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Thieving B’stard Car Park Operators

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Thieving B’stard Car Park Operators

Post by buzyg » Fri Aug 27, 2021 10:54 am

Do you have a tracker on your phone. That will show where you where, if not the car. I'm assuming you don't have one on your Zed.
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Thieving B’stard Car Park Operators

Post by Big Bad Boris » Fri Aug 27, 2021 12:01 pm

Angelus666 wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 10:26 am I'd send them an email saying you are absolutely willing to go to court on this matter and should/when you win they will be fully liable for all your solicitor's costs, which equate to £500 per billing hour. They'll quickly drop their claim.

They are scum who prey on people who won't fight back.
Thanks Angelus666, I am tempted to go that route. As I mentioned I dropped my daughter to meet her friend, so they both are witnesses to me leaving the car park within a minute or two (and returning 4 hours later), also my wife was at home so she is a witness to the fact that both the car and I were at home that afternoon, I think I spoke to a couple of neighbours whilst pottering in the front garden who would probably testify the car was here too.

I think I will Email them as you suggest. Simply advising them I will fight them in court as the matter is clear from my perspective, I entered the car park at 12.32 and left a minute or two later and did not return until 16.11… leaving within 60 seconds on that occasion and I have witnesses that saw me arrive/depart at those times and also that saw me and the vehicle in an alternative location during the intervening period.

If they care to check their records PROPERLY they will quickly establish these are the facts. I will mention them paying my legal costs as and when I win the case as you suggest.

Any one see a downside of this direct approach as an alternative to the hassle of appealing via POPLA.

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Thieving B’stard Car Park Operators

Post by Nanu » Fri Aug 27, 2021 1:30 pm

Don’t engage any further with the parking company, deal with POPLA which takes it all out of their hands and also freezes any time limits re payments and demands.

The debt is a charge not a fine and can only be issued by a person or body who has a proprietary interest (ownership) of the land. What they are charging you for is basically trespass. The parking company will not have any ownership of the land so cannot lawfully issue a charging notice. You will find this all on the website suggested. There have been a couple of cases where a judge has misread this and found in favour of the parking firm but these are rare. Challenge them via POPLA and you will win.
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Post by Big Bad Boris » Fri Aug 27, 2021 2:10 pm

Nanu wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 1:30 pm Don’t engage any further with the parking company, deal with POPLA which takes it all out of their hands and also freezes any time limits re payments and demands.

The debt is a charge not a fine and can only be issued by a person or body who has a proprietary interest (ownership) of the land. What they are charging you for is basically trespass. The parking company will not have any ownership of the land so cannot lawfully issue a charging notice. You will find this all on the website suggested. There have been a couple of cases where a judge has misread this and found in favour of the parking firm but these are rare. Challenge them via POPLA and you will win.
Thanks Nanu, again sound advice. I had a quick read of the POPLA site and it refers to evidence packs. Will I need to get “statements” from my “witnesses” as part of my case to them (I’ve just been watching The Bill :D ) or would that come later if we actually enter a court case?

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Post by Big Bad Boris » Fri Aug 27, 2021 2:40 pm

buzyg wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 10:54 am Do you have a tracker on your phone. That will show where you where, if not the car. I'm assuming you don't have one on your Zed.
No tracker on the car. Don’t think I have a tracker on the phone, that said, it is an iPhone so it has find my phone app can that be accessed historically?

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Post by buzyg » Fri Aug 27, 2021 5:48 pm

Big Bad Boris wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 2:40 pm
buzyg wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 10:54 am Do you have a tracker on your phone. That will show where you where, if not the car. I'm assuming you don't have one on your Zed.
No tracker on the car. Don’t think I have a tracker on the phone, that said, it is an iPhone so it has find my phone app can that be accessed historically?
Alas I know nothing about iPhones, but I would expect it can if it;s anything like Android. My wife's phone always knows where she has been. I tend to only switch on tracking on my phone when I'm walking on the moors. Hopefully there is some snooping software on yours, that has been tracking you that you can access the data for. :)
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Post by Nanu » Fri Aug 27, 2021 7:50 pm

Big Bad Boris wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 2:10 pm
Nanu wrote: Fri Aug 27, 2021 1:30 pm Don’t engage any further with the parking company, deal with POPLA which takes it all out of their hands and also freezes any time limits re payments and demands.

The debt is a charge not a fine and can only be issued by a person or body who has a proprietary interest (ownership) of the land. What they are charging you for is basically trespass. The parking company will not have any ownership of the land so cannot lawfully issue a charging notice. You will find this all on the website suggested. There have been a couple of cases where a judge has misread this and found in favour of the parking firm but these are rare. Challenge them via POPLA and you will win.
Thanks Nanu, again sound advice. I had a quick read of the POPLA site and it refers to evidence packs. Will I need to get “statements” from my “witnesses” as part of my case to them (I’ve just been watching The Bill :D ) or would that come later if we actually enter a court case?
Any evidence you have is good but in your case I suspect your statement of events would suffice as POPLA would ask the same of the parking company who would have to show that you actually parked there. As part of your evidence would be the fact that you left a few moments after entering and were only dropping off, they would have to prove otherwise (CCTV exit time) which would actually prove your case for you. Make sure you include that in your appeal and you should be fine. Suspect they won't even respond to POPLA and they will just grant your appeal as a result
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Post by Big Bad Boris » Fri Aug 27, 2021 9:23 pm

That’s my problem, there are obviously 4 photos of my car that day, the notice they sent to me has a photo of my arriving at 12.32 and leaving at 16.11…. they have chosen to ignore the camera shots of me leaving probably at 12.33 and of my entering again probably also at 16.11.

At present the only “proof” appears to be the photos on the charge notice, my defence is merely truth and reality. I am utilising the website you suggested and some good advice is coming in, seems I should appeal to POPLA but should provide written statements from my daughter, her friend and my wife testifying I left the car park and was at home with the car etc. a lot of hassle and work to dispel a bogus claim. :censored:

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Post by MikeyH » Sat Oct 09, 2021 10:21 pm

Yes happened to me, dropped my daughter off at Lancaster Uni, stayed overnight at a hotel. Filled in the computer form to say I was a guest. But later got the fine with photos. Hadn’t pushed the correct button or what ever, £60.00 fine. Wife fought and showed receipt showing I had stayed over night. But very hard to get through at lots of blank walls. Government needs to outlaw these robbing cowboys. Won’t be staying there again.
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Post by Big Bad Boris » Sat Oct 09, 2021 11:43 pm

Interesting this thread popped back up at this point. So did my research, went in the parking sites kindly recommended to me etc, gathered some advice and information. I then spent a deal of time putting together some eyewitness statements with my wife, daughter and her friend, then more time filling out the appeal on the POPLA site, this included faffing around scanning hard copies of signed statements etc etc.

I should mention that in the meantime I had received a “final notice” from the parking co, telling me I had now to pay £100 or they might outsource to a debt collecting agency ( I resisted the temptation to phone them to tell the, to f**k off).

Once submitted POPLA advise they then contact Britannia Parking for them to provide their counter evidence, POPLA then make their decision. The. Yesterday I receive this email….

“Thank you for submitting your parking charge appeal to POPLA

An appeal has been opened with the reference 6012371115.

Britannia Parking Group - EW have told us they do not wish to contest the appeal. This means that your appeal is successful and you do not need to pay the parking charge.

Yours sincerely

POPLA Team”

Very annoying (yes I am being polite) that there appears to be no comeback on the parking crooks, who let’s face it were pretty much trying to obtain money through fraud. They also obtained my details from the DVLA without due cause as no offence had been committed, a clear breach of data protection rules.

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Post by Pondrew » Sun Oct 10, 2021 12:26 am

Big Bad Boris wrote: Sat Oct 09, 2021 11:43 pm They also obtained my details from the DVLA without due cause as no offence had been committed, a clear breach of data protection rules.
Good result, even if you had to fight hard.
I heard somewhere that the Government are the biggest sellers of personal data in the Country. "You want it? We've got it. How much you willing to pay?"
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Post by ronk » Sun Oct 10, 2021 12:29 am

Bandits !

The DVLA seem to dish out personal info to anyone.- Apparently they willingly supply our info to European agencies should we be caught speeding but it doesn’t work the other way around I’m told.
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Post by BMWZ4MC » Sun Oct 10, 2021 3:20 am

Big Bad Boris wrote: Very annoying (yes I am being polite) that there appears to be no comeback on the parking crooks, who let’s face it were pretty much trying to obtain money through fraud. They also obtained my details from the DVLA without due cause as no offence had been committed, a clear breach of data protection rules.
Can you raise a complaint with the DVLA for failing to protect your data. It’s possible that there would be a legal case to answer - the Data Protection Act is fairly powerful.
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Post by pvr » Sun Oct 10, 2021 8:28 am

They are allowed to sell the data for specific reasons, and the government amended the law to include parking companies as a valid reason.
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Post by BMWZ4MC » Sun Oct 10, 2021 10:11 am

That’s very disappointing!
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