VCS ANPR PCN claimform - St Mary's Gate Retail Park, S1 4QZ ***Claim Dismissed***

[lookinforinfo]

I would go for two thousand. I would then expect them to negotiate down from there rather than go to Court since the Court might give you more.

 

[holmer444]

So they've responded to the SAR today, talk about leaving it to the last possible second...

 

I hadn't sent the first letter before claim as I'd planned to wait until tomorrow, but obviously now won't send at all. Do I go straight to the second one? If so, any final thoughts before it's issued?

[FTMDave]

Can you upload what they put in the SAR, or at least list the documents?

[holmer444]

21 items sent, 20 relate to first case, 1 relates to second. This is no way all the data they have on me, but list is as follows:

 

1. Their directions questionnaire from the first case

2. Claim form and witness statement from first case with covering letter sent to court

3. Claim form and witness statement from first case with covering letter sent to me

4. Claim form and witness statement with no covering letter

5. Letter to court from first case saying they are happy for papers or remote hearing

6. Letter to me from first case offering me a chance to settle for £125 after they had received confirmation it was to be a defended claim 

7. Follow up to letter in 6 offering me a second chance to settle for £145

8. Supplementary witness statement made by claimant in first case

9. Duplicate of the above

10. Copies of what look like tasks related to the first case within their workflow system and the outcome

11. Copies of PCN, reminders and letter before claim from first case

12. My response to letter before claim from first case

13. Acknowledgement of service letter from court to VCS from first case

14. Directions questionnaire from first case

15. Notice of proposed allocation and defence particulars in relation to first case sent from court to VCS

16. Notice of allocation in relation to first case sent from court to VCS

17. Copy of N159 form sent by me to VCS in relation to first case

18. Notice of hearing letter from court to VCS in relation to first case

19. General from of judgement letter from court to VCS in relation to first case

20. Copy of witness statement sent by me to VCS in relation to first case

21. Case management data from what looks like an internal workflow system relating to second case

[holmer444]

I'm wondering if they've realised the deadline, rushed it and only sent half of the data. Do I send a letter before claim asking where the rest of the data is?

[FTMDave]

Thanks for this.

 

Don't rush into doing anything.

 

I'm knackered now, but promise to scribble more tomorrow.

[FTMDave]

I'm more awake now!

 

But I'm having difficulty joining all the dots with "first case", "second case", etc.  Two questions.

 

Have VCS sent you 20 documents connected to a previous run in you had with them unconnected to the GDPR parking case, and only one piece of paper connected to the GDPR case?

 

When you sent your SAR request, what did you write as a reference number in the heading -

 

GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATIONS - SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST

ACCOUNT /REF NUMBER XXXXXXXX

 

Was it your VRN, was it the GDPR row PCN number, etc?

-

 

 

 

[FTMDave]

While waiting to clarify the above, as I know you want advice on how much to claim for GDPR, I'll be completely frank with you.

 

We're in the dark at this end too.

 

For years & years we have informed motorists who had spanked the PPCs that they could sue for GDPR - and no-one did.  Presumably, and totally understandably, they were just glad to have not paid the ticket.  Plus we had no successful GDPR claim to point them to.

 

However, since @MoaningCrusader successfully sued and was paid (for SAR, not GDPR) in October, there has been an explosion of such cases, presumably because Moaning Crusader had shown it could be done.

 

So this is new for us too.

 

LFI is undoubtedly right that this is an extremely serious breach, it's not carelessness, it's deliberately and cynically obtaining a motorist's details in order to start a vexatious court case knowing full well the motorist had done nothing wrong.  On the other hand if you sue for a smaller amount your court costs will be less  https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees  (there is always a slight chance you could lose) and a judge is more likely to agree the amount is reasonable and the fleecers are more likely to give in.

 

TBH it was me who plucked £600 out of the air as a figure in kfdh1962's case simply because the court fees weren't too high and for claims over £600 high court bailiffs can be involved should the parking company lose but refuse to pay.

 

So, sorry, that pretty useless "advice"!  It depends on how much you're comfortable suing for.

[holmer444]

Thanks for your response Dave. VCS have had two runs at me and lost both. First case was a double dipping one where I wasn't in the car park when they claimed I was. Second was a much older case from 2016 and the one dealt with in this thread. 

 

SAR letter header referenced both PCN numbers and for the avoidance of doubt also included the line;

 

Please note that I require disclosure of any personal data which you hold on me for the entire period

of my dealings with you dating back to 2016.

 

Given the 2016 case has only just been resolved, it's weird that's the one they haven't sent the data for?!

[FTMDave]

Thanks.

 

So really nothing has changed.  They have sent a woefully inadequate SAR, so your letter can still go off.  It's not as if you're immediately starting court action, they will still have 14 days to get their act together.

 

I would send the GDPR one before the SAR one, so that in the SAR one you could point out that they are hiding information that you need for ongoing litigation.

 

All that remains is to decide how much you want to claim for GDPR distress.  I know we haven't been much help with fixing the figure.  You'd be suing for "distress" which is not easy to quantify.  Think of the risks v the gains and have a look at the court fee list I linked to, and when you've decided come back to us.

 

 

[holmer444]

I'm thinking £500 because when I look at the fee list £50 is probably the most I'm prepared to lose pursuing this (if that makes sense?). 

 

I'll issue the GDPR letter later today and work on the SAR one which I'll post back up for comment later on.

 

Thanks for your ongoing patience and help on this one. Not used to being this side of court action 

[Nicky Boy]

Just a thought...

If the claim is for a specific " fixed" amount, does the judge only consider that amount?

Or is it in their power/ remit to award a reduced amount?

[dx100uk]

he can yes he is the judge

[Nicky Boy]

So the OP wouldn't be committed to  all or nothing if they actually went for a claim of a couple of grand. Just something for them to take into consideration when deciding on an amount to claim. 

[holmer444]

Could I ask some advice please? My LBC for the GDPR breach only references the PCN and county court claim numbers from this most recent case, my thinking being; that's the one I feel I can most easily prove. In the first case it was two instances of parking and they double dipped, felt it was a bit more ambiguous so wasn't planning to go after them with that one, however do I include the references on the LBC?

[lookinforinfo]

I think he should be chasing for the actual breach. They have told the DVLA that he has breached something they knew he hadn't as well as telling debt collectors and solicitors.  That is the main call plus distress and embarrassment.

[holmer444]

SAR LBC is below...

 

LETTER BEFORE CLAIM

General Data Protection Regulations - Subject Access Request

Your reference numbers: xxxxxxx & yyyyyyy

 

To whom it may concern,

 

On Tuesday 7 March 2023 I sent you a subject access request for a statutory disclosure of my

personal data under the Data Protection Act. Receipt of this request was acknowledged by your Data

Protection Team via a return email sent at 10:09am on the same day.

 

The data you sent on 7 April was woefully inadequate and contained no data relating to PCN xxxxxx. It is obvious you have shared my data with third parties who have contacted me on your behalf and/or represented you in your vexatious litigation against me and no details of this data sharing were included in your correspondence. Because of this, you have failed to comply with the Subject Access Request and you have now breached your statutory duty.

 

This has caused me a great deal of distress not having my data in order to understand who is sharing

my data and what data you hold on me, together with the necessity to chase after you to get this

disclosure.

 

You have 14 days to respond, after which I shall begin a County Court claim against you.

 

Yours faithfully

[FTMDave]

14 hours ago, holmer444 said:

In the first case it was two instances of parking and they double dipped, felt it was a bit more ambiguous so wasn't planning to go after them with that one, however do I include the references on the LBC?

We can look through the previous case later, let's not overcomplicate things.  Just reference your latest case numbers.

 

The LoC you prepared in post 48 is excellent.  Amend it according to the amount you want to sue for, and get it off today.  Time to get the claim moving.

[holmer444]

Letter sent with a demand for £1000

 

In an unrelated note, the email with the SAR response came from a Mark Robinson at Excel parking, are the two companies linked (the postal address is the same) or are they literally sharing my data with anyone these days?!

[dx100uk]

both are operated out of the same establishment, both are owned by simon renshaw-smith, and like signs at carparks both manage, theyoften get their knickers in a twist which hat someone has on for which company and lose parking cases

[Nicky Boy]

So, strictly speaking VCS have not responded to the SAR at all!

It gets better...

[FTMDave]

I've looked through your first thread, and the half hour grace period is immaterial to that case, so let's leave that one out.

 

Your SAR letter is great.  Send it off tomorrow.

 

Simon is not going to be very happy when he goes back to "work" on Tuesday.

[holmer444]

So, it appears they're working today as just received this in response to my letter before claim

 

Good morning,

 

This case is currently with DCB Legal and any query would need to be made directly to them. You can contact them by phone on 0203 434 0437 or email info@dcblegal.co.uk

 

Anything I should be doing?

[FTMDave]

Is this in response to the GDPR one?

[holmer444]

That's right, haven't sent the SAR one off just yet