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    • Well barristers would say that in the hope that motorists would go to them for advice -obviously paid advice.  The problem with appealing is at least twofold. 1] there is a real danger that some part of the appeal will point out that the person appealing [the keeper ] is also the driver.  And in a lot of cases the last thing the keeper wants when they are also the driver is that the parking company knows that. It makes it so much easier for them as the majority  of Judges do not accept that the keeper and the driver are the same person for obvious reasons. Often they are not the same person especially when it is a family car where the husband, wife and children are all insured to drive the same car. On top of that  just about every person who has a valid insurance policy is able to drive another person's vehicle. So there are many possibilities and it should be up to the parking company to prove it to some extent.  Most parking company's do not accept appeals under virtually any circumstances. But insist that you carry on and appeal to their so called impartial jury who are often anything but impartial. By turning down that second appeal, many motorists pay up because they don't know enough about PoFA to argue with those decisions which brings us to the second problem. 2] the major parking companies are mostly unscrupulous, lying cheating scrotes. So when you appeal and your reasons look as if they would have merit in Court, they then go about  concocting a Witness Statement to debunk that challenge. We feel that by leaving what we think are the strongest arguments to our Member's Witness Statements, it leaves insufficient time to be thwarted with their lies etc. And when the motorists defence is good enough to win, it should win regardless of when it is first produced.   
    • S13 (2)The creditor may not exercise the right under paragraph 4 to recover from the keeper any unpaid parking charges specified in the notice to keeper if, within the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which that notice was given, the creditor is given— (a)a statement signed by or on behalf of the vehicle-hire firm to the effect that at the material time the vehicle was hired to a named person under a hire agreement; (b)a copy of the hire agreement; and (c)a copy of a statement of liability signed by the hirer under that hire agreement. As  Arval has complied with the above they cannot be pursued by EC----- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- S14 [1]   the creditor may recover those charges (so far as they remain unpaid) from the hirer. (2)The conditions are that— (a)the creditor has within the relevant period given the hirer a notice in accordance with sub-paragraph (5) (a “notice to hirer”), together with a copy of the documents mentioned in paragraph 13(2) and the notice to keeper; (b)a period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the notice to hirer was given has elapsed;  As ECP did not send copies of the documents to your company and they have given 28 days instead of 21 days they have failed to comply with  the Act so you and your Company are absolved from paying. That is not to say that they won't continue asking to be paid as they do not have the faintest idea how PoFA works. 
    • Euro have got a lot wrong and have failed to comply with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 Schedule 4.  According to Section 13 after ECP have written to Arval they should then send a NTH to the Hirer  which they have done.This eliminates Arval from any further pursuit by ECP. When they wrote to your company they should have sent copies of everything that they asked Arval for. This is to prove that your company agree what happened on the day of the breach. If ECP then comply with the Act they are allowed to pursue the hirer. If they fail, to comply they cannot make the hirer pay. They can pursue until they are blue in the face but the Hirer is not lawfully required to pay them and if it went to Court ECP would lose. Your company could say who was driving but the only person that can be pursued is the Hirer, there does not appear to be an extension for a driver to be pursued. Even if there was, because ECP have failed miserably to comply with the Act  they still have no chance of winning in Court. Here are the relevant Hire sections from the Act below.
    • Thank-you FTMDave for your feedback. May I take this opportunity to say that after reading numerous threads to which you are a contributor, I have great admiration for you. You really do go above and beyond in your efforts to help other people. The time you put in to help, in particular with witness statements is incredible. I am also impressed by the way in which you will defer to others with more experience should there be a particular point that you are not 100% clear on and return with answers or advice that you have sought. I wish I had the ability to help others as you do. There is another forum expert that I must also thank for his time and patience answering my questions and allowing me to come to a “penny drops” moment on one particular issue. I believe he has helped me immensely to understand and to strengthen my own case. I shall not mention who it is here at the moment just in case he would rather I didn't but I greatly appreciate the time he took working through that issue with me. I spent 20+ years of working in an industry that rules and regulations had to be strictly adhered to, indeed, exams had to be taken in order that one had to become qualified in those rules and regulations in order to carry out the duties of the post. In a way, such things as PoFA 2012 are rules and regulations that are not completely alien to me. It has been very enjoyable for me to learn these regulations and the law surrounding them. I wish I had found this forum years ago. I admit that perhaps I had been too keen to express my opinions given that I am still in the learning process. After a suitable period in this industry I became Qualified to teach the rules and regulations and I always said to those I taught that there is no such thing as a stupid question. If opinions, theories and observations are put forward, discussion can take place and as long as the result is that the student is able to clearly see where they went wrong and got to that moment where the penny drops then that is a valuable learning experience. No matter how experienced one is, there is always something to learn and if I did not know the answer to a question, I would say, I don't know the answer to that question but I will go and find out what the answer is. In any posts I have made, I have stated, “unless I am wrong” or “as far as I can see” awaiting a response telling me what I got wrong, if it was wrong. If I am wrong I am only too happy to admit it and take it as a valuable learning experience. I take the point that perhaps I should not post on other peoples threads and I shall refrain from doing so going forward. 🤐 As alluded to, circumstances can change, FTMDave made the following point that it had been boasted that no Caggers, over two years, who had sent a PPC the wrong registration snotty letter, had even been taken to court, let alone lost a court hearing .... but now they have. I too used the word "seemed" because it is true, we haven't had all the details. After perusing this forum I believe certain advice changed here after the Beavis case, I could be wrong but that is what I seem to remember reading. Could it be that after winning the above case in question, a claimant could refer back to this case and claim that a defendant had not made use of the appeal process, therefore allowing the claimant to win? Again, in this instance only, I do not know what is to be gained by not making an appeal or concealing the identity of the driver, especially if it is later admitted that the defendant was the driver and was the one to input the incorrect VRN in error. So far no one has educated me as to the reason why. But, of course, when making an appeal, it should be worded carefully so that an error in the appeal process cannot be referred back to. I thought long and hard about whether or not to post here but I wanted to bring up this point for discussion. Yes, I admit I have limited knowledge, but does that mean I should have kept silent? After I posted that I moved away from this forum slightly to find other avenues to increase my knowledge. I bought a law book and am now following certain lawyers on Youtube in the hope of arming myself with enough ammunition to use in my own case. In one video titled “7 Reasons You Will LOSE Your Court Case (and how to avoid them)” by Black Belt Barrister I believe he makes my point by saying the following, and I quote: “If you ignore the complaint in the first instance and it does eventually end up in court then it's going to look bad that you didn't co-operate in the first place. The court is not going to look kindly on you simply ignoring the company and not, let's say, availing yourself of any kind of appeal opportunities, particularly if we are talking about parking charge notices and things like that.” This point makes me think that, it is not such a bizarre judgement in the end. Only in the case of having proof of payment and inputting an incorrect VRN .... could it be worthwhile making a carefully worded appeal in the first instance? .... If the appeal fails, depending on the reason, surely this could only help if it went to court? As always, any feedback gratefully received.
    • To which official body does one make a formal complaint about a LPA fixed charge receiver? Does one make a complaint first to the company employing the appointed individuals?    Or can one complain immediately to an official body, such as nara?    I've tried researching but there doesn't seem a very clear route on how to legally hold them to account for wrongful behaviour.  It seems frustratingly complicated because they are considered to be officers of the court and held in high esteem - and the borrower is deemed liable for their actions.  Yet what does the borrower do when disclosure shows clear evidence of wrong-doing? Does anyone have any pointers please?
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    • We have finally managed to obtain the transcript of this case.

      The judge's reasoning is very useful and will certainly be helpful in any other cases relating to third-party rights where the customer has contracted with the courier company by using a broker.
      This is generally speaking the problem with using PackLink who are domiciled in Spain and very conveniently out of reach of the British justice system.

      Frankly I don't think that is any accident.

      One of the points that the judge made was that the customers contract with the broker specifically refers to the courier – and it is clear that the courier knows that they are acting for a third party. There is no need to name the third party. They just have to be recognisably part of a class of person – such as a sender or a recipient of the parcel.

      Please note that a recent case against UPS failed on exactly the same issue with the judge held that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 did not apply.

      We will be getting that transcript very soon. We will look at it and we will understand how the judge made such catastrophic mistakes. It was a very poor judgement.
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      This is good ethical practice.

      It would be very nice if the parcel delivery companies – including EVRi – practised this kind of thing as well.

       

      OT APPROVED, 365MC637, FAROOQ, EVRi, 12.07.23 (BRENT) - J v4.pdf
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Virgin Active membership


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I took out a diamond membership at Virgin Active some months ago and enjoying the gym, great facilities etc. I am now struggling with a severe knee problem which I am in physiotherapy for and which has forced me to give up my job for the moment. Explaining that I have no income (which is posing bigger problems than a gym membership, and in extreme discomfort (wear and tear injury, not gym related) they refuse to cancel the membership and are being completely unreasonable given the sudden and unforseen change in my circumstances. They are recommending a freeze but I am so put off by their attitude, i.e. so what we don't care, why on earth would I want to return? Has anyone had any dealings of this kind and any advice? Thanks.

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I took out a diamond membership at Virgin Active some months ago and enjoying the gym, great facilities etc. I am now struggling with a severe knee problem which I am in physiotherapy for and which has forced me to give up my job for the moment. Explaining that I have no income (which is posing bigger problems than a gym membership, and in extreme discomfort (wear and tear injury, not gym related) they refuse to cancel the membership and are being completely unreasonable given the sudden and unforseen change in my circumstances. They are recommending a freeze but I am so put off by their attitude, i.e. so what we don't care, why on earth would I want to return? Has anyone had any dealings of this kind and any advice? Thanks.

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Hi. That's already done to save immediate financial hassle. Don't know if it's worth trying to appeal to any better nature they might have. I have the sick lines and P45 and hospital appointments card but it would appear to make little difference to these people. I lost my job a few years ago and have been through similar difficulties.:(

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Hello there.

 

I used to attend a Virgin Active gym. I'm certain they have a clause within the agreement that allows you to cancel the membership on health grounds if you have evidence from a doctor that states you cannot use gym equipment anymore.

 

You may wish to SAR Virgin to get a copy of any paperwork you signed.

 

Also see if their terms and conditions are available on their website?!

 

Also contact your local Trading Standards for advice?

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Hi. That's already done to save immediate financial hassle. Don't know if it's worth trying to appeal to any better nature they might have. I have the sick lines and P45 and hospital appointments card but it would appear to make little difference to these people. I lost my job a few years ago and have been through similar difficulties.:(

 

 

Hello,

 

I'm just browsing throughout the site and came across your subject and whilst I don't wish to tread on Coniffs toes, he's been here longer than I. But I feel I should warn you that just cancelling a direct debit comes with it's own little problems, such things as the company in question may let it go for a couple of months, then check it's records and find out that as you agreed to a 12 month contract say, that they have the right to resurrect the direct debit and collect the money anyway. Yes, you read that correctly, I did say the company could 'resurrect' the direct debit you cancelled and take the money regardless.

 

You have to be careful with direct debits, and agreements. That is unless you've not signed an agreement in which case they shouldn't be able to resurrect it, but they may try regardless.

 

I would take the other guys advice, and find out about what your contract says about cancelling and then use that to get out of your contract. This is especially the case as you're dealing with a company that may let you go, then reread that contract agreement and find that they can collect the renaming 12 months for however many family members signed up to the gym. You can see such an occurrence in the following two posts:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/128064-virgin-active-arc-please.html Obviously, I would follow this thread through, as there's lots of useful information in it.

 

or another here:

Virgin Active Complaints - Gym Membership Cancellation

 

and there's LOTS of glowing warnings here:

Virgin Active Health Clubs Review in Gyms at Review Centre

 

HTH

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Hi,

 

I had been a member of Holmes Place Gym since 2002. Virgin took over the club a few years ago.

 

- On May 27th, 2009, I asked the Virgin Staff to cancel my membership effectively from June 2009, but was refused and told that all cancellation should be made by 17th of the month.

 

- However I insisted to cancel my membership but the manager wrote on the cancellation form, the cancellation effectively date from 1st of July 2009 but I wrote beside her writing "June 2009" and I marked the form with initial instead of signed it actually and the gym manager signed the form.

 

Since then every month, I got a letter demanding payment of membership for:

in June for £ 66 (for June memebrship) plus £ 30 admin fee from virigin active

in July for £ 132 (for june and july membership) plus £ 30 admin fee from virigin active

 

Along with the letter saying that despite number of calls from Virgin Active, Virgin Active haven't received my payment. All letters from virigin active was asking me to call them to make payment over the phone but without any address for me to send back my reply via post. So I called virgin active about the letters and told them that I have asked to cancel my membership effectively from 1st of June 2009 but they said they are not aware of any request therefore the transferred the phone to my local virgin active club and the staff said over the phone that she is aware that I asked for cancellation??? I am a bit confused. I told the staff why virgin active said the called me many times when actually they never called me. Then they staff asked for my mobile number and on that day only the gym manager called and left a message on my mobile to call her back, but I didn't do that as I was so annoyed with the way they treated me.

 

In mid August 2009, I got a letter from ARC (acting on behalf of Virgin Active) demanding payment for £ 228 (For June, July and August membership plus £ 30 admin fee), so I called ARC to inform them that I have cancelled my membersip effectively from June 2009. I was asked to send them a letter and copy of cancellation form. So I did send a letter to ARC to inform tham that I cancelled my membership along with copy fo cancellation form.

 

On 21st of September 2009 I received a letter from ARC to inform me that:

 

" Dear Sir,

 

We are writing in response to your recent correspondence.

 

We have checked with our client and they have confirmed that as you have now supplied them with proof of your request to cancel, they have reduced your outstanding balance to £ 66.00 which is the subcription payment due for June. Therefore, the above balance remains outstanding and must be paid.

 

Your payment should be sent directly to this office. Please ensure your payment is made payable to ARC (Europe) Ltd and clearly write your reference number XXXXX on the reverse or this may delay it being allocated to your account. Alternatively you can telephone us to make a payment by debit or credit card.

 

If we do not received your payment within the next 10 days, this account will be passed to our solicitors for further action.

 

Your faithully

 

XXXX

ARC (Europe) Ltd.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------

 

Do I need to pay for this £ 66 they requested? As previously ARC threaten to bring the case to court when they demanded £ 228 payment which is now reduced to £ 66.

 

I am in bad shape financially at this moment due to recession, so money is very tight in fact I am in debt management program for bank loans and credit cards due to my suffering small business. Therefore I prefer not to go to court.

 

many thank in advance for your help and advice.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Cancelled my membership with Virgin Inactive and they stated I had already started another 12 month rolling contract, er NO Peeps, I cancelled within the time frame specified, how ever they seem to think I paid a months membership for one day so in effect I cancelled a month too late - idiots

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  • 2 months later...

I implore you all to write to BBC’s Send your story to Watchdog and it could feature in an upcoming programme, particularly at the moment in the ‘fitness season’.

Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/gotastory/

Click on Subject “Sport, Leisure and Entertainment”, then sub category “Health clubs and leisure centres”.

This is what I wrote:

Virgin Active gyms partake in a very unfair practice in the membership contracts. One of their membership packages the “Diamond Membership” requires that you sign a 12 month rolling contract. Therefore if you do not cancel the membership by "the seventeenth day of the twelfth month”, then you are automatically entered into another 12 month contact. Virgin Active do not send a reminder at the end of each 12 month period. The cancellation fee is the remainder of your 12 month contact. Therefore I am in a situation where I have been a member of Virgin Active Health Club for nearly 7 years and will need to pay in excess of £700 to cancel my contract. Do watchdog feel this is fair or acceptable? I am not alone on this issue, a quick Google search brings up many forums, e.g.

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/virgin-active-c158480.html

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=603247

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1863703

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/gyms-health-clubs/221603-virgin-active-membership.html

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/gyms-health-clubs/63342-virgin-active-la-fitness.html

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/gyms-health-clubs/198470-virgin-active-health-club.html

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