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#Post#: 53840--------------------------------------------------
Re: VCS @ Bristol Airport
DIR By: b789
Date: January 17, 2025, 10:21 am
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We could have predicted that for you. Personally, I never
recommend wasting time with an IAS appeal. Less than 4% of IAS
appeals are upheld which is a dismal record. Their assessors are
anonymous and they simply spew out rubbish. They are definitely
not "independent" and are funded by the very organisations they
are supposed to be adjudicating on.
The IAS decision is not binding on you. You are now in a sort of
limbo where nothing of significance will happen except you will
be bombarded with useless debt collector letters. The debt
collectors are powerless to do anything as they are not a party
to the supposed contract that the driver allegedly breached. You
can safely ignore them. Our advice is to never, ever, ever,
enter into any communication with a useless, powerless debt
collector/Debt Recovery Agent (DRA). Use their letters as
kindling or to line the bottom of a litter tray.
The next step n the process will be a Letter of Claim (LoC). It
will either be issued through Elms Legal or DCB Legal. When it
arrives, please come back and we will advise on your next step.
#Post#: 54123--------------------------------------------------
Re: VCS @ Bristol Airport
DIR By: b789
Date: January 20, 2025, 1:10 am
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I have been doing a bit more research into this issue of mixing
enforcement of statutory and civil laws on land controlled by
byelaws. Part of the issue is differences between the areas
under control and differentiating between the roads and the car
parks.
VCS operate at several airports besides Bristol, including
Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) and Leeds Bradford Airport
(LBA) where these issues crop up all the time.
Regulation 6.7 of the Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA)
Byelaws is an interesting focal point because it explicitly
allows the airport operator to impose charges and conditions for
parking. The interpretation of this regulation determines
whether the terms and conditions established by a contracted
parking operator like Vehicle Control Services (VCS) are
statutory (under the byelaws) or civil (under contract law).
Key Considerations for Regulation 6.7
1. Statutory Nature of Regulation 6.7
Scope of the Byelaws: Regulation 6.7 forms part of the statutory
byelaws approved under the Airports Act 1986. This means that
any charges or conditions imposed by the airport operator under
this regulation derive their authority from statutory law.
Statutory Enforcement Mechanism: Breaches of Regulation 6.7 are
enforceable through the byelaws’ statutory framework, typically
involving prosecution in a magistrates’ court. This would
classify such terms and conditions as statutory in nature, not
civil.
2. Private Contracts and Delegated Authority
Role of the Contracted Operator: If the airport operator
contracts VCS to manage car parks and authorises them to install
signs with terms and conditions, the operator is effectively
delegating their authority under Regulation 6.7 to VCS.
Civil Contracts: Despite the delegation, the relationship
between the driver and VCS is still governed by the terms on the
signage, which constitute a civil contract. This is because the
authority to impose terms and conditions has been transferred to
VCS through a private contract, and the enforcement mechanism is
the civil court system, not the statutory byelaws.
3. Statutory vs. Civil Enforcement
The distinction lies in how breaches are enforced:
Statutory Enforcement: If a driver breaches a condition that
flows directly from the byelaws (e.g., parking outside
designated areas or obstructing traffic), enforcement would
typically occur through prosecution in a magistrates’ court
under the byelaws.
Civil Enforcement: If the driver breaches a term set out on
VCS’s signage (e.g., overstaying a time limit or failing to pay
a parking fee), enforcement occurs through the private
operator’s civil contract claim, using the civil court system.
This dual framework creates a situation where certain aspects of
parking may overlap:
The byelaws may set general rules for parking (e.g., designated
areas, time limits).
VCS’s terms and conditions (authorised by the airport operator
under Regulation 6.7) create additional rules, such as charges
for overstaying or failing to display a ticket, enforced through
civil claims.
Legal and Practical Implications
Flowing Authority: Terms and conditions established by VCS
ultimately derive their authority from the airport operator
under Regulation 6.7. However, their enforcement mechanism
(civil vs. statutory) determines whether they are statutory or
civil.
Blurring Lines: While the terms are indirectly linked to the
byelaws, they remain civil in nature because the airport
operator has chosen to enforce them through private contracts
rather than the byelaws’ statutory framework.
Potential Challenges: Drivers might argue that since the
conditions flow from Regulation 6.7, breaches should be enforced
through statutory mechanisms rather than civil claims. This
could undermine the operator's ability to rely on private
enforcement.
Conclusion
The terms and conditions on VCS’s signs are civil, not
statutory, despite originating from the airport operator’s
authority under Regulation 6.7. This is because the enforcement
mechanism for these terms is through the civil court system as
private contractual claims, rather than prosecution under the
byelaws. The airport operator’s decision to delegate authority
to a private company effectively shifts enforcement into the
realm of contract law, even though the underlying authority
comes from statutory byelaws.
This distinction between statutory and civil enforcement is
crucial in understanding the legitimacy of private parking
operators' actions and the legal framework governing parking on
byelaw-regulated land.
However, you may be thinking that section 3 above contradicts
the argument. You are absolutely right to note the tension in
Section 3 regarding enforcement mechanisms. For example, not
parking in a marked bay within a car park presents a situation
where the conduct breaches both the statutory byelaws (e.g.,
"parking outside of a designated area") and the contractual
terms displayed on the VCS signage. This overlap creates
ambiguity as to whether the breach should be enforced
statutorily or civilly.
The enforcement of parking outside a designated area within car
parks is handled civilly through VCS’s contractual terms, even
though the same behaviour could constitute a statutory breach of
byelaws. This practice is facilitated by the airport operator’s
delegation of enforcement authority under Regulation 6.7 and
reflects a preference for civil enforcement over statutory
prosecution due to its practicality and efficiency.
However, this dual regulatory framework raises legitimate
questions about the boundaries between statutory and civil
enforcement. While the current approach is widely used, it
remains vulnerable to legal challenges that question the
compatibility of contractual enforcement with statutory byelaws.
For drivers, this ambiguity underscores the importance of
understanding their rights and the legal basis for any
enforcement action.
Food for thought on how to handle the breaches of byelaws on the
roads.
#Post#: 54142--------------------------------------------------
Re: VCS @ Bristol Airport
DIR By: BelfastBoy
Date: January 20, 2025, 4:25 am
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Thank you very much for posting such a detailed analysis. I'm
afraid that these fairly complicated questions around byelaws
are not going to be tested in a small-claims court, where the
issue of whether or not a contract exists is much more likely to
be considered.
#Post#: 59051--------------------------------------------------
Re: VCS @ Bristol Airport
DIR By: BelfastBoy
Date: February 20, 2025, 10:23 am
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I have now received a letter from DCBL.
I note that DBCL
HTML https://dcblegal.co.uk/
and DCB Legal
HTML https://dcblegal.co.uk/
are two sides of the same coin. I'm
seeing in another post on this forum that the distinction is
important.
Anyway, have a read of the correspondence pictured. I’d be
grateful for your thoughts.
[attachment deleted by admin]
#Post#: 59071--------------------------------------------------
Re: VCS @ Bristol Airport
DIR By: b789
Date: February 20, 2025, 12:54 pm
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We don't need to read any correspondence from DCBL. You can
safely ignore anything from them or any other Debt Recovery
Agent (DRA). They are powerless to do anything except try and
scare the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree into paying out
of ignorance and fear. Ignore them.
Yes, DCB Legal and DCBL are sister companies. However, DCBL are
just debt collectors and are not a party to any contract
allegedly breached by the driver and cannot do anything.
DCB Legal are an incompetent bulk litigator and you will at some
sate receive a Letter of Claim (LoC) from them. When you do,
show it to us. Ignore all DRA letters.
#Post#: 59077--------------------------------------------------
Re: VCS @ Bristol Airport
DIR By: BelfastBoy
Date: February 20, 2025, 1:05 pm
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That's fine.
I appreciate that you don't need to read debt recovery letters.
However, I thought I would ask about this correspondence just to
be sure.
Thanks for the clarity and ongoing advice.
#Post#: 103379--------------------------------------------------
Re: VCS @ Bristol Airport
DIR By: BelfastBoy
Date: December 20, 2025, 2:23 pm
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Update on this. I’ve not received any communications since
March. Presumably, the DCBL crowd decided they couldn’t be
bothered coming after an individual in Northern Ireland.
#Post#: 103406--------------------------------------------------
Re: VCS @ Bristol Airport
DIR By: b789
Date: December 20, 2025, 10:57 pm
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Probably. But they may try and resurrect it one day. Not that
they can do much about it though.
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