PCN - but I'd bought a ticket!

MollyMutkin

Yesterday I received a £50 parking charge for 25 June 16:33-17:32 from Euro Car Parks. I park for an hour in Cobham virtually every week, have done so for the past 6/ 7 years, during term time in this car park and have coffee at Costa with my friend, while our girls are at ballet. I am confused at receiving this fine as I recall buying a ticket, and my friend, who was with me in the car that day confirmed she remembers me doing so.


I always buy a ticket and even collect 50p's so I have the correct change in my car to purchase the ticket! This car park used to be free and only started charging via ECP earlier this year and I was fined a few months ago as I was not in the habit of having to pay and made the mistake of being in 'auto mode' and forgot, receiving a fine which I paid. Since then I have been careful to not make the same mistake and get fined again!


The problem is though, I have no proof I bought a ticket on 25th as I no longer have the ticket! Typical, I cleared out my car rubbish bag just this weekend and the bins were collected Monday. I found my ticket from the previous week in my purse, as I'd arrived earlier than usual to buy a take away coffee and then go to the ballet school as it was 'watching day'. I paid the 50p for an hour, but was only in the car park long enough to buy the coffee.


I've already emailed an appeal to ECP, pretty much stating the same as I have put here, but with no mention of my friend being with me as she hadn't at that time responded to my text and said she was with me. I've had a standard response of my fine on hold and to wait for the appeal procedure up to 35 days.


I am annoyed at getting this fine and not having any solid proof and extremely concerned that ECP's system may have a fault, I bought and displayed a ticket and yet I still got fined and could happen again, although Ill be keeping all my tickets from now on, but if you have bought and paid for a ticket, not stayed over time/done anything wrong, you don't expect to have to keep your ticket!

Hot_Bring

All you need to do is await the rejection which should come with a POPLA code. Then you use the Newbies thread ( How to Win at POPLA section ) to appeal to POPLA.

ECP don't do court so you'll be fine ( pardon the pun ! ).

Coupon-mad

I've had a standard response of my fine on hold and to wait for the appeal procedure up to 35 days.

It's not a fine - you haven't read the NEWBIES sticky thread at the top yet have you? And you do realise the answer to the appeal will be a rejection? What you DON'T do is then use the same weak mitigation in your POPLA stage appeal. We do know how to win every time though.

I was fined a few months ago as I was not in the habit of having to pay and made the mistake of being in 'auto mode' and forgot, receiving a fine which I paid.

Gawd help you, money down the drain! What on earth made you believe these are fines...why not just Google or check on MSE earlier about the scam?

fisherjim

Well sorry if you paid one of their made up charges before they probably think they have a right sucker here!
Follow the advice on here and you will not get stung again;)

Dee140157

And if it happens again, come back and do the first appeal from the newbie thread to the PCN.
Fortunately you have not tried POPLA alone, so time to get reading!

MollyMutkin

I parked there again this afternoon for my weekly Wednesday visit, and have kept my ticket! I deliberately input my car reg incorrectly and it was accepted after I had paid my money, but I cancelled before I printed the ticket. So there is no correlation between the camera recording your plate on entry and your entering your car reg. so it is very easy to make a mistake, which perhaps is what I did (maybe I wasn't wearing my glasses!). No allowance for human error!


Thanks for all your advice, taken on board. I did read NEWBIES when I had my last ticket, but I think I may have been between the 'just ignore it' phase and the advice given now as it appears to be more up to date.

Umkomaas

The NEWBIES sticky has been around since November 2013 and 'ignore' has not been forum advice for almost 18 months. You won't have found 'ignore' as a substantive piece of advice at any time in the above period.

You do need to sit down with a notepad and read through the sticky - it is the most comprehensive advice and information output available anywhere on private parking charges.

I'm not sure I quite understood your 'experimentation' with your most recent ticket, but the ticket machine doesn't link up with the camera at the 'point of sale'; the checks are done after you have exited the car park. You could be getting another PCN!

But no worries, the NEWBIES sticky will guide you through to success, and we'll help along the way, we can't do it for you, but don't try to entirely go it alone unless you are totally confident of your ability to handle everything a la sticky. Come back with any queries/drafts of POPLA appeal(s)!

MollyMutkin

I just today received a response to my appeal. On this occasion they have let me off. - phew!:j


They showed a list of registrations entered within the couple of minutes either side of my entry. It clearly shows I had entered my registration omitting the first letter, I probably didn't press the button hard enough or something and didn't notice. They also suggest that all p&d tickets are kept for at least 6 weeks.

Dee140157

Let you off! Let you off for buying a ticket, but somehow falling prey to the vagaries of punching in numbers and letters slightly I accurately. So generous of them, NOT.

I would definitely keep all tickets these days! But at this PPC did check their record and see that you had paid and accepted this. It shows how easy it can be for PPCs to check this.

Which is why when facing IPC, I cannot see why production after the event of a permit can not have the same effect as production of a ticket.

MothballsWallet

MollyMutkin wrote: »

I just today received a response to my appeal. On this occasion they have let me off. - phew!:j


They showed a list of registrations entered within the couple of minutes either side of my entry. It clearly shows I had entered my registration omitting the first letter, I probably didn't press the button hard enough or something and didn't notice. They also suggest that all p&d tickets are kept for at least 6 weeks.

Emphasis is mine: interesting - so, as a thought experiment, if they had wanted to threaten you with court within the 6 year statute of limitation, how would they prove you parked there if the tickets are kept for such a vague time period?

(I know it says "at least 6 weeks", but Molly says it was suggested rather than a hard and fast rule.)