Is this unfair enforcement?

natty235

Hello all! 

I’ve been in an ongoing battle with a new parking company brought into my building after my tenancy started. I’ll try to sum up briefly, apologies if it is rather lengthy to read:

• I’d be emailing them to arrange a resident permit.
• They informed me via this email thread that my permit was approved and I could pay via an automated payment link email or their website. Visitor permit payments had previously failed on their website, and it is difficult to use, so I chose to await the payment link.
• I was not aware of any issue until receiving a parking charge notice, and I immediately emailed the company.
• Only then did they inform me of a (now missed) 7-day payment deadline which resulted in cancellation of the permit, and alleged that this deadline was communicated solely in the automated email with the payment link, which I never successfully received. 
• No prior letters, emails, signage or other communication from either company state this critical contractual term.
• They refused to cancel the PCN and instructed me to reapply for the permit, which I did immediately.
• However, because I was not notified of my resident permit being cancelled, six more PCNs were issued in this time when I was under the impression I had a valid permit.
• Their appeals form gave no option suitable for my case, so I was not able to successfully appeal the PCNs.

I called and emailed the parking company and my building management company repeatedly to resolve the issue, but received no reply (yet received countless threatening letters) from June until August, when I issued a formal complaint and raised a case with the BPA and Trading Standards. 

I have maintained my position of full dispute, even still they refuse to cancel the tickets and continue threatening bailiffs and legal action, and have most recently transferred my personal information to a debt collection agency.

I am prepared to go to court for this as I believe they have acted unfairly and their enforcement is procedurally defective. Do I have a leg to stand on?

Thank you so much for your time and advice!

natty235

Just to add to this: the most recent letter from the debt collection agency cites £1190 - which I believe is absolutely disproportionate and unfair considering the circumstances, as I have acted immediately and tried to comply at every stage.

DE_612183

What does your tenancy agreement say about parking?

natty235

DE_612183 said:

What does your tenancy agreement say about parking?

Hi DE_612183 and thanks for your reply,

Frustratingly, although there are two spots assigned to our flat by number - I cannot find any explicit writing in our tenancy agreement stating the two spots are ours.

However, it does say 

“The Landlord shall let and the Tenant shall take all the premises together with the fixtures furniture and effects now and upon the premesis hereby and agreed to be let and more particularly specified in the inventory and schedule of condition…”

Our landlord (leaseholder) has said in writing:

“When we purchased the flat, we bought the flat, two car parking spaces and access to the visitor parking.  Anyone renting the flat from us has rented the flat, two car parking spaces and access to the visitor parking areas…”

Maybe this is something?

Also, the landlord was also not made aware of the new parking controller, so I wonder if this is in breach of their leaseholder contract?

DE_612183

The contract between the management company and the parking company CANNOT over-ride your tenancy agreement, unless all the leases have been changed - which is unlikely.

I presume you are renting the property?

Can the landlord or one of the owners of the other flats show you a copy of the lease agreement?

Half_way

As above 

DE_612183 said:

The contract between the management company and the parking company CANNOT over-ride your tenancy agreement, unless all the leases have been changed - which is unlikely.

I presume you are renting the property?

Can the landlord or one of the owners of the other flats show you a copy of the lease agreement?

The above is critically important.

 If your space is part of the property/land that you rent  then  under no circumstances pay anything, not even a penny for a permit

natty235

DE_612183 said:

The contract between the management company and the parking company CANNOT over-ride your tenancy agreement, unless all the leases have been changed - which is unlikely.

I presume you are renting the property?

Can the landlord or one of the owners of the other flats show you a copy of the lease agreement?

Yes I am renting, I will try to see if I can get a copy from the landlord thank you!

Alongside this, I believe the way they’ve behaved doesn’t constitute fair and reasonable enforcement, so I’m hoping I have a solid defence with which to argue it in court should it go that far.

natty235

Half_way said:

As above 

DE_612183 said:

The contract between the management company and the parking company CANNOT over-ride your tenancy agreement, unless all the leases have been changed - which is unlikely.

I presume you are renting the property?

Can the landlord or one of the owners of the other flats show you a copy of the lease agreement?

The above is critically important.

 If your space is part of the property/land that you rent  then  under no circumstances pay anything, not even a penny for a permit

Thank you Half_way,

I don’t plan to pay anything unless I am ordered to by the courts. My letting agent has said the following:

“Parking arrangements is not something that is put in a tenacy agreement.  Parking arrangements are given to the tenants when you move in. In this instance parking arrangements changed due to CCPC becoming involved.

I could ask the landlord to look at their deeds as parking is normally in the owners deeds if you think this would help?”

I wonder if it is called out explicitly in the landlord’s deeds, then maybe what’s written in my tenancy agreement is enough to argue primacy of contract.

Gr1pr

By all means try to get the landlord and management company to sort it out , paperwork and authority are crucial here

Ignore the powerless debt collectors letters,  do not pay a penny to anyone,  ignore the made up figures, they are meaningless , only a judge in court can determine if any money is owed,  or not

How many PCN's are they chasing on behalf of CCPC ?   ( The private parking company  )

1505grandad

FYI  -  Even the latest unregulated ppssCoP (soon to be replaced by a proper regulated PPCoP by the Government) recognise/acknowledge this scam:-

https://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/NEW Redesigned Documents/sectorsingleCodeofPractice.pdf

"THE SINGLE CODE OF PRACTICE

14

Relationship with landowner 

NOTE 3: Particular care is needed to establish appropriate contractual terms, including the application of parking terms and conditions, in respect of controlled land where leaseholders may have rights that cannot be qualified or overruled e.g. by imposing a requirement on the resident of an apartment block to display a permit to park in contravention of their rights under their lease, or to ensure that free parking periods do not breach planning consents."

Coupon-mad

And read this:

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2016/11/residential-parking.html?m=1

The Managing Agents couldn't (lawfully) just bring in a parking firm which 'runs' all bays as a commercial opportunity to offer the bays to all comers at £100 a pop. To vary the leases to allow a moneymaking 'permit scheme' to be inflicted on everyone, the MA would have had to have carried out a vote of leasehold owners and they needed majority consent (over 75% agreeing and no more than 10% disagreeing) per the Landlord & Tenant Act.

If your landlord knew nothing about this, then the MA is letting an agent interfere with his lease. The landlord & other leaseholders should be joining forces and vehemently demanding the scheme is removed as it interferes with their existing rights and easements.

As for you:

Is this unfair enforcement?

Yes, you'd almost certainly win in court. Here's a poster FUDbyDesign who is currently fighting CCPC in court:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6507962/ccpc-dcb-legal-claim-residential-ws-stage-2025/p1

Please show us:

- photos of the signs

- the letter asking for £1190, including the page two breakdown of PCNs

- a photo of both sides of one of the original first PCNs received by post ... not reminders and not any other daft debt demands please - ignore them!

Redact your data, VRM, PCN refs, other refs, QR Codes and the exact location but leave ALL DATES showing.