UKPC - Residents Parking. Can I sue for breach of contract ?

[Maki]

I’m looking for some advice and to see if I can can invoice UKPC under the parking conditions for breach of contract using the same charges laid out in the parking terms and conditions.

 

To give a brief background;

I live in a complex where residents are allocated a parking space and must display parking permits and visitors may park in visitor bays as long as visitor permits are displayed.

 

A few weeks ago I was woken up by a knock on my front door from two police officers asking if I would mind moving my car as my neighbours had been locked in for the past 2 hours by an illegally parked car and by moving my car my neighbours would be able to come and go freely while they illegally parked car could be traced. Naturally I agreed and went to get dressed.

 

When I can down to move my car I spoke to the UKPC agent who was ticketing the illegally parked car and asked if I could park in a visitors spot while the other car was blocking the exit that way the rest of my neighbours would be free to come and go, to which he agreed.

 

Having had problems with UKPC before, I decided to email the Helpdesk with confirming the change to the parking terms and conditions agreed with their staff member and received their automated response that my email had been received. I didn’t receive any other communication to say they did or didn’t approve the changes verbally agreed with their onsite parking attendant.

 

When I went to go out in my car a few hours later I found I’d been given a parking ticket - no real shock there !

 

I duly submitted an appeal and received a reply stating my appeal has been rejected and the ticket was issued legally which I find baffling. I am now submitting an appeal to POPLA and have also started a complaint with the land owners asking them to instruct UKPC to cancel the ticket but their seems to be some confusion about their powers at the land owners which I am trying to educate them on.

 

My question is, in that there was a verbal agreement to amend the parking terms and conditions which I backed up in writing and received an automated response for, can I now charge UKPC the £120 that they have tried to charge me for breach of contract as it’s actually them that’s in breach of the amended contract rather than me ?

 

I’m more than happy to take this to small claims and drag UKPC 5hrough the papers if I get the opportunity. (To make matters worse, I’m a disabled driver and the photographs UKPC have supplied clearly show my disabled bade on display and the fact that i’m Parked in a disabled visitors bay)

 

Any advice would be appreciated

[DragonFly1967]

It's a bit of a shame that you've appealed the windscreen ticket as the driver. If they'd have written to you as keeper, you could've had them for breaching the Data Protection Act as well

 

Best thing to do now is to wait to see what they do. If they're daft enough to try and take you to court, they'll open the door to all kinds of counter claims and claims for expenses etc.

 

Should be quite a nice day out at court

[Maki]

Sadly I couldn't allow it to go to that stage as its a contract car and the agreement states they will just pay any unpaid parking tickets and charge me an additional fee for doing so

[DragonFly1967]

Sadly I couldn't allow it to go to that stage as its a contract car and the agreement states they will just pay any unpaid parking tickets and charge me an additional fee for doing so

 

Ahh, perfectly understandable then. Even though the lease company probably don't have cause to pay it on your behalf as it's not a fine or statutory charge. But that would be an argument to have with the leasing company.

 

 

The rest of the advice would remain the same however. Sit tight and see what they do. You had a verbal contract with the attendant on site, so that overrides any of their silly signs. They can't touch you, although that won't stop them trying.

[Maki]

I actually look forward to them trying to take this matter to court, but I'm just as interested to know if I could turn the tables and charge them the £120 for breach of contract in that they issued a ticket contrary to the verbal agreement (which I confirmed in writing via email to UKPC) to amend the contract I had with a member of their staff

[DragonFly1967]

Probably not, but you can claim lots of other things.

[ericsbrother]

as already said,

it is not a parking ticket but an invoice for a contractual sum or for money owed for a breach of contract- neither of which are true in your case.

 

You were instructed what to do by a police officer and that could have included running a red light, parking in a bus lane or anything else that would normally land you in trouble.

 

the individually negotiated contract with their employee is on top of that and as it is likely the same person has ticketed your car then there is also misrepresentation to consider but tbh you wont get very far with a court claim because they are there to put you back in the position where you started, not to enrich you or punish UKPC so you can only get the minor costs of battling their unreasonableness out of this.

 

You may have a good claim for damages for their breach of the DPA

however if they obtained your keeper details from there to pursue this matter rather than relying on you telling them you are a target for their greed by writing after getting the ticket.

 

This is one of the reasons we say never appeal a screen ticket, the parking co's are so crap at their jobs they would lose every calim if left to their own devices

Edited March 17, 2018 by dx100uk
spacing

[Maki]

OK, I've had my response from POPLA and they've upheld the parking invoice (no surprise there!) stating the employee didn't have the right to alter the terms of parking and I accepted the terms displayed on the signs in the car park. In addition to this they said the fact I emailed UKPC to confirm the change to the parking conditions as verbally agreed is irrelevant as UKPC didn't respond to the email to accept them.

 

I've now received the usual pay up or else we will pass to debt collectors letter from UKPC.

 

I have no intention of paying this charge and am happy to go to court to argue my case, my neighbours have already given we witness statements confirming my version of events. The owners of the land have written to UKPC (providing me with a copy) asking UKPC to cancel the charge due to the circumstances but UKPC have refused stating the charge is valid as per the parking terms and conditions so the land owners have said there is nothing else they can do (or want to do!)

 

My question is do I inform UKPC not to bother with debt collectors as I dispute the validity of the claim and suggest they mitigate their losses and commence court action ? Also, in that the land owners have requested the charge be cancelled, does this in effect withdraw their authority to make the charge ?

 

Thanks

[DragonFly1967]

I'd let them take me to court.

 

If you have a letter from the landowner telling UKPC to cancel and they've chosen not to, that letter alone will completely destroy any claim they attempt to make in court. The Judge will take one look at that and kick the clowns to the kerb.

[brassnecked]

The fact that the charge arose due to an instruction from a Police Officer will further kill their claim.

 

Might be worth trying to get other Residents to petition with you for UKPC's removal from the site in view opf their muppetry.

[Maki]

It was more a request to move (worded "would you mind moving your car.." rather than an instruction to move from the police as it's private land they couldn't instruct me to move.

 

I was thinking about getting other residents to petition for the removal but the majority are tenants rather than the actual property owners so I'm not sure how much weight that would have at the end of the day. Something to consider once I know what I'm doing though.

[Ethel Street]

The fact that the charge arose due to an instruction from a Police Officer will further kill their claim.

 

It wasn't an instruction from the police. They were "asking if I would mind moving my car" according to OP. That may or may not assist OP.

[brassnecked]

It wasn't an instruction from the police. They were "asking if I would mind moving my car" according to OP. That may or may not assist OP.

It was reasonable for OP to move the car, so might still be useful if the PPC is daft enough to try court. PPC's are as daft as legacy media with their misunderstanding of Customs Unions.

[Maki]

Do I let them know I wont be paying and not to bother with debt collectors or do I just ignore everything until I receive any court papers ?

[dx100uk]

send nothing

await a letter of/before claim from a solicitor

or a court claimform

[ericsbrother]

pay them double so they dont have to go to the bother of even issuing you a ticket next time you DONT break a contract (only joking of course).

 

As for a petition, waste of time.

You get the residents to form an association and tell the managing agents to boot them out or risk getting sued for harassment themselves.

there are protocols and laws that must be followed to get anywhere so start learning what they are and how to use them.

Your flat owners lease will have terms that are transferred to you so these bandits probably arnet allowed to go near your vehicle in reality but throw stone up the wrong tree and you wont hit anything.

 

So having watsed your time on a POPLA appeal my advice is to wait for them to do something and in the meanwhile read the lease for the flat and what it says about parking and parking in the common parts in particular.

 

I would also bet that the signage isnt a contractual offer but prohibive in nature anyway and these are things that POPLA never consider because thier remit doesnt go that far.

It was more a request to move (worded "would you mind moving your car.." rather than an instruction to move from the police as it's private land they couldn't instruct me to move.

 

I was thinking about getting other residents to petition for the removal but the majority are tenants rather than the actual property owners so I'm not sure how much weight that would have at the end of the day. Something to consider once I know what I'm doing though.