Bpa Parking Charge

[saintpeter48]

My doctors surgery has recently moved to new premises and I called in there last week to change my flu and covid vaccines times, with waiting time and time spent talking to receptionist i was in there a total of 13 minutes.

Through the post yesterday I received a 'parking charge notice' for £100 or £60 if I pay within 14 days, they say there are signs up around the car park telling patrons to register your vehicle reg number at reception in a machine on the counter. I did not see any signs or machine, mind you I wasn't looking, and the receptionist did not mention it either. I have used the same surgery for about 45 years and, as mentioned earlier they have recently moved.

The company involved is BPA and my question is this, is this just a request to pay or have they any clout to demand payment, they say on the letter that i can appeal to Paid Parking Company Ltd.

Any advice would be much appreciated, thank you.

[saintpeter48]

That should read, ''I can appeal to Paid Parking Company Ltd''

[Canary42]

Appeal - you've got nothing to lose.

[237SJ]

Similar thing happened to me when I used to take someone with a blue badge to hospital regularly.  First I knew of the rule change was when a couple of parking notices with photographs arrived.  The blue badge parking used to be free and now it wasn't  but you had to input your car reg no at the desk.  We never went into the main part of the hospital where the desk was but a separate wing and there were no notices to say the rules had changed.  I phoned PALS and the woman got the notices cancelled so they must have some sway with the parking co.  I`d try contacting the practice manager and see if they can do anything (you never know)

[Maydup]

Agree, try contacting the surgery first. Be polite but firm in requesting cancellation by them as the receptionist didn't mention the procedures. Bring new premises they need to increase awareness of registering your reg at reception. (As if they don't have enough to do on reception!)

[Hymie]

If you have no luck with the surgery getting the charge cancelled - you could consider taking photos of the parking area (hopefully showing how poor the signage is, and even in the reception area) – and use these in your defence/complaint against the parking charge.

[New Judge]

You should also understand that many parking companies - even the well established ones - do not always comply with the "Protecion of Freedoms Act" which determines what they must do in order to recover a charge when they do not know who the driver was.

Until you've checked wheher they have you should not enter into any corresponsence with them and on no account tell them who was driving on the particular occasion. 

I'm going out now but I'll try to respond more fully later.

 

[ToraToraTora]

It's an invoice not a fine, you can just ignore it but they pester you for about a year and they can take you to court but they usually don't. They'll just bombard you with letters of damnation threatening everything. I usually pay these as I can't be bothered with the agro. The surgery can get it revoked start there.

[New Judge]

OK. Mr Rupert Bowers, KC, explains the situation far more succinctly than I can (with the added advantage that he's already done the heavy lifting 😀):

https://insights.doughtystreet.co.uk/post/102ike8/private-parking-charges-why-pay

So, if you get nowhere with making representations to the surgery or the parking company, your next step is to check whether they have complied with the Protection of Freedoms Act, in particular paragraphs 5, 6, 11 and 12 of Schedule 4 of that Act:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/9/schedule/4

Para 5 says they must have the right to recover the debt (they probably do) and they are unable to take steps secure that recovery from the driver because his identity is unknown (this is why it's important not to disclose who the driver was, because recovery from him is less onerous).

Para 6 says they must have given notice to the Keeper in accordance with para 9.

Para 9 states what that notice must include. It is very lengthy (too long to reproduce here) so I suggest you read it within the Act via the link I have provided. This is where most parking companies fall down. The notice must include everything stated in para 9, otherwise the company cannot recover the debt from the Keeper.

Para 11 says the Company must have made an application to the Secretary of State (in practice, the DVLA) for the keepers details (which they must have done in order to write to you).

Para 12 relates to the display of notices and is probably not significant in most cases, though it's worth checking that the notices at the surgery meet all the statutory requirements.

So at this stage you should check the contents of the notice that you have received against the requirements in para 9. If it is deficient, simply respond to the parking Company pointing out these deficiencies and that, since they have not complied with requirements of Schedule 4, payment cannot be enforced.

As Mr Bowers points out, they will probably reply with standard letters which become increasingly threatening but since their only remedy is via the Small Claims Court, in most instances they will simply fold.

[Canary42]

Thanks for that NJ, very useful. (I did once appeal successfully for a supermarket car park overstay when I got a flat and had to call out a recovery company to remedy it. But it took two letters before they gave in. The supermarket though, weren't interested)

[Giggsie]

Have a look at ....challenge your private parking charge.....on Facebook ....very helpful group. Guy on there won over 10.000 appeals for folk. 

[saintpeter48]

Thanks for your help everyone.

Just to add that the letter was not sent by recorded delivery, so how do they know I received it?

 

[New Judge]

They don't. If you challenge the matter on that basis it will up to you to prove it (s7 Interpretation Act 1978):

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1978/30/section/7

"Where an Act authorises or requires any document to be served by post (whether the expression “serve” or the expression “give” or “send” or any other expression is used) then, unless the contrary intention appears, the service is deemed to be effected by properly addressing, pre-paying and posting a letter containing the document and, unless the contrary is proved, to have been effected at the time at which the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post."

[Old_Geezer]

Oh that'll be easy then. Just show a photo of your hall floor with no letter delivered 🙄

[New Judge]

"Oh that'll be easy then. Just show a photo of your hall floor with no letter delivered"

Indeed OG. Proving a negative of any sort is obviously extremely difficult. But it is what it is.

[THECORBYLOON]

NJ, para 9 of the Act you linked to gives the legislation regarding presumed delivery.

"(6)A notice sent by post is to be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been delivered (and so “given” for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4)) on the second working day after the day on which it is posted; and for this purpose “working day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in England and Wales."

[THECORBYLOON]

"the Act" being the Protection of Freedoms Act.

[Canary42]

On the subject of delivery proof (slightly off topic), what really pees me off is the e-mails (usually spam, but not exclusively so) which advise that the reply mailbox is not monitored.  What is the law's position on delivery in this case.  Can you advise NJ please ?

 

P.S. I can understand why they do it, the box would get filled with millions of "f... off" replies.

[THECORBYLOON]

TORATORATORA, "It's an invoice not a fine, you can just ignore it... I usually pay these as I can't be bothered with the agro."

If you're advising folk to ignore the invoices, why are you paying them yourself?

[New Judge]

Indeed, Corby. Thanks for pointing that out.

Whenever anybody poses this question I always quote the Interpretation Act as it covers anything that has to be served by post. I imagine there are a few laws which quote their own definitions of presumption of service.

 

[elliemay1]

You should contact your local Citizen's Advice office and they will sort it out for you. Similar thing happened to my husband and they got it cancelled. I know this is in N.I but I presume it's the same in England