COMPLAINTS POLICY – PARKING ENFORCEMENT

1. INTRODUCTION

Excel Parking Services Limited recognises the importance of constructive complaints and welcomes them as a valuable form of feedback about our people and processes. We will use the information gained to help improve the quality of our services and our relationship with our clients and customers. Complaint trends will be periodically analysed for recurring patterns and inform whether corrective actions are required.

This policy explains how to complain and what action we will take, including the timeframes for resolution.

2. WHAT IS A COMPLAINT?

Generally, a complaint relates to a dissatisfaction of our operational processes or services and, typically, can be categorised into one of the following:

  • Raising a non-conformity against The private parking sector single Code of Practice
  • The performance of one of our employees, services or appointed debt resolution agent
  • A data protection complaint, which includes concerns about:

a) collection or use of personal data;

b) accuracy;

c) retention;

d) security;

e) disclosure/sharing;

f) transparency/privacy information;

g) handling of a subject access request or other data-protection rights request

h) other alleged failures to comply with data-protection law.

Important: a challenge against a Charge Notice will not be considered a complaint; such challenges need to be formally raised via our Appeals Process details of which are covered within the Charge Notice. See also section 6.

A Subject Access Request or other request to exercise a data-protection right is not, of itself, a complaint and will be handled in accordance with applicable data-protection legislation. Where correspondence contains both a complaint and a Subject Access Request or other data-protection rights request, the matters will be identified and handled separately under the applicable processes and timescales.

3. HOW TO COMPLAIN

Standard Complaints:

Standard Complaints must be made in writing and sent to the following address:

Excel Parking Services Ltd
PO Box 4777, Sheffield, S9 9DJ

You should provide as much information as possible along with relevant supporting evidence. Where a complaint is made on behalf of another person, we will require appropriate evidence of authority before disclosing personal information or taking action in relation to that individual’s personal data.

Data Complaints:

Data specific complaints may alternatively be submitted to our Data Protection Officer by email: dataprotection@excelparking.co.uk or by any other appropriate means. 

4. RECORDING COMPLAINTS

Complaints will be logged in the Complaints Register and the following details will be recorded:

a) The date of complaint;
b) the complainant
c) the complainant type (eg. PCN recipient; client; MP; Member of staff other)
d) a copy of the complaint;
e) copy of all correspondence;
f) the outcome;
g) details of corrective action required and undertaken in order to mitigate a non-reoccurrence of the issue (where the complaint has merit).

Details of complaints will be retained for a minimum of 36 months and subject to GDPR considerations.

5. COMPLAINTS HANDLING AND RESOLUTION

Our trained complaints handlers will investigate complaints and resolve them as soon as possible. In any event, complaints will be acknowledged within 14 calendar days from date of receipt (unless a full response has been provided sooner) and will be fully responded to within 28 calendar days. However, in the event that more time is needed (for example because of the nature of investigations that are required), we will notify the complainant of this within the 28 day period and also include an expected date of resolution. Our complaint response will explain how our decision was reached and, where appropriate, any corrective actions taken.

Complaints will be handled fairly, impartially and without discrimination and where reasonably practicable, the complaint will be investigated by a person who was not directly responsible for the matter complained about.

Complaint responses, including acknowledgements, will be sent in the manner they were received, i.e. all standard complaints, including acknowledgements, will be responded to by post and data complaints will be responded to either by post or email depending on how they were received.

When we notify the complainant of the outcome of the complaint, we will also provide details of how they can complaint to our trade association, the IPC (the International Parking Community), or in the case of a data complaint, to the ICO (the Information Commissioner’s Office), should they wish to do so.

6. WHERE A COMPLAINT IS ALSO AN APPEAL

Where a complaint is considered to be, or includes, an appeal against the validity of a Parking Charge, the appeal element will also be treated as an appeal for the purposes of applying the applicable appeals process and timescales.

The complainant will be informed that the correspondence is being treated as an appeal unless and until it is established that the complaint is not relevant to an appeal, or the complainant informs us that they do not wish it to be handled as an appeal.

Where correspondence contains both an appeal and a complaint, the appeal and complaint elements will be identified and handled under the applicable processes. The complaint will not be excluded from the complaints process merely because the correspondence also constitutes an appeal.

7. COMPLAINTS FROM MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT (MPs)

In addition to the above requirements, if we receive a complaint from an MP, we will:

i). upon resolution of the complaint, refer the MP to the MP portal on the IPC website, and

ii) include the following IPC required statement in our response to the MP:

“We are members of the International Parking Community (IPC) Accredited Operator Scheme (AOS). The IPC is a DVLA Accredited Trade Association (ATA) and has a Code of Practice and an Independent Appeals Service (IAS) that allows a Motorist access to an independent adjudication process on the lawfulness of Parking Charges issued by their members. An important condition of being an AOS member is that operators must adhere to The Code.

If you are not content with the response, we have provided you with, you can refer this to the IPC who will investigate and provide you with a response. To make this process as simple as possible the IPC has created a communication portal on their website https://theipc.info/login for you to use. They have created a username for all members of Parliament. Your username will be your email address. An email will have been sent with your login details. There is an option for you to reset your password if you are unable to login.”

8. POLICY REVIEW

This policy will be reviewed periodically for effectiveness and updated when necessary.