Parking Eye CHarge Notice

thirfty_lady

I received a charge notice from Parking Eye for spending longer than 3 hrs in a retail park.

I was shopping and using the restaurant the entire time, I did spend some money in the shops. The time taken was so long as I was with a friend, we both have have a small babies and needed to feed them so lunch stop longer than usual.

Any advice on appealing the charge as I do not feel it is justified.

Thanks

Coupon-mad

A few months back, we got soooo busy with new threads, all the same, that to ensure no-one missed out on advice I spent hours writing a sticky (info) thread for the top of the forum, giving it capital letters saying:

NEWBIES!! PRIVATE PARKING TICKET? EVEN AN OLD ONE? ***READ THIS FIRST*** Thankyou!

and making sure it covers in simple terms what all the acronyms mean, how to appeal with a DOZEN linked examples...how to win at POPLA stage...what to do if you miss the appeal deadline & get to debt collector letters stage...and yet every day, newbies don't read it.

But please don't disappear, we do want you to win at POPLA so please post any questions...AFTER reading the stickies (info threads 'stuck' on the board at the top).

thirfty_lady

Thanks, having tried to go through everything I have the following letter any tips would be appreciated:

On XX December 2013 my vehicle XX was parked at Tandem Centre Retail Park, Colliers Wood, London.

When I received your letter dated 11/12/2013 I discovered a parking charge notice had been issued for my vehicle`s stay on that car park whilst out shopping there. The parking charge notice stated that it had exceeded the 3 hour time limit allowed for shopping there but had no idea that this was the case as it is not a pay and display car park and no tickets are bought or issued and so no display ticket is ever shown or received.

I believe my vehicle is not in breach of this contravention for the following reasons , mainly due to the fact that there are mitigating circumstances to explain why it was parked where for that length of time and would like to submit an appeal for the following reasons:

- They were visiting the shops on that complex on that day and bought goods from Boots and visited a cafe which in total accounted for the vehicle overstaying but they were going about their lawful business according to the reason why the shops are there and it is why these shops were chosen above others.

- The driver only stayed within the shopping complex and only visited the shops on that shopping park itself, namely Boots, Next, TKMax, Mamas and Papas and new Look.
- They did not realise on that day that the vehicle had overstayed but I believe that as the driver was out shopping there it is only fair and proper that in this instance you waive the charge because the vehicle was not depriving anybody of anything and especially not the landowner. I have enclosed copies bank statements from that day to show their good intentions, although I do not have all of them at this time but may still find them.
The driver also visited a cafe onsite as their small baby required feeding, breast feeding and puree feeding a small baby is time consuming (and often stressful in public) thus further contributing to the extended stay.

In light of the above it is clear that I should not be held liable for the vehicular parking charge and I request that the parking charge notice is cancelled accordingly to promote goodwill between a legitimate shopper and the businesses on that complex who pay rent and other charges to the landowner in order to encourage people to park, stay and shop, which is all they did that day and is the only reason the car park and shopping centre exists, ie:- to attract shoppers. I therefore ask you to cancel the parking charge notice to show goodwill on both sides.
However, I must point out that if you were to not grant my appeal I would require a POPLA reference as I would appeal to them in the light of my sincere intentions above , and I would also be asking them to cancel the parking charge notice as I do not believe the punishment here fits the “crime” and that the fees incurred are excessive and punitive in nature.
I would also like the full contact details of the landowner in case I need to take it up with them or to find out any contractual details as regards the shopping centre and parking rules.
I would also like a copy of the contract allowing your company to collect parking charges on their behalf as their legal agent so I can study it when making my POPLA appeal.
I would also like a copy of the actual legal contract between the landowner and yourselves so that I can again study it when making my POPLA appeal
Lastly, I would like a full breakdown of the costs incurred by the landowner caused by the inadvertent breach of his or your rules as clearly the charges you have imposed here are not relevant to my individual circumstances and seem to be punitive in nature instead of just claiming back “damages” for an inadvertent 18 minute “trespass” on the landowners land whilst doing legitimate business in the shops there. These details will also be considered when I submit my POPLA appeal because I do not feel your “blanket charge” is reasonable, especially in this case where on most pay and display car parks it would warrant £1 to £2 per hour parking charge at the very most.

Please note I will also be contacting the retailers regarding this matter, the driver as a breast feeding mother to a small baby will not longer be able to offer custom to the stores on this retail park.

Yours sincerely
Thirfty lady

Coupon-mad

That's a good strong appeal for the first instance and it's good that you have pointed out that the driver was a breastfeeding mother. But there's more you can add because treating a breastfeeding mother unfairly or subjecting her to 'detriment' like this, is illegal. It is a form of sex discrimination (against a certain 'protected group' in Society, made up of any pregnant or breastfeeding mothers). And it's harassment which is also unlawful.


So I would finish by saying:


''Please note I will also be contacting the Retail Store Managers and Centre Management regarding this matter. The driver, as a breast feeding mother to a small baby, will no longer be able to offer custom to the stores on this Retail Park. Not only that, but treating a breastfeeding mother unfairly or subjecting her to 'detriment' like this, is illegal. You and the Retail Park Managing Agents/Landowners, and the shops on site, are 'service providers' and as such you have legal duties under the Equality Act 2010. This will be a breach of that Act if you continue to pursue this charge, since any 'overstay' was due purely to the need to feed the baby during the visit. Both you and your client will be jointly and severally liable if the driver decides to seek damages against you for sex discrimination and harassment, once this matter is over. I suggest you cancel this immediately now you are aware of this Equality Act breach and have been made aware of the fact the driver was a genuine customer of several stores. ''






(and enclose a copy of the receipts if you can. Most likely they will cancel).

thirfty_lady

thanks will let you know how I get on.