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advise with Apcoa PCN please

Torchwood4
Torchwood4 Posts: 3 Newbie
edited 13 January 2018 at 6:19PM in Parking tickets, fines & parking
Just after some advice. Where I live I have no resident parking but as I work in the day I only really have to worry about parking on a Saturday. This is usually in the car park near my home. Therefore I would park up on a Friday evening, buy a ticket for the following day and that was that.
However back in August with the issue of the new pound coins the machines were updated and the new software did not allow you to prepay for a ticket either by machine or online. This has meant that since then I have to make sure I'm up at eight every Saturday morning to buy a ticket. I did write to the council to complain and they said they would chase up the contractors to get the software changed back as this was not acceptable. To date this has not been done and as such today my worse fears were realised as I overslept and by time I went to pay for my ticket I had already received a PCN. This is by apcoa so I'm assuming they are acting for the council?
Now I'll hold my hand up and agree I didn't have a ticket for the time the PCN was issued and if needs be I'll pay the fine. However I want to make a complaint because the software still hasn't been updated which would have allowed me to buy the ticket at the time I parked up. I still have a copy of the e-mails between me and Forest of Dean council relating to this.

Before I do fill in the challenge I would just like to ask for any advice in regards of what might be best to say and more importantly what not to say.
Also had this been the council itself I would have simply made the challenge but because it is an outside company and I know that sometimes there are issues surrounding them how 'legit' is this PCN. I've heard stories of additional charges afterwards so I'm worried about contacting them and giving them my address details.

Any advice welcome and thanks.

Comments

  • Coupon-mad
    Coupon-mad Posts: 130,607
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    This is by apcoa so I'm assuming they are acting for the council?

    Don't assume, but it could be a Council one or a private one. APCOA do act for some authorities, sadly.

    Is it a 'PARKING CHARGE NOTICE' or a 'PENALTY CHARGE NOTICE'?

    If the former, you know what to do from when you firstly read the sticky:

    'NEWBIES PLEASE READ THESE FAQS FIRST' at the top of this parking forum.

    If it's the latter, post a picture of BOTH SIDES of the PCN on pepipoo and post here:

    http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showforum=30

    No Hotmail emails on pepipoo. That's the expert forum for real Council penalty charges.
    PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
    CLICK at the top of this/any page where it says:
    Forum Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD
  • Umkomaas
    Umkomaas Posts: 41,255
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    Is the ticket a ‘Penalty Charge Notice’ or a ‘Parking Charge Notice’. Please note there is a significant difference between the two and how to fight them.

    Please carefully check - ‘Penalty’ or ‘Parking’.
    Please note, we are not a legal advice forum. I personally don't get involved in critiquing court case Defences/Witness Statements, so unable to help on that front. Please don't ask. .

    I provide only my personal opinion, it is not a legal opinion, it is simply a personal one. I am not a lawyer.

    Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

    Private Parking Firms - Killing the High Street
  • Thanks guys. According to the ticket it is a Penalty charge notice.
    Coupon Mad. I will look at posting a copy to that site tomorrow. I will have to sort out some other e-mail address first if they don't accept Hotmail.
  • Just to update I have now uploaded pics at the site mentioned above under the same title.
  • Coupon-mad
    Coupon-mad Posts: 130,607
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    Interesting already:

    http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=118059

    I used to post there regularly myself when I had more time, and I agree with this:
    I would suggest this should be straightforward: From the PCN itself, there is no way of determining who the enforcement authority is, and this is a mandatory requirement for the PCN to be valid. Nowhere on the PCN does it say "Gloucestershire County Council" or "Forest of Dean District Council" so there's a pretty straightforward procedural impropriety.

    Sure, the ticket says "Gloucestershire Parking", but "Gloucestershire" is not the name of an enforcement authority. After all, I could set up a private company called "Gloucestershire Parking Limited" and put "Gloucestershire Parking" on all the company's paperwork.

    You can't both pay and fight it. I would fight it. Pepipoo are great at this and will assist you.
    PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
    CLICK at the top of this/any page where it says:
    Forum Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD
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