Help with railway Apcoa Fine ZZPS now involved

Umkomaas

Read the small print (bottom right) .... 'a trading style of ZZPS'. Nowt to fear there then!

Coupon-mad

LillacIris said:

It's a Parking Charge Notice, within the letters it says Penelty Notice though. I guess they are using a different term within the letters to sound more formal? Parking event happened in December. Appeal got rejected January.

Clarification please:

What is the heading in the December notice?

Totally ignore ZZPS aka GCTT!

LDast

ZZPS and GCTT are one and the same. They hope that you are low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree and will pay up out of ignorance and fear.

You have already been told that the Penalty Notice is fake. The only way that a real Penalty Notice for a breach of statutory law can be enforced, is though the magistrates court. 

Threatening to "transfer to a solicitor" is not a valid prosecutor laying information before a magistrate and obtaining a summons. Any solicitor who tried to threaten a civil claim for an alleged Penalty Notice risks serious sanctions from the SRA.

Stop panicking about this fake Penalty Notice. Ignore everything and it will go away.

LillacIris

Coupon-mad said:

LillacIris said:

It's a Parking Charge Notice, within the letters it says Penelty Notice though. I guess they are using a different term within the letters to sound more formal? Parking event happened in December. Appeal got rejected January.

Clarification please:

What is the heading in the December notice?

Totally ignore ZZPS aka GCTT!

This is the first letter:

ChirpyChicken

It will nearly time out 

Coupon-mad

Yep - six months is nearly up.  Relax!

Nellymoser

Have you seen/signed petitions asking for Govt action to protect motorists from PP operators unfair practices.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6595460/parking-petitions-x-4-on-uk-parliament-petitions-website

LDast

It will only "time out" because they know they can't pretend that their fake Penalty Notice can be prosecuted beyond 6 months. They can't issue a claim for their fake Penalty Notice because they know that either they or the firm of solicitors they engage to apply for them, would not be so stupid as to actually issue a county court claim for a fake Penalty Notice and if they tried to claim that it was a civil contract, they'd be in serious legal trouble for the language they have used in the fake Penalty Notice (an "offered contract").

Point all this out to your MP. Nothing is going to happen to you with this fake PN. At least get your MP asking the questions about how they are allowed to get away with this extortion which is nothing less than fraud by false representation.

Here is a draft question your MP could raise in the House of Commons or submit in writing:

"To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to prevent private parking operators from misrepresenting civil Parking Charge Notices as statutory 'Penalty Notices' when enforcing railway byelaws; and whether he will review the Department’s communications to ensure that the term 'penalty' is not used in a way that conflates civil enforcement under Byelaw 14(4)(i) with criminal prosecution powers reserved under Byelaw 24(1), for which private operators have no statutory authority."

If you require a briefing document for your MP, I can provide that, together with the evidence to back up the allegation.

LillacIris

LDast said:

It will only "time out" because they know they can't pretend that their fake Penalty Notice can be prosecuted beyond 6 months. They can't issue a claim for their fake Penalty Notice because they know that either they or the firm of solicitors they engage to apply for them, would not be so stupid as to actually issue a county court claim for a fake Penalty Notice and if they tried to claim that it was a civil contract, they'd be in serious legal trouble for the language they have used in the fake Penalty Notice (an "offered contract").

Point all this out to your MP. Nothing is going to happen to you with this fake PN. At least get your MP asking the questions about how they are allowed to get away with this extortion which is nothing less than fraud by false representation.

Here is a draft question your MP could raise in the House of Commons or submit in writing:

"To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps his Department is taking to prevent private parking operators from misrepresenting civil Parking Charge Notices as statutory 'Penalty Notices' when enforcing railway byelaws; and whether he will review the Department’s communications to ensure that the term 'penalty' is not used in a way that conflates civil enforcement under Byelaw 14(4)(i) with criminal prosecution powers reserved under Byelaw 24(1), for which private operators have no statutory authority."

If you require a briefing document for your MP, I can provide that, together with the evidence to back up the allegation.

I would be interested in emailing my MP regarding this issue that many are experiencing. Should I just email the draft question, or should I include my experience as well? Sorry—I'm new to this and I've never emailed an MP before.

Coupon-mad

Coupon-mad said:

Yep - six months is nearly up.  Relax!

Just a reminder to relax. Nothing will happen.

I think what LDast is concentrating in with these Penalty Notices is far too niche for an MP. By all means write to your MP to lend support to (or lean on) the MHCLG introducing a properly impartial Single Appeals service and statutory Code of Practice to regulate this rogue industry.