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Main site > Forums > Household & Travel > Motoring > Parking Tickets, Fines & Parking > Park Indigo Penalty Charge
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      Hard_Done_By
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    • By Hard_Done_By 12th Jul 18, 9:43 AM
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      What's this?

    Hard_Done_By
    Park Indigo Penalty Charge
    • #1
    • 12th Jul 18, 9:43 AM
    Park Indigo Penalty Charge 12th Jul 18 at 9:43 AM
    Hi all,

    Looking for some expert advice here.

    I purchased a ticket online (monthly) for a South Eastern station car park through Park Indigo. Just as I had done every month for a long time.
    A few days after I started using this particular one, I got a penalty charge on the window for not displaying the ticket.
    I appealed through their webside

    Then I got another one the next day

    As it transpires, their system retains details when you book, for some peculiar reason, this particular month, it automatically defaulted to a vehicle registration number of a car I hadn't owned for 4 months. I had bought tickets in the interim, with the 2 correct plates with no issue. I'm genuinely not sure why it defaulted to the old one.

    The simple fact of the matter though, was that I purchased a monthly ticket, at a cost of over £100 and displayed it. It can only be in one car at a time so the registration number is totally irrelevant.

    I appealed both (and a third!) and notified them of the problem. They sent me 2 emails with the correct 2 number plates on, although at this point - NOTHING needed to be displayed.

    I then was advised they were upholding the charge on 2 of the 3 penalty charges.
    I sent a strong but not rude email to Park Indigo outlining my reasons for not paying the charge, advised them that I would not be paying the charge and requested they contact me to confirm the matter is settled.
    This was in May

    Yesterday I received a letter from " Parking Penalty Notice - Recovery Prosecution Service"
    There is no contact details, email address, phone number or even a website on the letter. Just a PO Box in Portsmouth (I'm from nowhere near there)

    They state I have to pay £100 within 14 days or it rises to £165
    There is no further detail - IE, what if I don't pay £165 - no threat of bailiffs, court action, additional fines etc.

    They quote Rail byelaw 14(4) which I've looked into and, having a little experience with contract wording, is pretty vague.


    What are my options here?
    I'd be happy in court telling them why the charge is unjust and unreasonable. But my wife is worried, especially as we're moving. She's concerned this may count against us come mortgage time.

    I feel irritated beyond belief that I may have to pay this to save the mortgage application as there is no way it's justified. I pay a lot of money to park there and have done nothing wrong.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

    Sorry!

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    • User avatar
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      twhitehousescat
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    • By twhitehousescat 12th Jul 18, 9:49 AM
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      What's this?

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    • #2
    • 12th Jul 18, 9:49 AM
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    • 12th Jul 18, 9:49 AM
    you really do need to read up on those type of car parks which come under BYLAWS

    any court you would be going to would be a magistrates court but remember WITHIN 6 MTHS of the incident .

    a little twist , maybe others can elaborate , indigo have used there BPA access to the DVLA to get details , how come they have passed on to a non BPA company

    OP you need to play ping pong by royal mail to get this to time out , what date was the ticket(S) issued ?
    Time pretending I was asleep whilst under his desk , has given me insight to this sordid world

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      Hard_Done_By
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    • By Hard_Done_By 12th Jul 18, 9:53 AM
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      What's this?

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    • #3
    • 12th Jul 18, 9:53 AM
    • #3
    • 12th Jul 18, 9:53 AM
    Thanks for the reply.

    The tickets were issued in early April. I believe, 4th, 5th and 6th
    The letter I received does indeed state that the DVLA gave them my address. This is off as Park Indigo have m y address as I have the monthly tickets delivered there.

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    • By twhitehousescat 12th Jul 18, 10:02 AM
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      What's this?

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    • #4
    • 12th Jul 18, 10:02 AM
    • #4
    • 12th Jul 18, 10:02 AM
    ok , await other comments , but remember the 6 mths rule , they MUST issue court papers within 6 mths , we are now 14 weeks into the 26 weeks they have , they have allowed you a further 2 weeks to reply , so you need to start questioning them by mail and each time wait for an answer .

    not happy that indigo have passed this to debt recovery and prosecution , as they are not BPA members , NOR are they working for them

    await others , but I suspect both the DVLA and BPA should b informed ,
    Time pretending I was asleep whilst under his desk , has given me insight to this sordid world

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    • By Hard_Done_By 12th Jul 18, 10:07 AM
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      What's this?

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    • #5
    • 12th Jul 18, 10:07 AM
    • #5
    • 12th Jul 18, 10:07 AM
    I have sent a message to britishparking.co.uk outlining the details this morning.
    Hopefully the reply fairly quickly.

    I did actually copy them in on my original email to Park Indigo in May explaining my reasons for not paying the fine and explaining why their rejection of my appeal was unfair.

    Out of interest, are the DVLA allowed to give my address out under the GDPR?

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    • By Hard_Done_By 12th Jul 18, 10:13 AM
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      What's this?

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    • #6
    • 12th Jul 18, 10:13 AM
    • #6
    • 12th Jul 18, 10:13 AM
    Further question - according to the BPA website - Park Indigo are listed. They're under "indigo park solutions"

    Is that a good or bad thing? Guess it means they were clear to use the DVLA to get my address.

    Sorry!

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    • By twhitehousescat 12th Jul 18, 10:19 AM
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    • #7
    • 12th Jul 18, 10:19 AM
    • #7
    • 12th Jul 18, 10:19 AM
    DVLA bypass GDPR , however a person must have reason for asking for info , there are 3 forms v888 v888/1 v888/2 and v888/3 Parking companies MUST , MUST use form v888/3 (or electronic version ), to use this form , they must be a member of an approved trade assoc (BPA or IPC) , and sign up that they will comply with trade assoc and DVLA rules

    DVLA state that no data can be passed to non trade member *

    * they can pass on to debt collectors , but any court claim would have to be in there own name

    indigo have persuaded the BPA that they are "different" and that they do not have to issue POPLa codes , but upto now all (or most) cases have just fizzled out after 6 mths

    seach forum for indigo /bylaws and read up

    await other comments
    Time pretending I was asleep whilst under his desk , has given me insight to this sordid world

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    • By Handbags-at-dawn 12th Jul 18, 2:27 PM
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      What's this?

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    • #8
    • 12th Jul 18, 2:27 PM
    • #8
    • 12th Jul 18, 2:27 PM
    Didn't Indigo get your address when you first appealed? In which case they wouldn't have needed to go to the DVLA - they could have simply passed the whole file over to Debt Recovery and Prosecution Services (DRPS).

    DRPS is actually an alias for Southeastern. I guess the letter you got from them looks something like this (taken from Torino's recent thread):-
    https://imgur.com/a/No6fY00 . The letter is full of flaws, but most importantly, the assertion that you are liable for their "penalty" is fraudulent.

    It is a fundamental principle of our criminal justice system that everyone accused of an offence is deemed innocent until proven guilty. This means that no-one - not even a train company - can compel you to pay a penalty for parking in breach of the Byelaws before the alleged offence has been proved. Only the Magistrates’ Court can impose a penalty, and that’s only when the motorist has either pleaded or been found guilty. This was specifically confirmed in a letter from the Department for Transport dated 18th February 2016, here:
    https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/311011/response/770331/attach/2/F0013227%20Follow%20Up%20Reply.pdf?cookie_passthro ugh=1
    It states:

    “…no other person or body other than the Court is able to impose a penalty for breach of the Byelaws [including Byelaw 14 (1-3)] made under Section 219 of the Transport Act 2000 (as amended) and made operational on 7 July 2005.”

    Your case is a classic example of why the presumption of innocence is so important: you've done nothing wrong. So let them try and prove otherwise (they won't). Don't even think of paying. Report the matter to your MP, and remind him about Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

    It's high time our elected representatives did something about these Big Bullies who act as if they are above the law.

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      Coupon-mad
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    • By Coupon-mad 12th Jul 18, 2:32 PM
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      What's this?

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    • #9
    • 12th Jul 18, 2:32 PM
    • #9
    • 12th Jul 18, 2:32 PM
    “
    Yesterday I received a letter from "Parking Penalty Notice - Recovery Prosecution Service"
    There is no contact details, email address, phone number or even a website on the letter. Just a PO Box in Portsmouth
    ”
    Normal for South Eastern. Ignore. Get past 6 months.

    We have another Indigo railway PCN thread where someone has shown the contract with Govia and it only allows Indigo (one of 'em!) to process data at 'pre-action stage' so Indigo have no authority to sue and this is all smoke and mirrors.
    PRIVATE PCN? DON'T PAY BUT DO NOT IGNORE IT TWO Clicks needed for advice:
    Top of the page: Home>>Forums>Household & Travel>Motoring>Parking Tickets, Fines & Parking - read the 'NEWBIES' FAQS thread!
    Advice to ignore is WRONG, unless in Scotland/NI.

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      waamo
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    • By waamo 12th Jul 18, 2:32 PM
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      What's this?

    waamo
    Have a read of this too https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5803499&highlight=indigo+byelaws
    This space for hire.

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    • By Hard_Done_By 12th Jul 18, 2:33 PM
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      What's this?

    Hard_Done_By
    That's a very re-assuring reply, thank you Handbags-at-dawn

    Park Indigo should have had my address from day dot as that's where they post the monthly permit to.

    I may well contact my local MP, I hadn't thought of that.

    Sorry!

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