Vehicle Control Services Ltd – Appeal Guide

Vehicle Control Services Ltd Parking Charge Notice

This page described your alternatives should you receive a Parking Charge Notice from Vehicle Control Services Ltd.

Vehicle Control Services is one of Britain’s biggest parking control companies. It operates on more than 600 sites at shopping centres, hospitals and universities all over Britain.  VCS is owned by Simon Renshaw-Smith, who used to also run a  vehicle immobilisation operation called  Mr Clampit.   Mr Renshaw-Smith, lives in Barlow, Derbyshire, five miles from the Sheffield headquarters of Vehcile Control Services.  In 2011 he paid himself a fat salary of £766,353 according to documents lodged at Companies House – and  his business interests had a turnover of £10.3 million and an operating profit of almost £500,000.  VCS is owned by Excel Parking Services which is also owned by Mr Renshaw-Smith.

Vehicle Control Services – my story

Ronald Ibbotson

Ronld Ibottson recived a £80 parking ticket on his windscreen for £80, apparently because he had left the car park to go shopping elsewhere during the two-hour free parking period.  Mr Ibbotson refused to pay up and was subsequently taken to court by Vehicle Control Services.  He lost and was ordered to pay the £80 plus £42.50 in costs.  Mr Mr Ibbotson then appealed the case and his appeal was heard in the at Scunthorpe County Court on 16th May 201.  Mr Ibbotson’s claim was that VCS didn’t have approval from the landowner to pursue him for a parking, and on the basis that the charge of £80 was unreasonable in that it exceeded the costs incurred by Vehicle Control Services  for his breach.  VCS produced a list of costs it said it incurred because of Mr Ibbotson breach.  THese included costs such as the cost of a parking attendants uniform to which the judge replied “What has a uniform got to do with this Mr Ibottson’s parking? That is a cost to the business, not a cost caused by his parking”.  The judge found in favour of Mr Ibottson and ordered Vehicle Control Services to refund his £80.

Rachael Finn

Vehicle Control Services dragged Rachael Finn to court because she had refused to pay £735 in parking charge notices. Ms Find told the court that Vehicle Control Services had not proved that each breach had cost £100. VCS wanted to include costs CCTV and software systems. But the judge also said that if each one cost £100 to process why ask for £60 initially?  Rachael was awarded £90 for loss of earnings, £1 for petrol – and £4 to pay for parking at court.  Ms Finn said “In total, I probably overstayed by an hour that’s not cost them £735. I just thought, if you want it you will have to fight for it’.”  n Parking expert Phil Hilsden assisted Rachael in court with free advice. Mr Hilsen also runs a parking ticket appeals service for motorists: www.parkingticketappeals.org.uk.

Rita Healey

Rita Healey received two fines in 2012 from Vehicle Control Services at the Eastgate Retail Park after the signs were changed and the free parking period was reduced from 180 minutes to 90 minutes.  She complained that the changes had not been made clear.   In July that the site’s letting agents, Aston Rose, not pursue tickets issued between June 2 and July 8, when the free parking limit at Eastgate was reduced.  However anyone such as Rita Healey who had already paid their fine was told they would not be a refund. Ms Healey had her first fine but had refused to pay the second.  Ms Healey said: “I think Vehicle Control Services should do the honourable thing”.  “A lot of these people are elderly and they paid the fines straight away.  It’s good that they’re not going to be chasing the unpaid fines but people are being penalised for paying on time.

Mick Bycroft  

Immingham motorist Mick Bycroft successfully overturned a £100 (£60 rising to £100 after 14 days) parking fine for stopping in a bus stop within Humberside Airport.  He was taking his son to a flight to Germany last year. He said he stopped in a bus stop for “about a minute” and received a parking charge notice (PCN) from Vehicle Control Services Ltd a week later.  His initial appeal to Sheffield-based Vehicle Control Services, the company which is contracted by the airport to patrol its roadways, was rejected but was later overturned by POPLA (Parking on Private Land Appeals). POPLA said it could not agree with the costs, or the parking charge, that VCN submitted.  Mr Bycroft, said the fine should have been closer to £10.  “It was about 8am on a Sunday morning and there was about one other car there, I wasn’t really sure where I needed to go”.  Humberside Airport declined to comment on Mr Bycroft’s parking fine and subsequent appeal, but Vehicle Control Services did provide a full statement.    The airport has previously denied that the parking restrictions are there purely to make money, nor are they to catch motorists out.