POPLA Decisions 9 March 2013 at 6:49PM edited 28 October 2016 at 9:29AM in Parking Tickets, Fines & Parking 4.2K replies 904.2K views

Coupon-mad

 I live in Northern Ireland my friends have had these before and just ignore them and they eventually go away. 

Your friends are right.

You should have ignored if as you are in Ni.  You should NEVER appeal or tell a private parking firm who was driving, in NI.

This is the wrong place to ask but you don't need any further advice.

Ignore them as you are in NI and always get store managers to cancel these false PCNs, if silly demands bother you that much.

deighton2002

HelpfulHints99 said:

...

The amount of time in these instances will vary dependant on site size and type but it must be a minimum of 5 minutes. I note the appellant’s comments about a grace period at the start however this is incorrect, there is no grace period at the start of a parking session. The British Parking Association Code of Practice section 13.1 states “The driver must have the chance to consider the Terms and Conditions before entering into the ‘parking contract’ with you. If, having had that opportunity, the driver decides not to park but chooses to leave the car park, you must provide them with a reasonable consideration period to leave, before the driver can be bound by your parking contract. The amount of time in these instances will vary dependant on site size and type but it must be a minimum of 5 minutes. After being on site for 5 minutes the appellant has entered into a contract with the operator and their parking time has started from the point of entry. 

that stuff at the end about ' their parking time has started from the point of entry. ' does not seem to be in the AOS code of practice, dated Jan 2000 - and accessed as 'latest version' via BPA website - that seems like a critical fact added by the adjudicator.  Is the driver likely to have a record of the time at which they entered the car park?  They can only reasonably note the time at which they accept the contract, in my opinion.   
Would be interested if anyone knows this for sure.

yung

deighton2002 said:

HelpfulHints99 said:

...

The amount of time in these instances will vary dependant on site size and type but it must be a minimum of 5 minutes. I note the appellant’s comments about a grace period at the start however this is incorrect, there is no grace period at the start of a parking session. The British Parking Association Code of Practice section 13.1 states “The driver must have the chance to consider the Terms and Conditions before entering into the ‘parking contract’ with you. If, having had that opportunity, the driver decides not to park but chooses to leave the car park, you must provide them with a reasonable consideration period to leave, before the driver can be bound by your parking contract. The amount of time in these instances will vary dependant on site size and type but it must be a minimum of 5 minutes. After being on site for 5 minutes the appellant has entered into a contract with the operator and their parking time has started from the point of entry. 

that stuff at the end about ' their parking time has started from the point of entry. ' does not seem to be in the AOS code of practice, dated Jan 2000 - and accessed as 'latest version' via BPA website - that seems like a critical fact added by the adjudicator.  Is the driver likely to have a record of the time at which they entered the car park?  They can only reasonably note the time at which they accept the contract, in my opinion.   
Would be interested if anyone knows this for sure.

That is what was said on my appeal
." The appellant’s payment was made at 18:03 which is eight minutes after arrival at 17:55:51. This payment covered two hours parking time, expiring at 20:03. The appellant’s vehicle exited the site at 20:07::03 which is roughly three minutes after the time expired. The time added up equates to 11 minutes parking time. Having reviewed the time between purchasing the ticket and exiting after the ticket expired, I am satisfied that a grace period in line with 13.3 should be granted on this occasion. POPLA’s remit is to determine whether the PCN has been issued correctly. On this occasion I am unable to conclude that the operator has correctly issued the parking charge. Accordingly, I must allow this appeal".

Coupon-mad

The current Codes of both Trade Bodies like to presume that the time starts as you cross the threshold.  A time that no driver notes or can work out unless it's a barrier car park that issues a printed ticket from a kiosk as you pass the entrance (quite rare in the scheme of things because they can hardly ever issue a PCN in such car parks!).

Luckily, the Government is not convinced and has pretty much promised MPs and the driving public a consideration period (on arrival) and a grace period (end).  So this looks likely to change for the better with statutory regulation later this year.

columboboy

Hi, has anyone sucsefully logged a POPLA appeal in the last week? I've been trying every day and just the error:

'Application error

An application error has occurred and your request cannot be processed. Please accept our apologies and try again later.'
Tried 2 different devices, 3 different browsers, emptied cache, tried mobile data, tried VPN, called twice, got put on hold once and then they hung up!
They say their systems were upgraded last weekend but still keep saying empty your cache and it'll work.
Running out of time! 

Umkomaas

We've not had any similar notifications/queries, but to be honest, we see very few POPLA appeals these days, seems that most people are defending court claims!

Is there a POPLA email address you can access, if so send an email with your appeal attached as a pdf file. Make sure the email and the pdf file have all your case reference numbers showing. 

As a backstop, you could send it via Royal Mail. First class, obtain a free Cert of Posting from your PO Counter (don't launch it into the nearest post box!).

Coupon-mad

Email [email protected] or [email protected] (their FAQS page gives a contact).

columboboy

So the web site eventually kicked in and allowed the appeal submitting. PE came back really quick, 2 hours later they had provided their evidence. I'm trying to submit my comments but again the web page is giving an error.
Part of their evidence was a heavily redacted Landowners agreement from 2016 with a term of 24 months on it!! As it's expired and no other renewal was supplied as evidence this should be enough to uphold my appeal? 

Umkomaas

columboboy said:

So the web site eventually kicked in and allowed the appeal submitting. PE came back really quick, 2 hours later they had provided their evidence. I'm trying to submit my comments but again the web page is giving an error.
Part of their evidence was a heavily redacted Landowners agreement from 2016 with a term of 24 months on it!! As it's expired and no other renewal was supplied as evidence this should be enough to uphold my appeal? 

Can't guarantee it being upheld, POPLA is so unpredictable these days.  It should feature as one of your main appeal points, writ large, near (or at) the top of your appeal, not buried somewhere inconspicuously near the foot, where the assessor will have already read earlier, less potent, appeal points and have already made up their mind before getting to a 'biggie'. 

Coupon-mad

If the Comments page doesn't work, email POPLA the comments you have.  You have their email already.