Lost POPLA appeal - am I bang to rights?

kirkbyinfurnesslad_2

You should be ok in small claims but dont worry

4consumerrights

Daffo1023 wrote: »

I presented video evidence of a later attempt to input 'II' into the machine, which it would not accept.
In my submission I argued that the time on my ticket (which did actually show a reg of 'II', but I didn't notice this at the time, and certainly didn't submit that number, hence my assertion that the machine is faulty) matches the time their ANPR recorded me entering the car park - therefore, it follows that the ticket that was issued does actually relate to me.

Admittedly, when writing it down now, it seems a little flimsy, but as I know I have done nothing wrong, I wrongly presumed commonsense would prevail as there's no benefit to me in putting a false reg in.

Have you not contacted the Peel Centre yet regarding this - email
Nicola Dearden: [EMAIL="Ndearden@peel.co.uk"]Ndearden@peel.co.uk[/EMAIL] and copy in Kevin Keigher: [EMAIL="Kkeigher@peel.co.uk"]Kkeigher@peel.co.uk[/EMAIL]

Make a formal complaint and demand that they cancel this parking charge as they have suffered no financial loss as parking was paid for and that the driver was a genuine customer. State that you feel you have been unfairly treated using the POPLA appeals system as they overlooked the evidence and confirmation by Excel that parking had been paid for. Write the letter using third party , ie. the keeper received the parking charge for the driver on the day.

Daffo1023

I sent an email to Nicola Dearden yesterday but have yet to hear anything back unfortunately. I also wrote via Facebook to Next, where I was shopping at the time, and they've come back saying they'll approach Excel about it if I can provide a receipt from shopping with them - doubtful as I didn't receive the PCN for 2 weeks, and subsequently returned the jeans I bought as they were defective, so Next may not be much help!

I am loathe to hand any money over, out of sheer principle, although it's doubtless cost me more than the £100 fine already just in lost work time and 'emotional investment' of the stress it's caused. If I'm fighting it, I am just anxious that all the effort is ultimately worth the reward - keeping my hard earned money out of Excel's greedy hands.

Coupon-mad

Maybe you can show the bank statement of the original purchase?

Small claims is less of a 'big deal' than you would imagine, perhaps. No effect on credit rating and only small fees involved on top of the PCN amount. Loads of advice on here about it, loads of people on here and on pepipoo forum who would help you word a defence. The last one we helped, won in small claims (Excel v Greenwood, a disabled wheelchair user they chased to court after he lost with a similar unresearched 'common sense/what happened' POPLA appeal). Start with the NEWBIES FAQs sticky section on small claims if Next can't help. Really try to prove your payment that day as I suspect they are your best bet, seeing as the Peel Centre are worse than USELESS at sorting these out. Based on other threads we've seen they don't appear to give a stuff about customers and someone said they allegedly actually pay Excel for this 'service' every year. I hope Nicola Dearden proves me wrong because the Peel Centre's reputation for this tarnishes the whole place.

You need to be proactive NOW to get this cancelled, because soon this will be you. I am telling you, IMHO Excel WILL pick your case for a small claim unless you get it cancelled quickly by complaints:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4876439

Defendable with our help but not an easy thing to face.

zzzLazyDaisy

Coupon-mad wrote: »

You need to be proactive NOW to get this cancelled, because soon this will be you. I am telling you, IMHO Excel WILL pick your case for a small claim unless you get it cancelled quickly by complaints:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4876439

Defendable with our help but not an easy thing to face.

I agree, you need to go all out to get this cancelled - defending a claim in the small claims court is possible, but it is a lottery with no guarantee of success. For most people it is time consuming and can quite stressful.

But if they are going to issue a claim, they (or their legal representative) must first send you a Letter Before Claim. If that happens, DO NOT IGNORE, but go to the sticky on the first page of this forum and follow that advice. It is possible to see them off at that stage with a robust approach, so it doesn't get as far as court. But that process can also be time consuming, so by far the best course is to try and get it cancelled now, before it gets that far.

Daisy

Hot_Bring

Welcome back Daisy - you've been missed :j

4consumerrights

Echo that Hot Bring - it is nice to have Daisy back.

@Daffy1023 - There have now been a number of threads regarding this issue with the ticket machines at the Peel Centre and another course of action which was IIRC advised to Enisgiven is to contact Trading Standards. Ticket machines should be calibrated to ensure that checks can be done and programmed to avoid issues like these.

And chase the peel centre again to get this cancelled - point out that if they don't instruct their car park management agents to cancel and they proceed further with action against you, then with regret, you may have to involve the Peel centre in a joint counterclaim against them and Excel. Stress again that as a loyal customer you should not have to be treated in this manner and that it has put you off returning to the Peel centre whilst this issue has not been resolved.

I agree with coupon though - Excel are stepping up court cases and have even employed someone specifically for that task - even though he can't use excel spreadsheets.

So do not ignore any solicitors letters (even purporting to be LBCC) or county court papers.

Daffo1023

Hi guys, thanks for the input, apologies for my delay in posting. I have had some contact with Next Complaint Resolution Centre and provided them with evidence of me shopping at the store on the day, along with pictorial evidence of the ticket in question, and the screenshot Excel provided as evidence in the POPLA process of me having 'entered' my reg as 'II'. All of which adds up to proof (in this mythical commonsense realm that POPLA and Excel seem to totally ignore) of me having paid my monies.

That said, I haven't had further response from Next as yet - I provided my evidence on Jan 24th (last Friday).

Still haven't heard back from Peel Centre, either. Should I pursue this? I have a letter from Excel though in the meantime, worded as below:

NOTICE OF INTENDED COURT PROCEEDINGS
Re: Outstanding Debt: £100.00
We are disappointed to note that you have failed to pay the outstanding Parking Charge Notice (PCN) detailed below:

Vehicle Reg: XX
Location: Peel Centre, Stockport
Date and Time: 01 October, 2013 at 11.08

We note that you have appealed to POPLA who have informed you that your appeal has been unsuccessful and advised you to pay the outstanding charge.

Please note that the full charge of £100.00 is now applicable as you have appealed to POPLA.

What happens next:
Should the outstanding debt not be settled by 12th February 2014 we may commence legal proceedings against you without further notice. If we are forced to issue court proceedings to recover the debt, we will also claim out court costs and interest in addition to the outstanding amount.

Please be aware that if legal proceedings are successful and a County Court Judgment (CCJ) is made against you this could severely affect your ability to obtain credit in future.

We trust that this action will not be necessary and that payment will be received by the date above.

Payment can be made online at [website] or by telephone using our 24 hour automated service on 0114 266 0400. Alternatively a cheque or postal order made out to Excel Parking Services Ltd may be sent to our office.

Yours sincerely

Litigation Department
Excel Parking Services Limited


What do you make of this? Is this the 'letter before court action' I have been expecting? I presume I should await the response of Next and/or Peel Centre (if they ever respond) before doing anything else?

As ever, thanks for your help.

Redx

you can certainly chase them up but if those appeals only went in last friday you havent given them enough time to investigate and get back to you

the chances are that the peel centre will tell you where the sun dont shine as I dont think they ever get involved in these things, but you never know !

Next may hold a larger sway with peel holdings so well worth getting them involved although that should have been done when you received the charge in the first place (peel centre too I might add)

clearly your popla appeal should have had the not a gpeol and no contract issues raised, but too late for that as you didnt raise them at popla

if it goes to court then you stand a good chance of winning on those 2 points in court though , especially if you paid the parking fee

Coupon-mad

Is this the 'letter before court action' I have been expecting?

Yep, it is. Needs a response as per the 'LBCCC Fightback' thread, near the top of the forum.

I presume I should await the response of Next and/or Peel Centre (if they ever respond) before doing anything else?

I would give Next and the Peel Centre until this time next week to get this cancelled. If not then you MUST respond to that letter robustly and in full, before the Feb date Excel have stated.