Appeal rejected by LDK (no notice on windshield)

ezio1

(I have checked NEWBIES before making this post, albeit I was not aware of it before sending this email)

The contravention date was in February and I received the 'Parking Charge to Registered Keeper' in July. No notice was put on my car.

I appealed with the following 

"I am writing in response to your recent communication regarding the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) for an alleged parking violation on X February. I must emphasise that this charge is both unjust and unenforceable due to significant legal and procedural flaws.

While you claim that the car park operator has up to six months to obtain details from the DVLA and a further 28 days to issue the charge, this does not mitigate the undue stress and confusion caused by this excessive delay. Such a timeline fundamentally undermines the principles of fairness and transparency essential to any enforcement process.

You have also stated that your client does not need to rely on POFA 2012 to pursue this charge. However, this approach raises several legal and procedural issues:

Key Points of Rebuttal:

1.     Non-Compliance with POFA 2012: As no notice was placed on the vehicle at the time of the alleged contravention, the requirements of POFA 2012 have not been met. POFA mandates that a Notice to Driver must be issued on the vehicle or handed directly to the driver for the charge to be enforceable against the registered keeper. The failure to issue a Notice to Driver renders the current charge unenforceable under POFA.

2.     Contractual Grounds and Fairness: If you are pursuing this charge based on contractual terms, these terms must be fair and transparent, as required by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The significant delay in issuing the PCN fails the fairness test and constitutes an unfair term, which invalidates the charge.

3.     Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977: This Act ensures that contract terms must be reasonable and not contravene principles of fairness. Given the significant delay in issuing the PCN and the resultant unfair disadvantage it imposes on me, this charge is clearly unreasonable and thus unenforceable under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

4.     Identification of the Driver: If you are not relying on POFA, you must provide evidence that you have identified the driver. As the registered keeper, I cannot be held liable without clear identification of the driver, and any attempt to do so would be legally flawed.

5.     Excessive Delay and Procedural Unfairness: Even if your timeline were accurate, the excessive delay fundamentally undermines the fairness of the process. This delay severely prejudices my ability to recall the specifics of the alleged incident and to mount an adequate defense, constituting a clear violation of procedural fairness.

6.     Inadequate Signage Lighting: Additionally, I would like to point out that the signage in the car park is not adequately lit, making it difficult for drivers to read and understand the terms and conditions, especially during evening and nighttime hours. The lack of proper illumination means that the signage fails to meet the required standards for visibility and readability, further undermining the validity of the alleged contractual agreement.

7.     General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): The delayed processing and retention of my personal data for several months raises concerns under GDPR. Data controllers must ensure data is processed fairly, lawfully, and in a timely manner. The excessive delay in issuing this PCN may constitute a breach of GDPR principles, particularly regarding data minimisation and storage limitation.

I am fully prepared to defend my position in court if necessary, as I am confident that any fair and impartial review will find in my favour. Furthermore, I intend to escalate this case to the Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) service if my demand for cancellation is not promptly addressed. POPLA, as an independent adjudicator, will undoubtedly see the unreasonable nature of this charge and the procedural errors involved.

In light of these substantial legal and procedural violations, I demand the immediate cancellation of this PCN. Should you fail to comply, I will pursue all available legal remedies, including filing formal complaints with regulatory bodies, seeking redress through the courts, and publicising your company’s misconduct and incompetence.

Regards"

The Parking Admin Centre responded with the below after a week

"Good afternoon,

As advised, our Client does not need to rely on POFA to issue or pursue a Charge.

If you do not name the driver then we will rely on the reasonable probability that you were the driver on the day.

We can confirm your appeal has been considered and processed and an appeal response will be sent, via email, within the next two (2) working days. 

 

The document and password will be sent in separate emails, please ensure you check your junk and spam folder.

 

Your appeal response will be sent from email donotreply@zzps.co.uk. If you have not received this within two (2) working days, please call us directly.

 

Photographic evidence is available to view at Paymyparkingcharge.com using your Parking Charge Number (Client Reference) and your VRM (vehicle registration mark).

 

Please note, if your appeal has been rejected and your correspondence states you may pay the reduced balance within 14 days, but the account is showing the full balance you will be required to call us directly to make payment or use the bank details on the back of our original correspondence.

 

Any email correspondence received disputing the balance may not be picked up in time which would result in the progression of the account.

 

Kind regards"

The company had purposefully waited for the parking charge to appear as £90 (from £45) on the paymyparkingcharge website. I am now waiting for them to send the appeal response and hopefully, they will send me details for POPLA, by which I will draft an appeal. Their response seems to be mostly generic but I thought I would make a post to help others. Will keep you all posted.

LDast

You are slightly confused about the requirements to leave an NtD on the windscreen. It is not a requirement. You received a postal NtK. Irrespective of those points, at least you ave not identified as the driver ( I think. Too much dialogue in that appeal).

What is not clear is whether what you have received is an actual NtK or an attempt by a debt collector into bamboozling you into admitting liability. That is given away be the mention of the fact that your rejected appeal will arrive in a separate email with no mention of any POPLA code from a ZZPS email address.

So, either clarify whether what you "appealed" to was an actual NtK or a debt collector. If the latter, it could be that you never received an NtK earlier because your V5C address is not up to date following a change of address. Updating your drivers licence with the DVLA has no effect on your V5C address which must be updated separately.

Coupon-mad

It's very Chat GPT-esque which isn't a good app to use. 

Are LDK in the BPA AOS?

LDast

LDK Security group Ltd are BPA AOS members.

ezio1

The template was ChatGPT but I edited it it to make it relevant to my case. Apologies if it wasn't clear. I received a 'Parking charge to Registered Keeper' which im assuming is the NtK from LDK and I appealed this. It has not gone to the debt collectors yet. They have not identified the driver.

Coupon-mad

It certainly read as Chat GPT which we regular posters on this board hate.  People think they have edited it out but shouldn't even use that app for anything more than a word.  It writes sentences in really bad English that screams 'robot' (sorry).

This will be easy to win at POPLA just by saying "non-POFA NTK". End of scam 

ezio1

I will search for the templates in the NEWBIES thread for 'non-POFA NTK'. @Coupon-mad. I have seen the service you provide to the community. Things like this cause major distress and anxiety and you alleviate that burden. You deserve a knighthood!

KeithP

ezio1 said:

(I have checked NEWBIES before making this post, albeit I was not aware of it before sending this email)

But back in May 2021, in the first sentence of the first ever post you made on MSE forums you wrote...

ezio1 said:

Hi all,

I have read the NEWBIES!! PRIVATE PARKING TICKET in some depth.

 

LDast

ezio1 said:

I will search for the templates in the NEWBIES thread for 'non-POFA NTK'. @Coupon-mad. I have seen the service you provide to the community. Things like this cause major distress and anxiety and you alleviate that burden. You deserve a knighthood!

@Coupon-mad would never get a knighthood. A damehood maybe. 

ezio1

KeithP said:

ezio1 said:

(I have checked NEWBIES before making this post, albeit I was not aware of it before sending this email)

But back in May 2021, in the first sentence of the first ever post you made on MSE forums you wrote...

ezio1 said:

Hi all,

I have read the NEWBIES!! PRIVATE PARKING TICKET in some depth.

You brought something up I couldn't even remember! 

ezio1

Update: They have rejected my appeal officially now, they didn't address most of my points and only mentioned the signage is according to standards, they also said previously 'As advised, our Client does not need to rely on POFA to issue or pursue a Charge.'... (big surprise) and have now given me the option for POPLA.