Highview Parking - Overstay Parking Charge

scara

Hi all, I received a Parking Charge by post, dated Dec. 20 regarding parking for 3hrs 27min at Netherfield local centre in Milton Keynes where the maximum free stay is 1hr 30 min. They have included pictures of my car entering and leaving however the £95 reduced to £55 if paid within 14 days seems excessive to me. Having forgotten/procrastinated I quickly read through the advice on the forum and submitted an appeal today. I have attached a redacted copy of their letter and my appeal submitted today. I would be grateful for any suggestions to beat this excessive charge.

Regards Scara

troublemaker22

You can do the following while you wait for your rejection and POPLA Code, which opens the way to a further appeal to POPLA:

1  If you are a legitimate patron of the Centre in Milton Keynes, ask them nicely to order their parking contractor to cancel it for you.  This is referred to as "Plan A" and is often the best way to get a private parking charge cancelled.

2.  Use the time while you wait for the results of Plan A, and the month you get to prepare and lodge your POPLA appeal after you get Highview's rejection, to prepare your POPLA appeal (the rejection letter will say you have 28 days to appeal to POPLA, the experts on this forum say POPLA actually keeps the window open until day 33). 

This will involve looking carefully at the PCN because it isn't a "vague template".  So far the only vague template in this story is your appeal saying the PCN is a vague template.  Look for any ways in which the PCN fails to satisfy the conditions for keeper liability set out in Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 ("POFA").

For starters, POFA paragraph 9(2)(a) requires a notice to keeper to specify the "relevant land" on which the vehicle was parked.   Your post says the car was at "Netherfield local centre in Milton Keynes."  I'm guessing this means the "Netherfield LOCO Centre" in Milton Keynes.  But the the only description of the relevant land on the PCN is "Netherfield Neighbourhood Centre."  I've done a bit of research and concluded that there is only one "Netherfield Neighbourhood Centre" in the UK and it's not in Milton Keynes.  It's in Farthing Grove, Netherfield, Nottinghamshire.  

Then, working on the assumption that Highview might have intended to specify the Netherfield LOCO Centre in Milton Keynes but failed to do so, you can visit the site to check whether all the signage is in conformity with the signage requirements in the AOS BPA Code of Practice.

POFA is here https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/9/schedule/4
The Code of Practice is here https://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/AOS_Code_of_Practice_January_2020_v8(2).pdf

KeithP

troublemaker22 said:

For starters, POFA paragraph 9(2)(a) requires a notice to keeper to specify the "relevant land" on which the vehicle was parked.   Your post says the car was at "Netherfield local centre in Milton Keynes."  I'm guessing this means the "Netherfield LOCO Centre" in Milton Keynes.  But the the only description of the relevant land on the PCN is "Netherfield Neighbourhood Centre."  I've done a bit of research and concluded that there is only one "Netherfield Neighbourhood Centre" in the UK and it's not in Milton Keynes.  It's in Farthing Grove, Netherfield, Nottinghamshire.  

Then, working on the assumption that Highview might have intended to specify the Netherfield LOCO Centre in Milton Keynes but failed to do so, you can visit the site to check whether all the signage is in conformity with the signage requirements in the AOS BPA Code of Practice.

My interpretation is...

1. the alleged parking event took place at...
    
   [click on the image to go to GSV to see where that is.]
2. The Netherfield Shopping Centre is in Milton Keynes. 
3. Milton Keynes is not in Nottinghamshire.
4. Milton Keynes is in Buckinghamshire.
5. As far as I can see, and I stand to be corrected on this, there is no Farthing Grove in Nottinghamshire.

Coupon-mad

Send the DVLA an email asking on what date your data was provided to Highview/Group Nexus.

When did that NTK arrive?

Have you got the envelope?  Marked 2nd class?

scara

Thanks for the prompt replies folks. I have taken note of all the suggestions and will be following through on them this week, especially checking the signage which I hadn't noticed or been aware of until the arrival of the PCN. Unfortunately I don't have the envelope but I know it arrived before Christmas and as such was within the 14 day window.

troublemaker22

KeithP said:

troublemaker22 said:

For starters, POFA paragraph 9(2)(a) requires a notice to keeper to specify the "relevant land" on which the vehicle was parked.   Your post says the car was at "Netherfield local centre in Milton Keynes."  I'm guessing this means the "Netherfield LOCO Centre" in Milton Keynes.  But the the only description of the relevant land on the PCN is "Netherfield Neighbourhood Centre."  I've done a bit of research and concluded that there is only one "Netherfield Neighbourhood Centre" in the UK and it's not in Milton Keynes.  It's in Farthing Grove, Netherfield, Nottinghamshire.  

Then, working on the assumption that Highview might have intended to specify the Netherfield LOCO Centre in Milton Keynes but failed to do so, you can visit the site to check whether all the signage is in conformity with the signage requirements in the AOS BPA Code of Practice.

My interpretation is...

1. the alleged parking event took place at...
    
   [click on the image to go to GSV to see where that is.]
2. The Netherfield Shopping Centre is in Milton Keynes. 
3. Milton Keynes is not in Nottinghamshire.
4. Milton Keynes is in Buckinghamshire.
5. As far as I can see, and I stand to be corrected on this, there is no Farthing Grove in Nottinghamshire.

@KeithP, You make some excellent points and it looks like I confused myself  when I did my original research because I repeated the research just now and came to the realisation that there is no "Netherfield Neighbourhood Centre" anywhere in the UK and the "Netherfield LOCO Centre" which I thought I had traced to Milton Keynes is actually in (you've guessed it) Netherfields, Nottinghamshire!  But I end up with the same conclusion.

Sticking with your numbered points.

1. The parking may well have taken place at The Netherfield Shopping Centre in Milton Keynes. But parking there is not alleged. The allegation is that parking was at "The Netherfield Neighbourhood Centre."

2. I don’t doubt that the Netherfield Shopping Centre is in Milton Keynes. But the Netherfield Shopping Centre and Milton Keynes are not specified on the PCN. 

3. Of course Milton Keynes isn’t in Nottinghamshire. But Netherfield is:

- https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Netherfield,+Nottingham/@52.9599852,-1.0807901,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x4879c696fff70483:0x2428786fa94b4e72!8m2!3d52.962732!4d-1.074676!16zL20vMDl2bTdk?entry=ttu and it has a centre named the Netherfield LOCO Centre  -https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/inside-new-netherfield-community-centre-6560733

4. Of course Milton Keynes is in Buckinghamshire but neither Milton Keynes nor Buckinghamshire is specified on the PCN. 

5. I stand corrected about Farthing Grove. It’s an inaccurate red herring I should not have introduced it. Farthing Grove isn’t specified on the PCN. The only land specified on the PCN is “Netherfield Neighbourhood Centre” which doesn't exist.

POPLA assessors tend to make wrong decisions on POFA challenges so the OP should definitely pursue Plan A and do the signage research - as was done in this other  "Netherfield Neighbourhood Centre" case in 2017 - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5623931/highview-parking-fine-at-netherfield-neighbourhood-centre/p1

but the crucial link within that thread is broken so who knows whether that one was in Buckinghamshire or Nottinghamshire?

scara

Having accessed the link from 2017 in troublemaker22's post above and read all the comments, I then went back to the site and took pictures of the signage. It seems they haven't changed their signs as there is no mention of the ANPR being used for parking monitoring. I have attached 3 pictures of the signage. Am I correct in assuming I can fight this based on the lack of clarity of what the ANPR is being used for?

Coupon-mad

You can add to your appeal that you require Group Nexus to treat this submission as not just an appeal, but also a formal complaint about the entrance sign which wrongly tells arriving drivers that the reason that the ANPR data will be used, is for the purposes of 'detecting crime'.  This is untrue and in breach of the DPA and UK GDPR 2018 and will be reported to the Information Commissioner.

scara

Thanks Coupon-mad can I add this to the existing appeal or do I need to wait for the rejection from Highview and add it to the appeal to POPLA?

KeithP

scara said:

Thanks Coupon-mad can I add this to the existing appeal or do I need to wait for the rejection from Highview and add it to the appeal to POPLA?

Include in your existing appeal.

Witter on about it again in your PoPLA appeal if necessary.

scara

Thanks KeithP