Proserve run out of friends

Proserve Enforcement Solutions (sole proprietor Stephen Duff) are an organisation who attempt to scam motorists by charging ludicrous amounts of money for trespass. Unsurprisingly, the courts do not agree with them, and the scam has now been reined in - only motorists who are gullible now pay up, and Proserve has stopped issuing court claims.

The scam has nose-dived even further because the DVLA have recently ruled that Proserve must be a member of an ATA to get keeper details, so now Proserve have no way of contacting the keeper (apart from cases such as lorries where contact details are on the vehicle). Proserve took the DVLA to a judicial review, but lost, fairly spectacularly.

Since then, Proserve have been attempting to join an ATA. So far, this has not been entirely successful as Proserve require the ATA to change the code of practice to suit them.

Unsurprisingly, the ATA and the DVLA do not agree with Proserve's suggested changes, as this letter from the DVLA shows. Other operators who enforce on the basis of trespass have apparently no trouble in obeying the code of practice. The Prankster suspects Proserve's main objection is that they will have to reduce charges from £250 to £100, but it might also be that they will be required to change their rubbish signage (described by HHJ Moloney as a nonsense), or that they object to using POPLA to arbitrate appeals..

Proserve have now gone for the nuclear option of threatening legal action against the DVLA and the ATAs. Although this works well against motorists, as Civil Enforcement Limited have found to their advantage, The Prankster does not think the DVLA will be losing any sleep over this threat.

Stephen Duff has an increasing list of legal failures behind him, including failing to get his charges ratified on appeal at the small claims, having to pay £8,000 back to an operator, losing a judicial review and Lasty but not Leasty failing to get his bailiff licence renewed.

However, as his contract require the landowner to pay him £250 for essentially photographing stopped vehicles then presumably his income stream has not reduced and he has plenty of money to blow on legal fees. The landowners of course will be well out of pocket and possibly minded not to renew contracts.

...unless he lied to the court about the true nature of his contracts with landowners and they don't pay him unless the motorist pays up.

Happy Parking

The Parking Prankster