Please help with POPLA appeal letter

da_rule

You don't need to mention anything about it being well lit as that undermines the argument. You also need to word it so as not to identify yourself as the driver.

Also, I cannot say this in a more straightforward way but THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT OR WHY YOU PARKED THERE.

They care about legal arguments. So that's what you attack. You attack the signage as being poor as that's what they rely on to create the contract. You attack the actual amount being sought as an unenforceable penalty. Post 27 clearly states the points you need to raise. There are templates in the Newbies sticky thread which have POPLA appeals with these points on which you can use to suit your needs.

Redx

as above

FORGET WHAT HAPPENED , IT WONT BE CONSIDERED AT ALL - PERIOD

THOSE OTHER APPEALS AND EXAMPLES ARE WELL CONSTRUCTED FOR A REASON

your popla appeal is constructed as if by a legal eagle , for legal eagles to consider , as they are trained solicitors and will only consider the legal points , not anything you have to say about the reasons for the problems , they are not interested , wont consider it at all and will only deal in the legal arguments which is why those examples are constructed that way

its a pity you cannot put out of your head the "what happened" for long enough to actually consider that your popla appeal needs to be similar to the thousands of others already sent in

here is one being sent in today https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4923197 , its a different place and PPC but you can see how its put together and how mitigation isnt used at all

Coupon-mad

cheeseballs104 wrote: »

Sorry to be a pain but when your not great at wording at the best of times, for me to appeal this parking charge and win I need my head screwed on right and know exactly how to word these legal appeal points to apply to my situation. I need all the luck! I will mention the fact that visibility was poor as it was a wet winters night and too be honest my mind was on parking in a well lit area not reading the small print of signs, that I thought only applied during the day. All the appeal letters I read seem so professionally written.

Just copy one then. Give us something to go on please as we aren't going to write one from scratch when we've shown you what POPLA appeals look like and you only have to copy & paste. Please stop saying that none of it applies when it all does.

Not only that, on pepipoo 'TheBigBad' has written most of it for you already:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=90669

Trying hard to understand why you can find this difficult when you've had most of it written for you and on this thread we've told you other appeal points to include. If English isn't your first language then fair enough but otherwise what's the problem please? Pretty much anyone can write a letter (I work in a school and know that everyone is still taught how, even in this day and age!) so what's the issue here...

cheeseballs104

Please would you mind proof reading my draft appeal letter to POPLA. Its taken me 4 hours to write so I hope its ok??

Dear POPLA Assessor,

I am the registered keeper of vehicle registration XXXX XXX and I wish to appeal a recent parking charge number XXXXXXX using POPLA appeal code XXXXXX. My appeal was refused by ParkingEye because I had not provided sufficient evidence to show that the terms and conditions stipulated on the signage were not broken.
I genuinely did not know that the car park had parking restrictions as it was late at night and being a single female I was focused on parking in a safe place due to parking areas location.
I am appealing this penalty on the grounds stated below, and I respectfully ask that all points are taken into consideration.

1. Signage
2. No contract with the Landowner
3. The Charge is not a genuine pre-estimate of loss.
4. ANPR Accuracy and Compliance

1/ Signage
The alleged breach took place at night time and any signs were not adequately lighted to be seen clearly while driving (and indeed were not seen by the driver).
The BPA Code of Practice states: 18.1 A driver who uses your private car park with your permission does so under a licence or contract with you. If they park without your permission this will usually be an act of trespass. In all cases, the driver’s use of your land will be governed by your terms and conditions, which the driver should be made aware of from the start. You must use signs to make it easy for them to find out what your terms and conditions are. (Please note that due to ParkingEye’s high positioning of the signage they were hard to see during the night.) 18.3 Specific parking terms signage tells drivers what your terms and conditions are, including your parking charges. You must place signs containing the specific parking terms throughout the site, so that drivers are given the chance to read them at the time of parking or leaving.” There was no contract between myself and ParkingEye as I did not see any contractual information on any of the signs when entering the car park and therefore at that time had no idea that any contract or restrictions applied. As a consequence the requirements for forming a contract such as a meeting of minds, agreement, and certainty of terms were not satisfied. Had I been made aware that ParkingEye would charge £85 if I stayed more than any allowed period of time I would have ensured the vehicle left the Parking area before that period expired.

2/ No contract with the Landowner
Parking Eye does not own the car park and I dispute that they have the authority to enter into contracts regarding the land or to pursue charges allegedly arising.
Parking Eye has also not provided any evidence that it is lawfully entitled to demand money from the driver or keeper. They do not own nor have any proprietary or agency rights or assignment of title or share of the land in question. I do not believe that the Operator has the necessary legal capacity to enter into a contract with a driver of a vehicle parking in the car park they do not own, or indeed the lawful status to allege a breach of contract in their name.
Parking Eye must provide the POPLA Adjudicator with documentary evidence in the form of a copy of the actual site agreement/contract with the landowner/occupier. Specifically, to comply with the Code of Practice, the contract needs to specifically grant Parking Eye the right to pursue parking charges in the courts in their own name, as creditor. Please note that a 'Witness Statement' to the effect that a contract is in place between Parking Eye and the landowner will be insufficient to provide all the required information, and will therefore be unsatisfactory.

3/ Charge is not a genuine pre-estimate of loss
In their response ParkingEye did not address this issue, and has not stated why they feel a £85 charge is an appropriate pre-estimate of loss caused by my car that was parked in a practically empty car park later at night when most shops on the Retail Park were closed.
The Department for Transport guidelines state, in Section 16 Frequently Asked Questions, that: "Charges for breaking a parking contract must be reasonable and a genuine pre-estimate of loss. This means charges must compensate the landholder only for the loss they are likely to suffer because the parking contract has been broken. For example, to cover the unpaid charges and the administrative costs associated with issuing the ticket to recover the charges. Charges may not be set at higher levels than necessary to recover business losses and the intention should not be to penalise the driver." Considering the alleged 60 minute overstay I contest that £85 is not a reasonable or genuine pre-estimate of loss. The entirety of the parking charge must be a genuine pre-estimate of loss in order to be enforceable. I require the parking company to submit a breakdown of how these costs are calculated. All of these costs must represent a loss resulting from the alleged breach. For example, were no breach to have occurred then the cost of parking enforcement (for example, erecting signage, wages, uniforms, office costs) would still have been the same and, therefore, may not be included. It would, therefore, follow that these charges were punitive, have an element of profit included and are not allowed to be imposed by parking companies.

4/ ANPR Accuracy and Compliance
ParkingEye is obliged to ensure their ANPR equipment is maintained as described in the BPA Code of Practice that states under paragraph 21.3, parking companies are required to ensure ANPR equipment is maintained and is in correct working order. I question the entire reliability of the system and require ParkingEye to provide records with dates and times of when the equipment was checked, calibrated, maintained and synchronised with the timer which stamps the photo to ensure the accuracy of the ANPR images. This is important because the entirety of the charge is founded on two images purporting to show my vehicle entering and exiting at specific times. It is vital that this Operator must produce evidence in response and explain to POPLA how their system differs (if at all) from the flawed ANPR system which was wholly responsible for the court loss recently in ParkingEye v Fox-Jones on 8 Nov 2013. That case was dismissed when the judge said the evidence from ParkingEye was fundamentally flawed because the synchronisation of the camera pictures with the timer had been called into question and the operator could not rebut the point.

With all this in mind, I request that my appeal is upheld and for POPLA to inform ParkingEye to cancel the PCN.

Yours faithfully,

Coupon-mad

Yep - that's great. I knew you could do it and as you've put that together yourself you now understand the issues rather than just sending a template you've hardly glanced at. You could also do it again if ever you need to, or can help a friend/relative get past one of these scams!

I reckon that is ready to submit online to POPLA. Tick 3 out of 4 appeal reason boxes (just not the stolen car one). Just submit an appeal, no need to attach any evidence.

Redx

totally agree with the last post , looks good to me so submit it , then wait for about 6 weeks for a decision , but resume your life and its likely to be a positive outcome with no costs to you at all

please accept that we have sympathy with the circumstances, but a popla appeal is cold hard facts and unfortunately they wont allow those factors so that is why we focus you on the legalities in your appeal above, its harsh but necessary in order to get the required result

good luck

cheeseballs104

That's great news. I'm still a tad worried it'll be refused, then I'll have go to court and if Im right in saying a couple of people lost recently in court with ParkingEye due their Parking charge at Riverside Retail Park in Chelmsford. Only time will tell now but thank you for your advice and help.

Redx

and Parking Eye too (but not ian hislops magazine)

cheeseballs104

Just thought I'd let you know that I won my appeal via POPLA. Insufficient evidence and lack of communication from Parking Eye were the reasons. Yayyy... Im one happy lady and very pleased I took the time to fight these thieving b..... Thank you for all your advice and help.

Coupon-mad

Great news! Have you added your success to the 'POPLA decisions' sticky yet?