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    • the Town and Country [advertisments ] Regulations 2007 are not easy to understand. Most Council planing officials don't so it's good that you found one who knows. Although he may not have been right if the rogues have not been "controlling" in the car park for that long. The time only starts when the ANPR signs go up, not how long the area has been used as a car park.   Sadly I have checked Highview out and they have been there since at least 2014 . I have looked at the BPA Code of Practice version 8 which covers 2023 and that states Re Consideration and Grace Periods 13.3 Where a parking location is one where a limited period of parking is permitted, or where drivers contract to park for a defined period and pay for that service in advance (Pay & Display), this would be considered as a parking event and a Grace Period of at least 10 minutes must be added to the end of a parking event before you issue a PCN. It then goes on to explain a bit more further down 13.5 You must tell us the specific consideration/grace period at a site if our compliance team or our agents ask what it is. 13.6 Neither a consideration period or a grace period are periods of free parking and there is no requirement for you to offer an additional allowance on top of a consideration or grace period. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________So you have  now only overstayed 5 minutes maximum since BPA quote a minimum of 10 minutes. And it may be that the Riverside does have a longer period perhaps because of the size of the car park? So it becomes even more incumbent on you to remember where the extra 5 minutes could be.  Were you travelling as a family with children or a disabled person where getting them in and out of the car would take longer. Was there difficulty finding a space, or having to queue to get out of the car park . Or anything else that could account for another 5 minutes  without having to claim the difference between the ANPR times and the actual times.
    • Regarding a driver, that HAS paid for parking but input an incorrect Vehicle Registration Number.   This is an easy mistake to make, especially if a driver has access to more than one vehicle. First of all, upon receiving an NTK/PCN it is important to check that the Notice fully complies with PoFA 2012 Schedule 4 before deciding how to respond of course. The general advice is NOT to appeal to the Private Parking Company as, for example, you may identify yourself as driver and in certain circumstances that could harm your defence at a later stage. However, after following a recent thread on this subject, I have come to the conclusion that, in the case of inputting an incorrect Vehicle Registration Number, which is covered by “de minimis” it may actually HARM your defence at a later stage if you have not appealed to the PPC at the first appeal stage and explained that you DID pay for parking and CAN provide proof of parking, it was just that an incorrect VRN was input in error. Now, we all know that the BPA Code of Practice are guidelines from one bunch of charlatans for another bunch of charlatans to follow, but my thoughts are that there could be problems in court if a judge decides that a motorist has not followed these guidelines and has not made an appeal at the first appeal stage, therefore attempting to resolve the situation before it reaches court. From BPA Code of Practice: Section 17:  Keying Errors B) Major Keying Errors Examples of a major keying error could include: • Motorist entered their spouse’s car registration • Motorist entered something completely unrelated to their registration • Motorist made multiple keying errors (beyond one character being entered incorrectly) • Motorist has only entered a small part of their VRM, for example the first three digits In these instances we would expect that such errors are dealt with appropriately at the first appeal stage, especially if it can be proven that the motorist has paid for the parking event or that the motorist attempted to enter their VRM or were a legitimate user of the car park (eg a hospital patient or a patron of a restaurant). It is appreciated that in issuing a PCN in these instances, the operator will have incurred charges including but not limited to the DVLA fee and other processing costs therefore we believe that it is reasonable to seek to recover some of these costs by making a modest charge to the motorist of no more than £20 for a 14-day period from when the keying error was identified before reverting to the charge amount at the point of appeal. Now, we know that the "modest charge" is unenforceable in law, however, it would be up to the individual if they wanted to pay and make the problem go away or in fact if they wanted to contest the issue in court. If the motorist DOES appeal to the PPC explaining the error and the PPC rejects the appeal and the appeal fails, the motorist can use that in his favour at court.   Defence: "I entered the wrong VRN by mistake Judge, I explained this and I also submitted proof of payment for the relevant parking period in my appeal but the PPC wouldn't accept that"   If the motorist DOES NOT appeal to the PPC in the first instance the judge may well use that as a reason to dismiss the case in the claimant's favour because they may decide that they had the opportunity to resolve the matter at a much earlier stage in the proceedings. It is my humble opinion that a motorist, having paid and having proof of payment but entering the wrong VRN, should make an appeal at the first appeal stage in order to prevent problems at a later stage. In this instance, I think there is nothing to be gained by concealing the identity of the driver, especially if at a later stage, perhaps in court, it is said: “I (the driver) entered the wrong VRN.” Whether you agree or not, it is up to the individual to decide …. but worth thinking about. Any feedback, especially if you can prove to the contrary, gratefully received.
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    • deed?  you mean consent order you and her signed? concluding the case as long as you nor she break it's conditions signed upto? dx  
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Not charged for Gas


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Hi all, asking for some advice on behalf of a family member.

 

She moved into a council flat 6 years ago and has never paid for her gas.

It is a pre paid meter setup, the meter is turning (quite fast) but the screen is blank. I

 

She has been given annual safety inspections by the council but nothing has been said and also received a yearly cold weather voucher from British gas!

 

I asked why she has never mentioned it and she said after she left it for a year she was scared of getting a massive bill, silly really as she now probably faces a much much bigger one. But anyway that is the situation at present.

 

Does anyone know what is going on and why she isn't having to top up the meter?

 

Also what is she likely to have to repay, from looking online it seems they can charge back 6 years?

 

Thanks for reading

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Sounds like a faulty meter. If she is a council tenant, probably best to contact the council and just say that the meter appears faulty i.e blank screen and meter turning fast when little gas is being used.

 

Best to not admit not paying for gas and be vague if answering any questions. Let the council or British Gas work out that gas has not been paid for. I would guess that BG would check the meter number against money paid for the supply, but your friend might be lucky and not be asked for any back payment. In theory, yes BG could ask for estimated annual usage going back 6 years, on the basis that your friend knew they were not paying for their gas usage.

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Is the meter making a loud twirling noise

If so it's the gas tap that's got stuck open

 

Bgas should still be sending quarterly statements/bills of usage

If they have not been

Then as it's their faulty meter

Under the back billing rule

They can only get 1 yrs estimated cost back

 

Dx

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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Hi thanks for the replies. No it is not making any noise. Also not received any statements etc. from british gas, only the £15 payment every winter?!

 

I also think back billing only applies if you highlight the problem? not if say they come to read the meter and find you arent paying.

 

I asked what she would do if this happened and she said she would just say she topped it up £20 a week but didn't know what she was using as the display isn't working. I don't think they would believe this though and surely they could check if it's been topped up?

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Back billing should work if it's faulty nothing you need to do to invoke it no

 

Is it the brown type with a gas card to top up with?

And the oval red button

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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Share on other sites

Yes that's the type. However on the ofgem site it states this with regards to back billing

 

'It may not apply if you:

 

Have been using the gas or electricity supply but have made no attempt to contact the supplier to arrange payment. This includes moving into a property and making no attempt to let a supplier know you are the new tenant or homeowner

Have wilfully avoided payment

Have not co-operated with attempts to obtain meter readings or resolve queries requested by the supplier. This includes failing to allow access to the property or failing to respond to requests for meter details or meter readings.'

 

Which doesn't look good for her.

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I also think the back billing rule may not apply.

 

Which is why I suggested checking with council, as the house is a council property.

They may be interested in ruling out any safety issue first and arranging a quicker fix.

 

Perhaps if your friend plays ignorant, British Gas may never get around to checking the history of the meter.

They may simply fix it or install a new one and your friend can then pay for future usage.

Edited by dx100uk
quote

We could do with some help from you.

PLEASE HELP US TO KEEP THIS SITE RUNNING EVERY POUND DONATED WILL HELP US TO KEEP HELPING OTHERS

 

 Have we helped you ...?         Please Donate button to the Consumer Action Group

 

If you want advice on your thread please PM me a link to your thread

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Those meters run on batteries they need changing every 2 years!!

It's bgas that should be doing that and they have failed

 

There will be no data for them to read so ...They won't know if she's paid or not

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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That sounds more promising than facing a 6 year bill.

 

Is there no other way for them to check when it failed then?

 

like i say the meter hasn't been read in 6 years and the only people who have been are the councils contractor who does an annual inspection but obviously doesn't look too much into the meter.

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they'll be no data for them to check

its BGAS property nothing to with the council

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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Share on other sites

Thanks, ( i know this is a bit naughty) she could just say 'oh i top it up £200 every 3 months, i didn't notice the display had gone blank etc'. and they have no way of proving otherwise?

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I don't think you need to say anything

just phone up Bgas tell them the display has gone

 

might not be a bad idea and ask if they can change it back to normal one as it was obv fitted went a previous tenant had debt.

please don't hit Quote...just type we know what we said earlier..

DCA's view debtors as suckers, marks and mugs

NO DCA has ANY legal powers whatsoever on ANY debt no matter what it's Type

and they

are NOT and can NEVER  be BAILIFFS. even if a debt has been to court..

If everyone stopped blindly paying DCA's Tomorrow, their industry would collapse overnight... 

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