Highview Fine - Ignore or POPLA?

ihatehighview

Hey everyone

Just a quickie.
I have received a fine from Highview about parking in a supermarket carpark.
I used a self-service till, didn't pick up my receipt and then had no code to pop in the parking machine. I can prove I spent money in that supermarket through a bank statement but after doing some scouring on the internet and looking through threads on here there seems to be a mixed opinion on what to do.

Most forums outside of here say ignore it. I'll receive approximately 7 letters over the course of 3 months including fake ones from debt collectors and solicitors. If I ignore them they'll stop bothering me. I make no contact and don't say who the driver was.

This forum's advice likes to focus on appealing and POPLA, small claims court etc.


Quite honestly I'd rather do nothing and get the threat-o-grams. I'm fine with that but what's the general consensus?

Thanks


{Email sent to supermarket. Waiting for a response}

{Email received. Customer services is contacting the Store manager}

{After a second reminder email it has been cancelled by Tesco customer services}

Coupon-mad

Appeal with copies of receipts if you need to but FIRST OF ALL complain assertively to Tesco. It will be cancelled, end of scam, and Tesco will have got yet another complaint about these muggers (which is the best way to fight back against them).

This thread has loads of successful complaints linked, some about Tesco and Highview - and all these have only been collated in the past 3 weeks or so!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/62837690#Comment_62837690

You can even get it cancelled over the phone if you have a clubcard (and did use it that day) and just ring up to complain to the helpline or Customer Services at Tesco Head Office. Give them the details, have a moan about it and ask them to check that you did indeed shop there that day, and to get the scam cancelled. It beggars belief that a Supermarket thinks that having a firm on site operating a threatening protection racket is conducive to good customer service - because it clearly isn't and will drive customers away. Stay on the phone until they cancel it and if you get a useless person, here's a tip, RING TESCO AGAIN because their HO call centre is ENORMOUS and you will get someone different and can start your complaint again (pretend you got cut off if they can see that you have already started a conversation with another staff member). If no joy, march into the Store and insist on a quiet word with the Store Manager (no-one else, not a 'Duty Manager').

You could have this cancelled within 15 minutes!

If not then do a challenge saying 'the driver' did not see any signs as they are too high, and here's a copy of the driver's receipt, and you are going to complain about it if they don't cancel because clearly there has been no loss in a free car park where the driver was a patron of the Store.

HappyMJ

ihatehighview wrote: »

Hey everyone

Just a quickie.
I have received a fine from Highview about parking in a supermarket carpark. I can prove I spent money in that supermarket through a bank statement but after doing some scouring on the internet and looking through threads on here there seems to be a mixed opinion on what to do.

Most forums outside of here say ignore it. I'll receive approximately 7 letters over the course of 3 months including fake ones from debt collectors and solicitors. If I ignore them they'll stop bothering me. I make no contact and don't say who the driver was.

This forum's advice likes to focus on appealing and POPLA, small claims court etc.


Quite honestly I'd rather do nothing and get the treat-o-grams. I'm fine with that but what's the general consensus?

Thanks

It's a gamble whether to ignore or not. The threads you have seen here are probably to do with ParkingEye. They seem to be taking many more people to court in the hope that most will not know their rights and not defend the claim. They seem to be winning a lot of undefended claims...but losing properly appealed claims.

If you want to you and it's totally up to you then you should appeal to the PPC and get a POPLA code and appeal again through POPLA....or you can take a gamble and ignore everything and only answer the letter from the court. I would normally ignore but I am getting a little worried about a Parking Eye invoice I got recently.

Coupon-mad

HappyMJ wrote: »

It's a gamble whether to ignore or not. The threads you have seen here are probably to do with ParkingEye. They seem to be taking many more people to court in the hope that most will not know their rights and not defend the claim. They seem to be winning a lot of undefended claims...but losing properly appealed claims.

If you want to you and it's totally up to you then you should appeal to the PPC and get a POPLA code and appeal again through POPLA....or you can take a gamble and ignore everything and only answer the letter from the court. I would normally ignore but I am getting a little worried about a Parking Eye invoice I got recently.

Just seen your thread, never fear:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4758350

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4660007

You need to update your thread to say what happened when you complained to Aldi as per the 'Aldi facebook' thread linked?

Guys_Dad

I don't agree that it's a gamble. With a gamble, you can be worse off if you do something rather than the other thing.

Appealing and then going to POPLA leaves you no worse off than ignoring (as long as you do a decent appeal) and it just might stave off a set of court papers.

ihatehighview

Thanks for the replies folks! Wow I like this forum!

I've sent an email to the supermarket so I'll come back to here when I get a reply.

Thanks!

ihatehighview

Hi everyone

I can confirm my charge from Highview has been cancelled.
As it's all now over I can confirm the supermarket was Tesco.

I contacted Tesco customer services from their website. Sent a few disapproving sentences of how a paying customer can get fined like this and after waiting 5 days (I sent a reminder email) they have confirmed it is cancelled and that I'll get a written letter in 5 - 10 working days.
Just to note I didn't have a receipt but I had a bank statement showing the transaction (which they didn't ask for) but perhaps they checked my club card account...
I'm partly disappointed as I was quite looking forward to reading all these threat-o-grams Highview parking sends out. But it does make life easier without the hassle!
I'm grateful Tesco did cancel it but I will now avoid Tesco and that particular supermarket especially like the plague. I've discovered Morrisons is better anyway. The staff tend to be more experienced and pleasant as opposed to young chavs stacking shevles in Tesco. I got fed up of hearing them swear to each other in there too.

Coupon-mad

Well done, another success with a complaint about a rogue PPC! :T

Your thread is being added here now in to the Hall of Fame showing successful complaints:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/62837690#Comment_62837690