Letter before claim - Parking operator failed to acknowledge my appeal - why are they still chasing

sickofthiscrap90

I cant believe this is still going on! 
In august 2023 I got a ticket in a private car park. Appealed on 2nd september advising I wasnt going to name the driver and that they maintain they did pay. They never acknowledged it, which under IPC code means they accepted it. Passed my details to Gladstone Solicitors. I sent them evidence that I appealed and they didnt reply which means its accepted therefore not enforceable etc. 
Didnt hear anything for 18 months. They popped up 'suggesting I pay'. I refuted it again with my evidence. 
Operator finally acknowledges receipt of appeal on 1st July 2025, quoting it to me. so they deffo got it and chose to ignore. 

Actions I've taken: 
formal complaint to the operator
formal complaint to solicitor 
reported to Solicitors reg. authority. 
complained to IPC
reported data breaches to ICO

Im still waiting to hear back from all of the above, except the operator who replied to my complaint simply by quoting my original appeal, and rejecting it on the grounds that I didnt provide evidence of payment. 

!!!!!! is going on?!? what to I do to make this stop - THEY CANT ENFORCE IT UNDER THE IPC CODE so why are they still doing it anyway!?! Am I losing my mind here?!?!

sickofthiscrap90

context - parking was 21st august. PCN received 29th August. appealled 2nd september

Gr1pr

And the name of the IPC AOS member parking operator is  ?

sickofthiscrap90

brewerygate ltd Liverpool - think it might be their only car park 

Gr1pr

Been a few Brewerygate cases on here,  might have some interesting information 

sickofthiscrap90

Gr1pr said:

Been a few Brewerygate cases on here,  might have some interesting information 

only 2 - one of them is mine. I also cant find any posts where the operator has failed to respond to a valid appeal and still tried to pursue the fine. I feel like Im going insane because it is obviously invalid but theyre just playing dumb and so is the solicitor. Ive given evidence, theyre just ignoring it all like fingers in the ears style. What do I do here?

Gr1pr

Wait for a Letter of Claim,  or Court Claim 

The time to really fightback hasn't arrived yet,  but its good that your complaints are already in

Gr1pr

You may have started 1 or 2 different threads recently about them, so u suggest that you report one fir merging with the other thread,  one topic,  one thread 

There are at least 3 other cases on here in the past few years 

sickofthiscrap90

Gr1pr said:

Wait for a Letter of Claim,  or Court Claim 

The time to really fightback hasn't arrived yet,  but its good that your complaints are already in

got the letter before claim now. Ive sent a formal dispute but in the meantime I got a reply from IPC who sided with me, but unfortunately misunderstood my complaint. They took it as a complaint about the fact that the operator didnt respond to my formal complaint from 1st July, within 10 working days as per their policy. I only added that as an additional aside. Ive made a new one to clarify and given them all the evidence I have that the operator failed to respond to a valid appeal. I'm quite hopeful, given they sided with me on the first point, and I have solid, indisputable evidence of the operator breaching the IPC code, I dont see how they could side with the operator.  

sickofthiscrap90

Gr1pr said:

Wait for a Letter of Claim,  or Court Claim 

The time to really fightback hasn't arrived yet,  but its good that your complaints are already in

Here's my reply to the LBC: 

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

I am writing in response to your Letter Before Claim dated 17th July 2025 concerning PCN Ref XXXX.

 Your website has not provided me with an online PAP reply form (says N/A). Consider this my reply to dispute the claim.

 I am currently seeking independent debt advice and formally request that this matter be put on hold for an additional 30 days, in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims 2017 (‘the PAP’).

 I note that the amount claimed has increased significantly, an issue the Government has previously described as “extorting money from motorists.” In the interest of efficiency, I kindly request you do not send any response addressing that comment.

 Under the PAP, I am entitled to specific answers to the following enquiries:

 

1.        Regarding the £70 debt recovery fee, your letter states this is a pre-determined and nominal charge pursuant to the ATA’s Code of Practice and the Terms and Conditions entered into upon entering the Relevant Land. Please provide proof of the specific Terms and Conditions or signage where the driver agreed to this charge.

 

2.        Please justify the reasonableness and proportionality of fines, given that the original parking charge was only £5.

 

3.        Please explain why your firm has chosen to ignore the substantial evidence I have provided, proving a valid appeal was promptly submitted and received by your client within 3 days of receiving the PCN.

 

I am now gathering evidence as to your justification for these amounts, and your choice to ignore evidence, since you insist on pursuing me, despite having no legal grounds to do so, as I have demonstrated twice now.

 

To reiterate, the basis for my dispute is that I never owed any debt to your client for the following reasons:

 

Under the IPC Code of Practice, your client was required to respond to my appeal within 28 days. No response was received, which under the Code constitutes acceptance of my appeal and cancellation of the charge. Therefore, this fine should have been cancelled and I owe no debt to your client or you. I have reported this matter to the IPC.

 

The IPC Code does not specify how an appeal must be submitted. Refusing to consider a postal appeal is inconsistent with the Code and with fair treatment.

 

On 1st July 2025, your client finally acknowledged receipt of my original appeal dated 2nd September 2023, confirming the appeal’s validity and their wilful disregard of it.

 

Your client had no lawful basis to pursue this charge after 1st October 2023 and no right to pass my personal data to your firm. Continuing enforcement without responding to the appeal evidence may constitute misuse of personal data and breach of UK GDPR. I am seeking advice from the Information Commissioner’s Office on this matter.

 

Your client is aware this claim is without merit due to their failure to respond to a valid appeal within the required 28 days. Accordingly, the charge should be cancelled immediately in accordance with the IPC Code of Practice.

 

If this is not the case, it calls into question your client’s competence and your firm’s choice of representation.

 

On 24th February 2025, your firm sent a letter suggesting I “may wish to pay £170” without addressing my appeal or the IPC-mandated cancellation, failing to comply with the requirements of a formal Letter Before Claim and appearing as an inappropriate attempt to pressure me for payment.

In the interest of avoiding any lost communications, I will be submitting this letter via multiple forums.

 

Yours faithfully,

Coupon-mad

Ok. And while it's quiet before the storm of the Claim Form:

Please read this message and do the current Public Consultation:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81552148/#Comment_81552148

It's vital the Government hears from people with unfair charges who are facing horrific, scary court claims.

The link shows the two vital points to concentrate on, IMHO:

- banning DRA fee add-ons completely

- making sure a new SINGLE appeals service replaces POPLA and the IAS which are seen as not fully independent and involved in a 'race to the bottom'.

Click through to the main thread about the Consultation.

Do not be deterred by the fact that some questions are for the parking industry only. We are discussing how to respond on the main thread about it.

The two issues in bold above are the important ones in my view/experience.

Personally, mainly because it means the Code will come in quicker (no signs will have to be changed) I have no issue with PCs 'up to £100 cap' AS LONG AS DRA FEES ARE BANNED.

Please join us in doing this Consultation. This is your chance to make a difference re the proper regulation of private parking.