Hello, After doing my research about how to tackle this (including reading a court report where UKPC lost the case) I exchanged a few emails with UKPC. They are refusing to budge and I am losing my nerve. I have just received a letter from them offering a reduced payment of £128.00 if received before 06/06/14. If I do not pay it goes back up to £160.00 and they consider court proceedings. If it goes to court and they win I have to pay court and solicitor fees of £75 on top. I have attached my emails so far. I did not appeal straight away as you can see and I did leave the site as I genuinely have never heard of a car park where you are not permitted to. I saw the signs stating 2hr return and came back after 1.5hrs. Do they take people to court? please be honest and tell me if I should pay up. Here are the emails: (MY FIRST EMAIL) Dear DRP and UKPC The UKPC website states that I am unable to appeal this matter with them and must contact DRP to dispute this. I wish to invoke your appeals process. I returned to site after 1.5hrs (well within the 2hr limit) to use the shops on site. Although the 2hr limit is clearly displayed and easy to spot, I was not aware that I could not leave site. The entrance and exit are not gated and I could see no boundary map. This request for money is not a fair reflection of UKPC pre agreed damages, it is a penalty which in relation to contract law is unenforceable. Loss in contract law can only be claimed by the owner of a site and not his agent. Where is your right to issue proceedings in your own name for a breach of contract or a trespass upon land which is not owned by you? BPA Code of Practice page 6, clause 6 "Under the code you must have written authorisation of a land owner or his appointed agent before you can carry out parking control and enforcement of the land in question. The authorisation must say that the land owner requires you to keep to the Code of Practice." Clause 6 says it "must" also set out the definition of the land on which you may operate so that the boundaries of the land may be clearly defined. Does the land owner authorise you to take legal action to recover charges due from the drivers charged for unauthorised parking? I request a POPLA code be forwarded to myself in line with the BPA code of practice or notification that this charge has been cancelled. Your Faithfully Miss ********** (THEIR REPLY) Thank you for your email regarding the above Parking Charge Notice (PCN). As per the British Parking Association’s (BPA) Code of Practice, Point 22.7, the driver/keeper/hirer was allowed 28 days from the date the PCN was issued and/or 28 days from the date the Notice to Keeper was sent to challenge the PCN. The time to challenge the charge has now expired and therefore access to the Independent Appeals Service (POPLA) is no longer available. However, in order to resolve this matter, I will offer the following comments as to why this PCN was correctly issued and is still payable. My findings The site in question is subject to terms and conditions, which are stated on signs throughout the area. The signage on site is sufficient and is in line with the guidelines laid down by the British Parking Association (BPA). As these terms were breached on 20th February 2014 (occupant left site), a PCN was correctly and legitimately issued. I attach photographs taken at the time of the parking contravention showing the signage. The area of jurisdiction at this site is perfectly clear. I have personally used the retail park on many occasions and it is apparent where the car park begins and ends. You may be aware that parking in Bury centre is at a premium. In the past, many drivers parked on Moorgate Retail Park and left the site to visit other parts of the town. They parked in this car park to avoid paying the parking charges in place at other car parks, most notably at The Rock. For this reason, the restrictions were put in place to ensure that the car park is only used by shoppers of the site. By your own admission, you left the site without authority and only visited the shops upon your return, most likely after noticing the parking charge. Landowner’s authority We act upon the behalf of our client, who in turn acts upon the behalf of the landowner as their authorised agent. I recommend that you obtain legal advice on this issue. Correspondence A PCN was placed on the vehicle and two letters were sent to you. By ignoring these notifications you have lost the right to appeal as the period to do so has now elapsed. What you need to do now Please pay £160.00 by 15th May 2014. You can pay online or by phone. Go to ***** or phone 0844 561 0965. You can find full details of how to pay on the reverse of the letter(s) sent. What will happen if you do not pay what you owe If you do not pay the amount by the date shown above, I will pass your case to our legal team, who will consider taking legal action to recover what is due. What if you do not agree Although any correspondence that does not provide further evidence will be noted and retained, I cannot guarantee that we will reply to it. More information This parking charge has been issued under the terms of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. To comply with that act, we may need to write to you at specified times until the account is settled. (MY REPLY BELOW) A POPLA code can be issued at anytime as stated by the BPA. 28 days is the time limit you have to complete your POPLA appeal when one has been generated for you. I shall await my code or notification that the penalty has been cancelled. (THEIR REPLY BELOW) Thank you for your email regarding the above Parking Charge Notice (PCN). I have made notes on your file, but it does not alter my stance, which I explained in my previous email. It was your decision to ignore all previous correspondence resulting in the appeal period expiring. No POPLA code will be provided at this stage. What you need to do now Please pay £160.00 by 16th May 2014. You can pay online or by phone. Go to ******or phone 0844 561 0965. You can find full details of how to pay on the reverse of the letter(s) sent to you. If you are having difficulty paying, please phone our payment helpline to discuss payment options. What will happen if you do not pay what you owe If you do not pay the amount by the date shown above, or if you have not entered into a payment agreement with us by then, I will pass your case to our legal team, who will consider taking legal action to recover what is due. What if you do not agree Although any correspondence that does not provide further evidence will be noted and retained, I cannot guarantee that we will reply to it. More information This parking charge has been issued under the terms of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. To comply with that act, we may need to write to you at specified times until the account is settled. (MY FINAL EMAIL) My stance is unaltered also. This is an invoice, not a parking fine. I believe the amount to be completely unjust and unsubstantiated. You will not be receiving payment of the ridiculous sum of £160 from me.