NCP Final Reminder

Fourwoodys

Hello,

I have been sent a Stowmarket station parking fine. Just received a final notice for a fine which I have never received any other details of - this is the first letter I have received as registered keeper of the vehicle. Apparently, I only have 3 days (have been on holiday, so 11 days have already passed) to pay the fine with no option of appeal.

Entry date is 19th April and exit date 21st April. Both times the vehicle was not actually parked, but literally driven in and turned around to collect and drop off somebody.
They have photo evidence of the entry on 19th and exit on 21st, but conveniently no photo of the exit on 19th or the entry on 21st.

There is no option to appeal on the letter.  This is NCP and Greater Anglia Parking.

I am confused as to ehat ny options are, other than paying the £100 fine.

Your help is greatky appreciated.

Emma

LDast

What “fine”? Show us the word “fine” or “penalty” or “offence” anywhere in that paperwork… you can’t because it is none of those things. It is a speculative invoice from an unregulated private parking company. A read of the Newbies/FAQ thread is in order.

Nobody pays NCP for these, especially at the “mugs” discount rate. You’ve been caught in a “double-dip” and they have failed to follow their own  Code of Practice (CoP) by not performing a manual quality control check of their ANPR images for the “orphan-images”. That means that they have breached the KADOE contract with the DVLA and obtained the keepers data unlawfully. That means that you can sue them for compensation for breach of your GDPR.

As for appealing the PCN, for now you only have to send them the following as the keeper of the vehicle with no identifying who the driver was:

I am the registered keeper. NCP cannot hold a registered keeper liable for any alleged contravention on land that is under statutory control. As a matter of fact and law, NCP will be well aware that they cannot use the PoFA provisions because Stowmarket Station is not 'relevant land'.

If Stowmarket Station’s landowners wanted to hold vehicle owners or keepers liable under Railway Byelaws, that would be within the landowner's gift and another matter entirely. However, not only is that not pleaded, it is also not legally possible because NCP is not the Station landowner and your 'parking charge' is not and never attempts to be a penalty. It is created for NCP's own profit (as opposed to a byelaws penalty that goes to the public purse) and NCP has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.

The registered keeper cannot be presumed or inferred to have been the driver, nor pursued under some twisted interpretation of the law of agency. Your NTK can only hold the driver liable. NCP have no hope at POPLA, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.

Fourwoodys

Thankyou for your prompt reply. I have read the newbies section, but I am afraid I am still confused.
As this letter does not provide an appeal process, where would I send the above to?
I am worried to be caught in this trap of it escalating and the alleged fine/unpaid charge increasing.

Thankyou again for your help
Kind Regards,
Emma

LDast

You send it as a complaint, not an appeal. They are required to treat all complaints as an appeal according to their CoP. Follow the instructions for their complaints procedure.

You won’t be paying them a penny. If you’re up for it, you can even sue them. Have a read of this:

Article 5(1)(d) of the UK GDPR legally requires data controllers to store and process personal data accurately. If a data controller, such as a private parking company, unlawfully obtains the keeper's data from the DVLA and issues an invoice based on inaccurate information, claiming you parked in breach of an alleged contract with the landowner (or their agent), this constitutes processing your personal data inaccurately and unlawfully under the UK GDPR.

The precedents for claiming damages and compensation for such unlawful processing of personal data can be found in cases like Halliday v Creation Consumer Finance Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 333, where the court awarded compensation for distress caused by the inaccurate processing of personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998. Although this case was decided under the old law, similar principles apply under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Under Article 82 of the UK GDPR and Section 168 of the Data Protection Act 2018, individuals have the right to compensation if they suffer material or non-material damage because of a breach of data protection laws.

Additionally, the case of Vidal-Hall v Google Inc [2015] EWCA Civ 311 confirmed that claimants could recover compensation for distress alone under the Data Protection Act 1998, a principle now similarly recognised under the GDPR. This means that even if you have not suffered tangible financial loss, you may still be entitled to compensation for distress caused by the unlawful processing of your data.

Moreover, in Tetragon Financial Group Limited v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2020] UKUT 0305 (TCC), the court reiterated the importance of accurate data handling by public bodies. This principle can be applied here, as the DVLA, a public body, must ensure that any data it provides to third parties, such as private parking companies, is used lawfully and accurately. If a private parking company unlawfully obtained your data from the DVLA and processed it inaccurately, you have grounds to seek compensation.

To seek compensation for the unlawful processing of your personal data, you should provide 21 days’ notice (the pre-action protocol typically requires 14 days, but a longer notice can show goodwill) to the data controller, in this case, the private parking company, of your intention to claim damages. You might claim £100 for nominal damages under Article 82 of the UK GDPR and Section 168 of the Data Protection Act 2018. This notice should clearly state that you will file a claim with the County Court if they do not confirm in writing that all references to this alleged debt have been deleted within 14 days. Be sure to mark your letter as a "Letter before County Court proceedings."

As a litigant-in-person, you can file your claim under Part 27 proceedings in the County Court (often referred to as the "Small Claims Court"). Each party is responsible for their own legal costs, regardless of the outcome, and the claim can be filed online for a fee of £35 via the Money Claim Online service (moneyclaimonline.gov.uk). The successful party can recover their court fees, making the total claim amount £135.

Fourwoodys

Thankyou again. 
NCP complaints process refers me to the appeal process sent with the PCN, of which there is none, so I can use their standard 28 day process, but this is outside of the 3 remaining days that I have as per the final notice that I have been sent.

Do you think it is worth me adding the following to the complaint, explaining that there was no parking but 2 separate entrance exits?

"...have failed to follow their own  Code of Practice (CoP) by not performing a manual quality control check of their ANPR images for the “orphan-images”. That means that they have breached the KADOE contract with the DVLA and obtained the keepers data unlawfully."

I think I have black box data which would evidenxe that the vehicle was not parked there dueing those dates too.

Nellymoser

They never like to make it easy. There's an email address for customer service on their website.
I'd say ensure they know your email is a formal complaint.
You may wish to wait for regular experts to best advise on what additional info is best to include
..breach of code
..back box evidence 
..final notice was first pcn received.

LDast

KISS for the complaint, for now. They have no idea who the driver is unless the keeper tells them. They cannot hold the keeper (the recipient of the NtK) liable and if they don't know the identity of the driver... Catch-22.

Not sure how it can be so difficult to submit a complaint:

How can customers make a complaint?

Customers can get in touch with NCP via one of the following methods:

• Via webchat (accessed via the chat button icon on the bottom right of the screen at www.ncp.co.uk)
• Via phone on 0345 050 7080
• Via the ‘contact us’ form at https://www.ncp.co.uk/help-centre/contact-us/

I think the third option on that list is the most relevant.

The other evidence would be perfect for any claim against them for breach of your GDPR as that will be evidence that they cannot have performed the required manual quality control checks on their ANPR images and therefore must have obtained your data from the DVLA unlawfully.

mosalahliverpoolfc

Hello

Just to let you know that I have received 4 of these PCNs from NCP in the past 11 months for very similar scenarios as to the one mentioned in the first post i.e. the vehicle is being used for drop-off / pick-up but photographic evidence only shows 1 entry / exit.

In my cases these are usually 11 or 12 hours apart as they are when my wife drops me at the station in the morning and picks me up later that day. As the photographic evidence for the morning exit and evening entry (again in my case) appears to be missing, NCP systems assume I am therefore parked there all day - without paying!

I have alerted Greater Anglia to this issue and had a conversation with NCP this morning about this, as I am sure I am not the only person this is happening to.

On all occasions I have had the PCNs overturned but nevertheless, this is still annoying and really shouldn't continue to be happening.

Just posting this issue to raise awareness as I'd hate to think some people are paying these PCNs when they shouldn't as it's an NCP issue to resolve.

Nellymoser

Well done you but as you say its a pain to do and really shouldn't be happening. Your post will be helpful to others. Maybe @mosalahliverpoolfc you could copy your post to the thread 

Successful complaints about private parking tickets - how to get them cancelled!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4766249

If poss give contact details you used for Greater Anglia and NCP.