Smart Parking

Den15

Hi i received a Smart Parking PCN when shopping at Sports Direct in Darlington.

I received the notice with images of my car entering 15:20 and leaving at 15:38 (18 minutes). No physical ticket was issued.

The notice states the contravention is 'Overstayed Paid Time' but as no payment was made, how can it be overstayed paid time, is there grounds for appeal?

Also £90 fine (reduced to £45 in paid within 28 days) is ridiculous, that equates to £300 an hour, is this grounds for appeal?

There is no evidence of actual parking, just entering and leaving, so in theory the car could have been driving around the car park for 18 minutes while waiting, is this grounds for appeal?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

ColliesCarer

Hi Den15,

Have a read of the sticky thread **NEWBIES!! and look for the 1st appeal template letter (highlighted in blue) which contains the appeal grounds needed to challenge the charge.

Do not reveal who was driving. Would suggest you edit your post

Also have you complained to the manager at Sports Direct ? They may be able to get this cancelled

Den15

Thanks CC, i'll edit the post as recomended. I did email SPorts Direct and got the following response:

[FONT=&quot]Thank you for your email.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I was sorry to read that you incurred a parking charge whilst shopping at our Darlington store.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Whilst Sports Direct occupy the retail unit, they are not owned by Sports Direct neither is the land. These car parks are monitored independently by private companies. Unfortunately as the car parks are not Sports Direct responsibility we are unable to assist you. I would advise you to contact the parking company directly and appeal the parking charge. [/FONT]

Redx

ask sports direct who the landowner or managing agent is, and ask for contact details too

if you dont ask , you dont get !

and appeal it as per the first post in the NEWBIES sticky thread

you need to check the signage there too, see what it says, take pictures etc

ps:- a google search shows 4 possible car parks near there, so better check which one you were in too

east st
cornmill
commercial st
garden st

all are pay and display

Den15

Thanks guys, i had already appealed to SMART Parking, but as i expected this to fail, the OP was just asking for advice so i could prepare for POPLA. I now have my POPLA code so with help from the vaious posts and templates i've drafted this email, please could somebody have a quick squint and let me know if it's ok?

Parking Charge Number (PCN): XXXXXXX
Vehicle Reg: XXXX XXX
Operator: Smart Parking

I am the keeper of the vehicle which was issued with a PCN for 'Overstaying Paid Time'. I challenged this notice on a number of issues. I then received a rejection with regards to the alleged contravention. I would like to appeal this notice on the following grounds.

1. Contradiction of contravention
2. Not a genuine contractual fee nor genuine pre-estimate of loss
3. The ANPR system is unreliable and neither synchronised nor accurate

1. The actual offence was quoted as 'Overstayed Paid Time' so they are implying that a payment was made and overstayed, but the appeal was rejected on the grounds they had no record of payment. In which case how could the contravention be 'Overstay Paid Time'.

2. The £90 (reduced to £45 if paid within 14days) is overly excessive for the alleged time parked (less than 18 minutes), this works out to be £300 for one hours parking. The charge is not a genuine pre estimate of loss and is unconscionable, extravagant and unrelated to local Penalty Charge levels in this area. It is believed that the Supreme Court’s decision in ParkingEye v Beavis will have an impact on the outcome of this POPLA appeal. If the operator does not cancel this charge and/or if there is no other ground upon which the appeal can be determined, I ask that my appeal is adjourned pending the Beavis case.

3. If SMART Parking 's ANPR records are completely reliable (which I contest) then this Operator claims the car was parked for around 18 minutes. And yet their evidence shows no parking time, merely photos of a car driving in and out which does not discount the possibility of a double visit, i.e driving straight out of the car park to seek alternative parking, not finding any and then returning to the car park in question.

This Operator is obliged to ensure their ANPR equipment is maintained as described in paragraph 21.3 of the BPA Code of Practice and to have signs stating how the data will be stored/used. SMART Parking have failed to clearly inform drivers about the cameras and what the data will be used for and how it will be used and stored. I have also seen no evidence that they have complied with the other requirements in that section of the code in terms of ANPR logs and maintenance and I put this Operator to strict proof of full ANPR compliance.

With all this in mind, I require POPLA to inform the Operator to cancel the PCN

Redx

for a start , popla dont accept emails, you login ONLINE with the popla code, then you attach the appeal as a doc or pdf

see here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5268193

as for the appeal itself , you need more of the following (some are missing)

1) flawed NTK
2) no contract
3) poor signage
4) anpr
5) not a gpeol

the words in blue for the Beavis case from the NEWBIES sticky thread

so more like this one but rearranged and brought up to date

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5204378

or

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5229730

or

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5283096

Den15

Thanks R. I'll have a look over those links, thanks for info, it's much appreciated.

The appeal to POPLA is via their 'Submit an appeal online' portal, where you enter your reference and personal details along with the appeal and press send, which is in essence an email.

But i understand where you are coming from :beer:

Guys_Dad

Looks like a loser to me, I am afraid. Does not look like a strong appeal at all and, of course, no challenge on valid contract which is the current winner.

Sorry if I appear negative, but want you to win.

hoohoo

Also, smarts NTKs are not compliant, so appeal as keeper stating the ntk does not contain pofa requirements 9.2.e and 9.2.f, so as keeper you are not liable

Rob_T

Hello Den15

Unfortunately I am in exactly the same boat as yourself,nipped into Sports Direct for 18 mins and now have a parking ticket.
I have read through the threads and a bit confused as to what the process is.
I assume I need to contest the fine with Smart Parking (on what grounds and what do I say).this I assume will then get dismissed and the next stage is ??????
Any help anyone can offer will be a great help.
Thanks in anticipation
Rob

Umkomaas

Rob_T wrote: »

Hello Den15

Unfortunately I am in exactly the same boat as yourself,nipped into Sports Direct for 18 mins and now have a parking ticket.
I have read through the threads and a bit confused as to what the process is.
I assume I need to contest the fine with Smart Parking (on what grounds and what do I say).this I assume will then get dismissed and the next stage is ??????
Any help anyone can offer will be a great help.
Thanks in anticipation
Rob

You do need to start a new thread of your own, as we work on the basis of 'one case, one thread' so advice doesn't become confused and/or we have a complete free for all with any number of random cases being tagged on.

But first of all you do need to read thoroughly the NEWBIES FAQS sticky at the top of the forum thread list (one page back from here) which will give all of the initial information you need. It was written by Coupon-mad, one of the country's most knowledgeable people in dealing with private parking tickets. You won't find anything more comprehensive than this anywhere online.

The sticky is detailed and you might need a couple of 'passes' to digest it, so bite sized chunks with a cup of tea over a couple days might be the best approach. You do need to make the effort to do some research via the sticky before asking for further help from regulars - we are so busy each day it's impossible to type and constantly repeat basic information - hence the sticky with all that stuff covered. But do come back after reading it if anything isn't clear to you.

However, - via a new thread of your own please.

HTH