Penalty Charge £100 - Town Quay Marina, Southampton (Parking Eye)

hoopertr0n

Hi guys,

A recent day trip to the Isle of Wight was unfortunately marred by receipt of a penalty charge from Parking Eye for £100 (£60 if paid within 10 days).

I paid for a ticket for 5hrs, which was much more than we expected to need, and we took a round trip to Cowes on the Red Funnel.

On return, we had planned to be back in good time. However, our ferry was late by 15-20 minutes (approx., not completely sure). When back in Southampton, we were both busting for the loo and had to queue at the terminal. I believe, however, that I went straight in to the car park and moved it out to the short wait area outside the terminal, whilst I waited for my partner to go to the loo. I don't know if at that point we were outside the parking area as it were, but i think we were only about 15-20 minutes late when we got back, vs 40 minutes on the ticket.

Do you think we have any grounds for appeal, based on the above?

The_Deep

Is this not covered by byelaws?


http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=92457&st=20

Edna_Basher

ParkingEye aren’t interested in what happened on the day, they just want your money.

The best way to get this charge cancelled is for whichever one of you is the vehicle’s registered keeper to challenge the charge on legal points rather than mitigation and without revealing details of the driver.

As The Deep has highlighted, the most important point with Southampton Town Quay is that parking there is subject to the Port of Southampton Byelaws. Therefore, this car park is not relevant land as defined under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“POFA”). This means that ParkingEye have no legal right to claim unpaid parking charges from the vehicle’s keeper; they can only pursue the driver.

At this stage, you just need to send ParkingEye a short letter - something along the lines of:

"Dear Sir,

Parking Charge Ref. [xxxxxx/xxxxxxx]: Vehicle Registration [AA11AAA] - Formal Dispute

I refer to the above Parking Charge Notice (“PCN”) issued by ParkingEye Ltd (“ParkingEye”) as a Notice to Keeper in respect of an alleged contravention of the terms and conditions of parking at Southampton Town Quay by the driver of the above-detailed vehicle on [Date of Incident].

I confirm that I am the keeper of this vehicle for the purpose of the corresponding definition under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“POFA”) and I write to formally dispute the validity of this PCN.

As ParkingEye is already aware, parking at this location is subject to the statutory control of the ABP Port of Southampton Byelaws meaning that Southampton Town Quay is not relevant land for the purpose of POFA. Consequently, ParkingEye has no statutory right to claim unpaid parking charges from me in my capacity as the vehicle's keeper.

Please provide within the timescales specified under the British Parking Association Ltd Code of Practice, written confirmation that ParkingEye has cancelled this PCN. Alternatively, should you still believe that ParkingEye has a valid claim against me, please provide me with details of the Independent Appeals Service (POPLA), their contact details and a unique POPLA appeal reference so that I may escalate my dispute to POPLA.

Thank you for your cooperation and I look forward to receiving ParkingEye's notification that this charge has been cancelled.


Yours faithfully etc."


This can be submitted via ParkingEye’s online appeal portal.

Even though ParkingEye should know that they’re onto a loser, it’s likely that they’ll still send you their standard rejection letter. You will then need to escalate your appeal to POPLA where (with assistance from the MSE Forum members) you should finally get the charge cancelled.

You'll both need to do some "homework" to understand POFA, relevant land etc. - do a forum search on "Town Quay" and you'll find plenty of examples of people who have been in the same position as you - and won. You will find examples where POPLA (both "Old POPLA" (London Councils) and "New POPLA" (Ombudsman Services)) have allowed appeals on the basis that Town Quay is subject to the Port of Southampton Byelaws.

pappa_golf

expect this to continue to letters from DR+


http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=107521

The_Deep

If PE persist, warn them that unless they cancel, you will be invoicing them for their time. If it were to go to court and you won you could ask for CPR27.14(2)(g) costs for unreasonable behaviour.

You hold all the cards here, you can be as arsey as you like to PE. You can even report them to Trading Standards if they continue to harass you.

Johno100

hoopertr0n wrote: »

A recent day trip to the Isle of Wight was unfortunately marred by receipt of a penalty charge from Parking Eye for £100 (£60 if paid within 10 days).

Does it really say PENALTY charge on the correspondence or PARKING charge?

hoopertr0n

Thanks for the tips guys. Is there a chance of ending up with a strike on my credit file? I would be keen to avoid this having spent many years repairing my credit worthiness.

....a few years ago I got a default from o2 for failing to pay an overdue bill (they sent the default notice to my old address). They were able to do this without being regulated by the Consumer Credit Act. I know that threats to do similar are part of the toolkit of debt collection agencies.

Herzlos

Nah your credit would only be damaged if they took you to court for the money, you lost, and then didn't pay up.