of the above-detailed Charge Notice ("CN") dated 6th November 2023 and issued by 
Vehicle Control Services Ltd to our company [ABC Ltd]("[ABC]") in respect of an unpaid charge allegedly 
incurred at John Lennon Airport on 24th Oct 2023.

We confirm that ABC is the vehicle's hirer and keeper for the purpose of the corresponding definitions 
under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 ("POFA") and we write to dispute this CN.

The CN failed to comply with the strict requirements of
Schedule 4 of POFA and consequently Vehicle Control Services Ltd has forfeited any right to claim
unpaid charges from [ABC] as the vehicle's hirer and keeper.

Within 28 days please provide us with written confirmation of Vehicle Control Services Ltd's
acceptance that it cannot and does not hold [ABC] liable for this charge and 
that this is now purely a matter between Vehicle Control Services Ltd and the driver.

Thank you for your cooperation and we look forward to receiving this
confirmation.

Yours faithfully etc.

What the driver did is irrelevant to your appeal. Mitigating circumstances won't work, and runs the risk of blabbing about the driver's identity

I thought as much, I will leave this out.

It doesn't matter whether VCS mentioned the PoFA in their NTK. What matters is that it is the law, and you are using it.

Ah that's good to know, I wasnt sure if I had made a mistake in quoting this to them.

You could ignore it, or appeal again with more detail about the PoFA (para 3) being relevant because the site is not-relevant land since byelaws apply, meaning neither the registered keeper nor the hirer/lessee (who is the day to day keeper for the purposes of the PoFA) can be held liable.

Do mention that their payment line mentioned in para 3 of their response uses a premium rate number that breaches Regulation 41 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. These regulations took effect on 13 June 2014, and must not be used.

I may respond again including a little more of the above and see how they respond.

Thanks for the help!

Fruitcake

That's what I would do. Something like, 

An Act of Parliament such as the PoFA 2012 is the law. VCS may decide not to apply the PoFA, but if they do not comply with its strict requirements, then they cannot hold the keeper liable.
In any case, the airport is subject to byelaws, therefore only the driver or owner may be liable for the charge, and even then, only if stopping is a breach of said byelaws, and only the landowner can issue a claim in the magistrate's court against the driver or owner, of which my company is neither. A company cannot drive a car.
As the vehicle's hirer, I am invoking the requirements of the PoFA. Since you failed to comply with the Act's requirements, you have the choice of cancelling now to save yourself money, issuing an IAS code, or losing in court.

Wilkes1402

Thanks Fruitcake, I have sent a version of the above to them. I will let you know the response.

Wilkes1402

We refer to your appeal in respect of the above Charge Notice (CN) received on 28/11/2023.

I have had the above response from VCS, pretty much just ignoring my previous email I would say.

Do I now appeal to the IAS or wait to see if they take this to court?

Thanks for any help

Wilkes1402

We refer to your appeal in respect of the above Charge Notice (CN) received on 28/11/2023.
Having considered the points you have raised and reviewed our records, we are unable to accept your appeal. 

Our main reason(s) for this decision are as follows:
The signs at the entrance to the Liverpool John Lennon Airport and the access roads within, clearly state "No
Stopping", giving clear notice that the land is private property and that a Charge of £100 will be levied if vehicles do stop. The above detailed vehicle stopped in a zone where stopping is prohibited and the driver became liable to pay that Charge.

In your appeal it is unclear who the driver was when your vehicle was seen to be stopped on the access road.

You state that our Notice is not compliant with the Protection Of Freedoms Act (POFA) 2012 on the Notice issued to you; however we have not cited POFA 2012 nor stated that you are liable for the Charge as the vehicle keeper.

It is important we highlight that we will continue to pursue this matter on the reasonable assumption that you were the driver of the vehicle on the date in question until information/evidence to the contrary is provided.
A review of our CCTV evidence has confirmed that on the date in question, your vehicle stopped to collect a
passenger on the access road where restrictions apply.

There are more than 70 high profile signs advising drivers not to stop and warning that if a driver does stop, a charge of £100 is payable. The signs exceed recognised industry standards, with some as large as 2m by 1.1m (6ft 6in by 3ft 7in) which clearly state "No Stopping" alongside the nationally recognised Highway Code symbol for a Clearway (No Stopping). Furthermore, the signage on the approach road is reflective and positioned to face oncoming vehicles and the text size used is relative to the average approach speed of a vehicle in relation to the speed limit in force at that location.

We have fully reviewed this case and we are satisfied that the Charge Notice was correctly issued. We are unable to accept the mitigating circumstances raised in your representations, your appeal is therefore rejected and the Charge will stand; photographic evidence which supports this can be viewed at www.myparkingcharge.co.uk.

What you should do next - Either:
1. Pay the Charge Notice (CN): In order to settle the Charge, the payment of £60 to reach us by 15/12/2023 or £100
to reach us by 29/12/2023 must be made. Failure to pay this charge within the stated times, may result in Debt
Recovery Action being taken and further costs up to an additional £70 being incurred. Payments can be made
online at www.myparkingcharge.co.uk by following the links for "Pay Now", or over the phone by calling
0845 226 9138 by using a valid Credit or Debit Card.

OR:
2. Appeal to the Independent Appeals Services (IAS): If you believe this decision is incorrect, you are entitled to
appeal to the IAS. In order to appeal, the IAS will need the following information (which is also contained in the
subject header of this correspondence).
Notice Serial No:  Vehicle Registration Mark:

Appeals must be submitted to the IAS within 21 days of the date of this correspondence. Please visit www.theias.org
for full details on how to submit an appeal online.
It is important you note that if you do make an appeal to the IAS, the reduced charge offered above will no longer apply. You should also be aware that if a payment is made prior to an appeal being made to, or adjudicated by, the IAS AND this is accepted as Full and Final settlement against the CN, the appeal will automatically be dismissed and the matter will be deemed closed. Should you appeal to the IAS and it is unsuccessful, the full amount outstanding (£100.00) will become payable within 14 days of the date the IAS decision is notified to you. Failure to pay this sum in the 14 day period will result in debt recovery costs of up to £70.00 being added to the outstanding balance.

It is important we also highlight that no further appeals will be accepted at this office; any such appeal must be made to the IAS.

Please also note that further costs may be incurred should it be necessary for us to subsequently recover any outstanding charge using further debt recovery and/or court action.

Sorry above comment hasnt displayed the email very clearly.

Thanks

Coupon-mad

Ignore them and the £170 demands that follow. Tell them if you move house.

Come back here if you get a LBC or claim.

Wilkes1402

Thank you, I shall do that!

Wilkes1402

Hi all,

I have recently received a claim form from the CC and I am looking for some advice on how best to defend this. The claim form:

No I havent admitted who the driver was, the car is leased to my company rather than myself and they have got my details from the leasing company.

I understand I need to send a AOS via the online portal (after the 29th) and then my defence via email but I am unsure of the best approach or the main defence argument should be? would it be that they need to claim from the driver rather than registered keeper?

As it was an airport I am wondering if I send something on these lines: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80564910/#Comment_80564910

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Le_Kirk

Searching for other threads about airports is an excellent start and you found a good one.  Posts by @Fruitcake at airports are also worth reading.