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

peplowww

PCN issued by UKCPS at the KFC, Costa and Taco Bell car park on Manvers Way, Wath-upon-Dearne, for overstaying the 90 minute limit and not putting my registration details into the tablet device in the Costa store, which wasn’t made clear was required.

The Manvers Lake and Dearne Valley Trust are the freeholders of the land, and denied any power to intervene or help, but confirmed that the site is leased to QFM, who used to own KFC and Costa, but recently sold Costa to SimTrava, but retained primary interest in the car park.

I contacted QFM and I was provided with an email for the manager who sorts the car parks at their sites - ioana.evans@qfm-group.com.

I then emailed formal complaints to both the above and SimTravas generic contact us email - hello@simtrava.co.uk.

I received no reply from the representative at QFM although I did get an automatic reply to state she was out of the office, but SimTrava passed the issue over to the area manager for the Costa who I’m sure have dealings with UKCPS as their device is inside the Costa. The area manager was very apologetic, professional, and contacted UKCPS and got them to cancel the PCN.

Email written as follows to SimTrava and the free holder-

To the relevant representatives of Sim Trava and The Manvers Lake and Dearne Valley Trust

I am writing to formally complain about the treatment I have received as a genuine, paying customer at your Costa Coffee store on Manvers Way.

Despite visiting the store in good faith, I have been issued with a Parking Charge Notice by UKCPS. I find this completely unacceptable.

On the day in question, I was meeting a friend who was struggling with his mental health and I stayed longer than I ordinarily would because I was supporting him during what was a difficult time. At no stage did it occur to me that remaining inside a Costa store as a paying customer would result in being pursued for a parking charge.

I have since been informed that there is apparently a device inside the store where customers are expected to input their vehicle registration to permit an extended stay. I was not made aware of this requirement. There was no instruction brought to my attention, and I was not advised that any such action was necessary.

It is wholly unreasonable to penalise customers who use the car park legitimately but were unaware of an administrative process designed to distinguish them from those who do not

It is staggering that a customer can visit Costa in good faith and later receive what amounts to a demand for payment from a private parking company operating in connection with your store. This is not a minor inconvenience, it is aggressive enforcement directed at the very people who keep your business trading.

I understand that your group acquired this Costa location from QFM. As the current franchise operator, you are responsible for the standards applied at this site, including the conduct of any parking enforcement acting on your behalf or in connection with your leasehold interest.

If your parking arrangements are structured in such a way that loyal customers are penalised for administrative misunderstandings then this is fundamentally flawed. 

I require the following:

• Confirmation of who holds the parking enforcement contract for this site  

• Confirmation of whether you, or indeed who, has authority to instruct cancellation  

• Immediate action to resolve this matter  

I have supported Costa for years. I do not expect to be treated like a parking offender for visiting one of your stores, particularly in circumstances where I was there to offer my custom, support a friend, and where the supposed compliance mechanism was not properly understood. 

As the parties holding either contractual control or the superior interest in the land, you are ultimately accountable for the actions of your agent. If enforcement against genuine customers is being carried out in a manner that is disproportionate or inadequately communicated, that is a matter of site management and oversight rather than simply “operator discretion”.

For ease of reference, the details of the Parking Charge Notice are as follows:

• Parking Operator: UKCPS

• PCN Reference Number: xxxxxxx

• Vehicle Registration: xxxxxxx

• Date: xxxxxx

• Location: Costa Coffee, Manvers Way, Wath Upon Dearne, S63 7EQ

I expect a prompt and substantive response.

regards,

[name]

automagic

Success with Tesco + Horizon Parking

I managed to rein in my gut instincts and followed the guide religiously.

I received an PCN/Invoice based on overstay claim.

My attempt with Tesco store managers etc. proved unsuccessful.

I appealed online to Horizon Parking, and got a "gesture of goodwill" cancellation. Yay!

In my appeal, as the keeper, I included invoices/bank statements to prove that the the unidentified driver was indeed a genuine customer of the mall+store.

Thanks MSE Forum ❤️

Umkomaas

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81911954#Comment_81911954

Magic! ✨🪄 👍

slowbob

One more to add to the success stories for a satisfactory outcome with a Parkingeye PCN…

It's free parking for 4 hours at Leamington Shopping Park, but a half-term shopping trip with teenage daughter (including purchases in M&S, TK Maxx, New Look, Sainsbury's, and a meal in M&S cafe) resulted in an overstay of 25mins.

There's no mechanism to pay for additional parking, and although there are plenty of signs, but the part of the sign that indicates the 4-hr max stay is a sticker that has faded badly.

Received PCN in the post, and a reminder a fortnight later. Followed the newbie advice, albeit a bit slowly. Went in to speak to M&S Store Manager. They were not there on the day, but spoke to the Deputy Store Manager, who was sympathetic but unable to help. She promised to raise it with the Store Manager, who duly emailed a couple of days later. Sympathetic, but unable to help.

It was proving difficult to find someone from the Retail Park to speak to (as everything just pointed back to Parkingeye), so asked the M&S Store Manager to provide details of their landlord.

Meanwhile, followed the process to appeal the PCN using template in the forum on the Parkingeye website just before the deadline.

Before hearing back on the Parkingeye appeal (which I expected to be rejected), I received an email from the Property Manager of the Retail Park, who had been contacted by M&S Store Manager. I wrote a lengthy "customer complaint" email (having read several example letters on the forum) to the Property Manager of the Retail Park (focusing on the misleading signage and, more importantly, the counter-productive policy of penalising loyal customers who are shopping and stopping for a meal - as advertised on the Retail Park's website, how distressing this was, reluctant to return to the Retail Park etc).

Received a reply from the Property Manager to say they would arrange for the PCN to be cancelled, and subsequently received confirmation from Parkingeye that it had been cancelled.

So, a successful outcome from following the forum advice pretty much to the letter! Another win for "customer complaint" approach to the actual Retail Park, rather than an appeal to the parking company. Kudos to M&S Store Manager, as I had drawn a blank tracking down someone to contact at the Retail Park itself.

Umkomaas

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81960822#Comment_81960822

Nice result, great write up. Which organisation provides the retail park management? Always good to know the details of those who will stand up to the likes of ParkingEye to help genuine customers ensnared in their trap.

Crwban

Hi All

Quick question relating to parking charge Smart Parking sent to me back in 2021. After the initial skirmish in 2022 they backed off but now, like a bad plumbing problem, have resurfaced with a LOC.

Having discovered this marvellous forum one thing I'm going to do is (belatedly) complain to the landowner. However, the retail park has since been sold to a new owner. I'm assuming I'd appeal to the new owners as Smart still seem to be the agent?

Thanks

Le_Kirk

You should start a new thread of your own to get bespoke advice. Give some detail such as where the retail park is situated.

helicopter123

Hi,

I'm looking for a template complaint letter i can send to the retailer. There was a link to one originally posted in this thread, (by Couponmad) but the link no longer works. Can anyone help?

Umkomaas

Not aware of a complaint template letter per se. Each case and circumstances are different, a template would be very ‘wooden’.

So, just tell the retailer as it is, how it is is unfair (detail why/how), how it is affecting you, the uncertainty, the intimidation, the stress, the harassment, how your retailer loyalty is now severely impacted. Tell the retailer what it is you would like them to do. Above all, make it polite

Coupon-mad

I hate and detest templates for complaints. Nononono! Awful idea.