IMPORTANT: Please make sure your posts do not contain any personally identifiable information (both your own and that of others). When uploading images, please take care that you have redacted all personal information including QR codes, number plates and reference numbers.
ParkingEye @ ASDA, Brighton Marina - POPLA help please!
Options
sidvinnon
Posts: 26 Forumite
Hi,
I got a PCN recently after the driver of the car overstayed a 3 hour max stay by 45 minutes at ASDA car park in Brighton Marina, a 24-hour store. It does mention POFA and 29 days etc. The visit was on a Friday evening in the dark.
The driver had absolutely no idea there were restrictions in place in the car park! The driver has been using it for years, primarily in the dark when also visiting a restaurant and/or going to the cinema and not once has the driver noticed any signs, neither has the driver's girlfriend. On this particular evening the driver parked, walked through a tunnel away from the store and to a restaurant. From here they went back to the store - the route back to the store has zero signs on the way. Upon leaving the store after purchasing some snacks for the cinema amongst other things, the driver walked back to the car to drop off some of the shopping, this route goes past the one and only sign that mentions the parking charge and shows the terms, and it is not in a clear position and is not lit up at night.
I appealed to PE which of course was rejected.
I emailed the CEO of ASDA with no reply.
I spoke to the store manager in ASDA who said they would not cancel and could not even if they wanted to, they said something about never being able to cancel a PCN unless it was for a blue badge holder...
I have not named the driver of the vehicle at any point.
The below images show how bad/non-existent the warnings are (sorry, as I'm new I can't post the image links directly, you'll need to copy and paste):
This is the sign at the entrance to the car park. I took this on foot, visibility would be even worse inside the car in the dark as it is not lit up.
i.imgur.com/cb1XSvM.jpg
This is taken from the same parking space the driver used. They walked from here directly through the tunnel to the restaurant and later on the cinema.
i.imgur. com/CETAWcK.jpg
This is the first sign seen walking from the store to the car, it is not a parking notice sign.
i.imgur. com/S4YhipC.jpg
This is the only sign with the terms on that was walked past, at a crossing where attention would be on crossing the road safely and not the sign. Even then, it is not at eye level and there is no illumination meaning it would be unreadable in the dark.
i.imgur. com/A40dwQ2.jpg
Lastly, here is the actual sign they use - This was on a wall about 20 metres from where the driver parked, again it isn't lit up and was not walked past.
i.imgur.com/jdI0esV.jpg
I could do with some help from the kind souls that frequent this forum in writing the POPLA appeal, primarily I would like some guidance on what I should and shouldn't include. I have read the NEWBIE thread and looked at some templates and successful appeals. I'm hesitant to copy the templates/successful appeals word for word but also don't want to amend them too much in fear of making them less effective.
The obvious main point to me is signage, as it is legitimately the reason I have this PCN, it is clearly not adequate.
Thanks
I got a PCN recently after the driver of the car overstayed a 3 hour max stay by 45 minutes at ASDA car park in Brighton Marina, a 24-hour store. It does mention POFA and 29 days etc. The visit was on a Friday evening in the dark.
The driver had absolutely no idea there were restrictions in place in the car park! The driver has been using it for years, primarily in the dark when also visiting a restaurant and/or going to the cinema and not once has the driver noticed any signs, neither has the driver's girlfriend. On this particular evening the driver parked, walked through a tunnel away from the store and to a restaurant. From here they went back to the store - the route back to the store has zero signs on the way. Upon leaving the store after purchasing some snacks for the cinema amongst other things, the driver walked back to the car to drop off some of the shopping, this route goes past the one and only sign that mentions the parking charge and shows the terms, and it is not in a clear position and is not lit up at night.
I appealed to PE which of course was rejected.
I emailed the CEO of ASDA with no reply.
I spoke to the store manager in ASDA who said they would not cancel and could not even if they wanted to, they said something about never being able to cancel a PCN unless it was for a blue badge holder...
I have not named the driver of the vehicle at any point.
The below images show how bad/non-existent the warnings are (sorry, as I'm new I can't post the image links directly, you'll need to copy and paste):
This is the sign at the entrance to the car park. I took this on foot, visibility would be even worse inside the car in the dark as it is not lit up.
i.imgur.com/cb1XSvM.jpg
This is taken from the same parking space the driver used. They walked from here directly through the tunnel to the restaurant and later on the cinema.
i.imgur. com/CETAWcK.jpg
This is the first sign seen walking from the store to the car, it is not a parking notice sign.
i.imgur. com/S4YhipC.jpg
This is the only sign with the terms on that was walked past, at a crossing where attention would be on crossing the road safely and not the sign. Even then, it is not at eye level and there is no illumination meaning it would be unreadable in the dark.
i.imgur. com/A40dwQ2.jpg
Lastly, here is the actual sign they use - This was on a wall about 20 metres from where the driver parked, again it isn't lit up and was not walked past.
i.imgur.com/jdI0esV.jpg
I could do with some help from the kind souls that frequent this forum in writing the POPLA appeal, primarily I would like some guidance on what I should and shouldn't include. I have read the NEWBIE thread and looked at some templates and successful appeals. I'm hesitant to copy the templates/successful appeals word for word but also don't want to amend them too much in fear of making them less effective.
The obvious main point to me is signage, as it is legitimately the reason I have this PCN, it is clearly not adequate.
Thanks
0
Comments
-
was this a 24 hr asda , was it open when the car was parked?Save a Rachael
buy a share in crapita0 -
Yeah it's a 24 hour ASDA.0
-
[This was in response to pappa golf who has since deleted their reply]
I wasn't intentionally abusing the system, and in any case I did spend money in the store and have a bank statement to prove it. As far as I knew it was free parking there, like I said, I've visited that store many, many times in my life and was not aware of any restrictions. Had I known, I would have parked in the multi-storey car park adjacent that allows 4 hours of free parking with no purchase necessary to boot. The only reason I parked in the ASDA car park is because it's the quickest and most convenient place to get to the supermarket, restaurants and the cinema.
The point is the signage is inadequate - I genuinely did not know I could only park for 3 hours. I wouldn't knowingly overstay and get myself in this mess, that would just be stupid...0 -
yes I think the CEO of asda will assist you , show him your bank statement for "snacks" (to be consumed at the cinema?) and tell him you were looking around the store for the remainder of the 3 hrs and 45 mins spent on/off site ,
the car park belongs to asda , for use by shoppers who are in site , the chances are that PE were brought in because people (like you) were abusing it and catching a bus/train etc whilst parked upSave a Rachael
buy a share in crapita0 -
pappa_golf wrote: »yes I think the CEO of asda will assist you , show him your bank statement for "snacks" (to be consumed at the cinema?) and tell him you were looking around the store for the remainder of the 3 hrs and 45 mins spent on/off site ,
the car park belongs to asda , for use by shoppers who are in site , the chances are that PE were brought in because people (like you) were abusing it and catching a bus/train etc whilst parked up
Are you having a bad day or just a really bad troll?0 -
NO , just a person that does not abuse other companies ,
best of luck , show the judge your timed bank statement and explain why you were on asda land for 3 hrs 45 min to buy "snacks"Save a Rachael
buy a share in crapita0 -
pappa_golf wrote: »NO , just a person that does not abuse other companies ,
best of luck , show the judge your timed bank statement and explain why you were on asda land for 3 hrs 45 min to buy "snacks"
Why does it matter what I bought and what I bought it for? Even if I'd have bought a chocolate bar for 20p I would still be a legitimate customer. The terms mention nothing of a minimum spend.
I'm assuming ASDA - in allowing a 3 hour stay in their car park - don't expect everyone who shops there to only use the supermarket and nothing else on site, if they did then surely the time limit would be much less.
Please go and spout your speculative nonsense elsewhere unless you have something constructive to say.
0 -
From reading over the signage template, it goes into detail about the charge amount font not being big or prominent enough on the sign. In my case, the amount seems like it is the second largest font used after the duration warning, and is also on a contrast-coloured background. I don't think it would be wise therefore to include this in my appeal - Should I remove this section completely or reword it somehow?
The terms and conditions are tiny and the only sign I went past is up on a pole, so even if I had noticed it I would not have been able to read the terms. The signage template backs this up, so I will leave that in. I guess I need to amend it so it concentrates on the terms being inaccessible and not about the charge amount?
Regardless of all the font size/clarity issues, the fact is that I genuinely did not see any of the signs, so I would like to contest more about their location and illumination.
Can anyone offer any pointers please? 0 -
Do (definitely) complain to Asda Head Office about this rip off in their car park and tell them that whoever agreed to this new contract has made a huge mistake by changing from Smart to Parking Eye, who will sue their customers and staff.
Re POPLA appeals, certainly write your own relevant parts.
You can reword the signage template to suit, and embed your own images into the body of your word document - make the appeal illustrated like a story and easy for the POPLA assessor to follow why the driver could not learn about the terms in the dark. Don't upload photos separately (you could, but in my view it makes it harder for the bored Assessor to have to switch between PDFs and photos and follow a long appeal without photos to break it up).
You should have parked in the multi storey that smells of errrm...''p'' because that is free.
The Asda car park is a cash cow and used to have Smart Parking there. It is not a car park for the cinema, nor the restaurants, ONLY Asda. The multi storey is the general free car park.PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
CLICK at the top of this/any page where it says:
Forum Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD0 -
Thanks a lot for your reply. I am going to go back to the car park when it's dark later in the week and take some more photos to show exactly how poor the signage is - I'll arrange them to show my journey. Part of me wants ASDA to know how unclear it is so they can do something about it, either by changing the company they use or increasing the visibility of the signs so people don't get penalised without having any idea they have broken the rules.
I certainly will park in the multi-storey next time, don't worry about that!
Thanks again 0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 343.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 250.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 449.7K Spending & Discounts
- 235.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 608.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 173.1K Life & Family
- 247.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 15.9K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards