BPA v IPC

The Parking Prankster has had time to read through the literature provided by the Independent Parking Committee and now provides this easy reference guide to compare the IPC Ltd with the BPA.

This guide is mostly based upon the written code of practice of both bodies and therefore in some cases may differ from their actual practices. Please send any evidence to the usual email address if you think The Prankster has made any factual errors in this comparison.

Independent Parking Committee Limited	British Parking Association
Good honest name	Impersonates authority by not having ‘Limited’ after name and using the word ‘British’
Actively audits members before joining	Asks members to sign a document of compliance
Require sight of copies of all written authority with landowners	Believe operators when they say they have authority
Actively audits wording and design of all signs before they can be used	Let operators do what they want with no pre-checking and little active checking afterwards
Requires a signage site plan of each site	Let operators do what they want with no pre-checking and little active checking afterwards
Actively audits all NtK, NtD and other notices before they can be used	Let operators do what they want with no pre-checking and little active checking afterwards
Encourages transparency and fairness	Is secretive and furtive, deliberately throwing as many hurdles in the way of fairness to motorists as possible
Actively seeks feedback from consumer groups and organisations	Does not seek feedback
Offers additional services to encourage compliance	Prefers to turn a blind eye to matters of non-compliance
Has an independent committee to investigate matters of non-compliance	Matters of noncompliance are investigated in house by paid employees of the BPA
Audits annually	Audits annually
21 days to appeal to operator, with additional time allowed in exceptional circumstances	Does not specify a time to appeal, but some members have a 14 day limit. Does not allow additional time.
Require a resolution within 28 days	Requires a response within 14 days and prefers a resolution within 35 days, but no penalty if this is not adhered to
Requires adherence to Equality Act 2010	Pays lip service to Equality Act 2010, eg requiring bigger bays
Must be able to show pre-estimate of loss calculations for each site	Requires charges to be a pre-estimate of loss but does not enforce or check this
Suggest a grace period of one month where changes occur on a site	No grace period when changes occur
Must have a complaints procedure which is notified to the motorist	No requirement for a complaints procedure
Must not use predatory or misleading tactics	Predatory and misleading tactics are allowed
Grace periods before and after parking must be allowed	Grace period before parking must be allowed
Grace period should be allowed if ticket expires	5 minute grace period if ticket expires
When requesting details from the DVLA outside POFA 2012 must inform the DVLA that keeper liability does not apply if they ask	No requirement to inform the DVLA if they ask
Must not imply registered keeper is liable if POFA 2012 time limits are not kept to	Can imply registered keeper is liable if POFA 2012 time limits are not kept to
Signage must identify the creditor	Signage does not have to identify the creditor
Signage must be clearly worded so the motorist knows whether the charge is contractual or a breach of contract	Signage wording does not have to be clearly worded to show what the charge is for
Additional signage is required at the entrance when changes occur	No additional signage is required at the entrance when changes occur
It is not known if sanction points are awarded transparently	Sanction points are awarded secretly and furtively
Sanction points may be imported from previous ATAs	Sanction points not imported from previous ATAs
Tracks appeal results and actively investigates if more than 60% are upheld in a rolling 3 months	Ignores appeal results, preferring to bury head in sand
Selects 20-50 random charges a year to check compliance	Does not check compliance for random individual cases
Reduction of 40-60% suggested if charge paid within 14 days	Must offer reduction of 40% if charge paid within 14 days

So far so good. The Prankster is very impressed by provisions in the IPC code of conduct so far and is very encouraged by provisions such as the requirement to operate a grace period during change periods, the requirement to provide full documentation on contacts and signage for each site before operations begin, the requirement to have everything audited before joining and the continuing active audit process.

The Prankster also likes the provision that predatory and misleading tactics are specifically outlawed, that signage must identify the creditor and be clearly worded so the motorist knows if charges are for breach of contract or a contractual charge and that the IPC Ltd is actively seeking feedback around its processes.

Unfortunately, now we come to the appeals process.

Independent Parking Committee Limited	British Parking Association
Uses IAS for dispute resolution	Uses POPLA for dispute resolution
Can’t appeal to IAS if you paid	Can’t appeal to POPLA if you paid
IAS only considers legal aspects of case, but can refer to operator if there are mitigating circumstances	POPLA can in rare circumstances consider mitigating circumstances (approximate rate of 8 a year)
Requires that the driver be named and an address provided before an appeal will be considered	Does not require that the driver is identified
Must appeal within 21 days	Must appeal within 28 days
Operator must submit evidence within 5 working days	Operator should submit evidence within 28 days, but can take longer if they like
Motorist does not get a copy of operator evidence	Motorist get a copy of operator evidence
Motorist cannot add new evidence	Motorist can add new evidence at any time before the appeal is considered
Motorist cannot make representations about operator evidence	Motorist can make representations about operator evidence
Encourages operators not to make frivolous or predatory charges by charging more for losing appeals	Does not encourage operators not to make frivolous or predatory charges
Only allows postal appeals	Allows postal and online appeals
Aims to provide a decision within 28 days	Currently decisions may take over 100 days. Currently aims to make decision within 61 days
No easy way to submit video footage and other electronic evidence. Must burn a DVD within the 21 days	Video footage can be submitted electronically
May report to the police if either driver or operator behave dishonestly	Have not reported operator to the police in the past when operator behaves dishonestly
Uses barristers and solicitors to examine the case	Uses recent law graduates under the supervision of a barrister
Must complete and sign a declaration of truth of appeal form	Does not have to sign a declaration of truth. Have taken no action in the past when signed statements by operator prove to be false.

The Prankster considers that the appeals process is fatally flawed by requiring the driver to be named. The Prankster also consider the process to be flawed because the driver does not get to see the operator evidence and make representations concerning it.

Although the operator only gets 5 days to reply, the operator is already required to have filed full evidence with the IPC regarding their signage, authority, and notices. They are also required to have a full breakdown for pre-estimate of loss for all sites. Therefore, this timescale should not be too onerous.

However, by not allowing the motorist time to see and reply to the operator evidence the process is clearly biased towards the operator. This will also encourage the motorist to make huge lengthy appeals so that they can cover all bases. This will no doubt make the cost of the appeal (£15 if they win and £25 if they lose) to the operator too small to cover the actual cost charged by the deciding solicitor/barrister.

In this day and age, not allowing online submissions is a throwback to the dinosaurs.

As the IPC Ltd is actively seeking feedback, The Prankster will be obliging within the next few days.

Happy Parking

The Parking Prankster