NCP at Braintree Station

arch_stanton

Hi all
I have had a good look over the forum guides etc. but so far haven't found a case with these circumstances, so here goes...if anyone has any guidance then thanks, but my aim is to bring to light for others in the same scenario

I park at Braintree Station NCP, and as my usual routine paid by RingGo. I have done this for months, and because the mobile signal there is best described as 'variable', I often am a few stations down the line before I can complete the payment on my mobile. Occasionally, this has spilled over to a couple of hours, I'll be the first to admit that, and this was one of those days.

All well and good for months, then on 17 Jan I get a PCN with a request for £50 if paid within 14 days.

I lodged an appeal with NCP online very quickly, no response for some days, then an email, I have inserted an extract below, which in a couple of ways verged on the genius, I have to say:

"blah blah issued at Braintree Station SP on 17 January 2014 to vehicle with registration mark Rnnnxxx

Thank you for your recent etc

The parking contravention charge notice was issued to your vehicle, as the parking attendant observed and recorded that the vehicle was parked without clearly displaying a valid pay and display ticket.

Having searched our database for the above vehicle registration, I am unable to trace any transaction against this vehicle. If you are able to supply your RingGo account number, (usually your mobile telephone number) then I will be able to search more thoroughly. "

Happy to do so, except that you sent the email from donotreply@ncp.co.uk so go on then, tell me how I am supposed to furnish you with that information?

My reasons for appealing:

I studied the sign board long and hard and there is nothing the re that stipulates any time limit within which you have to have paid via RingGo.

I have parked there many times on this basis and never received a PCN

"...without clearly displaying.." Couldn't they say this about any vehicle parked there which paid by mobile, where no tickets are issued?

I paid the charge! Albeit perhaps not within minutes of exiting my car, but ALSO WELL BEFORE I discovered the PCN, so not like I was trying to avoid being busted after the event...so NCP got their money!

What's more, I logged in to RingGo and there it was, plain as day, the entry that showed I had paid the charge for the day, once again, admittedly quite late in the day but long before I got home and discovered the PCN.

For kicks, I replied but of course got a non-delivery bounce-back.

I found a contact form on the NCP main site regarding parking fines, and asked them to pass a message to the genius PCN email author.

Also tried their live chat - but but the chat ended itself and was told no-one was available; not even told to try again later, and that chat hours were 0700 - 1900...this was at 16:50

Any advice or guidance? Anyone come across this sort of farce before, with the mobile-pay scenario?

Thanks in advance. I will of course appeal to POPLA but I am wondering how to move on to the next step with NCP, if they don't give the means to do so...

Cheers
Rob

Coupon-mad

On the PCN does it give a postal address for appeals? I would use that to print off and show them your evidence and to ask for a POPLA code. Make sure you are up to speed with what wins at POPLA (no GPEOL etc., as explained in the NEWBIES thread, because 'your word against theirs' stuff about RingGo payments is most unlikely to win, whereas our appeal 100% will against NCP).

If no postal address can you copy & paste their silly reply, into the appeals online box (the one you used to appeal online in the first place) and add your new response & links in one long thread - and submit that afresh?

Failing all of the above try complaining to 'Passenger Focus' about this farce - if you Google them and contact them with your complaint, we have found them to be very helpful with railway car park 'tickets' issues where you are trying to appeal but being thwarted!

patman99

I have a feeling that the carpark at Braintree may actually be owned by NCP rather than NCP being a contractor running the carpark on behalf of Network Rail. You need to find this out as it could mean that if they are not the actual owners then you will have a good chance of a successful POPLA appeal.

arch_stanton

Brilliant, thanks for the advice both - really appreciate it and will follow up on all suggestions