parking charge in cineplex leaving site advice needed

nuit

Hello, this is my first post, unfortunately I am in a position where I badly need some up to date advice.

I have spent the last few hours trawling the Internet for information after earlier receiving my first ever parking charge notice from visiting a vue cinema and retail complex. The car park is run by ukcps ltd who issued the ticket with the stated reason being 'observed leaving site'

I went to this car park in the morning with the intent of using the onsite gym and pool, cinema and restaurants. It was very quiet the car park being largely empty.
once parked up I realised that I had left my swimwear at home. Due to it only being just over an hour until I was meant to meet a friend for the cinema I decided that rather than drive all the way home to retrieve it that I would kill some time before then by taking a pleasant walk to a free cash machine outside the complex ( since the one inside it charges £1.95 per withdrawal) so that I would have cash for our meal onsite later after the cinema. This slow excursion took about 50mins.
Upon my return to the car park I went to get a top out of my car and discovered a parking charge notice stuck to my windscreen.
I went to ask the parking guard in his office since when did it not become ok to nip offsite before or after using the cinema etc. He told me people are not permitted to leave but I could appeal as stated on the ticket. I left him and carried on with my day as best I could.

I went to the cinema joined inside by a friend, joined them for a meal in one of the restaurant's and bought a coffee from the gym before leaving the car park to retrieve my swimwear and return later to the same car park to use the gym/pool as originally planned.

I didnt read the signs in the car park at the time as have been using it for years with no problems. However inspection of the small print afterwards shows the sign does state that leaving the site will incur a charge.

I do however feel that given that I was actually using the facilities and spending enough money there that I shouldn't be persecuted as a trespasser for leaving the site temporarily. I do have receipts including the cash withdrawal.

Due to the emptiness of the site at the time im sure there is probably clear cctv footage of me parking up and walking off, and also of me confronting the ukcps guard on duty.

If anyone could offer any advice on my best course of action from here onwards I would be most grateful as I am very uncertain how to proceed.

kirkbyinfurnesslad_2

Wait for the notice to keeper to arrive through the post.

When it does do a basic appeal which will be rejected, when it does come back here. They will give u a popla code and you can then get help to beat uckps at popla

Stroma

Read VCS v Ibbotson as well , whilst not binding on other courts it gives you your exact situation, read the part about mitigating losses by the vcs employee

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=16231

Umkomaas

Stroma wrote: »

Read VCS v Ibbotson as well , whilst not binding on other courts it gives you your exact situation, read the part about mitigating losses by the vcs employee

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=16231

Agree with Stroma - a failure to mitigate losses by the PPC. If you leaving the site was so catastrophic as to merit a parking charge why didn't the lazy parking chimp not put page 3 of The Sun down, get off his fat rump (the only descriptor the auto-amend doesn't change to !!!!) and explain to you that should you leave the site you leave yourself open to a ticket being put on your windscreen.

Couldn't be anything to do with bonus targets or an in-built predeliction to be authoritarian and draconian? Johnny Jobsworth at large !!

nuit

Ok thanks for replying to my post.
So, I shouldn't just appeal straight away?
The charge is already £60 and will rise to £100 if I dont pay within 14 days. Wont the fine rise if I wait for them to write to the registered keeper? I barely have means to pay the £60 charge never mind a £100 one.

Another question I have if if I appealed direct to them within the 7 days would my charge remain at £60? The parking guard made it sound that such would be true . The actual ticket just states that 'tickets will be placed on hold until your appeal is heard'

Also unlike in the case you linked to above the boundaries of the site is clear and I knowingly left the site. Just without reading any signs up close.

I didn't photograph the emptiness of the car park though my camera doesn't date stamp anyway to my knowledge.

Is spending £12-25 enough in a free car park which never got full but of which I fully left site for about an hour.

nuit

Also, are the parking company likely to obtain cctv footage from the various retailers of me wandering around the complex going in and out of places or is it just my word against theirs with any receipts I have?
The only cameras I could see on site that were definitely theirs were 2 different ones pointing at the pedestrian and vehicle exits.

kirkbyinfurnesslad_2

nuit wrote: »

Also, are the parking company likely to obtain cctv footage from the various retailers of me wandering around the complex going in and out of places or is it just my word against theirs with any receipts I have?
The only cameras I could see on site that were definitely theirs were 2 different ones pointing at the pedestrian and vehicle exits.

Lol of course not don't be stupid , you are taking them far to Seriously

kirkbyinfurnesslad_2

nuit wrote: »

Ok thanks for replying to my post.
So, I shouldn't just appeal straight away?
The charge is already £60 and will rise to £100 if I dont pay within 14 days. Wont the fine rise if I wait for them to write to the registered keeper? I barely have means to pay the £60 charge never mind a £100 one.

Another question I have if if I appealed direct to them within the 7 days would my charge remain at £60? The parking guard made it sound that such would be true . The actual ticket just states that 'tickets will be placed on hold until your appeal is heard'

Also unlike in the case you linked to above the boundaries of the site is clear and I knowingly left the site. Just without reading any signs up close.

I didn't photograph the emptiness of the car park though my camera doesn't date stamp anyway to my knowledge.

Is spending £12-25 enough in a free car park which never got full but of which I fully left site for about an hour.

It's not a fine. Why have u called it a fine?

Stop thinking about paying this . What ever the amount . You need to get over this.

You dont appeal straight away but wait as previously advised.

This company operates behind a scrubby pub

Stroma

Don't worry about the numbers providing you follow the advice here you won't be paying the £60 let alone the £100! This company like the rest of them use intimidation and blatant lies to force payment. Don't fall into their grubby little trap.

Umkomaas

nuit wrote: »

Ok thanks for replying to my post.
So, I shouldn't just appeal straight away?
The charge is already £60 and will rise to £100 if I dont pay within 14 days. Wont the fine rise if I wait for them to write to the registered keeper? I barely have means to pay the £60 charge never mind a £100 one.

Another question I have if if I appealed direct to them within the 7 days would my charge remain at £60? The parking guard made it sound that such would be true . The actual ticket just states that 'tickets will be placed on hold until your appeal is heard'

Also unlike in the case you linked to above the boundaries of the site is clear and I knowingly left the site. Just without reading any signs up close.

I didn't photograph the emptiness of the car park though my camera doesn't date stamp anyway to my knowledge.

Is spending £12-25 enough in a free car park which never got full but of which I fully left site for about an hour.

If all you've had so far is a windscreen ticket (Notice to Driver) then wait for the Notice to Keeper to arrive as pursuing the Registered Keeper under the Protection of Freedoms Act gives the PPC more hurdles to get over; one trip and game over for them.

The 'discount' will still be offered in the NtK (which shouldn't reach you until at least 28 days after the parking event and not more than 56 days after the event). Then you appeal to the PPC which can take up to 35 days for a reply (no discount at about this point), then an appeal to POPLA - 28 days to do it, then about 2 months for a decision. We have an almost 100% record in winning at POPLA.

So if you are thinking about paying, even the full amount, there's a bit of time to save up!

BUT, we're not talking about paying, we're talking about you getting off this. So stop worrying about that.

As far as CCTV of you leaving the site - you're watching too many American TV shows

So, you've got some breathing space, but just don't sit there and wait for the NtK to arrive. If you want the help of the forum you need to do some work yourself by reading lots of recent threads and getting some idea of what a soft appeal is and what a POPLA appeal is like (see POPLA decisions sticky at top of Forum index page). Don't worry about the legalese in the POPLA appeals, you can copy and paste from previous appeals, but you will need to have some understanding of what you are going to paste into your appeal.

Get back after your research and when the NtK arrives.

Coupon-mad

nuit wrote: »

Ok thanks for replying to my post.
So, I shouldn't just appeal straight away?
The charge is already £60 and will rise to £100 if I dont pay within 14 days. Wont the fine rise if I wait for them to write to the registered keeper? I barely have means to pay the £60 charge never mind a £100 one.

You simply need to read the forum threads on page one/two/three of this sub-forum. ANY threads would have answered your questions as all cases are similar:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...php?p=62827554

Just typed exactly the same reply two minutes ago. Bored and tired now:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4737782

It's not a fine at all, it is just an invoice you will not be paying so who gives a stuff if the fake fine 'rises'?!

You will beat it at stage 2 (POPLA appeal). You also need to read current threads about POPLA - start at page one and read a few each day that you can, whilst you await the NTK in the post. You will be an expert at appeal wording by the time you receive the NTK!