Multiple PCNs following change in system

Shablonsky66

Hi all, 

I only discovered this really helpful forum yesterday. 

I park in a multi-story car park daily as I live in a flat and we're not provided on-site parking. I started parking there last year and until recently, have just paid for a monthly ticket that you scan at the gates to gain entry and to exit. 

I recently returned home from holiday to notice that I could just drive straight in and an ANPR system had been put in place (with no notice to existing customers). A month later, and I receive a PCN in the post for £100 (£60 if payed within X time) from Bay Sentry Solutions. I was totally confused, until I realised I had made the stupid error of not updating the number plate on my monthly ticket when I got a new car earlier in the year. I can provide proof that I have only parked my new car in the car park from that date. 

Since then, I have had PCN's trickle through and I am likely looking at 30 days worth of PCN's since they took a month to notify me. I've searched and I can't find an example of someone else experiencing this, but apologies if this has already been covered in the forum. I suppose I'm looking for advice of what is best to do. Before I discovered this forum, I appealed with Bay Sentry Solutions and made the argument that they had not notified me of this change and that they couldn't demonstrate loss of income as I had paid to park there (and have done for over a year). I am however unsure of what to do with the other PCN's (about 6 now and likely more to come) - should I copy and paste the appeal for all of them or should I wait for a response to the appeal? 

I ultimately understand I was in error for not updating my number plate, but I am really not in a place to afford £3000 worth of fines, and whilst I am unaware that these companies are unethical and abusive it feels grossly unfair for them to charge this to a loyal customer for a simple error. 

Any advice whatsoever greatly appreciated. 

Gr1pr

They are invoices, not fines 

Appeal every PCN separately, to Bay Sentry, with an agreed strategy for the wording 

Presumably there is a landowner or managing agent who contracted with Bay Sentry , so presumably you saw plan A, complain ?

There should have been extra signage regarding any changes 

Bay sentry may come back with the keying error offer in the CoP

Coupon-mad

Appeal each one (online, one by one) telling them it was a 'major keying error' and telling them that this was a one-time error (not 30) and to cancel the subsequent PCNs and settle for £20 as per the BPA CoP.  State both number-plates and use the phrase in bold.

Best not to say who was driving so just say 'the driver' or 'we'. 

Shablonsky66

Hi all, I was able to settle the ones that came through for the £20 admin fee (apart from one appeal that was rejected and just paid the £60 to get it out of the way). 

I've run into another issue however. I have an NHS lease car and have been getting the PCN notifications through emails from them as the fines are sent to their company address not my own. As per their policy, they say to wait at least two weeks to appeal until they have forwarded the letter to myself (no letters have arrived since the first appeal). The problem is, there is clearly a delay on the PCNs being picked up, and for the last four PCNs they have sent me by the time I have went to appeal the time period has expired. I think there is also about 15+ PCNs from October they haven't sent me. 

I've tried to get in contact with fleet solutions but I'm having no luck. It's incredibly frustrating as whilst it put me out of pocket I was more than happy to pay 30 x £20 admin fees to get it out of my hair. Is it worth emailing BaySentry to explain the situation and offer to pay all PCNs as admin fees? Just looking to get this over a soon as possible tbh 

LDast

Shablonsky66 said:

 I was more than happy to pay 30 x £20 admin fees to get it out of my hair.

Seriously? You paid £600 when you were advised to pay a single £20 fee to cover all the identical PCNs. I don't know how you managed to misinterpret this:

Coupon-mad said:

Appeal each one (online, one by one) telling them it was a 'major keying error' and telling them that this was a one-time error (not 30) and to cancel the subsequent PCNs and settle for £20 as per the BPA CoP.  State both number-plates and use the phrase in bold.

Best not to say who was driving so just say 'the driver' or 'we'. 

Shablonsky66

I don't think there was any need for the condescending comment when it is actually you that misinterpeted my post. I said I was happy to - not that I did. I haven't received 80% of the PCNs so it wouldn't be possible for me to pay them. 

Coupon-mad

My advice was to appeal offering only one lot of £20, not several. This was a one-time keying error not several errors.

You need to get angry about this, not angry at us. They are ripping you off.

Send a complaint online to BaySentry and point out that you are not too late to appeal and they already know that this was a single 'major keying error' and that you were the driver in every instance of parking. As such you are not too late to appeal the outstanding PCNs and have already paid a ludicrous penalty totalling £xxx (? hundreds of pounds).

Continue with this:

It must end here or BaySentry can sue if they think they have a case for even more money.

This is a formal complaint that BaySentry have never sent a Notice to driver/hirer for the supposedly outstanding PCNs and cannot say that it is"too late to appeal" to a driver who hasn't even had all the notices flowing from this keying error yet.

Then state that:

 you will involve your MP if BaySentry refuse the cancel the remaining PCNs or try to revert to the lease firm to rinse more money for no justification, despite knowing the name and address of the driver in every case.

End with this:

Take formal note: I WAS THE DRIVER IN EVERY CASE FOR THE PCNs ARISING AT THIS LOCATION. Do not write to the registered keeper again, which would be unlawful. Put up or shut up. The Supreme Court case of ParkingEye v Beavis established that a parking charge must have a legitimate interest and must not merely punish a driver. There's no 'legitimate interest' in multiple keying error charges for one mistake so the remaining PCNs have no cause of action and must all be cancelled.

Shablonsky66

Coupon-mad said:

My advice was to appeal offering only one lot of £20, not several. This was a one-time keying error not several errors.

You need to get angry about this, not angry at us. They are ripping you off.

Send a complaint online to BaySentry and point out that you are not too late to appeal and they already know that this was a single 'major keying error' and that you were the driver in every instance of parking. As such you are not too late to appeal the outstanding PCNs and have already paid a ludicrous penalty totalling £xxx (? hundreds of pounds).

Continue with this:

It must end here or BaySentry can sue if they think they have a case for even more money.

This is a formal complaint that BaySentry have never sent a Notice to driver/hirer for the supposedly outstanding PCNs and cannot say that it is"too late to appeal" to a driver who hasn't even had all the notices flowing from this keying error yet.

Then state that:

 you will involve your MP if BaySentry refuse the cancel the remaining PCNs or try to revert to the lease firm to rinse more money for no justification, despite knowing the name and address of the driver in every case.

End with this:

Take formal note: I WAS THE DRIVER IN EVERY CASE FOR THE PCNs ARISING AT THIS LOCATION. Do not write to the registered keeper again, which would be unlawful. Put up or shut up. The Supreme Court case of ParkingEye v Beavis established that a parking charge must have a legitimate interest and must not merely punish a driver. There's no 'legitimate interest' in multiple keying error charges for one mistake so the remaining PCNs have no cause of action and must all be cancelled.

Thank you for your help. I did recognise that was your advice but I've had a ridiculous amount of life stressors in the past few months and thought that it would get this out of the way quickly. I've now recognised this is how these people make their money and I am willing to fight for this more now. 

I've written this draft complaint. Would you be able to give me some feedback? Greatly appreciated.

Dear BaySentry Parking,

 

I am writing to formally complain about the handling of multiple PCNs issued for my vehicle, registration number XXX, at CitiPark Leeds Dock.   As a loyal customer who has consistently paid for a monthly parking pass for over a year, I am deeply distressed by the unfair and punitive actions taken against me. The situation has caused significant frustration and undue stress, as the penalties issued stem from a single, unintentional administrative error rather than any deliberate wrongdoing.

 

In September 2024, you introduced an ANPR system without notifying regular customers. As a long-standing monthly ticket holder, I maintained my subscription but inadvertently failed to update my vehicle registration for my new car meaning that the system believed I did not have a valid ticket.  This was a one-time administrative error rather than repeated infractions.

 

I did not receive the first notice until 28th October due to delays caused by the car being registered through NHS Fleet Solutions. This meant the PCNs accumulated before I had any opportunity to address the issue. I have since followed the NHS Fleet Solutions procedure, but the ongoing demands are unreasonable and punitive for what is clearly a one-time keying error.

 

I have already paid £120 in penalties, which I believe is excessive given the circumstances. This must end here. BaySentry has not issued a Notice to Driver or Hirer for the outstanding PCNs, and it is incorrect to claim that it is "too late to appeal." You are fully aware this situation stems from a single error, and I was the driver in every instance of parking. As such, I formally request the cancellation of all remaining PCNs.

 

Please be advised that if this matter is not resolved, I will escalate my complaint by involving my MP, Hilary Benn. Additionally, I reserve the right to pursue this matter through legal channels should BaySentry persist with these unjustified demands or fail to provide a satisfactory resolution. Furthermore, continuing to contact the registered keeper rather than myself would constitute unlawful harassment, as you are now aware I was the driver in all cases.

 

Take formal note of the following:

1. I WAS THE DRIVER IN EVERY CASE FOR THE PCNs ARISING AT THIS LOCATION.
2. The Supreme Court case ParkingEye v Beavis established that parking charges must serve a legitimate interest and not merely punish a driver. There is no legitimate interest in issuing multiple charges for a single keying error.

 

I demand the immediate cancellation of all remaining PCNs and a written confirmation of this action.

 

Yours sincerely,

 
XXX

Coupon-mad

Perfect. They need to cancel all remaining PCNs. Your MP is a good name to drop.

Shablonsky66

Coupon-mad said:

Perfect. They need to cancel all remaining PCNs. Your MP is a good name to drop.

Lovely, thanks so much for your help. I'll get that submitted tonight. 

I'm trying to find a similar case on here but having no luck. Do you think I'm in with a good chance of winning if it went to court? My partner (the other driver) is a civil solicitor so I'm thinking with that and the expertise on here I should be in with a good shot but don't want to be overly optimistic. 

Shablonsky66

Just looking to submit the above now and there's the option to email or submit message online. Which is better?