POPLA Decisions

Spotty100

A recent appeal of mine to POPLA failed.  I felt their judgement was unsound, particularly due to the fact they refused to consider certain aspects of the evidence.  A complaint to the Northern Ireland Consumer Council (and a disabled MLA) saw the fine being cancelled but it appears we don't have a particular ombudsman here to complaint about the, supposedly independent, POPLA.  So I raised a complaint to the regional trust whose property I was on when the fine was issued and they found in support of me.  Now I want to complain to an ombudsman about APCOA (the issuing company) and POPLA.  Where do I go to be sure of a totally independent result? 

B789

Spotty100 said:

A recent appeal of mine to POPLA failed.  I felt their judgement was unsound, particularly due to the fact they refused to consider certain aspects of the evidence.  A complaint to the Northern Ireland Consumer Council (and a disabled MLA) saw the fine being cancelled but it appears we don't have a particular ombudsman here to complaint about the, supposedly independent, POPLA.  So I raised a complaint to the regional trust whose property I was on when the fine was issued and they found in support of me.  Now I want to complain to an ombudsman about APCOA (the issuing company) and POPLA.  Where do I go to be sure of a totally independent result? 

I think you may have to wait until the upcoming DLUHC Private Parking Code of Practice become law. For now, APCOA and the supposed "independent" POPLA are all unregulated cowboys involved in one of the largest scams ever. Have you tried complaining about them to your MP?

Coupon-mad

Spotty100 said:

A recent appeal of mine to POPLA failed.  I felt their judgement was unsound, particularly due to the fact they refused to consider certain aspects of the evidence.  A complaint to the Northern Ireland Consumer Council (and a disabled MLA) saw the fine being cancelled but it appears we don't have a particular ombudsman here to complaint about the, supposedly independent, POPLA.  So I raised a complaint to the regional trust whose property I was on when the fine was issued and they found in support of me.  Now I want to complain to an ombudsman about APCOA (the issuing company) and POPLA.  Where do I go to be sure of a totally independent result? 

You should be avoiding POPLA, as it requires you to say who was driving.  Just go to your NI Consumer Council instead.

moneymagnet_2

I am delighted to say, that by using the advice and the templates on this forum to appeal to POPLA my PCN has been withdrawn. I am happy to share my appeal, i tried to do this before, but my dropbox is in my name, so I had to take it down. If anyone can tell me how to share a document with pictures etc - I can share it as an example of a successful appeal. Thank you so much to those who have supported and to those who have provided such helpful information.

hap397

POPLA Ref: 6060253590

Operator Name

Parking Eye Ltd including Car Parking Partnership (CPP) - EW

Operator Case Summary

OP Case Summary

Decision

Successful

Assessor Name

Rachel Hankinson

Assessor summary of operator case

The parking operator issued the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) for not entering registration details via the terminal.

Assessor summary of your case

The appellant has raised the following points from their grounds of appeal: • The entrance signs are inadequately positioned and are not prominent, clear, legible or lit. • There is insufficient notice of the sum of the PCN as the font size is illegible. • The signage text is small and would not be visible from a moving vehicle. • There is no badge on the sign to identify who manages the site • They question landowner authority • The signage is of a forbidding nature and makes no offer to motorists • They question if the operator has planning permission for placing signs and cameras on site • The entrance signage is too high • They wish for evidence of where the vehicle was parked • There is no offer from the operator for a major keying error • The operator has not shown that the individual who they are pursuing is the driver. They decline to name the driver of the vehicle. • The signage fails to warn drivers what ANPR data will be used for Images of signage on site have been provided as evidence to support their appeal. The appellant has provided comments in response to the parking operator’s evidence pack, reiterating their grounds of appeal in further detail.

Assessor supporting rational for decision

It is the parking operator’s responsibility to demonstrate to POPLA that it has issued a PCN correctly. In this case, the appellant challenged the parking operator’s compliance with paragraph 22.1 of the British Parking Association Code of Practice and has expanded on these grounds in their comments. Paragraph 22.1 specifically advises that the use of ANPR must be transparent, and that the signs need to stipulate what the data captured by the cameras will be used for. Having reviewed the signage evidence provided by the parking operator, I must note these signs do not make it clear what the data will be used for, and simply state: “Car park monitored by ANPR systems”. For this reason, I cannot consider the evidence has provided a full rebuttal of the appellant’s grounds. Accordingly, I must allow this appeal.

Umkomaas

Paragraph 22.1 specifically advises that the use of ANPR must be transparent, and that the signs need to stipulate what the data captured by the cameras will be used for. Having reviewed the signage evidence provided by the parking operator, I must note these signs do not make it clear what the data will be used for, and simply state: “Car park monitored by ANPR systems”. For this reason, I cannot consider the evidence has provided a full rebuttal of the appellant’s grounds. Accordingly, I must allow this appeal.

Simply 'Wow'. I think all PE/CPP signs are the same. 

Coupon-mad

Yes, wow!  POPLA haven't used that rationale ('rational') for years!  We'd all but dropped it...

hap397

I threw the kitchen sink at my appeal and did a 30+ page appeal using all the resources from this forum and quoted loads of paras from the BPA which looked like it worked. My main one which wasn't considered was that the contract did not have a start date on it so was highly expecting that to be my winning point but surprised with this one.  I'll take it though. 

Also did a 30 page appeal for a university TPS ticket which the operator withdrew at POPLA.    

Umkomaas

My main one which wasn't considered was that the contract did not have a start date on it so was highly expecting that to be my winning point but surprised with this one.  I'll take it though

Possibly the least contentious on which to find against PE/CPP? Who knows, but POPLA don't like making decisions which would create a difficult 'precedent' and upset their member PPCs.  We'll take it too - for future appeals from either of this pair.  Would you be good enough to give us your POPLA case number so we can use that in advice for similar cases. 

hap397

Umkomaas said:

My main one which wasn't considered was that the contract did not have a start date on it so was highly expecting that to be my winning point but surprised with this one.  I'll take it though

Possibly the least contentious on which to find against PE/CPP? Who knows, but POPLA don't like making decisions which would create a difficult 'precedent' and upset their member PPCs.  We'll take it too - for future appeals from either of this pair.  Would you be good enough to give us your POPLA case number so we can use that in advice for similar cases. 

I've edited my post to include the POPLA reference.  Apologies for missing it out.