G24 Ltd PPC

catman500

I received a PPC last year (May 23) as the registered keeper of a vehicle in my possession for allegedly over staying the free time period allowed in a B&M car park, Frome, Somerset. 

I then familiarised myself with the Newbie FAQs and I consider myself to be fairly confident in my understanding of what to do, however I wanted to start my own thread as a preparation for what may come. 

Subsequently having read last year the Newbie section and a number of related posts, I submitted my appeal to G24 using the standard online template making sure I did not disclose driver details or admit to being the driver, to which I received a generic reply and refusal which stated that I must either name the driver or pay the invoice/charge or potentially face legal action against me. 

At this point I was confident to ignore the alleged charge so I actually binned the original notice to keeper letter and did not bother with the IAS appeal as per Newbie advice.

Fast forward just over a year and I have moved house (Jul 24), making sure I emailed G24 with my new address and requested that the previous address is deleted from its system and all future correspondence must be sent to the new address.

I also stated that as the registered keeper of the relevant vehicle, I continue to deny any liability for the alleged private parking charge. I have filed the email and stated that it may be used as evidence of my updated address change. 

I have now received the first issue of the debt collector letter dated 26 Sept 24 from dcbl, which I know to be the case, as it states 14 days to pay £160 Unpaid Parking Charge. 

So basically, I wanted to confirm with those who offer their opinions on this forum regarding such matters, that I am okay to continue ignoring this attempt to extort money from me until such time that dcbl recommends to its client (G24) to pursue legal action.

At which point DCB Legal will take over and send a Letter Before Claim. At this point, I can be ready to engage defence mode and follow Newbie protocol. 

Would it be prudent to submit a Subject Access Request to G24 Ltd at this stage requesting all personal data it holds on me with reference to said PPC?

Please let me know how well I have understood the process and perhaps offer a very mild dose of encouragement regarding a positive outcome. 

Thanks in advance. 

Gr1pr

Your decision making and understanding is correct, but do not submit the SAR to the DPO at G24 , not until after the CNBC transfer your case to your local civil court, after the N180 stage happens

The reason being that the claim form may contain woeful POC details which could improve your chances 

catman500

Thank you for your prompt reply. Noted, so I shall sit and wait and update the thread with any relevant development. 

Fruitcake

Did you ask for your personal data to be deleted, or erased? The latter has a specific meaning where data processing is concerned.

If you did not use the word, erase, it means your old data (old address) is still lurking somewhere on G24's system which they could sneakily use to your detriment. You should therefore instruct their DPO to erase your old data and replace it with your current address for service, and to instruct all their agents to do the same.

Meanwhile, did you complain to the store manager/CEO/landowner and your MP? That is always Plan A.

Other than that, your understanding of the advice given on this forum, and your subsequent actions have been spot on. It helps the regulars here greatly when posters do their research first, and in such a thorough manner as you have done.

catman500

Thank you Fruitcake. In terms of submitting a specific ‘erase’ data request, no I didn’t do that yet. I shall do that, following your advice. 

Not long after getting the initial NTK letter, I did email B&M and asked for land owner details. I received a basic and generic reply from a customer service agent advising me to appeal via G24. I gave up with that route.

I then attended the store and complained to the store manager who seemed helpful at the time but that ended up going nowhere, although in fairness I didn’t pursue it to the degree I could have, which now makes me think it’s time to make more of a detailed complaint and escalate it to the area manager. Like you say, a simple communication to the land agent/owner can put all this fuss to bed. 

I didn’t inform the local MP either so this is something else I will now do because the MP office needs evidence to argue the ground. I am aware of others on the forum who have experienced the same or similar issue to me in the same area.

I appreciate the feedback regarding my thread and I did make a point of being thorough and careful to make sure I don’t hinder the process on the forum as I can clearly see there are some very helpful and determined people working behind the scenes to put an end to these private parking charlatans. 

I will now send a proper ‘erase data request’ via email to G24, bolster up my land owner complaint tactics and write to the local MP. 

If I feel that there is anything useful to note as a result, I will post a reply on my thread, in the hope it can help and inform others in similar situations. 

Gr1pr

B & M will be tenants, whereas you need to find out the managing agent or landowner, and complain 

catman500

yes, this is it. I can use the land registry for this purpose and I believe there is a small charge to locate the land owner. Do you have a preferred method to find out such information? Or do you also use land registry to obtain the details of land owner?

Gr1pr

Read this common advice 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6337652/how-to-find-details-of-landowner

But ideally its the managing agent for the retail park you need, like Savills, JLL etc

Coupon-mad

Usually it's right there at the entrance or a cinch to Google and find retail pages re who runs it.

catman500

I found some information on B&M website which details retained agents for the company are: Burns Property Consultants. Address and telephone number listed. I’ll ring them to find out which entity owns the land. I’ll also walk down to the relevant location to check signage before I reluctantly decide to spend £3 to obtain definitive detail from Land Registry to save the run around. 

I find it really brilliant that there are so many keen minds on here helping to combat this mal-practice. Great work and thank you so far!

catman500

Email sent to local MP raising the issue, not so much of a complaint, more a case of stating the fact that private parking companies continue to use bullying tactics to extort money from law abiding citizens in the local area and that those affected feel it is necessary to raise this issue with the local MP so that evidence can be collected. 

Obviously I am refraining from raising any political discussion here on the forum, but having thought about it a bit more, I do believe it is an important step to take as the more people who make a fuss and report their case to the local MP, in theory, the more notice he/she may take.