Peel centre parking fine - £60

Airwalker

Pottsy292 wrote: »

Hey guys
So I received my first parking fine yesterday, safe to say I was gutted.
I arrived in the car park at 8:30. I've parked before and last time I was there it was free after 8.... But thats obviously not the case anymore
I parked at 8 and with most of the shop shut you would think it would be free. Ran into nandos and left at 9:45.
I had no ticket but a few days later I was caught on camera entering and leaving.
So I now have a £60 fine for not displaying a ticket which should of cost me £1
My mum and dad got the same fine last week and payed off the £60.
I for one don't wanna add and give them £120 in 2 weeks.
Mum keeps telling me to pay it but I don't know what to do
Any advice?
I've been told to ignore but me being 20 I have no knowledge of appealing or going to court or anything?

Cheers guys

Hi, I'm new. I just received a parking charge notice at the Peel Centre too. It seemed strange to me and I was glad when I found my parking stub in my car. It turns out, they were wrong. I had paid correctly and not gone overtime. I called and they said that sometimes the machines make errors....well, £60-£100 is a lot in errors! I photo'd the stub and emailed it to them just now. I've been interested in reading the replies by everyone here. What a scam excel parking has! Glad I caught on before paying. Good to be here!

Pottsy292_2

fair point
this is the entrance I drove through though? it shows the P&D sign on the side. the sign doesn't actually state any hours as your drive through. its not till you go to the pay and display machine you see the parking hours. because I believed it was free i had no intention of going to the pay & display machine.

I have read the POPLA appeal you sent me and i cant really find what else I can add? maybe I'm being silly but other than the watchdogs link there isn't much else I can add?

I have taken the pictures out which leaves it like this...

Dear POPLA adjudicator,
RE: Excel Parking PCN number xxxxxxxxx POPLA code xxxxxxxxxx

I'm writing this to appeal a charge sent to me by Excel Parking. This occurred after my vehicle entered and exited a car park in Stockport Peel Center, on 26/08/2013. I was parked here for 51 Minutes, between the hours of 8:26pm - 9:17pm. Excel claim that the vehicle's driver owes them £100 (reduced to £60 if early payment is made) for not displaying a Pay and Display ticket.
It was to my understanding that it was free to park here between the hours of 6pm till 6am. I have parked here before knowing full well it has been free during these hours. As I drove into the car park I noticed a sign which does not state that any times have changed. As all shops were closed and only a few cars were parked, I was still under the impression the car park was free after 6pm. I went into a local restaurant situated on site and was told, by a member of staff, the car park is in fact free after 6pm.
10 days later I received a charge for £60/£100 (£60 if played promptly). I was caught driving in and out by a ANPR camera.

I now want to set out why I'd like you to cancel this charge….

'Excel's legal capacity to enforce/issue Parking Charge Notices'

Firstly I would like to point out that, in their correspondence with me, Excel haven't produced any evidence to demonstrate that they have the necessary legal capacity to charge the driver of a vehicle using the car park. Nor that they have any proprietary interest in this particular piece of land at Stockport peel center.

Accordingly, I kindly ask you to check whether or not Excel have provided an up-to date, signed copy of the contract or agreement with the landowner – one which states that they are entitled to pursue these matters through issuing PCNs and through the courts. I'd require that this is an actual copy and not simply a document which claims that such a contract or agreement exists.

'Trespass'

If there is no contract, then at most I was guilty of a civil trespass. If this was the case, I would be liable to damages. Given that I did no damage to the car park and the car park was not full when I parked or when I left, It is suggested that there was no loss at all.

'Unlawful Penalty Charge'

Since there was no demonstrable loss/damage and yet a breach of contract has been alleged, it can only remain a fact that this 'charge' is an attempt at dressing up an unlawful penalty to impersonate a parking ticket. This is similar to the decisions in several County Court cases such as Excel Parking Services v Hetherington-Jakeman (2008), also OBServices v Thurlow (review, February 2011), Parking Eye v Smith (Manchester County Court December 2011) and UKCPS v Murphy (April 2012) .

On the basis of all the points I have raised, this 'charge' fails to meet the standards set out in paragraph 19 of the BPA CoP and also fails to comply with the CPUTR 2008, the UTCCR 1999, the Equality Act 2010 and basic contract law.

'The charge is a penalty and not a genuine pre-estimate of loss'.

Given that the duration of stay was recorded at 51 minutes, and the tariff set by the operator for a 1-2 hour stay is just £1, then the amount of the “penalty” imposed is disproportionate to any alleged “loss” by Excel Parking, and is therefore punitive, contravening the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1997.

The £100 charge asked for, far exceeds the cost to the landowner for the time my car was parked there. The charge cannot be construed as anything but a punitive penalty. In the appeal Excel did not address this issue, and has not stated why they feel a £100 charge is an appropriate pre-estimate of loss. For this charge to be justified a full breakdown of the costs Excel has suffered as a result of the car being parked at the car park is required and should add up to £100. Normal expenditure the company incurs to carry on their business (e.g. provision of parking, parking enforcement, signage erection, salaries and office rent) should not be included in the breakdown, as these operational costs would have been suffered irrespective of the car being parked at that car park.

It was found in the case of Vehicle Control Services Ltd vs Mr R Ibbotson (16th May 2012) that general business costs cannot constitute a loss and also has been held to be the case in a number of very recent compelling and comparable decisions against Excel, when similar cases have been considered by POPLA.

'Unclear And Non-Complaint Signage'

Due to their high position, bright colors, distracting pictograms and the barely legible size of the small print, the signs in this car park are very hard to read and understand, especially after hours/after dark. At no point was I sufficiently informed by any signs that the pay and display duration period had changed.

'ANPR Section Of The BPA Code Of Practice'

I further contend that Excel have failed to show me any evidence that the cameras in this car park comply with the requirements of the BPA Code of Practice part 21 (ANPR) and would require POPLA to consider that particular section of the Code in its entirety and decide whether the Operator has shown proof of contemporaneous manual checks and full compliance with section 21 of the Code, in its evidence.

I respectfully request that this appeal to be allowed.
Many Thanks



Thanks again though for commenting and helping me out. ill have another research and stuff at any point I can.
once again thank you

Pottsy292_2

OUCH cant believe you paid the pound and yet they asked you for £60.
I'm glad you found the parking stub mate
you dodged a big hassle :')
next time park at Tesco extra. its across the road and allows 3 hours!

Coupon-mad

I think your POPLA appeal plan is pretty good now with all the usual points. I just would not send any photos with it. Have you even got a POPLA code yet, I can't recall? And the photos have thrown this thread out so it's harder to read, as they are so big!

Pottsy292_2

Cheers and no I havn't received my POPLA number yet. I just wanted to get something down so I can get it off to POPLA as soon as I get the number. Don't want the charge to go to £100 in the unfortunate possibility I loose .
I'll delete the pictures to make things clear and easy.
Thanks for all you help

Pottsy292_2

so after 36 days! I eventually received my appeal.
it was rejected -.- they sent my POPLA number across and say if i appeal to POPLA my fine will increase to £100 -.-
sucks for me
think im gonna send off this popla and see what happens i guess?
ill keep you posted
wish me luck

Pottsy292_2

funny thing is they say in the letter the time of P&D is 6am-9pm.
in actual fact it says 24 HRS

they dont even know how long the car parks in operation!

bondy_lad

which solicitor are they gonna use to harass you,as their current ones have been suspended,i bet you sleep as easy as i do now,complete morons.yet they continue to fleece the unsuspecting public at the peel centre.

Pottsy292_2

I wasn't aware of this?
either way i made slight amendments to my appeal stating it in fact took them 33 days to write back to me and i only received the letter 36 days after i got my receipt of my appeal from excel.
ill keep you guys posted on what happens, like i said i appreciate all your help for this. hopefully ill keep the £100 in my pocket as ive just booked a holiday :')

Coupon-mad

Pottsy292 wrote: »

I wasn't aware of this?
either way i made slight amendments to my appeal stating it in fact took them 33 days to write back to me and i only received the letter 36 days after i got my receipt of my appeal from excel.
ill keep you guys posted on what happens, like i said i appreciate all your help for this. hopefully ill keep the £100 in my pocket as ive just booked a holiday :')

As long as you submit that POPLA appeal it will most likely be cancelled and there will never be any junk mail from debt collectors or solicitors.