Help appealing PCN from CP Plus

Gentle_Ben

Hello folks,

I was hoping to get a bit of advice appealing a PCN I received recently from CP Plus for overstaying the 2hrs at the Moto services on the A1 at Grantham.

First of all, I have read the stickies, and have also spent a good couple of hours searching through past threads for help, but as I was in a company vehicle, have been nominated as the driver, and have had the initial appeal rejected, none of the advice particularly relates to my current situation.

I perhaps stupidly, believed I had a strong case for getting the charge overturned but I see from the threads that it doesn't matter what the circumstances were.

Anyway, as I said I've been nominated as the driver and appealed, which was rejected.

Out of the kindness of their hearts, CP Plus said in their rejection letter that they would hold the fine at the lower band of £50 if paid by this Friday, rising to £85. They also state that the grounds of my appeal would not be considered by POPLA which I assume is an attempt to dissuade me from contesting it further and just pay up.

To be honest I am half tempted to pay it and put it behind me but I do feel the charge was unfair, and if there is a straight forward way to knock it on the head and escape having to pay something then obviously I would love to hear about it.

If anyone does have any advice on what avenues remain open to me in contesting this penalty, and my chances of success, I would be very grateful to hear from you.

Thanks

Ben

Gentle_Ben

If it's any help, I've copied and pasted my original appeal letter, which now seems like a complete waste of time!


Dear Sir / Madam,
I write to you in respect of the above parking charge notice, against which I wish to appeal.
On the evening in question, I had been called out to assist a colleague late on the evening in question, to an emergency for one of my employers’ clients at their premises in Market Harborough. I had arranged to meet my colleague en route, and it was decided that as it was a round-trip of around 90 miles, and that it could potentially be quite late getting back, that we would travel in my colleagues’ vehicle to share the driving. My vehicle was left parked at the rendez-vous point, which happened to be Moto Services, Grantham. On completing our work, we returned to the services at approximately 2.35am, I collected my van and then returned home.
Following receipt of the above charge notice, I accept it was my vehicle, and it was there between the times stated on the notice. I also agree that suitable warning signs are in position and are highly visible – well at least they are if you arrive in the daytime.
At the time of my arrival, at approximately 20.03pm, it was night-time, and pitch black. I was also unfamiliar with the access road and layout, not helped by the fact I had to maneuver suddenly around a random kerb which has been installed across a good half of the roadway .
Funnily enough, this utterly random obstacle appears in the roadway right next to where the main warning sign at the entrance has been erected. I am sure this will be a pure coincidence.
I am also sure you will understand that on my approach to the car park my attention was drawn not by your warning sign, but to avoiding a collision with said kerb and causing accident and damage.
If you are unfamiliar with this potentially dangerous feature of your client’s car park, then I trust you will appreciate the supporting photograph enclosed with this letter, which clearly shows the obstacle in the road, adjacent to the main warning sign, as described.
You will also note from the same photograph, that there is no artificial lighting provided by your client to assist drivers, either with negotiating the entrance road configuration, or with being able to read the warning sign which you are in-part relying on, in an attempt to enforce the parking charge notice. Even that cash-strapped Government organisation we call the Highways Agency sees to provide lights of some description to illuminate important road-side signage.
Furthermore, there is a total lack of lighting in the car park itself, and like the main sign, there is no chance of any of the smaller parking warning signs being seen – further photographs have been enclosed to corroborate with this.
Bearing in mind I travel around 30,000 miles per annum for work, park in a multitude of public car parks and have thus far managed to avoid a parking charge in 10 years of doing this job, I feel satisfied in stating that had I seen the main sign on my entrance that I would have purchased a ticket to cover the duration of my vehicles’ stay.
I would also contend that – either deliberately or passively – your client has ignored the issues relating to the car park which I have cited, in the hope of milking people who unintentionally have fallen foul of the rules in the way I appear to have done on this occasion.
Furthermore, I would also allege that your intention to pursue a fine of £100.00 is disgusting, and disproportionate to the offence committed - especially when compared to £60 NIP fines issued by the Police for motoring offences I would rank as being much more serious than simply “overstaying in a car park”.
To summarise and make absolutely clear, as per the instructions on the notice relating to appeals, I am appealing for the following reasons –
1. The entrance road is obstructed and unlit, which caused my attention to be given to safely negotiating the road to the car park, and not the main warning sign at the entrance.
2. There is no artificial lighting provided to illuminate the few smaller signs installed around the car park perimeter.
3. I believe that these issues exist due to the ignorance of either you or your client towards resolving them, as doing so would incur costs and likely reduce your future income.
4. Had issues 1 & 2 not existed at the time, I would almost certainly have purchased a parking ticket to cover the duration of the vehicles’ stay. Considering I was using the car park for work purposes, I would not have gone to work had I known a £100 fine was coming to decimate any extra income I might have earned for going to work late on a Sunday evening.
5. At the time of the offence, the car park was deserted, and my infraction was not causing you or your client any loss of revenue due to other road users being unable to park.
6. The penalty fine is excessive and disproportionate to the offence committed.
Clearly, it is my hope that upon hearing my appeal that you will agree to revoke the charge notice on this occasion. I feel sufficiently confident in the strength of my case to have no hesitation in informing you that I will almost certainly be taking my appeal to POPLA should you choose to reject it.
I look forward to hearing from you in due course.
Yours faithfully

Redx

check your popla code is still valid on the parking cowboys website

if its is, use the best examples in here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=62180281&postcount=15 to formulate your popla appeal and ensure popla get it before the expiry date