Traffic Jam Prevented Us Leaving - Issued PCN for Overstaying

BandOfPCNBrothers

I was issued a pcn by cp plus in a moto services after overstaying by around 20 mins. The reason we overstayed was because of a traffic jam from the public highway, backing up all the way into the car park prevented us leaving. Instead of sitting in the jam with a crying 11month old, we went back into the services and waited for it to clear.

2 hours and 34 mins after arriving, and about £150 pounds down on food and fuel we finally left the services. When we got back home there was a PCN waiting for me from CP Plus. Four and a half months later, I received the final outcome of my appeal from CP Plus/Group Nexus and its rejected. Subsequent appeal to POPLA, rejected. Wrote to Chair of Moto Services, and they dont want to know.

I received the last letter from CP Plus a few days ago and the £100 charge is now at £170. 

I admitted to being the driver as I didn't think, naively, that I was at any risk of being expected to pay after I'd explained the circumstances to them. I remain flabbergasted at the just how predatory cp Plus are behaving. We were literally unable to leave their site through circumstances entitely outside our control, and they charge us for not leaving. Not only this, but mto services, of whom I am a regular customer and spent £150 quid plus on this particular visit, couldn't care less.

Advice on next steps would be most welcome.

 

Gr1pr

Wait for an LBC in the post, later followed by a court claim pack from the CNBC in Northampton using MCOL, by DCB legal on behalf of C P Plus 

Meanwhile, keep trying plan A, getting the MSA operator MOTO to cancel it 

Its not £170 , its still £100 , the £70 debt collectors fees are regularly thrown out in court 

Coupon-mad

BandOfPCNBrothers said:

I was issued a pcn by cp plus in a moto services after overstaying by around 20 mins. The reason we overstayed was because of a traffic jam from the public highway, backing up all the way into the car park prevented us leaving. Instead of sitting in the jam with a crying 11month old, we went back into the services and waited for it to clear.

2 hours and 34 mins after arriving, and about £150 pounds down on food and fuel we finally left the services. When we got back home there was a PCN waiting for me from CP Plus. Four and a half months later, I received the final outcome of my appeal from CP Plus/Group Nexus and its rejected. Subsequent appeal to POPLA, rejected. Wrote to Chair of Moto Services, and they dont want to know.

I received the last letter from CP Plus a few days ago and the £100 charge is now at £170. 

I admitted to being the driver as I didn't think, naively, that I was at any risk of being expected to pay after I'd explained the circumstances to them. I remain flabbergasted at the just how predatory cp Plus are behaving. We were literally unable to leave their site through circumstances entitely outside our control, and they charge us for not leaving. Not only this, but mto services, of whom I am a regular customer and spent £150 quid plus on this particular visit, couldn't care less.

Advice on next steps would be most welcome

This, this and more this, please:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80789556/#Comment_80789556

URGENT.

patient_dream

MOTO are well known to support these money scammers
SERVICES TO AVOID

You will not be alone with the ANPR scam

Apart from following the advice on here which is 100%, I would contact the local press to the service station.  The press love these parking stories and maybe others will crawl out of the woodwork.

Half_way

What did moto say?
Somewhere there is a case that said waiting is not parking, you were waiting to leave the car park the vehicle was not parked

saajan_12

BandOfPCNBrothers said:

I was issued a pcn by cp plus in a moto services after overstaying by around 20 mins. The reason we overstayed was because of a traffic jam from the public highway, backing up all the way into the car park prevented us leaving. Instead of sitting in the jam with a crying 11month old, we went back into the services and waited for it to clear.

...

We were literally unable to leave their site through circumstances entitely outside our control, and they charge us for not leaving. 

There's obviously a lot more to tackle on the usual driver id, correctly stated terms, size of the charge etc, but was there at least a 20 minute queue to leave? If you waited in the queue then agree that's not parked, but I wonder if returning to the services is the same thing (given half the point of that lot is for people to park and then wait in the services). 

Half_way

Frustration of contract springs to mind on this, however it would be useful to know what was said to moto when telling then to cancel this, and what moto said back

LDast

Have you read the Newbies/FAQ thread yet? Please have a read of that so you can see where you have gone wrong with this, so far, and what the next steps are likely to be.

You can take some comfort from the fact that you are dealing with an intellectually malnourished group of scammers at GroupNexus and they are going to use an equally pathetic roboclaim firm to file the inevitable claim. This is fortunate because we know here from much experience that, as long as you now follow the advice as listed in the Newbies/FAQ thread and use the robust template defence, that they will, eventually, discontinue and you won't be paying a penny.

For now, continue with Plan A and complain to MOTO but go as high up the management food chain as possible. Do not deal with a lowly customer service pleb. Write to your MP and ask for their assistance with this scam.

BandOfPCNBrothers

Thanks all. It warms the civic soul knowing there are people out there helping those in need of some advice.

My partner and I are in the process of applying for our first mortgage together and whilst I'm happy to let this run its course to the courts, she is not as she's concerned that this represents a risk to credit ratings. All it takes is for one submission to be mislaid or one date to be missed and we're potentially on the hook. We're going to have to pay and fight retrospectively, which I gather I much tougher. Their bully tactics work.

I answer to your questions:

1) what did moto say: I contacted them with a complaint as laid out above, claiming mitigating circumstances. They referred me back to cp plus/nexus. I then asked for the chair - Ken McMeikan - to review. His private office got back to me stating it was out of their (moto services) hands, and that gdpr prevented them from making inquiries on my behalf. I responded and waived my gdpr giving them permission to make representations on behalf of their customer to make things right. They said there was nothing further they could do. They did not engage with the substance of anything I said.

2) I have contacted local press. No response. Chased. Nothing. Will chase again.

3) Contacted MPs office last night. Waiting to hear back.

4) Contacted CP plus last week asking them to list each one of the specific circumstances they accept as mitigating circumstances.

5) left review on trip advisor on the services.

6) specific circumstances of parking/waiting: we attempted to leave around 1hr 20mins after arriving. We pulled out of our spot and then sat stationary in the carpark traffic for 10 mins before pulling back in. We left the carpark about 40 mins later, got fuel on site, put air in tyres and then finally left the site about 20 mins later.

7) have responded to survey/inquiry

Coupon-mad

My partner and I are in the process of applying for our first mortgage together and whilst I'm happy to let this run its course to the courts, she is not as she's concerned that this represents a risk to credit ratings. All it takes is for one submission to be mislaid or one date to be missed and we're potentially on the hook. 

There is ZERO RISK of a CCJ as long as you don't move house & not tell them.

Even if you missed a court submission (highly unlikely) and lost by default you'd just pay what was ordered within 30 days. NO CCJ.  Nada. That is not how it works.

We're going to have to pay and fight retrospectively, which I gather I much tougher. 

No you are not going to have to pay. STOP!

Gr1pr

If you were foolish enough to pay the sc##mers at this time, there is no fight, it's over 

Personally I believe that you should stand your ground and follow the advice on here, all the time 

As long as you keep the address updated if you move, there is no problem 

As long as you follow the coupon mad advice in the newbies thread, there is no problem 

If you lose in court, you pay the amount set by the judge to the lawyers or claimant promptly, within the 30 days grace period, again there is no problem , like in this case where it was £212

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6482398/civil-enforcement-ltd-issued-court-proceedings/p7

Paying these people allows them to prey on other victims