UKPC Failed Appeal

SweeneyJN

During end of Jan/Feb I was issued with 3 parking tickets from UKPC at my place of work.  These came to me about a week later as the car is leased by work through Lex.

I had a permit on display at the time. The permit was issued by Regus from whom we rent an office and parking spaces. We are issued permits to display on the car.  However, a member of Regus staff put the wrong date on my permit 31/01/23 instead of 31/03/24. This gave UKPC (who act on behalf of the building owner) the reason to issue 3 tickets. Sneakily none were put on the car - they just arrived via email sent to the company MD.  So OK - my mistake to not check - but the Regus employee who issued the permit no longer works there .

I ve had to lodge 3 separate appeals to PCUK explaining this was 'human error' on parking that was already paid for  . The first letter arrived today rejected my appeal but reduced the request for money down to £20. I assume they will do the same for the next 2 appeals.

What's the guidance?
1. Pay It (£20x 3 = £60 for some else mistake even though we actually paid Regus monthly for the parking )
2. Appeal to POPLA - Is that a waste  of time
3. Dig in and wait to go to court 



This is the full reply

We have carefully considered your appeal based on the information you have provided and the evidence supporting the parking charge. In this instance having completed our assessment, we consider the parking charge to have been correctly issued. However, based on the evidence you have provided, we have decided to reduce the charge to £20, if payment is received within thirty-five days of this letter. Please note that each parking charge is assessed individually on a case-by-case basis. We are unable to allocate one appeal statement to another parking charge mentioned in the appeal. Please appeal any further parking charge notices individually. Our appeals process is now concluded, you may now choose one of the following options: 1) Pay the parking charge detailed above at the reduced rate of £20 to UK Parking Control Ltd. PLEASE REFER OVERLEAF FOR PAYMENT OPTIONS AND ADDRESS DETAILS. 2) Make an appeal to the independent adjudicator POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals) using the verification code provided above. Please note that if you wish to appeal to POPLA, you will lose the right to pay the discounted rate of £20, and should POPLA reject your appeal you will be required to pay the full amount of £100.00. If you opt to pay the parking charge you will be unable to appeal with POPLA. Appeals to POPLA must be made within twenty-eight days from the date of this letter. To appeal with POPLA, please visit www.popla.co.uk. If you are unable to access the internet, you may appeal by post – this must be done using a POPLA postal form which may be obtained by contacting POPLA by phone (0330 159 6126) or post (PO Box 1270, Warrington, WA4 9RL). By law we are also required to inform you that Ombudsman Services (www.ombudsman-services.org/) provides an alternative dispute resolution service that would be competent to deal with your appeal. However, we have not chosen to participate in their alternative dispute resolution service. As such should you wish to appeal then you must do so to POPLA, as explained above.

Fruitcake

Please confirm/correct the name of the PPC as you have named two different ones in your initial post.

Plan A is always a complaint to the landowner/landholder and your MP, and in this instance, your employer as well.

Plan B was to appeal, which you have already done. Did you reveal the driver's identity when you appealed? I hope not because lease/hire PCNs are dead easy to beat where the driver has not been named.

Plan C is a PoPLA appeal. The PCNs were issued by something outside your control thus causing a frustration of contract, and UKPC signs (assuming it was them) are always inadequate and incapable of forming a contract with a motorist, so these would be two of several appeal points in any PoPLA appeal.

If it went to court, UKPC would pull out about two weeks before the hearing as they do every time they see s decent defence put up by posters on this forum, but you would still have to go through the whole rigmarole of defending.

Plan A is still your best option. If you are a member of a trade union, your rep should be all over this, and so should your employer.

If you get any mote PCNs, appeal as hirer/lessee as per the edna basher letters in the NEWBIES.

SweeneyJN

Sorry it's UKPC - UK Parking Control Ltd

Thanks for the suggestions I happen to know the building owner so will write to him (he has an office in the building)
I was thinking of doing that. I'll also moan at Regus as it their mistake causing all the aggro.

Plan B - Unfortunately I have revealed my name in the appeal submission (via online).

Plan C - looks like a good option too.... Their offer to reduce the charge to £20 is almost like and admission of being unreasonable  

Fruitcake

SweeneyJN said:

Sorry it's UKPC - UK Parking Control Ltd

Thanks for the suggestions I happen to know the building owner so will write to him (he has an office in the building)
I was thinking of doing that. I'll also moan at Regus as it their mistake causing all the aggro.

Plan B - Unfortunately I have revealed my name in the appeal submission (via online).

Plan C - looks like a good option too.... Their offer to reduce the charge to £20 is almost like and admission of being unreasonable  

Naming yourself as hirer/lessee is good. Naming yourself as driver is not.

As for the reduction of the charge to £20, that's what is required by the BPA when a typo is made by the motorist, but in this instance it was not the motorist who made the error, but an employee of the landowner/landholder. Since the error was not made by the motorist, the motorist did not breach the parking contract and therefore cannot be held liable.

Plan A is always the best option, but should it fail, I would appeal to PoPLA using all the points available from the third post of the NEWBIES, including inadequate signage, plus frustration of contract. 
Post your draft PoPLA appeal here for checking before you submit it. Try Plan A first, but do not miss the PoPLA appeal deadline, which is 33 days from the date on the initial appeal rejection.

Get photos of the site and signage, especially photos of the signs taken from one car length to prove they are unreadable.

SweeneyJN

This is rumbling on. What a pain 

Am working on Plan A --
UKPC have submitted evidence on the 1sy appeal with POPLA . In summary they are saying 'tough luck mate" the people you paid  for parking have screwed up so you still have to pay us!

A minor point re Signage - the provided 10 signs of parking signage but none of them is inside the multi story car park where I was parked . I am not permitted to park in the area they are displaying in their 10 photos and have never done ao. I hope this is a valuable point to raise. 

I also have an email now from Regus confirming my parking was paid for at the time the ticket was issued.


Following the parking event on 19/02/2024, UKPC had reasonable cause to obtain the details of the registered keeper from the DVLA for the purposes of issuing a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) by post- a copy of this PCN is included in this pack. The PCN was issued on The parking charge rate was £100.00, reduced to £60.00 if payment was received within fourteen days. An appeal was received from the vehicle driver Mr [deleted] on the 06/03/2024, which the appeals department investigated and decided to reject. Whilst UKPC note the mitigating circumstances, we cannot accept them as evidence when reviewing a parking charge notice. It is the motorist’s responsibility to ensure that when they leave their vehicle, they have a valid parking permit visible for inspection. As Mr [DELETED]  provided a copy of the valid permit within their appeal, we offered the reduced rate of £20. We can comment on any other charge - they have not relevance to the validity of this parking charge. UKPC must maintain a consistent approach when issuing and upholding a charge. In this instance, this vehicle had been parked on site in direct breach of the terms and conditions of parking on site as stated on signage. The vehicle was parked in close proximity to UKPC signage, please see all photographic evidence to support this. Entrance signage advises motorists that terms of parking apply, and that notices within the car park should be checked to identify the full terms and conditions. These notices are placed throughout the car park. It is ultimately the responsibility of the motorist to ensure they identify the terms of parking, and then decide whether to park their vehicle, or leave the site if they are unable to meet those terms. The parking charges issued by UK Parking Control Limited are based on a contractual agreement between UKPC and the driver, as detailed on the signage displayed in the car park. The signage states the terms and conditions of parking and explains that a parking charge will be payable if the terms are not met by the driver. We ensure that signage is ample, clear and visible, wholly in line with the British Parking Association Code of Practice. It is settled law that a driver is deemed to have accepted the terms and conditions of parking by the act of parking and leaving a vehicle. Ultimately, it is fundamentally the responsibility of the motorist to identify the terms of parking when leaving their vehicle on private land. If they feel they are unable to adhere to the terms, they may leave the site before agreeing to those terms. There are sufficient signs advising drivers that parking without displaying a valid Permit may result in a parking charge being issued. Mr [DELETED} vehicle was parked without displaying a valid permit; consequently, the parking charge was issued correctly. A letter was sent to Mr DELETED informing him of our decision 

Coupon-mad

The provided 10 signs of parking signage but none of them is inside the multi story car park where I was parked.

I am not permitted to park in the area they are displaying in their 10 photos and have never done so. I hope this is a valuable point to raise. 

I also have an email now from Regus confirming my parking was paid for at the time the ticket was issued.

Good. YES, it's a valuable point to raise.

You *can't* really add more evidence but do it anyway!  Send all that (including that evidence email showing the date and sender) to POPLA by email marked:

URGENT: COMMENTS ON THE EVIDENCE PACK RE POPLA CODE xxxxxxxxxx

And copy in:

appealmoreinfo@ukparkingcontrol.com

(so they can't say they didn't know).

SweeneyJN

Coupon-mad said:

The provided 10 signs of parking signage but none of them is inside the multi story car park where I was parked.

I am not permitted to park in the area they are displaying in their 10 photos and have never done so. I hope this is a valuable point to raise. 

I also have an email now from Regus confirming my parking was paid for at the time the ticket was issued.

Good. YES, it's a valuable point to raise.

You *can't* really add more evidence but do it anyway!  Send all that (including that evidence email showing the date and sender) to POPLA by email marked:

URGENT: COMMENTS ON THE EVIDENCE PACK RE POPLA CODE xxxxxxxxxx

And copy in:

appealmoreinfo@ukparkingcontrol.com

(so they can't say they didn't know).

Thanks for stopping by 

SweeneyJN

I am off the hook! UKPC aggression ramping up and they began writing to my employer with a letter that looked like a 'Court Fine" . This was at the same time as I (now the named driver) was disputing their claim>

As a consequence I phoned the building owner, I had met him once or twice. I did write him a letter and phone to say how disappointed I got no response His PA/Assistant listened to my sad tale. She came back yesterday asked for my two numbers --- they are calling the 'heavies' off 

LDast

Do you have anything in writing that confirms that the building owner or the PA agreed to get the charges cancelled? A phone call is not worth the paper it is written on.

SweeneyJN

I have a text from her....requesting PCN numbers...she phone me 2 or 3 times to remind to send them, Think it will be ok - but yes final confirmation needed

Coupon-mad

SweeneyJN said:

I have a text from her....requesting PCN numbers...she phone me 2 or 3 times to remind to send them, Think it will be ok - but yes final confirmation needed

Good news then! What happened at POPLA?