Parking Charge from CPP - Merchant Street, London E3

embelbem

Hi,

Hopefully I have posted this in the right place. It is also quite a lengthy post so I apologise!

I recently received a parking charge through the post from CPP (Car Parking Partnership). There was no parking ticket attached to the windscreen so I had no knowledge of the alleged parking contravention until I received the letter. Obviously this means I was unable to gain any evidence at the time.

The parking charges relate to an estate car park (Merchant Street, E3) and is timed at 03:29. I parked on the adjoining road but as I was on the corner, part of my vehicle was apparently in the estate therefore they have said I was "not parked within bay markings". I was not aware of the boundary as there are no road markings to confirm this - however, I have since been told that as it has a different road surface that is an indication of it being the estate. I have only been driving for a year and was not aware of this but I am not sure that is enough to class as "mitigating circumstances" and as the forum suggests, this probably wouldn't make any difference!

I think my best chances stand with the disproportionate charge defence - bearing in mind this was for me parking on the corner of an estate at half 3 in the morning I think it is disproportionate (ticket is for £100). However, I was trying to complete my letter using the template and I don't know how to show what the actual cost/genunine pre-estimate of loss to the landowner will be as the signage does not actually say anything about cost. Residents and visitors have to have permits so I was thinking find out the cost of an annual permit and divide it by 365 (cost per day) and then by 24 (cost per hour) to work out how much the actual "cost" of me parking there would be? Anyone have any thoughts on this?

In addition to this, I didn't actually see the sign mentioning the "contract". I reversed into the space and the sign was behind me at the mouth of the estate. It is quite high up in line with a first floor flat. The road I was parked on (Wellington Way) has it's own parking restrictions (permit only for certain parts and parking meter for others) but none of these restrictions applied at the time I was parked. One of the signs relating to the Wellington Way parking restrictions was in front of my car and I actually checked that after parking in case there were any issues with it. After confirming there weren't I left my car there.

Can anyone help me with what to put on my letter and if I am on the right lines with what I have suggested so far?

Thanks in advance

ampersand

This isn't a fobbing off answer, but all you need to know is covered in the Newbies Stickies - truly.

Search for CPP to see how they[dis]-function.

Don't overthink any of this - seems possible from your 1st post.

Post your draft here for a critique before sending it. You have grasped some good basic points - read on:-) Stick to the tried and true steps. Tweak wording for your situ. Don't pad everything out as per #1: less is more.