Successful complaints about private parking tickets - how to get them cancelled!

grassmarket

ALDI success v Parking Eye: even before any charge! 
In anticipation of a PE letter - I contacted ALDI Customer Service myself. I’d just committed the heinous crime of parking/shopping in their Stowmarket store for over 90mins. I used the CEO email website to find this address: gmd@cs.aldi.co.uk. Apparently this is the email for Giles Hurley & his exec team. 

ALDI have already replied & agreed to get the charge cancelled - before I’ve even received one! 

Previous similar charges (inc 4hrs at LIDL in Ipswich) were successfully quashed by responding to the PE charge with proof of purchase & a robust rejection letter. But this new method saves the wait & having to have any dealings with the parking operator. Keep your receipts! 

Ezzbig45

Would I be able to complain to the property developer? The PCN says 'The Green Quarter UB1', and when I google the land owner, it says Berkeley Group. So I find the email of Berkeley Group?

Le_Kirk

This often posted by @Umkomaas with the addition of the work by @Di67: -

SOME IDEAS ON DETERMINING WHO OWNS THE LAND 

1. Google searches

2. If a retail park, check on any signage which lists the on-site outlets

3. Ask retailers on the site if there is a managing agent

4. Ask retailers on the site to whom do they pay rent

5. Contact the local authority and ask who pays the non-domestic/business rate for the car park (some councils have a spreadsheet on their website)

6. Contact the local Valuation Office and ask if they know. They often have a website which might provide the information 

7. Contact The Land Registry and for around £7 they should be able to provide definitive detail

8. If you haven't already done so, give us the name of the car park/site/location, we may have seen other cases there. 

Posted by @Umkomaas

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78322090/#Comment_78322090

Posted by @Di67

Here is my dog with a bone process: 

General method I used to identify and contact the landowner

I started by Googling every business operating from the site, the building name itself, and any obvious managing agents or tenants. Wherever a phone number or email address existed, I made contact. When that stalled, I searched the business name on Companies House to identify the registered company and, crucially, the named directors. Companies house will give you the name of the solicitors who make the filings, I was cheeky and sent an email to the solicitor (FAO your client and Director of XYX Company). I also searched those individuals on Google, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. LinkedIn was the most useful, although it didn't provide direct contact details, it did provide information on other companies associated with the person I was trying to reach. From there, I visited the websites of those other companies, which is where I eventually found a working email address for the person I needed - so I emailed this address as well as via the solicitor. In short, Companies House gives you information on the company, the names of any directors and their business solicitor, pop the name into LinkedIn which will give you more lines of enquiry, and one of those lines will lead you to a contact. 

MagicMoneyTree81

For the benefit of anyone else facing a similarly spurious PCN from Ocean Parking in relation to car parks at Manchester tram stops! 

I just had a PCN cancelled for not parking "wholly within the bay". I appealed the PCN but also complained, politely but forcefully, to the landowner, TfGM (which oversees the tram network). A nice chap from TfGM responded the same day and promised to investigate. 24-48 hours later the PCN was cancelled. Seems like TfGM had requested the cancellation.

What happened with how the car was parked: A car in the adjacent space was itself encroaching into the space my car was parked in. It would have been difficult for my car to be parked “wholly inside the bay” and for any passengers to exit on that side. Furthermore, my car was situated at the end of the row, beyond which there was a raised concrete barrier separating my car from the adjacent perpendicular space. It was clear that my car’s position was in no way impeding any other parked car or preventing another car from parking. My car would not have impeded any cars trying to drive past either – not even slightly.

So anyone in a similar situation: a complaint to TfGM could reap dividends. 

patient_dream

It is a well known fact that parking spaces are no longer fit for purpose due to larger and wider cars.  If parking companies managed car parks properly, they would make spaces bigger but of course they fail to do this because small places attracts money to line their pockets. So, whilst their signs form a contract, it could be said that there is a frustration of contract because the spaces are too small for you to comply.

Jackah

I apologise in advance, but I am SO confused about this forum and where to go to for advice? Is this just the victory page? Or is the advice nestled in? If so, anyone have a link its 101 pages long?

I got a fine for parking in a 30 minute free area for 5 minutes, and not putting in my details in the shop. I am absolutely 100% certain I put in details, but I was in a rush and dyslexic so I may have typed in my reg wrong, but id be surprised still. I appealed, they gave a generic response refusing and obviously didn't do any checking.

Anyway, its now at DCB legal, but I did phone them to ask if they could check which they refused. Said I have 20 days till it escelates

Nellymoser

@Jackah you've definitely posted on the wrong thread for advice. You need to start a new thread use create new or red circle + button, copy/paste your post above in.

Also state who issued the pcn and if it was a Letter of/before Claim with 30 day notice from DCB Legal.

Woodstok2000

@Coupon-mad as requested, reposting here.

My wife had a recent PCN from UKPA at Almondvale West in Livingston (Scotland). A notorious retail park with one car park split in half, one part pay and display and the other part is ANPR and ticket machines/app. In her case, the nearest pay machine wasn't working and the next one she went to was for the wrong half of the car park.

Anyway, we were all set to spend a few years ignoring escalating threat-o-grams, but thankfully plan A paid off!

For anyone interested, the Almondvale West car park is managed by Savills - I submitted a complaint via their website and got a response in 24 hours, and a confirmation of cancellation in 3 days. My wife had visited Decathlon and Smyths Toys, Smyths were useless, but Decathlon also confirmed they had contacted UKPA to cancel the notice. The text I used is below:

Almondvale West Parking Charge: PCN UKPA-567-154

Dear Sir/Madam,

Apologies in advance for this email which I’m sure will be nothing short of a waste of your time.

That said, I feel very strongly about the issue and have been directed to you as the landowner of: Almondvale West Retail Park, EH54 6QX I recently received a notification from UK Parking Administration (attached - PCN UKPA-567-154), for a parking charge of £100 as the keeper of vehicle XXXXX.

The charge was for visiting the retail park on 03 February 2026 when I was shopping at Decathlon and Smyths Toys. On arrival, the nearest payment machine was out of order and so I paid at another machine, without realising that the car park is in two parts and each part is managed by a different company with different payment methods.

I contend that this is an unfair charge for a genuine customer of the retail park who paid for parking in good faith. I spent a significant amount in various stores in the retail park and was legitimately shopping. I would like to request that you as land owner consider this and the attached evidence and reach out to UKPA to ask them to cancel the charge notice.

Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated,

Kind Regards

Umkomaas

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81893742#Comment_81893742

Nice one. Savills really are the best MA for getting PCNs, issued on their retail parks, cancelled.

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81893959#Comment_81893959

Yeah, they were great.