ParkingEye PCN- should I fight it?

Shagger

Hi folks, I've read the newbie sticky along with a dozen or so other private parking fine related threads, read through descriptions of small claims court cases etc but I'm still not sure whether or not I stand much chance of fighting the PCN that I've received from ParkingEye.

To cut a long story short, I overstayed by just over 1 & 1/4 hours in a free (i.e. ticketless) car park for a large retailer, although only an hour of that overstay was actually during the retailer's opening hours. They now want £100 off me, or £60 if I pay up quickly.
Reading the template PCN appeal letter off the newbie thread, it looks like the appeal is based on three arguments:

1. The penalty is completely disproportionate/unjustifiable in terms of actual monetary losses as a result of me overstaying
2. ParkingEye do not own the land
3. The signage wasn't sufficiently prominent or clearly worded enough

Whilst I can confidently say that point 1 definitely applies in this case (they lost out on a single space in a mainly empty car park for one hour of the shop being open), I don't know if that alone is strong enough for me to win. Point 2 may be the case but to be honest I have no idea. As for point 3, they've got several signs dotted around the car park, each one measuring roughly 1ft by 2ft, and they seem to be pretty clearly worded. Below is a link to a photo of one of these signs, with the retailer's name blacked out (at the top) just in case anyone from ParkingEye is lurking on here and I say something that could help them rob me blind.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v191/hop_on7/WP_20140806_14_14_09_Pro2_zps1c3f963a.jpg

Can anyone advise me on this? If I think I have a strong case then I'm willing to go all the way to court, but I also don't want to lose even more money flogging a dead horse.

Umkomaas

If you've read the NEWBIES sticky thoroughly you will have surely spotted that every PCN should be appealed.

Further, if you've searched on 'ParkingEye POPLA' you will have realised that for the past 3 months or so PE has not challenged a POPLA appeal, giving the motorist an easy default win.

What's not 'strong enough to win'?

PS - don't go ignoring this, because there's every chance that PE will take you to the small claims court, where your chances of winning are, at best, only as good as theirs. It's a complete lottery!

PPS - why have you chosen that forum name? :rotfl:

Shagger

Umkomaas wrote: »

If you've read the NEWBIES sticky thoroughly you will have surely spotted that every PCN should be appealed.

Further, if you've searched on 'ParkingEye POPLA' you will have realised that for the past 3 months or so PE has not challenged a POPLA appeal, giving the motorist an easy default win.

What's not 'strong enough to win'?

I read the newbies sticky from start to finish and I've also read about the success of POPLA appeals, but my concern is that the appeal is based on those three points I mentioned and in this instance I only know one of them (the first one) to be true, therefore for all I know I might not have a leg to stand on other than to say "your charges are unfair".

Umkomaas wrote: »

PS - don't go ignoring this, because there's every chance that PE will take you to the small claims court, where your chances of winning are, at best, only as good as theirs. It's a complete lottery!

There's no way I'm going to ignore it. I'll either pay it or I'll take it to court if I think I have a chance of winning and it gets that far.

Umkomaas wrote: »

PPS - why have you chosen that forum name? :rotfl:

I chose that forum name for one of the following reasons:
1. I used to be a batboy for a baseball team and it was considered a great honour to be asked to help catch fly balls in the outfield (a practice known as shagging)
2. I'm an enthusiastic bird watcher, especially fond of the majestic European shag, and this is what we call ourselves
3. I'm a competitive dancer specialising in the Collegiate Shag, an American swing dance that arose in the 1920s and 30s.
4. I work in a carpet factory, deep-pile division.
5. It's an old rugby nickname
6. This isn't even a reason, I just love numbered lists.

Umkomaas

There's no way I'm going to ignore it. I'll either pay it or I'll take it to court if I think I have a chance of winning and it gets that far.

It's not an either/or of the above, work with us to POPLA and it will be neither!

I chose that forum name for one of the following reasons:
1. I used to be a batboy for a baseball team and it was considered a great honour to be asked to help catch fly balls in the outfield (a practice known as shagging)
2. I'm an enthusiastic bird watcher, especially fond of the majestic European shag, and this is what we call ourselves
3. I'm a competitive dancer specialising in the Collegiate Shag, an American swing dance that arose in the 1920s and 30s.
4. I work in a carpet factory, deep-pile division.
5. It's an old rugby nickname
6. This isn't even a reason, I just love numbered lists.

And there's me thinking it might have been something far more enjoyable! :rotfl:

bartos1976

Appeal using the template, eventually they'll reject it but before that happens they'll send you letters at attempt t o encourage you to pay. Don't. Once you get a POPLA code then use of the templates thats nearest to your circumstances making sure you adapt it accordingly, as mentioned PE currently don't appear to be responding to them so you are almost certain to win

Good luck, I'm in the middle of 2 battles and this site has been a god send. Don't be scared to ask any questions but do make sure you build your knowledge, you have to put some work in yourself

Walaboobah

Definitely appeal, unless you want to give them £60 of course!

Coupon-mad

You are worrying about nothing - read all these successes reported by newbies (post #6 by me):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4911394

None of those newbies even needed to start a thread for help - and they weren't experts, they all just read the NEWBIES thread and pressed on. This is sooo much easier than you are making it out to be.

Walaboobah

I can vouch for that, recently had a POPLA win when NCP cancelled the invoice rather than defend their claim at POPLA.

Just follow the templates and you'll win

Shagger

As I said before, I've got no intention of paying it unless I have to. The PCP appeal letter has now been sent so I'll wait for the rejection and the POPLA code.

Hopefully it is a lot easier than I'm making it out to be, but it was a fair question: if you're about to submit an appeal based on three arguments and you only think that one of those actually applies in your situation then it makes sense to question it. I must've read about a dozen other cases and none were exactly the same as mine. The difference may be subtle, but as can be seen from the outcome of the ParkingEye vs Beavis & Wardley case, subtle differences can mean all the difference, so I'm a bit surprised by this general "oh stop making such a fuss and just get on with it" attitude to my original post

I appreciate your help though and obviously I'm encouraged by your confidence

Redx

the trick is to "qiestion everything, accept nothing" , never do their job for them

so generally speaking it doesnt matter which parts people wish to cherry pick, as the regulars here have been doing this for years and honed their skills and template letters etc to the nth degree

ie:- they have done it so you dont have to , its a more refined process (with flow chart) than ever it was before and the number of successes in the POPLA DECISIONS thread are testament to this forums and members abilities

Gemlou

Honestly, it really is that simple although it doesn't seem possible when you first look. I had 2 to fight and thought I'd be shelling out £200. When you get your popla code, pick out a winning appeal and adapt it to your situation then post it here for checking. I felt much more confident once some of the experienced posters had approved it and started to find it all more interesting than scary. My first appeal won, just waiting for a second one and pleased that my win cost them £30. Just wanted to reassure you, I was clueless and had sent a rubbish first appeal before I found this site. You will win at popla.