Belfast City Airport - Charge Notice

jim._2

I received the following as RK of the vehicle. I was not the driver and nor was I present. There are a number of people who have permission and insurance to drive my car. Basically, it's being alleged that the vehicle stopped where stopping is prohibited. As I'm in Northern Ireland I will follow the ignore advice, all the more so given I was not the driver.

Anyhow, I thought I would upload this for a couple of reasons.

1. I believe this is very new at the airport.

2. I've never heard of Vehicle Control Services Ltd. There's no big logo on the letter and it's a struggle to see it.

3. I'm "invited" to name the driver. Well I wasn't there and haven't been invited to carry out an investigation.

4. If I don't give them the driver's name and address, they "may pursue me on the assumption I was the driver.

I suspect a lot of people have been receiving these.

Nellymoser

It's in the news

https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/belfast-city-airport-slammed-for-fines-issued-to-drivers-picking-up-passengers-outside-drop-off-zone/a1278983445.html

Gr1pr

Probably VCS of Sheffield origin , part of the SRS group 

Plenty of UK airports use VCS,  so a typical charge  ( invoice   )

Bylaws apply at UK airports, plus no keeper liability in N I anyway,  a double whammy for VCS 

Ignore them, no naming the driver,  no response required 

Coupon-mad

Wow thanks for posting.

I didn't know that Simon Renshaw-Smith's Vehicle Control Services had slithered across the water to infest Belfast Airport with the same 'outrageous scam' (English MP's phrase) nasty covert cameras / aggressive ticketing operation shockingly seen in England at several Airports.

Sigh...wonder how many victims will be duped into paying?  They can IGNORE!

What the Hell was this Airport thinking?

ChirpyChicken

You should drop a detailed email to the paper and get an article on it

Johnersh

Those signs weren't up before Christmas. If this is new, there ought to be additional signage warnings. I think that is in the code of practice if memory serves...

kryten3000

Johnersh said:

Those signs weren't up before Christmas. If this is new, there ought to be additional signage warnings. I think that is in the code of practice if memory serves...

Yes, section 3.4 of the new Single Code covers this:

"Where there is any material change to any pre-existing terms and conditions that would not be immediately apparent to a driver entering controlled land that is or has been open for public parking, the parking operator must place additional (temporary) notices at the site entrance for a period of not less than 4 months from the date of the change making it clear that new terms and conditions/charges apply, such that regular visitors who might be familiar with the old terms do not inadvertently incur parking charges."

scoobydoo444

jim._2 said:

I received the following as RK of the vehicle. I was not the driver and nor was I present. There are a number of people who have permission and insurance to drive my car. Basically, it's being alleged that the vehicle stopped where stopping is prohibited. As I'm in Northern Ireland I will follow the ignore advice, all the more so given I was not the driver.

Anyhow, I thought I would upload this for a couple of reasons.

1. I believe this is very new at the airport.

2. I've never heard of Vehicle Control Services Ltd. There's no big logo on the letter and it's a struggle to see it.

3. I'm "invited" to name the driver. Well I wasn't there and haven't been invited to carry out an investigation.

4. If I don't give them the driver's name and address, they "may pursue me on the assumption I was the driver.

I suspect a lot of people have been  no idea if these new charges until a letter arrived and other day demanding payment by the end of this week. 

Found myself in the same situation with these outrageous new charges.

Can I double check if it’s safe to advise to ignore these letters? 

I really don’t want this going to a debt collector as we are looking to remortgage in the next month or two 😱! Any advice appreciated!! 

kryten3000

Yes it is currently safe to ignore in Northern Ireland.  Debt collectors operating in this sector cannot impact your credit score, only a County Court Judgment (England and Wales) or the equivalent in NI or Scotland would have any effect and since theres practically zero chance of that happening then you can relax.

Coupon-mad

Ignore debt demands. Nothing happens in NI.

LDast

They are in breach of the PPSCoP which means that they are also in breach of the KADOE contract. Every one of these PCNs should be followed by a formal complaint to VCS requiring them to explain their breach of the PPSCoP which they are required to respond to.

It will p!ss them off no end having to respond to every formal complaint (they have to in order to be in compliance with the PPSCoP and therefore KADOE).

Also a complaint to the DVLA about their unlawful use of DVAL data because they are not complying with the PPSCoP. If the DVLA get enough of these they are bound to investigate which will worry VCS. More reason to p!ss them off.