One Parking Solution Ltd, ZZPS, GCTT, QDR

i_like_lists

Firstly I just want to thank all those who have contributed to this forum - honestly you are all awesome! In moments of weakness I come back here, take a deep breath and continue to ignore threatening letters....I have read the newbies thread which has been super helpful. 

This case is not different from many I have read but I have a few questions so will give details:
Back in early March the driver stopped on private land for 10 minutes when the shop on the private land was closed. A passenger got out of the car but the driver stayed in the drivers seat. No PCN was received but then a ZZPS letter arrives 5-6 weeks after the alleged incident asking for £170. The parking company who ZZPS were representing were contacted (One Parking Solution) asking for evidence of the contravention without stating who was driving. After much back and forth One Parking Solution finally sent an email PCN and other images proving the car had been stopped and a passenger was seen to exit the vehicle for 10 minutes stating this confirms the vehicle had parked. They also sent an excel spreadsheet type note to say the PCN had been sent but obviously it is their word against the driver on this.

Unable to go through POPLA due to never having the opportunity to appeal the PCN due to not receiving it. Have contacted my MP but they are unable to help due to parliament dissolving...although they did state they are aware of the poor practices of this company.

There have been 2x ZZPS, 2x GCTT letters in the meantime with the last letter claiming "notice of transfer to QDR solicitors". Obviously I have ignored them (whilst constantly re-reading this thread to find peace on the matter). 

Questions:
1) Is it still worth sending a SAR to One Parking Solution? What is the purpose of this? What are we hoping they will do? 
2) Can there be still be an argument about who the driver was as they do not know this info for sure? This has never been confirmed in any email.
3) Do One Parking Solution take many people to court?
4) One Parking Solution were offered £60 by email to settle the matter to stop the threatening letters (before this thread was read), but they declined and advised have to go through ZZPS and pay them. This was frustrating and confusing. Will this offer of paying the invoice work for or against the case? 

Thank you!

Gr1pr

1) probably not, because any future court claim may have woeful particulars of claim, which means that the alternative defence could be used

A SAR is usually to obtain paperwork and pictures, typically when the defendant has none etc, so data retrieval, especially when people have not received anything, or binned it 

The current advice here is, do not email a SAR 

2) there are always keeper versus driver arguments, have been for over a decade 

3) they definitely do take people to civil court by using MCOL, even if they employ a lawyer firm

4) it could prejudice the case if it wasn't headed,  without prejudice save as to costs, in which case they could use it as an exhibit in court 

I doubt that the invoice was £60 , more likely to have been £100 , the emails received and any signs onsite should confirm the charge, but its never £60 for an OPS PCN 

i_like_lists

Thanks for your reply Gr1pr. The parking charge was £60 if paid within 14 days of the notice of the letter, but increased to £100 after - that is what the email copy of the PCN states. That is why £60 was offered as there was no chance to pay within 14 days as no PCN received.

I am sorry but do not understand your response to question 4. Also what does MCOL stand for? 

LDast

i_like_lists said:

4) One Parking Solution were offered £60 by email to settle the matter to stop the threatening letters (before this thread was read), but they declined and advised have to go through ZZPS and pay them. This was frustrating and confusing. Will this offer of paying the invoice work for or against the case? 

By "offering" to pay them £60, you have in effect admitting liability for the charge. Obviously this was done before you had discovered the forum. In what manner was this "offer" made? By phone or by correspondence (email or letter)?

You do not want an SAR. Wait and see if they decide to take it all the way to court and actually issue a claim against you. They may not.

Regarding the identity of the driver. They have absolutely no idea who the driver is unless the keeper, you, give them that information, inadvertently or otherwise. Unless you are 100% certain that the NtK is fully PoFA compliant with absolutely no technical flaws, then the drivers identity should not be revealed.

If you need to know how many times One Parking Solutions progress clams all the way to court, just use the search function and find out for yourself. A lot would depend on which firm of failed lawyers they use to issue them in the first place.

Gr1pr

i_like_lists said:

Thanks for your reply Gr1pr. The parking charge was £60 if paid within 14 days of the notice of the letter, but increased to £100 after - that is what the email copy of the PCN states. That is why £60 was offered as there was no chance to pay within 14 days as no PCN received.

I am sorry but do not understand your response to question 4. Also what does MCOL stand for? 

Its the opposite, the charge was , is and always will be £100 , the invoice says so 

They offered a 14 day 40% discount if it was paid promptly, after 14 days the discount amount offer expired and the full charge was due.  They are currently chasing the full amount of £100 listed on the PCN and on the signs. So it didn't go up , it was temporarily reduced, you will see similar offers or one day sales everyday in supermarkets or online stores etc , temporary offers that expire and then the full charge is levied once more 

Any future court claim will have the full £100 included, Plus costs and fees 

The problem in not receiving the original NTK PCN letter is a separate issue , postal problems featured this morning on Rip-off Britain on bbc1

MCOL is Money Claim OnLine, easily googled and been around for years, a government system of making court claims, now centralised in one government office in Northampton 

Coupon-mad

Was the shop the Vets in Portslade?

Or where?

i_like_lists

Thanks all -
LDast the offer was made via email so yes they will have a record.
Coupon-mad - how did you get a predicted location from my original post? 
Gr1pr - I'm getting a sinking feeling I might be best cutting my loses and paying. Frustrated I offered to pay something but as I said I was not aware of this forum before...

Gr1pr

Presumably the offer was made without stating , without prejudice save as to costs. ? 

She is very , very aware of the areas around Brighton etc, plus has over 12 years of knowledge and experience , especially in OPS cases etc

Nobody is telling you to pay, we are ascertaining the facts, there is no legal reason to pay unless a judge rules on it that way, in a civil court near you.  There could be various reasons why you have no liability, many currently unknown to you . Even a loss in court might not be much more , you definitely don't know, neither do we, but we know that the average loss is about £200

There are several members here in that area who may help you going forward, even at court 

Meanwhile, you ONLY posted this thread 3 hours ago, there is no rush, so wait and see what replies you get before doing something rash. ?

i_like_lists

Gr1pr - I am confused as to how Brighton has come about as I did not mention location on my message. It is either absolute wizardry or a feature of my profile I do not know about. I'm incredibly grateful to Coupon-mad for any help she can give, as to you too. Coupon_mad yes it was the location you stated. 

Definitely not that wording when making the offer. More like "I am offering to pay the initial charge of £60 which I hope will settle the matter". Obviously I understand by your explanation about the discounted rate and £100 is the actual charge. 

That is definitely food for thought thank you. I am prepared to continue with this, I was worried I had shot myself in the foot with the offer of paying. 

Gr1pr

Ops are very prevalent in Brighton and Worthing etc, CM is a Seagulls fan and has helped numerous people in that area with her friend Parking mad, plus knows the hotspots around that area, she has even helped others in the courts down there and has faced off with OPS previously 

I believe that the site she mentioned is an infamous hotspot and she is well aware of their hotspots, Stanmer Park was notorious, along with a few others, she probably believed that yours was one of them 

I think that you may be under estimating her vast knowledge here. If there was only one person you could choose to help you, its her

Meanwhile, please post redacted pictures of both sides of the PCN that OPS emailed to you 

Redact your name and address, the VRM details and also redact the OPS reference number, leaving all the dates showing, plus the allegations etc, no personal stuff, but everything else 

i_like_lists

Thanks. I have attached the PCN. Coupon-mad sounds like someone I need to be friends with. Amazing!