Press Release
12th September 2005
'Independent' National Parking Adjudication Service (NPAS) Misleads the Motoring Public
The British motoring public is being deceived by the body which has supposedly been set up to adjudicate on decriminalised parking tickets.
Many Local Authorities have signed up to the 'decriminalised' scheme which is seen as a useful revenue raiser but is nothing more than a 'back-door' tax on the motorist.
The 'independent' adjudication body, NPAS, has been forced to reveal that it get paid 60p from each ticket issued by the participating Local Authority, yet calls to their helpline reveal that they claim to be independent of both parties involved in the dispute (Motorist vs Local Authority). They receive no other monies from any other source and are entirely dependent for their existence on tickets being issued and therefore have a beneficial interest in a local authorities parking regime.
Further investigation has revealed that they are further misleading the motoring public by deliberately misrepresenting their legal status.
I have attached a link here to a video clip from the NPAS website.
It begins, "My name is Sian Cole and I am an adjudicator."
Ms Cole then proceeds to make a statement,
" This is in fact a Court of Law."
NPAS Tribunal Manager, Andrew Barfoot, however, confirms that NPAS are a tribunal and not a Court of Law.
Neil Herron states, " NPAS is neither independent nor a Court of Law but has misled the public into believing that this is the case. The motorist can no longer feel as though he can be treated in a fair and impartial manner. We call for an immediate investigation into this body."
A further complication arises because NPAS have also been funded by Local Authorities that have been unlawfully issuing tickets. Sunderland City Council has admitted that it unlawfully issued over 700 tickets (with more to come), and therefore the sums paid over to NPAS have been made unlawfully.
The deliberate bypassing of the court process for parking offences is growing with more and more local authorities changing from criminalised to decriminalised regimes...not because it is more efficient at maintaining traffic flow but simply as it presents an easy opportunity to raise revenue. These new 'regimes' are handed over to ruthless private companies with profit as the only incentive with the beleagured motorist and local businesses the ones who suffer.
ENDS
Contact:
Neil Herron
0191 565 7143 (office) 07776202045 (mobile)
12 Frederick Street
Sunderland
SR1 1NA
www.neilherron.blogspot.com
INFORMATION
NPAS Website :http://www.parking-appeals.gov.uk
Further revelations NPAS Call Campaigner 'mad' and Sunderland Council may have to Repay £2m in parking fines.
and further questions for NPAS here
4 comments:
Does NPAS lose its 60p for each appeal it upholds? That would be the ultimate conflict of interest, although being paid on tickets issued is bad enough, since probably 99% just pay up and the tougher NPAS is the less likely busy people are to bother appealing.
Doesn't this represent a breach of the Human Rights Act article 6:
A right to a fair trial within a reasonable time and by an independent and impartial tribunal/court.
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