Please help

sueholistic

I received a parking charge of £50 from Smart parking in a Matalan car park. I had parked under a large sign in a disabled bay. I read the sign and it said " Please be aware that vehicles failing to display a valid blue badge may be subject to a £85 charge" From this I believed I was ok to park as the blue badge was clearly displayed.
My charge stated that I had either not purchased the appropriate parking time or had stayed longer.
I sent an appeal off but at the time was completely confused as to why I had received the charge. It was only some weeks later when I went again I was chatting to someone and it was pointed out that there is a very small sign on the pay machine stating that disabled concessions do not apply.
I feel that their sign is extremely misleading.
I have not heard anything back from Smart parking but today received a letter from DRP threatening court action and asking for £155.
Smart parking refused to discuss the matter and put the phone down and DRP say I should have received a letter from Smart parking saying my appeal had been rejected and I would have had the opportunity to appeal to popla but as I didn't receive that letter I cannot do that now!
I also phoned Matalan and they told me to speak to Smart parking.
Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks

ManxRed

Who did you speak to at Matalan?

Was it the CEO? That's who you should be speaking to, as well as the local paper.

When you speak to Matalan again, ask them if they have read the Equality Act 2010, and whether they know what Vicarious Liability is. Then ask them if they still want you to take the matter up with their agent Smart Parking. Make sure you refer to them specifically as 'their agent'.

Do it in writing.

Guys_Dad

Of course, Private car parks ARE allowed to charge Blue Badge holders if they are charging others as well. Unfortunately, as most BB parking - public and private - is free, then BB holders go into automatic mode and don't check.

However, the signs need to be prominent and you may need to check that they are. I will be contentious here and say that Equality legislation may be just that and you can sometimes be equally liable to pay as other able bodied motorists. But as I said, given the normal concessions to BB holders, the payment t&c should be prominent.

Redx

complain as KEEPER (not driver) to the BPA about the lack of a popla code after you had appealed the charge and the fact that its gone to debt recovery

enclose copies of the pcn, a copy of the appeal and a copy of the debt letter , with a timeline for these events

remember, you are complaining about the lack of response from NOT SO SMART

also complain that Smart didnt follow the BPA CoP in cancelling the charge once they knew it was a BB holder (check the CoP for the exact wording)

and complain to the CEO or head office of Matalan, mentioning the EA2010 etc too, plus enclosing copies of any receipts or redacted bank statements for purchases made in store etc (on that day or and over a longer time period, showing proof of patronage)

in future, check the signage when parking on private land, as the BB isnt valid on private land, so dont treat it like you would on the public roads

ie:- read the BLUE BOOKLET you got with the badge

fisherjim

Do not contact Debt Recovery Plus, they are lying scum, and cannot do any more than send you threatening begging letters, don't even think of paying them!

Coupon-mad

sueholistic wrote: »

I received a parking charge of £50 from Smart parking in a Matalan car park. I had parked under a large sign in a disabled bay. I read the sign and it said " Please be aware that vehicles failing to display a valid blue badge may be subject to a £85 charge" From this I believed I was ok to park as the blue badge was clearly displayed.
My charge stated that I had either not purchased the appropriate parking time or had stayed longer.
I sent an appeal off but at the time was completely confused as to why I had received the charge. It was only some weeks later when I went again I was chatting to someone and it was pointed out that there is a very small sign on the pay machine stating that disabled concessions do not apply.
I feel that their sign is extremely misleading.
I have not heard anything back from Smart parking but today received a letter from DRP threatening court action and asking for £155.
Smart parking refused to discuss the matter and put the phone down and DRP say I should have received a letter from Smart parking saying my appeal had been rejected and I would have had the opportunity to appeal to popla but as I didn't receive that letter I cannot do that now!
I also phoned Matalan and they told me to speak to Smart parking.
Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks

Complain to the BPA! I know of two like this, no POPLA codes coming from Smart.