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

Redx

Wansbeck Hospital , Northumberland

complaint to the hospital team gets the PE charge cancelled

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4875658

Redx

PE and Morrissons , cancelled after complaints etc

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4873663

Tipples

Hiya,

I got a parking charge notice earlier this month in Lidl Driffield. £90 charge for overstaying by 22 minutes (£45 if paid within two weeks of issue)

Initially I was furious and wrote a rather snotty message to Lidl via their contact form, and unsurprisingly they weren't too helpful.

Re: Parking Charge in our Store Mill Street, YO25 7RA Driffield

We refer to your recent communication with us regarding the Parking Charge Notice you received.

As you are probably aware, Lidl UK GmbH is a national retailer. As such, we have stores in locations with limited parking space and in common with many of our competitors, our store car parks are abused to a significant and detrimental extent. We have therefore judged it necessary to take measures so that our stores parking facilities are available first and foremost to our customers.

In order to ensure that sufficient parking spaces are available at all times to our customers, Lidl employs third party contractors to monitor and control our car parks. So far, this service has proved reliable and effective in reducing car park abuse and in freeing up spaces for our customers. If you wish to contest a parking charge please contact the Car Parking Company directly via one of the following methods:

Athena

Email: appeals@athena-parking.com

Web: https://www.athena-anpr.com

Phone: 08444 778 009

Mail:

Athena ANPR Ltd

PO Box 306

Chertsey

KT16 6ED

Legitimate appeals can only be submitted in writing. To aid your appeal please send copies of any supporting documentation you may have. Please note that we cannot cancel car parking charges on behalf of the Car Park Management Company as we would not comply with the regulations set out by the British Parking Association.

In closing, we hope that you can understand our position on this matter and that you will continue to be a valued Lidl customer.




Yours sincerely,
For and on behalf of Lidl UK GmbH


Stephanie Wilson
Customer Service


Tel – 0870 444 1234
Email - customer.services@lidl.co.uk

I then found some help here: http://forums.pepipoo.com/lofiversion/index.php/t83429.html

and copied and pasted a very simple, yet useful paragraph to email to Athena:

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing as registered keeper of the vehicle **** ***, in reference to your Notice to Keeper (ref: * *** *** ***). I do not feel that I am liable for this charge, no financial loss has been incurred by the landowner as a result of this incident and hence I feel that the sum you are seeking amounts to a punitive and unenforceable penalty.



I attach a redacted copy of my January 2014 bank statement showing the charge from Lidl leaving my account the following day as well as a transaction before Christmas, as advised by Lidl customer services, who state 'Lidl are not in the habit of penalising loyal customers'.



Please cancel the ticket forthwith and confirm this by return. Alternatively please send me a POPLA code so that I may submit an appeal to the independent appeals service.

Yours,

Charlotte ******

I got this reply today along with an attached parking charge cancellation notice:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your email in regards to the above parking charge.

Please be advised your charge has been cancelled and confirmation is attached

Regards

Athena ANPR Ltd

Result! Isn't the internet wonderful?!

Redx

NCP cancelled after it went to popla https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4826046

valbo

North Tyneside General Hospital - Parking Eye

Thanks to my following the advice on many threads in these forums my husband's parking charge was cancelled.

My husband had to visit the x-ray dept for a foot problem. Unable to find a space in any public car parks he'd eventually parked a long painful walk from hospital buildings. It was an area of rough ground where other cars and vans were parked. None of them displayed parking tickets. There were no ticket machines or parking signs to be seen. As he'd not actually parked in a car park he'd not been able to buy a ticket or read any information about parking.

We'd emailed Joanne Mackintosh after finding her email address through links on here to the Patient Opinion website - joanne.mackintosh@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk She was extremely helpful and sympathetic and it only took a couple of days to get it cancelled. Parking Eye sent their confirmation on the next working day.

4consumerrights

From post 461 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1268723

ripleyalien wrote: »

Thank you moneysavingexpert! I was gutted to receive a parking charge notice from private company G24. I use a B & M car park every week to drop off and pick up my husband from work. I received a letter stating I owed £90 as on one day had stayed in car park for 566 mins-they have a regulation of 90 mins free. They had photos of me exiting and entering but failed to show I had exited and entered twice that day. I do it every week and had for months, they had clearly picked up on my habits and thought they'd try it on! I read your advice and wrote appealing the charges using your template letter using the alleged contravention did not occur. It worked! They replied that the charges had 'been waived'. Thank you so much

sirlionel

First of all, MASSIVE thanks to all who post here. Based on the information I found here I have just got a total reversal of the charge (£120) by Parking Eye even though I had ignored all demands up to the first debt collection letter from Debt Recovery Plus.

Briefly, in Coventry Health Centre overstayed by 3 minutes due to understaffing causing delays (I am the registered keeper but was not the driver). A month later the first PCN arrived which I ignored (wrongly) because I read old forum posts saying to ignore all requests. 4 months later I got a letter from debt collector and mounted my resistance. Here is what I did (letters below)

1) Wrote to Parking Eye by post and email.
2) Wrote to debt collector.
3) Wrote to health centre.

I received a notice of intended court action from the debt collector 2 days before this email arrived from PE saying they were cancelling the charge:

Dear Sir / Madam,
We refer to the Parking Charge incurred on XXX at XXXXX, at City of Coventry Health Centre car park.
After investigating your appeal it appears that the incorrect vehicle registration was input and this has therefore resulted in the issue of the Parking Charge.
On this occasion as a gesture of goodwill we will be cancelling this Parking Charge. To prevent this situation arising in the future, please ensure the correct vehicle registration details are input.
Kind Regards,
ParkingEye Team

I can't see how they could know which registration the driver input into the machine as the ticket had been disposed of and was not presented as evidence so their magnanimity seems totally bogus. They were in clear contravention of PoFA and I'm sure knew they had no leg to stand on should they pursue it in court and they are just trying to cover the fact that they are money-grabbing scoundrels!

I have just written to Debt Recovery Plus to let them know that I will be complaining to the Credit Services Association if I hear any more from them. Incidentally, I have yet to hear from the general manager of the Health Centre so I have no idea if they contacted PE to waive the charge.

So, hoping it might help others, here are letters 1, 2 and 3 from the list above which did the trick for me. Thanks again everyone!

1) Letter to Parking Eye

Dear Sirs,
I refer to your parking invoice ref XXXX.
1. I was the registered keeper of the vehicle registration number XXXX. I confirm receipt of your parking charge notice XXXX dated XXXX but deny any liability to pay this parking charge.

2. I was not the driver at the time though the driver has confirmed that a ticket for one hour was purchased for the City of Coventry Health Centre. As the car was disposed of prior to receipt of the PCN, all associated ticket receipts were discarded. The PCN does not confirm that a parking ticket was purchased, which I find extremely odd, since I would expect your machines to record ticket purchases against the vehicle registration numbers at the time of purchase. On the day in question the centre was severely understaffed (admitted by the nurses on duty) and blood tests administered were taking far longer than usual. The resulting delay caused the driver to leave the car park unaware of having exceeded by 3 minutes the expiry of the one hour ticket.

3. In your letter you are claiming £40/£70 to be paid and I am wondering how you are calculating your loss for a 3 minute overstay. The amount claimed constitutes an unlawful penalty, as it is not a genuine pre-estimate of any loss you pretend you have and I further contend that you have no legal authority to pursue any charge.

4. Additionally, you have failed to comply with paragraph 9.4 of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 in that you failed to give the Notice to Keeper to me within the “relevant period”. The alleged infringement occurred on the XXX and no ‘Notice to Driver’ was issued at the time. The Notice to Keeper is dated XXX which is 28 days after the event and 13 days after the expiry of the statutory 14 day period prescribed by PoFA during which you may deliver this. Your company would have been well aware of this latter fact when it took the decision to send out the Notice to Keeper. You have misrepresented the legal position in the full knowledge that no such keeper liability existed.

5. My challenge is based on

a) the assertion that your parking charge does not represent a genuine pre-estimate of loss to yourself or the landowner. In every case where a motorist has raised this issue, POPLA have accepted the appeal.

b) you are not operating in compliance with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.
You are therefore fully aware that there is no prospect of your charge being upheld, if you do reject the challenge and insist upon taking the matter further.

6. Under these circumstances, I reserve my right not to identify the driver and ask that you cancel the PCN immediately or, if you refuse to do so, send me a POPLA code in order that I may make my representations there. I must inform you that I may claim my expenses from you and my time at the court rate of £18 per hour. The expenses I may claim are not exhaustive but may include the cost of stamps, envelopes, travel expenses, legal fees, etc. By continuing to pursue me you agree to pay these costs when I prevail.

7. Furthermore, if you pursue the matter against me as registered keeper when you have no lawful excuse and cannot rely on 'keeper liability' at all in this instance, you will be guilty of harassment which is another specific breach of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

8. I am making representations to the City of Coventry Health Centre to have the penalty charge revoked. Complaints are also being prepared to submit to the BPA and DVLA.

In view of the above, I look forward to receiving your written confirmation by return that this parking charge has been cancelled. I trust you will also contact Debt Recovery Plus to this effect.

Yours faithfully,

2) Letter to Debt Recovery Plus

Parking Charge Number XXXX - Your ref: XXXX

I refer to your letter of XX Jan 2014.

Firstly, I have no intention of paying the money demanded by your client, and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

Second, should it be your client's intention to start court proceedings, they must provide a Letter Before Claim which complies with the requirements of Annex A Para 2 of the Practice Direction on Pre-action Conduct:

(Link to justice.gov.uk PD pre-action conduct refused by forum as I am a new user - easy to find on forum or Google)

Please also note that a failure and/or refusal to comply with the Practice Direction will result in a complaint being made to the court and an application for a stay of the action and costs pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 4 of the Practice Direction on non-compliance and sanctions.

In the meantime, you should note that this charge is disputed, and you must now refer this matter back to your client and cease and desist all further contact with me. Failure to do so will result in a complaint to the Credit Services Association.

I trust that I have made myself clear.

Yours faithfully

3) Letter to the Coventry Health Centre

Dear Sir/Madam,

I refer to a parking invoice ref XXXX issued last year on your behalf by Parking Eye.

I was the registered keeper (though not the driver) of the vehicle registration number XXXX which parked and overstayed by 3 minutes in your car park on XXXX.

I have had a number of notices for payment which I ignored based on advice taken and in view of the following facts:

a) the parking charge does not represent a genuine pre-estimate of loss to Coventry Health Centre or to Parking Eye. In every case where a motorist has raised this issue, POPLA have accepted the appeal.

b) Parking Eye are not operating in compliance with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. The alleged infringement occurred on the XXXX and no ‘Notice to Driver’ was issued at the time. The Notice to Keeper is dated XXXX which is 28 days after the event and 13 days after the expiry of the statutory 14 day period prescribed by PoFA during which you may deliver this. Parking Eye would have been well aware of this latter fact when it took the decision to send out the Notice to Keeper. They have misrepresented the legal position in the full knowledge that no such keeper liability existed.

I was not the driver at the time of the alleged infringement, though the driver who attended the centre for a routine blood test has confirmed that a ticket for one hour was purchased for the City of Coventry Health Centre. On the day in question the centre was severely understaffed due to a number of nurses having been drafted to another centre for emergency cover (as explained by the nurses on duty) and blood tests administered were taking far longer than usual. The resulting delay caused the driver to leave the car park unaware of having exceeded by 3 minutes the expiry of the one hour ticket.

As the car was disposed of prior to receipt of the charge notice (PCN), all associated ticket receipts were discarded. The PCN does not confirm that a parking ticket was purchased, which I find extremely odd, since I would expect the Parking Eye machines to record ticket purchases against the vehicle registration numbers at the time of purchase.

Furthermore, if Parking Eye pursue the matter against me as registered keeper when they have no lawful excuse and cannot rely on 'keeper liability' at all in this instance, they will be guilty of harassment which is another specific breach of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

Unfortunately, it transpires that Parking Eye are intent on pursuing this parking charge even though they have no grounds in law to do so. I have written to them to clarify the situation, to inform them that their claim will be resisted vigorously and to ask them to withdraw the notice. I am also currently preparing complaints to submit to the British Parking Association and DVLA.

In view of the above, I am asking that you contact Parking Eye to get the charge cancelled as I understand you have the authority to do so. This will save Parking Eye and yourselves much embarrassment as I fully intend to defend this matter if necessary with POPLA and in court although I hope it will not go that far.

I look forward to receiving your written confirmation at your earliest convenience that this parking charge has been cancelled.

Yours faithfully,

Redx

G24 cancellation due to a vehicle breakdown https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4860226

Redx

Smart Parking and the Water Gardens , Harlow

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4874620

good appeal, PCN cancelled

Redx

UKPC and DR+ back down on 2 tickets in private car parking space row

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4818110

well done to funnymunny for standing up to these parasites