Fines for parking in residential spaces with outdated signage

Sinco301

Hi all,

Apologies in advance for the long post!

At the end of January I received two windscreen PCNs from The Parking Space Ltd. (IPC/IAS members) for parking in a marked bay outside my residential flat building. Both PCNs were issued within 19 hours of one another. These bays had been used by residents in the building for years and it was known that the previous private parking company did not, and had never, enforced restrictions.

The PCNs were issued shortly after The Parking Space Ltd. had taken on the contract for the building. It is a very large flat complex with two car parks (which my vehicle was not parked in) and some separate parking bays on the street running up to the building (where my vehicle was parked). I believe there are a few issues which mean the parking tickets are invalid but I would appreciate forumite views:

1. The signage displayed at the time my vehicle was parked was from the previous parking company. It was a few weeks after my tickets were issued that the signage was updated with the new company's branding and terms. I believe this amounts to a "material change" as per the IPC's own code of practice. I have a photograph of the old sign with metadata showing it was taken after the PCNs were issued.
2. The PCN states that I should have displayed a valid pay and display ticket. The only ticket machine anywhere near these bays was located in one of the aforementioned car parks which is accessed from the opposite end of the building on a completely different road. There is no vehicle access between road on which the bays I was parked were and this car park, nor was there any signage indicating any link (indeed as per the point above the signs didn't even display the same parking company).
3. I'm uncertain as to whether there's any practice guidance on the frequency of PCNs, but I feel that two being issued within such a short window (18:58 one evening and 13:57 the next afternoon) is quite unreasonable!

I have followed the advice on this forum in complaining to the building owner and the parking company. The parking company took my complaint as an appeal and rejected it, without responding to either of the points above. I understand that appealing through the IAS is likely a waste of time and requires confirmation that I was the driver at the time - which I understand from the forum is not advised!

Welcome any views on the above - what should I do next?

Thank you!

Half_way

What does your lease/rental say about parking?

does your flat come with a parking space?

is parking on a first come first get basis?

How long has the area been used for parking previously?

Sinco301

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81949716#Comment_81949716

My flat does not come with a parking space and I typically park on a nearby street. Residents can pay a yearly fee to park in the nearby unconnected car park but spaces are not allocated. As the previous company did not enforce, residents used these parking bays for short stays for the 3 years that the building had been occupied up until the new company started issuing fines.

Coupon-mad

Appealing through the IAS could work if you took photo evidence of the old signs being up?

Car1980

Yes, even worth the IAS if there were no signs. But if it got that far, I would make that your sole appeal point as everything else just falls by the wayside if there is no contract.

But even the parking company should allow an appeal. I would go in hard though - ticketing people with no signs is just fraud. Even the clown issuing them must have fully known.

"You issued two charge Parking Charge Notices to my vehicle yet you have failed to install any signage. No contract can obviously exist between the driver or keeper and your company, and no money is obviously owed. I assume this is an oversight as your contract is new and your signs have not yet arrived and so you will cancel the two tickets. Otherwise I will have to make a complaint to xxx police that your company is ticketing people without signage, which would be an offence under the 2006 Fraud Act."

Go in nice and they'll just fob you off with a templated lie.

Sinco301

Thanks all - I have appealed through the IAS and will see what comes of it. On my previous appeal to them directly The Parking Space Ltd. sent me a digital copy of a sign, as if that demonstrates that it was in place at the time of the PCN! Thank god I had the foresight to take a photo of the TPS sign-free "scene" when I discovered the windscreen ticket

James_Poisson

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81951166#Comment_81951166

PPC's always send digital master copies of signage where they have no evidence that it exists on site or where it is old, damaged or illegible, this needs pointing out otherwise at the sham appeal it will be accepted.

Coupon-mad

The IAS will accept anything from IPC members, as we all know from experience!