Indigo Railway PCN - clarifying the process

stationcarparkticket2018 · 2 March 2018 at 2:54PM

Ok, really truly I have read the Newbie thread and lots of recent threads on Indigo Railway tickets and the Railway Byelaw. I'm just trying to get the process and expectations clear in my head and for anyone else questioning an Indigo Railway PCN as of Feb 2018.

I got a window ticket from Indigo for 'Obstruction' in a railway car park earlier this week. My car was parked at the end of a row of cars but not in a dedicated parking bay. You could have got a bus in between my car and any others. I wasn't blocking any entrance/exit/cars in/walkways etc but whatever, it's their opinion vs mine and no doubt anyone not in a parking bay is fair game to them. For info, I haven't responded at all yet and I am not the registered keeper (that's my husband).

So I gather:

First off, I should ignore the PCN and wait for the NtK.
In the Newbie thread it says Indigo aren't getting details from DVLA any more, but then in another couple of threads it says they are...

So assuming they do get registered keeper's details from DVLA and send a NtK, then I respond (in the keeper's name) with the standard BPA appeal template and refuse to name the driver.

My appeal will no doubt be refused at which point Indigo won't issue me a POPLA code as BPA says they're no longer letting them use this process because of the Railway Byelaws issue.

If I don't reply/pay up the next step will be getting letters from ZZPS which I can ignore or reply to, to string it out. Next stage will be getting letters from QDR Solicitors threatening to take me to court. Again I can reply/ignore to string it out and wait for the flood of threatening letters but once 6 months has passed from when the ticket is issued there can be no further action in Magistrates.

And theoretically they could never take me to Magistrates anyway if they don't know who the driver was? Only the TOC can do that, and they have no incentive as any fines collected go to the Govt.

Is that all correct? I'm not really interested in arguing technical points with them or complaining to my MP, Trading Standards or the ICO. I just want minimal involvement but will respond to letters keep things stringing along if needed.

Finally, thank you all very much, you're doing a great job in providing all this info so regularly and in your own time - well done, it's absolutely invaluable. :beer:

twhitehousescat · 2 March 2018 at 2:57PM

well done , you have sussed the indigo fiasco

waamo · 2 March 2018 at 3:04PM

stationcarparkticket2018 wrote: »

Ok, really truly I have read the Newbie thread and lots of recent threads on Indigo Railway tickets and the Railway Byelaw. I'm just trying to get the process and expectations clear in my head and for anyone else questioning an Indigo Railway PCN as of Feb 2018.

I got a window ticket from Indigo for 'Obstruction' in a railway car park earlier this week. My car was parked at the end of a row of cars but not in a dedicated parking bay. You could have got a bus in between my car and any others. I wasn't blocking any entrance/exit/cars in/walkways etc but whatever, it's their opinion vs mine and no doubt anyone not in a parking bay is fair game to them. For info, I haven't responded at all yet and I am not the registered keeper (that's my husband).

So I gather:

First off, I should ignore the PCN and wait for the NtK.
In the Newbie thread it says Indigo aren't getting details from DVLA any more, but then in another couple of threads it says they are...

So assuming they do get registered keeper's details from DVLA and send a NtK, then I respond (in the keeper's name) with the standard BPA appeal template and refuse to name the driver.

My appeal will no doubt be refused at which point Indigo won't issue me a POPLA code as BPA says they're no longer letting them use this process because of the Railway Byelaws issue.

If I don't reply/pay up the next step will be getting letters from ZZPS which I can ignore or reply to, to string it out. Next stage will be getting letters from QDR Solicitors threatening to take me to court. Again I can reply/ignore to string it out and wait for the flood of threatening letters but once 6 months has passed from when the ticket is issued there can be no further action in Magistrates.

And theoretically they could never take me to Magistrates anyway if they don't know who the driver was? Only the TOC can do that, and they have no incentive as any fines collected go to the Govt.

Is that all correct? I'm not really interested in arguing technical points with them or complaining to my MP, Trading Standards or the ICO. I just want minimal involvement but will respond to letters keep things stringing along if needed.

Finally, thank you all very much, you're doing a great job in providing all this info so regularly and in your own time - well done, it's absolutely invaluable. :beer:

Can I nominate this as the best ever first post by a Newbie?

Umkomaas · 2 March 2018 at 5:16PM

Can I nominate this as the best ever first post by a Newbie

Is it Coupon-mad in disguise? :rotfl:

I agree @waamo - great understanding and great first post @stationcarparkticket2018. You really should come and join us.

Coupon-mad · 2 March 2018 at 5:19PM

I'll use this thread as an answer to the Q&A: 'My ticket is from Indigo at a railway, what do I do?'

A perfect summary from a good researcher, a woman after my own heart. Stick around!

Johno100 · 2 March 2018 at 5:23PM

I think we should bottle that OP and dispense it liberally on every new Indigo/Railway car park thread that is posted.

(Sorry for food analogy, just caught up on last nights Masterchef and I'm now starving:D)

Redx · 2 March 2018 at 10:21PM

the only error I can see is any use of the words "ME , MYSELF & I" , mainly in the second paragraph

The vehicle was parked................................

The VEHICLE was not causing..............................

The DRIVER did...........................

you should edit post #1 as if talking about a story that you heard , or you saw, but never about what anyone DID except the DRIVER and the KEEPER

well done for grasping the whole concept of the sc@m

so yes if an NTK arrives to the keeper, the keeper appeals it with the template

then its IGNORE anything else except a formal LBC, and/or an MCOL , within 6 years

we will assume for now that the TOC is not going to issue a penalty under the bylaws and NOT take anyone at all to a magistrates court (we havent seen that happen yet and I doubt that it will ever happen)

L86 · 7 March 2018 at 12:18AM

This is extremely helpful thank you!
To clarify they are getting details from DVLA as i received a NtK dated 31st Jan 2018
I ignored it as i was away for work an have opened on the same day a ZZPS dated 1st march 2018
My ticket was issued 20th October 2017 for being outside a marked bay.
I was on a station side road (at the side of the station not in the car park, in a bay i was slightly out due to the car in front) There's no signage how to pay a ticket, or about the bays.
I did pay as marked bays i assumed the car park was under the same company.
I believe i'm too late to appeal the NtK, 6 weeks from the 6 Months ill carry on ignoring.

twhitehousescat · 7 March 2018 at 1:00AM

L86 wrote: »

This is extremely helpful thank you!
To clarify they are getting details from DVLA as i received a NtK dated 31st Jan 2018
I ignored it as i was away for work an have opened on the same day a ZZPS dated 1st march 2018
My ticket was issued 20th October 2017 for being outside a marked bay.
I was on a station side road (at the side of the station not in the car park, in a bay i was slightly out due to the car in front) There's no signage how to pay a ticket, or about the bays.
I did pay as marked bays i assumed the car park was under the same company.
I believe i'm too late to appeal the NtK, 6 weeks from the 6 Months ill carry on ignoring.

in your case , it may NOT be a bylaw case , perhaps you should start a new thread

The_Deep · 12 March 2018 at 4:17PM

As you will no doubt already be aware, this is aqn industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences. It is currently totally unregulated

Parking Eye, CP, Smart,and a smaller company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They nearly always lose) and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P.

The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the HofC recently.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind most of these companies may well be put out of business by Christmas.

Shands1 · 11 April 2018 at 5:45PM

This is my first post so I apologise for jumping onto someone else’s question/thread but it’s very similar to my situation, I parked at Barnt Green station and due to no mot bays I parked where a couple of other vehicles had parked assuming it was classed as an overflow (was new to the station) caused no obstruction, returned to a PCN from Indigo stating I was parker in an ‘unauthorised’ place. I contested it explaining there were no bays and other cars were parked there etc. Anyway received a response refusing my appeal stating it states on ‘Our T&Cs that all vehicles must be parked in a bay’ I made a trip to the car park on a Saturday just to make sure as I hadn’t recalled seeing any T&Cs. Hard to describe but you drive up and round to the left into the car park, the bays are in this section as well as the ticket machine and platforms. The only signage in this area is ‘have you paid and displayed’ nothing mentioning T&Cs - so I thought great I ‘have them’ then I spotted in the distance what appeared to be a signage anyway blow me it was but positioned as far away from the actual parking area as possible! I took photographic evidence showing that it isn’t anywhere near the parking bays or in fact anywhere where you would even walk past before heading to your train and also you couldn’t even see it from this area as well! So I decide to tweet Indigo of course they are quick to reply and apologise and offer to look into but of course ask you to direct message (away from the public) what started as a very helpful offer of help quickly turned into dealing with a robot who continued to say I must read the T&Cs before exciting my vehicle bla bla I tried to explain that the T&Cs signage is nowhere near to where you park etc but again was met with more or less the same answers but of course contradicting their previous answers as I was asking different questions they said the ‘site manager (that of course cannot be named) states the T&Cs signage is within the boundaries of the station and also at the entrance so is deemed ‘fine’ but then of course due to the By Laws etc I cannot appeal again, but told me to contact West Mids Trains as they dictate how often the car park is patrolled (as I questioned why it wasn’t obviously not being patrolled daily) but WMT said it was nothing to do with them but did agree that if other people are parking in this ‘overflow’ then it would be recommended Indigo need to make this area known that you cannot park there! Of course all responses have been ignored now from them via twitter messages - I have refused to pay the fine but had a letter from this Zzzz debt collectors asking for £170 from reading all the previous comments I’m guessing I just ignore this letter (and anymore going forward) and sit it out? Shall I tweet my local MP as per the links other people have supplied? What I find frustrating is Indigo are using bully tactics and you don’t seem to have any rights and nobody to say actually yeah you’re right it’s ‘we have an answer for everything’ even though it’s a load of rubbish! Thank you and sorry for the lengthy comment!

Indigo Railway PCN - clarifying the process

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