in a rush for a meeting today i parked in what i thought was a bay but on returning to the vehicle a parking charge notice had been attached to my vehicle stating "Not Parked in Allocated Bay" 1 The date of infringement 22/3/2017 2 Have you yet appealed to the parking company yet? N have you received a Notice To Keeper? (NTK) Not yet 5 Who is the parking company? Premier Parking Solutions 6. where exactly [Carpark name and town] did you park? Premier Inn, Southernhay Exeter

Dear Forum members, I would like to ask you if you could kindly help me draft the best POPLA appeal that I can in regards to the NTK I received from UKPC? Appeal sent as the Keeper of the Vehicle on the following grounds and asked for further information: 1. Equalities Act 2010 compliance (have sent them proof of disability for an occupant of the vehicle) 2. Parking Charge amount claim grounds 3. Asking them to give a breakdown of their actual loss. Is the charge a true reflection of damages? 4. Their status – the creditor? 5. Ownership of premises? 6. Contractual Authority (as required by BPA Ltd AOS CoP B.7) 7. Signage There was no admission on who was driving and that is stated in the appeal letter to UKPC clearly as well. UKPC Rejection of the Appeal: Their reasoning for rejection of my appeal was (verbatim): Disabled parking bays are reserved for Blue Badge holders only and that a valid disabled badge must be clearly displayed at all times. They have not addressed any other issues or points of appeal at all. I have also downloaded the photos they hold on file for my vehicle and they are all silly and also show how inadequate their signs are as they are absolutely unreadable. I have included in this document (further down on following pages) the following: • Copy of the photos UKPC has on their online system for the vehicle at the location • Copy of the photos I have taken subsequently visiting the site to check for signage • UKPC Notice to Keeper copy (personal info scribbled out) • My letter of appeal to UKPC as the owner of the vehicle (personal info scribbled out) • Copy of the UKPC Rejection of Appeal letter to me (personal info scribbled out) Could you please assist me with making the best possible POPLA appeal for this case? Thank you ALL for sharing your time and knowledge so selflessly!!! Below is the summary as per your guide and I have also attached full PDF document with photos and copies of letters etc (redacted for personal details): please answer the following questions. 1 Date of the infringement: 18/11/2018 2 Date on the NTK [this must have been received within 14 days from the 'offence' date]: 19/12/2018 3 Date received: 24/12/2018 4 Does the NTK mention schedule 4 of The Protections of Freedoms Act 2012? [y/n?] YES 5 Is there any photographic evidence of the event? YES (copy in the attached PDF) 6 Have you appealed? {y/n?] post up your appeal] YES (details in the attached PDF) Have you had a response? [Y/N?] post it up: YES (details in the attached PDF) 7 Who is the parking company?: UKPC (ukparkingcontrol.com) 8. Where exactly [carpark name and town]: Great Western Industrial Estate, Southall UB2 4SD PDF case copies for the Forum to ask for POPLA appeal help.pdf

I received a ticket for parking in a disabled bay. The markings we so bad I honestly didn't notice it was a restricted bay. The warden even said he'd appeal which I did. The reply from the council acknowledges that the bay markings 'are not in the best condition'. Is there rules about the road marking and their condition which would give me grounds to appeal

Hi, My first post so I hope I have stuck to all rules. I received a PCN today from SIP in Manchester for not parking in marked bay. I returned from a court appointment in the family courts and had the PCN on my windscreen. I had paid the parking for the period via the app. The markings for the actual bays was almost none existent and also it was the end of an arm in the under rail parking on Harding Street in Salford. My thoughts are that due to the poor quality of the "marked bays" they have no case. i parked as you can see from the photos as close as I could to the next car so that someone could get in and out of there car. I have parked here in this place for about 18 years and only recently have SIP took management of it. Won't be going again And yes it was private land 1 The date of infringement? 22/10/2018 2 Have you yet appealed to the parking company yet? [N] If you haven't appealed yet - ,......... have you received a Notice To Keeper? (NTK) [must be received by you between 29-56 days] 5 Who is the parking company? SIP 6. where exactly [Carpark name and town] did you park? Harding Street Salford PDF.pdf

Hi everyone, hope someone may be able to help. On Thursday 20th July around 11pm we parked in a bay, alongside a few other cars. (We have parked before so were aware of the bay regulations 9-5 Mon-Fri 4 hr no return 4 hr). Part of the bay was cordoned off with red barriers, but no barriers where we parked. On Friday morning at 8.30am returned to car to find a PCN with code 21 (observed 8:06am-8:08am). Looked for a sign only to find one partially obscured by branches from a tree and attached to a lamp post not the existing parking regulation sign, was attached with cable ties and had twisted round slightly and therefore was clearly visible in the dark. On inspection of the sign it states that 'bays o/s 47-49 Addington St' are affected, I'm going to assume that o/s means outside. The erected red barriers are outside of those flat numbers numbers and we were parked further along the bay in front of a wall to a car park. Can anyone help as to whether we have a good case for appeal against this PCN. Can't seem to attach any photos. Many thanks.

Hi guys, I've been advised by a friend to come on here after i received a parking charge notice this afternoon. I was parked incorrectly, however to get into that space i had to drive through a narrow gap & swing the car into the space. As you can see from the attached pictures, it is not possible for another car to park besides mine, due to the the vehicles parked across the front of the car park. Do i pay the the £35 fine within 24hours or appeal? If appeal gets rejected then its £60! Many thanks.

1. The date of infringement? 20th March, 2018 at 20:04:43 2. Have you yet appealed to the parking company yet? No 2.1. Have you received a Notice To Keeper? Not yet 2.2. What date is on it? Not recieved letter yet, just a ATTENTION slip 2.3. Did the NTK provide photographic evidence? Yes 3. Did the NTK mention Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) Not one the webpage with all the information and photographs 4. If you appealed after receiving the NTK, did the parking company give you any information regarding the further appeals process? Not appealed 5. Who is the parking company? UKCPS 6. Where exactly [Carpark name and town] did you park? Centertainment Sheffield Hi there, me and my girlfriend went to the cinema last night in Sheffield. As we got into Sheffield we noticed there were really bad traffic around the centertainment area. We managed to get into the car park for Cineworld and it was absolutly jam packed. There was an event going off somewhere nearby and people were using the centertainment car park (as its free) and leaving the area. The cinema was dead so the majority of cars there were infringing the rules by not staying within the area. We drove around for half an hour and was late for our movie trying to find a parking bay. We found a little area, safe section unused by the walking public and unmarked as all parking bays were taken up. We didnt obstruct anyone or cause any danger to anyone or cost anyone any money. I was outraged at the fact that everyone was using the parking bays and not even going to the cinema. They want £100 for some reason, £60 if I pay up within 2 weeks.

Hi - I hope the community of CAG may be able to help. I had received a PCN by a CEO. Here is a timeline of what had happened: -received a paper PCN (stuck on window) on the 19/2/18 for parking in a suspended bay as there were scheduled tree cutting maintenance going on. I definitely missed the sign. Car was towed to adjoining street. -sent a representation to council, with proof of posting, on 27/2/18. Below is my representation sent to them -did not receive a response from the council regarding my representations. -receive an NtO today (4/5/18) - below is the NtO received. -I also checked the website for pictures of the alleged contravention online, but NOTHING. Nor were the pictures sent with the NtO - usually the last page on the NtO from what I gather, contains the pictures, but in my case, the "page was intentionally blank. Do I have a good chance of appealing? Were the council supposed to respond to my informal representations? Pictures have not been provided despite asking in my reps and checking on website - is this a procedural failure? Thank you, Jay NtO: ****START**** On 19/02/2018, my vehicle **** *** was issued with a Penalty Charge Notice for the reason (code) of 21 – “parked wholly or partly in a suspended bay or space”. This should be cancelled as there ought to be a grace period of 10 minutes by virtue of Civil Enforcement of Parking (England) General Regulations 2015. As can be seen from the PCN, observation started at 08.05am and PCN given at 08.08am. Under the 2015 regulations, the PCN should have been given at 08.11am at the earliest. This was not the case here. Also, the photographs that should be available on the website, are not found when clicking on any photograph link. The very last time I tried to check photographs were on the 24/02/2018 just before 10pm. Please see appendix 1 and 2 of exactly what I faced. By law, these photographs should be taken by an approved device and be available to view. Unfortunately, ‘upto 3 days after the contravention’ for pictures to be available stipulated on Newham’s website, is beyond that time frame. For the reasons above, I look forward to receiving notification that the Penalty Charge Notice has been cancelled within 28 days. ****END**** NtO_SusParkingBay.pdf

Hi, I am looking for some guidance. My partner who has a private hire cab stopped outside a restaurant and went in looking for a customer (not realising that it was in fact a loading bay). Came out to find a ticket on the car. The PCN states that the offence code is 02 'Parked or loading/unloading in a restricted street where waiting and loading/unloading restrictions are in force'. This is under s78 civil enforcement of parking contraventions under the traffic management act 2004. The time the contravention was observed was only 1 minute. I am just wondering if he has any grounds to appeal this. The time was 17:52. We will go past and look at the signage tomorrow but this is what is showing on google street view (realise this may have changed since).

Hi Our property is located at the end of T-shaped cul de sac. In front of our property council have converted large disabled parking bay into two normal parking bays. However access to the parking bay in the corner (highlighted in yellow) is so limited that to park there you have to drive over the grass in front of it. Now the grass is so damaged that the mud is spilling onto the road plus it looks ugly. I was wondering what are the regulation for this. What are the minimum dimensions for access to a parking bay etc. Thanks. Joe

Careparking where: Whitefield Metrolink Free carpark , Bury new rd , Whitefield, Manchester. (behind the station) Hi I hope you can all help me with this query on behalf of my father who is 80 years old. Attached are two photographs of my father's car parked clearly in a disabled bay but slightly too far to the right hand side. He had to park this way because on arrival the original car in the left-hand bay was parked at an angle and was impeding into the disabled bay, forcing him to part to the right hand side. He correctly displayed his disabled badge. My mother needs to have a full door opening access as a passenger and she is also 83 years old and is not very mobile. She was the passenger so he had to have space for her to get out. On returning to the car sometime later the original car had been replaced with the one in the photograph and he had a parking ticket for failing to park within the designated bay. He appealed to the parking company on the grounds that he had not impeded any other vehicles or prevented another vehicle parking in another bay and also mentioned that the car adjacent to the left HS has caused him to have to move over and that the car had been replaced since his return. As you can quite clearly see from the photographs there is plenty of room to the right hand side and the parking bay disabled chevrons can clearly be seen. I presume this is to allow access for a door to be opened fully for example, wheelchair access. As typically expected the parking company denied the appeal, ignored his explanation totally and sent him a popla code to start the next process to appeal to Popla. I have used this site previously with great success and really appreciate the knowledge that some of you on here have. However whilst he's not denying parking over the bay line, they're are circumstances that forced him to use this bay as others were available either. I am unsure of the correct argument to use with popla as clearly he is not impeding any other drivers which is the reason I would expect for parking wholly inside a bay. Before we write to appeal again I would appreciate any advice you may have. Thank you 5.pdf 4.pdf

Hi, I have joined the forum in the hope that somebody has useful information for me in my aim to shake Cabot Financial off, who are chasing a debt which becomes statute barred in September 2018. A brief outline of the debt I am being chased for: Type of debt: Credit debt - Santander Current account Outstanding balance: £590 (consisting £150 overdraft + £440 charges) Account closed: September 2012 After speaking with a helpful advisor at the National Debtline and explaining my situation, I was told it was a difficult one which needed careful consideration of my next steps. I was presented with three options: 1. Wait the seven months and risk court action 2. Set up a payment plan, which would reset the limitation act 3. As it was a disputed debt with Santander, present evidence to Cabot for them to investigate - but this would reset the statute barred clock. I have email records of a complaint I had made to Santander about charges on my account late in 2011. Santander acknowledged receiving my complaint, they even followed up with an email apology for the delay in responding to the complaint - but this was to be the last correspondence with no further follow up and the issue remained unresolved from their side. I have records of this correspondence. I stopped using the account and the charges continued until the bank decided to close it in September 2012. I really don't have the money to pay this debt. I would really like to avoid paying it especially as it was disputed with Santander in the first place, I can't afford a CCJ as it will stop me getting a mortgage which I hope to be in a position to go for within the next few years. I am looking for delay tactics without acknowledging the debt to get me into the statute barred date when I can confidently answer a Cabot phone call and tell them to do one! Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

Anger at nearly £4k disabled parking bay charge READ MORE HERE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42772258

Hi I have recently received a council parking ticket for parking in what appeared to be a parking bay outside of a Premier Inn in Northampton, I paid the correct amount to park in the car park overnight but having come out in the morning found a ticket on my vehicle I contacted the council and was visited by two parking wardens who couldn't explain why i had received a ticket for where I was parked as they too could clearly see the worn markings. Having challenged the fine with the council directly they have rejected my initial appeal as they claim that this isn't a parking bay at all, and that the fine had been issued correctly. I have now looked on Google Street view and the historical photos of the site show that this was part of the car park (a double bay) before the premier inn was built, however the markings are still present and my vehicle was not causing an obstruction to other users of the car park, does anyone have any advice on how to take my appeal forward or the grounds to base it on?

a description of the issue: Blossom St, York, Car Park, the amount of money involved £160.00 any relevant dates: 27th July. I parked behind the old cinema on Blossom St York, bought a parking ticket for £1.50, which I though was for 2hours, didn't check the time on the ticket, as I was in a rush. However I was 10 minutes late, the expiry time on the ticket was 11.51 and I got to the car around 12pm, I was therefore late. I was there due to work commitment, an exam at a local dental practise which over ran, I was under the assumption that I had parking until after 12pm. then 2 weeks later I received a PCN from Minster Baywatch LTD, which under some advise I ignored, however those letters have now accumulated and I received a letter from Gladstone Solicitors, I have received a letter before claim- demanding £160. 00. Has anyone else received anything of this nature, and will I be taken to court, it seems really unfair, considering I was only 10 minutes late. Please advise? SR

Hi, I was hoping the more savvy on here could help me. I recently had to nip to the shops, once I got there & parked up I realised I had left my current/valid blue badge at home, I had been in someone else’s car the day before. The shops are in Warrington, the carpark is Council operated. I did have an expired BB including the clock in the car. My car is registered disabled. My disability, severe heart failure, means it takes effort to get to the shops, but needs must. The parking at the shops states disabled parking free & 3 hour stay. I displayed the expired BB & clock accordingly. When I returned about an hour later I had a ticket, code violation 87, Parked in a designated disabled persons parking space without displaying a valid disabled persons badge, (great). I notified the appeals centre that I am registered disabled and forwarded to them the up-to-date BB, believing that would suffice. I was wrong, they are pursuing the matter, hence I ask for any knowledge you can assist me with. There were no easily visible signs that deemed that a BB was required (nit-picking), from my research Under the Equality Act reasonable adjustments are required to avoid disabled people being placed at a "substantial disadvantage". They have an obscured/hidden sign 100m+ from the allocated parking over extremely uneven terrain, totally inappropriate for persons with mobility issues. As per the BPA Approved Operator Scheme Code of Practice, they clearly indicate that accessible bays are for Disabled use, the entrance signage ONLY indicates that their ONLY enforcement is on a 3 hour time limit. I note other posts state the European Court of Human Rights, ruled that disabled parking spaces were there for ALL disabled people and not just blue badge holders; anyone disabled and driving a vehicle, or a vehicle carrying a disabled passenger who are REGISTERED disabled can lawfully use these spaces there is no need to display a blue badge, which is deemed as placing additional measures. Has anyone come across this? I feel it is sad that a council would seek to profit from such a lapse of memory, which is 1 of my disability issues, I do understand and appreciate their need to enforce non compliance, but surely once proof of disability is shown there is no crime? Any assistance would be appreciated.

Hi All My partner received a windscreen ticket for parking in a disabled bay. As per the advice on this forum, we have waited for the NTK, which arrived 34 days after the ticket was put on the windscreen. I am planning on writing for a POPLA code but wanted to clear up a question I have on the POFA Act 2012. Under section 8, which (as I understand it) is the section applicable if you have a windscreen ticket, the act says: (4)The notice must be given by— (a)handing it to the keeper, or leaving it at a current address for service for the keeper, within the relevant period; or (b)sending it by post to a current address for service for the keeper so that it is delivered to that address within the relevant period. (5)The relevant period for the purposes of sub-paragraph (4) is the period of 28 days following the period of 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice to driver was given. Does this not mean that the notice to keeper must be received within 28 days starting from the day after the windscreen ticket was received? It's just that advice elsewhere says that the NTK must be received within 28-56 days.

Hi, hoping someone has some advice. While visiting family last week, my husband parked up in a disabled bay in a council car park while we took the children to the park. Parking was free for up to three hours. Blue badge and time clock displayed clearly. he drives a WAV, he has to be careful about how to park, very few car parks have spaces that are ok for WAVs. This particular car park layout meant for safely and to not cause an obstruction, he was within two BB spaces, ie making a 'through' space. We've parked there before with our previous WAV. He got out the van from the back, two of our children were with him and they noticed a traffic warden nearby, he checked the sign, and went off to meet me in the park. He came back to the WAV alone just over two hours later, got in the back, got into driving position and realised he'd been given a ticket! He called over another traffic warden, who said the first one had told him she'd ticketed him for occupying two spaces and she'd called her supervisor to ask if she could do it. My husband asked to speak to the supervisor himself. 2nd traffic warden refused. My husband asked him if he were not a power wheelchair user, and could park up without alighting from the rear, if he would have got a ticket. The 2nd warden said no. 2nd warden also said if he'd purchased a ticket from the machine as well, he wouldn't have got a ticket. The sign says disabled parking free for up to three hours, nothing about parking a WAV and alighting safely, or having to buy a ticket for having a WAV. He told him he couldn't cancel it, so to appeal, gave him a number to ring for the supervisor as well. My husband asked how he was supposed to get the ticket off the windscreen, he couldn't reach from his chair. Bearing in mind he was alone, the vehicle is obviously a WAV with no drivers seat, and the blue badge is directly in front of the drivers seat anyone checking that could see it clearly, the 1st warden would have looked directly into the space to place the ticket. The 2nd traffic warden had to hand him the ticket. The time on the ticket is 15 minutes after he got there, and is for parking over a line. He told my husband he should have parked in one space and caused an obstruction. There wasn't actually room for him to deploy the ramp to alight from the rear of the vehicle if he'd done that. By this time, my husband was really stressed and upset, getting chest pains, and called me, the traffic warden left before I'd got there. We waited about 15 minutes till he'd calmed down and felt better but the warden didn't come back. My husband didn't get a choice with motability about the size of the WAV, it's because of the equipment, ramp etc, in the back and adaptations. He's had it for almost two years, we park in car parks every day. On the advice of our local police, we also carry cones to place behind because we've had a couple of incidences of people blocking the rear doors so he can't get in. My husband parks in the safest way possible so not to get run over when getting out, to avoid causing an obstruction etc. He's never had a parking ticket before, especially not for being a wheelchair user with a WAV, can't believe he said that! The children confirmed they'd seen the first traffic warden as they'd parked up with their dad. She could have come across then and spoken to him, the car park wasn't busy, but instead she decided to ticket him. I bet she told her supervisor it was just a van with a BB, not a WAV with no drivers seat. I messaged the local council that evening, and they're supposed to be looking into it. He has 14 days to appeal, it's now day 7. The council say it's an unusual situation and apologised but they haven't yet cancelled the ticket, apparently the team who'd look into it were away last week, no excuse yet for this week. I checked their 'other rules' for car parks online later on, and it mentions nothing about parking WAV's safely, without causing obstruction. If he'd parked like they wanted him to park, he wouldn't have been able to get out at all. We took photos of how he was parked, of the sign and how the 2nd warden thought he should have parked. Their sign said people 'may' get a ticket, suggesting they should use some common sense :-/ Not sure how ticketing a BB holder parked in a BB space is common sense at all, or to anyone's benefit really. Seems like a massive waste of time for them and us. I'm emailing the council again today, to find out if they want him to go through appealing or what. It's 200 miles away, so we can't just go in, or we would! Very much feels like he's been ticketed for needing a power wheelchair and adapted vehicle though. He's never got a ticket where we live, or anywhere else actually, and he parks up for work every day in a BB space. Any advice on how to handle this?

Hi Guys , I went for lunch yesterday in Neath and parked in what I though was a legitimate parking pay , hindsight is a wonderful thing and it transpires I parked in a loading bay. I received a PCN stating that I had parked in a loading bay during restricted hours. I don't know why but as the sign stated that the loading bay was to the right and parking was to the left I thought it meant the next parking bay up was the loading bay and didn't realize that the parking bays available for around 5 cars was split in two. After I inspected the road markings I realized my mistake but the dividing line between the two bays was very feint and not visible to me from my drivers position. I fully accept the mistake was mine for not being more observant when I parked but was wondering if I had any chance of appealing as the painted line was feint. I have included pictures so you can see what I mean. Should I just cough up and put it down to my error or do I have a case to appeal. Picture List. 1.Where I was parked 2. Parking Sign 3. Parking Boundary line 4. Parking Boundary line again Where I was parked.pdf

Caught again! . . this time it is just do i appeal first or just send a letter denying all liability and what should be said in opening letter/appeal? Story: My employers and a 3rd party company share a carpark that is free and used for employees and guests. It is a private carpark but no barriers etc and no parking charges imposed. Recently as it has become very over crowded & the landlord has brought in a private parking company to manage the parking UKCPS and the bays have just been colour coded . Our company and its staff can use red or blue marked bays and the other company uses green bays. I only visit head office once a month on my first occasion I parked in-between the two coloured bays. (There were 2 unmarked bays available on the entire carpark) There was a gap of 4 unmarked bays between blue (left handside) and Green(right handsome). 2 were available, myself and a colleague used these bays and then went to our reception in our office to ask the girls if we were okay where we had parked? I also have to have a visitor ticket on the dashboard and i mentioned my car being parked in an unmarked bay to my receptionist as i collected the visitor ticket. I was told that unmarked should be okay. I put my visitor ticket on the screen. At 5pm i had a ticket for parking in an un- authorised bay - i believe - £100 fee reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days? (the receptionist was new and had got the facts wrong, apparently we should not us the unmarked bays either) My reception asked to have the ticket appealed verbally over the next day or so with the parking enforcement company and they have refused - she has just emailed to say i have to pay them unfortunately. Now I could go to her boss and tell them to pay , but it is my boss also and she is new and made an honest mistake. i would prefer to fight it rather than anyone pay as it is ridiculous. What is the easiest course of action I have 22 days left to appeal. parking ticket was dated. 6th december 2016 just looking for the best initial course of action - send an appeal letter to them on the grounds of ?....

Need info on regarding a PCN on shared use taxi rank. On TSM chapter 5 7.43, it states that LA will need special authorisation from Dft on use of diagram 650.1 (no stopping except taxis). But the new TSGRD 2016 which came on force since april this year, there's a para stating: Confused with the wording but is it to say that LA will not need authorisation from Dft? Thinking of contesting the PCN as it's a non-prescribed sign (650.1) but noticed the new changes. Caught out in Aldershot station road. Pay parking until 7PM and taxi rank from 8PM . Original TSM chapter 5 wordings:

I wonder if anyone can help? I received a PCN for parking in a disable bay at a private residential underground car park. I challenged this through both the appeal routes (parking operator and The IAS) based mainly on lack of clear signage at the bay. The ground markings are small and painted in red which were not visible while reversing in to the space and not visible once parked. There was a sign on a pillar however this was high up and to the side of the space and again not visible when reversing. My argument is that signage should have been directly behind the space in keeping with signs at other disabled bays in the car park. There was a perfectly pillar immediately behind the bay that a sign could have been attached to. I believe the current signage is unsatisfactory and amounts to "predatory tactics". What are people's thoughts? I also wonder what thoughts people have on on terms and conditions signage at the car park stating that the parking operator is a member of the BPA and appeals are heard by POPLAR when it transpires that they are not as they a new members of the IPC who use the IAS to hear appeals Does this incorrect signage have any baring on the arguments I can make at Court?

hi to everyone, i parked my car on whitechapel road today at 13.04, an went to collect the pre ordered cotton bale from from a shop which is 7 min walk away from loading bay. it took me 15 -16 min to go n come back. i came back in my car with goods at 13.19 i saw pcn on my car. traffic warden observed from 13.04 till 13.09 n then issued a ticket. i m just confused as there was 20 min loading was allowed and i went to collect the goods and came back within 20 min. why he issued the ticket? i also got a letter from the shop in which they said that i was there to collect my goods. what do you think guys i have any grounds to appeal? n one thing more there is no contravention code on the pcn, only reason is mentioned which is (Stopped where prohibited red-rout clearway).. thx

Hello, I have done some research on this forum (and others) and haven't found anyone in a similar situation. I have received a letter from BW Legal demanding payment of £174.00 for their client, Vehicle Control Services Limited, for a Parking Charge Notice (PCN). This 'PCN' was given as the car was 'Parked beyond the bay markings'. The letter has the standard 'fear' language such as 'if not paid we will commence legal proceedings' and 'If we gain a CCJ this will have a detrimental effect on your future creditworthiness and employability'. This letter is also signed 'BW Legal' rather than with an actual name, which I find odd. This was a free car park in Sheffield for Valley Centretainment customers (Which we were). We went to the cinema and restaurant there but parked on the end of a row of cars, which wasn't marked as a parking bay. There was no signage that clearly stated that cars must be parked in the bays and as it was a free car park for customers I refused to accept the charge. Back when the original letters were sent, I followed online recommendations to simply ignore the demands, and after several 'final notices' I heard nothing from them until now. The PCN was issued early 2012 (I've read on other threads that it is pre PoFA, but I don't fully know what that means). Doing some research now it seems that it might not be the best idea to continue ignoring these letters, however I don't want to respond to them after such a long time as it might trigger them to harass me or to 'continue with legal proceedings'. I would ask if anyone could suggest if I should respond, what response to give and the best way to respond (I presume all written/mailed rather than email). They have demanded I pay within 16 days of the date of the letter, which was a few days before I even received the letter, or they will carry out with proceedings with the County Court Claim. Thank you for reading my post and I appreciate any help/suggestions given.

BACK STORY - The wife received a letter in the post about parking in a disabled bay with no badge back in november. (the wife said she was in a parent child space) this was the first we had heard of anything so after reading up and seeing alot of literature saying not to ignore it I replied in appeal stating no notice was placed on the car etc this got rejected after further correspodence that has now resulted in solicitor letters in which they have sent photographic evidence which show that the dizzy cow was actually in a disabled bay (next the parent child) and that if the find isnt paid within 14 days it could result in court action i think i know the answer already but just thought id ask after finding this site is she liable to pay? if no payment is made do you think it is likely to go to court? if so what are the reprecussions of this? has anyone had any experience thanks in advance