Help with POPLA Appeal

bigp26

Good Evening All,

I want to thank everybody for their help in advance before I go into detail!

I received a parking ticket on 15/03/2014 with the reason being that no parking permit was displayed. I have attached photos of this ticket below.


i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s525/bigp26/upload6_zpse0b7caa7.jpg

i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s525/bigp26/image_zps007e70e3.jpeg

Unfortunately I already appealed to the company, Private Parking Solutions (London) Ltd, before I came across this section of the forum. They have since come back to me and rejected my appeal.

So, my story: I was parked on a road which had no road markings on the side - no bays, no yellow lines, no roadside plates or anything. I was parked there for about 10 minutes, and was shocked to come back and find a bright yellow parking ticket on my windscreen! I think it must have been one of the residents (as I understand that some companies operate a self-ticketing service) as I think there was somebody watching out of their window.

Anyway, I hadn't noticed any sort of signs when I drove into the road. Upon looking BACK, I saw a sign in the distance, showing that it was a "Controlled Zone". I could however not see any other signs in the proximity. Please find photos which I took at the time below.

i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s525/bigp26/Upload2_zps8b47f945.jpg

i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s525/bigp26/Upload3_zpse8f112c3.jpg

i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s525/bigp26/Upload1_zpsd5c83ca1.jpg

i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s525/bigp26/IMG_5454_zps1bcaa418.jpg

i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s525/bigp26/IMG_5453_zps711c507e.jpg

I then sent the following email to the appeals email address:

"Dear Sirs,

I received a parking ticket, ref "PCN No: XXXX" on Saturday 15th March 2014.

Please find the details as found on the parking ticket below:

Reason: No permit
Date: 15.03.14
Vehicle Reg: XXXXXX
Make: BMW
Colour: Black
Site Location: Rodwell Cl
Site Name: Eastcote
Operator I.D.: 314.

I arrived onto Rodwell Close at 12:10pm as I was meeting an estate agent for a property viewing. Upon returning to my vehicle at approximately 12:20pm, I was shocked to have found a parking ticket on my car.

Upon inspection of the area, I noticed that there was an inconspicuous "Controlled Zone" entry sign (note that this was only visible assuming I had looked BACK when driving into the road as there was no indication when entering the road), and an absence of yellow lines, marked parking bays and roadside plates in the area. Along with the fact that multiple other cars were parked on the same road, I was lead to believe that the zone was unrestricted.

To confirm, the absence of marked parking bays, yellow lines, and road plates in the area of restriction, as well as a lack of information regarding parking permits on the "Controlled Zone" sign as well as in the surrounding area, are the reasons why I should not have been issued a parking ticket.

Please confirm in writing (via email), that this penalty notice has therefore been revoked. Should you decide that my appeal is rejected, I will be referring this case to the British Parking Association (BPA) and submitting a Parking on Private Land Appeal (POPLA) along with evidencing photos which were taken at the time of the incident.

Kind Regards,
XXXX"

I received the following 2 attachments in response to this:

i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s525/bigp26/Upload4_zpsb38084bc.jpg

i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s525/bigp26/PPSsign_zps6a41976f.jpg

My father wants to just pay the fine and get it over with however I feel that I am genuinely being ripped off by the parking company! I work crazily hard and feel like they are trying to take my hard earned cash away from me!

I have read some threads and posts regarding POPLA appeals however I don't know where to start.

Any help would be very much appreciated!
Thank you again MoneySavingExperts!

P.

bigp26

Damn - it looks like I can't post links! Is there any other way I can attach the pictures to this thread?

da_rule

Upload them to a picture site (such as photo bucket), then post the link but without the http://www. part.

bigp26

da_rule wrote: »

Upload them to a picture site (such as photo bucket), then post the link but without the . part.

Cheers buddy! Much appreciated! I have now added the links to my post

da_rule

So, can I just get a grasp on where you are now, you've already appealed to the parking company and they've rejected your appeal? And you have now been given a POPLA code?

bigp26

da_rule wrote: »

So, can I just get a grasp on where you are now, you've already appealed to the parking company and they've rejected your appeal? And you have now been given a POPLA code?

Yep this is correct. Received the rejection from the parking company yesterday

da_rule

Ok, visit this thread thread: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/62180281#Comment_62180281 and go to post 15. This has different POPLA templates you can use and adapt to suit your needs. As long as you refer to the usual winning points (no genuine pre-estimate of loss, no valid contract with land owner and no standing) then you're on to a winner.

Also, from your pic of the front of the letter and the front of the PCN delete the PCN number as this can be used to identify you.

bigp26

da_rule wrote: »

Ok, visit this thread thread: forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=62180281&posted=1 and go to post 15. This has different POPLA templates you can use and adapt to suit your needs. As long as you refer to the usual winning points (no genuine pre-estimate of loss, no valid contract with land owner and no standing) then you're on to a winner.

Also, from your pic of the front of the letter and the front of the PCN delete the PCN number as this can be used to identify you.

Thanks for your help today da_rule! I have changed the pictures and will have a look at that post tomorrow.

Most likely I may need a little bit more help so again, many thanks to you and any future contributors!

G'night, P.

da_rule

No problem. Once you've had a go at drafting it post it up here and we can give you feedback.

bigp26

da_rule wrote: »

No problem. Once you've had a go at drafting it post it up here and we can give you feedback.

Hi All,

I've only just had a chance to look at this again as work has been crazy!

Once again, many thanks go out to all of you in advance. Please find my draft letter to POPLA below:

=============================

PCN No: xxxxxx
POPLA Code: xxxxxxxxxx

POPLA Postal Address

My Details:
PCN No:
Issued: 15 March 2014
Reg:

30 March 2014.

Dear POPLA,

I am the registered keeper of vehicle reg xxx xxxx and I contend that I am not liable for the parking charge as issued on 15 March 2014 by Private Parking Solutions (London) Ltd. I wish to appeal against the PCN notice on the following grounds.


1) Lack of BPA compliant signage

The driver entered the road where there was an absence of yellow lines, marked parking bays and roadside plates in the area. Along with the fact that multiple other cars were parked on the same road, the driver was lead to believe that the zone was unrestricted. To be clear, the driver neither saw any signs nor knew about any terms & conditions which governed the road where the alleged parking violation occurred.

2) The charge is a penalty and not a genuine pre-estimate of loss.

The charge demanded far exceeds any loss to the landowner. If it exceeds any loss, it becomes a penalty.

The £60 charge asked for far exceeds the cost to the landowner who would have received £0.00 from any vehicles parked as the road or “car park” is apparently for parking permit holders only. In the appeal Private Parking Solutions (London) Ltd did not address this issue, and has not stated why they feel a £60 charge is an appropriate pre-estimate of loss.

For this charge to be justified a full breakdown of the costs Private Parking Solutions (London) Ltd has suffered as a result of the car being parked on the road or “car park” is required and should add up to £60.

Normal expenditure the company incurs to carry on their business (e.g. provision of parking, parking enforcement or signage erection) should not be included in the breakdown, as these operational costs would have been suffered irrespective of the car being parked at that car park.

POPLA Assessor Matthew Shaw has stated that the entirety of the parking charge must be a genuine pre-estimate of loss in order to be enforceable. For example, were no breach to have occurred, then the cost of parking enforcement, such as erecting signage, would still have been the same. The estimate must be based upon loss flowing from a breach of the parking terms, and in this instance there was no such loss.

3) Lack of Proprietary Interest & non-compliant Contract with Landowner

Private Parking Solutions (London) Ltd’s lack of title or assigned interest in this land means they have no legal standing to allege trespass or loss, if that is the basis of their charge. Nor do they have the legal status at that site, which would give them any right to offer parking spaces on a contractual basis, as they are not the landowners and I have seen no evidence of a compliant contract with the landowner.

The registered keeper does not believe that Private Parking Solutions (London) Ltd has demonstrated a proprietary interest in the land, because they have no legal possession which would give Private Parking Solutions (London) Ltd any right to offer parking spaces, let alone allege a contract with third party customers of the lawful owner/occupiers.

The registered keeper believes there is no contract with the landowner/occupier that entitles them to levy these charges and to pursue them in the courts in their own name as creditor. Therefore this Operator has no authority to issue parking charge notices (PCNs) which could be BPA Code of Practice compliant. Any breach of the BPA Code of Practice means that 'registered keeper liability' has not been established, since full compliance is a pre-requisite of POFA 2012.'

In addition, Private Parking Solutions (London) Ltd lack of title in this land means they have no legal standing to allege trespass or loss, if that is the basis of their charge

The registered keeper believes there is no contract with the landowner/occupier that entitles them to levy these charges and therefore has no authority to issue parking charge notices (PCNs). This being the case, the burden of proof shifts to Parking eye. The driver expects Parking Eye to prove that they are not in breach of section 7.1 of the BPA code.

Kind Regards,
FirstName LastName.

da_rule

This looks ok. You have the PCN number on there twice though at the top.

It covers the key points. Give it a while before you post it to see if anyone else has anything else to raise.