MET PCN - occupants left Southgate premises - Starbucks/McDonalds Southgate Park, Stansted Airport CM24 1PY - 5th letter and counting

[mars67]

I am monitoring this saga with interest, as my story is following the exact same pattern, but about five months behind.

The 'date of contravention' was 21st July, 

I have today received the third of three letters from Debt Recovery Plus, entitled 'TERMINAL NOTICE - PRE-LEGAL ACTION'.

Please keep the updates coming,

its all really useful stuff and will help me greatly.

[mars67]

1. Date of the infringement

21st July 2022

 

2 Date on the NTK [this must have been received within 14 days from the 'offence' date]

18th August 2022 - See redacted copy attached

 

3 Date received

24th August 2022

 

4 Does the NTK mention schedule 4 of The Protections of Freedoms Act 2012? [Y/N?]

Doesn't appear to

 

5 Is there any photographic evidence of the event?

Yes, images of vehicle arriving and leaving as well as occupants walking to/from vehicle

 

6 Have you appealed? [Y/N?] post up your appeal]

No appeal

 

7 Who is the parking company?

MET Parking Services

 

8. Where exactly [carpark name and town]

Southgate Park, Stansted CM24 1PY

 

For either option, does it say which appeals body they operate under.

Reference to POPLA and BPA Logo at bottom of letter.

 

Since receiving the original NTK, the following documents have been received:

 

• PCN Final Reminder - dated 22nd September 2022
• Initial correspondence from "Debt Recovery Plus" demanding £170.00, either as a one off payment or via a payment plan - Dated 11th October 2022
• Second correspondence from Debt Recovery Plus: further demand for £170.00, and choices / explanations of outcomes depending on my response - Dated 4th November 2022
• Third correspondence from Debt Recovery Plus: reiterating the £170.00 owed, with a final chance to pay up - Dated 12th December & received today 19th December 2022

 

Evening all

 

Unfortunately I am another victim of MET Parking Services and their ridiculous parking setup at Starbucks/McDonalds, Southgate Park near Stansted Airport. Car was parked in the car park, apparently in the Starbucks area, but the the outlet visited was the McDonalds next door. Absolutely ridiculous set up, that almost appears to have been designed that way, just to catch people out.

 

A couple of weeks after the Contravention back in July, the first letter arrived with details of how to view the CCTV footage of the car entering the lot and parking up, the occupants getting out and walking to McDonalds, then recording the walk back to the car, followed by the car leaving. I did view the footage back then, but when I went to look at it again this evening, it is no longer available.

Details are below:

 

Apparently if I ignore the third letter received today legal recovery actions will begin. I can scan the other docs if required.

 

Like others, I'm looking for a little reassurance essentially.

 

Thanks,

MET Parking PCN 21-07-2022.pdf

[FTMDave]

You're right, it is deliberately set up to catch motorists out and fleece them.

 

Fortunately the idiots don't bother to follow the law when sending out their bilge and, to date, we haven't seen them dare take anyone to court.

 

Certainly DRP can't take you to court, as it's not their debt.

 

Relax for the moment.

 

Come back though if you ever get a Letter of Claim or similar.

 

 

[lookinforinfo]

We have seen a few of these recently and every one has failed to comply with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. This means that opnly the driver is responsible for any breach of their T&CS. So it is important not to reveal who was driving since anyone with a  valid vehicle insurance policy is legally allowed to drive your car. In Court it is not enough to state , as the parking companies do, that the driver and keeper are the same person. They need to provide proof of that and they won't be able to if you don't admit who was driving.

 

So just ignore all their threats. In the end -usually after a few months or even a few years they finally give up. On the odd occasion they do take someone to Court they usually lose since they cannot identify the driver and quite often there are other things that mean that even the driver is   not liable to pay anything either..

 

Apart from looking out for a Letter of Claim just relax and forget about the crroks -and that includes the unregulated debt collectors. If you do receive an LOC let us know and we will advise you to send of a snotty letter making it clear that they can go whistle.

[Homer67]

Isn't the NTK out of time to create keeper liability?

[FTMDave]

Difficult one.

 

It would be out of time for ANPR, but it's not ANPR.

 

24 August would be OK for the 29-56 days of a windscreen ticket.

 

But it's not a windscreen ticket, it's CCTV.

[BazzaS]

Schedule 4 POFA doesn’t use the terms “window ticket” and “ANPR”, though.

It refers to “Notice to driver” (NtD) issued at the time (so, the same as a “window ticket”), and, if a NtD wasn’t issued, the timescales for first Notice to Keeper (NtK).

 

So the “ANPR”  timescales apply. It doesn’t matter if the first NtK was issued as a result of ANPR or CCTV, just that there wasn’t a NtD at time of parking preceding it.

Edited December 22, 2022 by BazzaS

[FTMDave]

Thanks Bazza.

I didn't know that.

I've just read and got my head around POFA, Schedule 4, para 6-9, and you're spot on.

Out of time they!

[BazzaS]

Unless they try & pull the “disappearing window ticket” trick….

[mars67]

As MET have all the CCTV footage, they should easily be able to produce a clip of the window ticket being issued.

However this would actually be impossible without Hollywood grade CGI, as there wasn't one issued! Moreover, the person driving at the time is blissfully unaware any of this is even going on and they wouldn't be had a ticket been issued.

They do not live where the notifications have been coming and if they knew about all this would only panic and worry. But it seems from the most recent posts this week that there is no need whatsoever for any worry at all!

Thanks all for your input.

Great work being done here.

Merry Christmas!

 

[FTMDave]

Have a read of this thread  https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/455021-met-parking-services-southgate-park-stansted-left-southgate-park-premises-cancelled-by-euro-garagesstarbucks/#comments

 

It's worth trying the same strategy to get the ticket cancelled.

 

MET haven't the balls to do court in any case, but if you can get the organ grinders to help you out, so much the better.

[FTMDave]

Any joy with Starbucks?

[mars67]

Hi all. Sorry there's been no update for a while. I've now received 5 letters from Deb Recovery Plus, each one more threatening than the previous, and each approximately 3 weeks apart. The most recent was received on 5th January and nothing further since then. That's 13 weeks ago today... hopefully they've given up

 

I did email Alex Rayner, General Manager Starbucks UK. She forwarded my email to Customer Care from whom I received a response. They informed me the Stansted store is owned and operated by one of their licensed business partners, Euro Garages Ltd. An Area Manager from Euro Garages then also contacted me to say:

 

Good morning,

I have just received your concern regarding MET parking.

Unfortunately they are owned separately to us as we only rent the land we are on.

Would you be able to pass me the parking fine details and I will try and get this fine cancelled for you?

 

I never responded to EG re the offer of getting the fine cancelled. Hopefully that's the last of it. But I'll be sure to come back here should anything further be received!

Thanks again all

 

[FTMDave]

Well, it's not a fine, and Euro Garages have been true to their word and cancelled for other Caggers before (as in ZicoUK's thread linked to above).

Edited April 6, 2023 by FTMDave
Extra info added

[dx100uk]

well that area manager wants a flea putting in his ear telling him to get whomever trained him up on such things to get it right or tell him to get it corrected if area managers are being told these are fines!!

 

dx

[dx100uk]

open

 

[dx100uk]

hidden

you've left the ref no showing 

on put the date back please.

 

dx

 

[mars67]

Thanks DX! 

After 6 months of radio silence I received the attached letter yesterday from CST Law, dated 2nd October.

I've now emailed the area manager at Euro Garages asking if she is still willing to intervene and request MET to cancel the charge. 

What next?

Should I continue to hold out?

 

CST Law letter 07-10-23 copy.pdf

[dx100uk]

On 20/12/2022 at 02:59, lookinforinfo said:

Apart from looking out for a Letter of Claim just relax and forget about the crroks -and that includes the unregulated debt collectors. If you do receive an LOC let us know and we will advise you to send of a snotty letter making it clear that they can go whistle.

 

[lookinforinfo]

So not a letter of claim. Just trying to put the frighteners on you hoping you will pay up.

Bit rich asking to settle for £170 when the £70 was the charge by the debt collector.

They act on a no win no fee basis.

As CST are writing to you obviously the debt collectors have failed so why are you being charged.

Their offer to settle is a sham.

Normally when you want to settle a financial dispute "amicably" one expects that the figure offered would be less than the total amount allegedly owed-in this case £100.

[FTMDave]

It's a pity you didn't reply to Euro Garages in April.  The sooner these things are done, the more likely the landowners are to be sympathetic.  Anyway, good luck.