Parked in disabled bay by mistake - worth appealing to POPLA?

kaydee56

Hello all. I'm trying to decide whether to appeal to POPLA on my case and would appreciate your views. A couple of weeks ago I visited a retail park for the first time (Crown Point Shopping Park, Leeds). I had my 6 week old granddaughter with me at the time and intended to visit Mothercare. On my arrival I pulled directly in front of the Mothercare shop in what I mistakenly thought was a mother & baby space. It wasn't until I read the notice on my return to the car that I realised I had parked in a bay reserved for blue badge holders by mistake. I normally park some distance from shop fronts away from other cars but as I had my granddaughter with me that day I decided to park in, what I thought, was a more suitable space. It was my first outing alone with my granddaughter and the first time I'd attempted to put her pram up which I struggled with for some time before finally managing it. I then had a struggle fixing the car seat (with granddaughter in it) onto the pram. In fact I was on the verge of going into Mothercare to ask one of the staff for their assistance but managed to do it eventually.

I appealed to UKPC and explained everything but not surprisingly they didn't accept it stating "that this Parking Charge was correctly issued because there are sufficient signs at Crown Point Shopping Park warning drivers that the bay you have parked in is reserved for Blue Badge holders only. We have a duty to ensure these bays are kept free for disabled people under the 2010 Equality Act". Not sure how a sign can pre-warn me that I have parked in a bay reserved for Blue Badge holders! I also included photos of my grandchild in her pram next to my car and a photo of her pram in the boot (although these clearly didn't help my appeal).

I certainly agree with spaces being reserved for the disabled and I would definitely never deliberately park in one of these spaces. It's just a case of me making a mistake. So this is why I'm wondering whether it's worth appealing to POPLA. Does that fact that I had a 6 week old child with me give me a stronger case for parking where I did? Can a private car parking company demand payment for this mistake?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

The_Deep

Of course it is worth appealing. They have so many hoops to jump though they very often slip up. Do not tell them who was driving.

Read about UKPC here

• 
  UKPC are former clampers who have been involved in quite a number of sordid scams, for example
  
  Hull Trading Standards took them to court on 15 counts of fraud. UKPC won all but one, but only because they had a better lawyer, a Q.C. If I recall correctly
  
  http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=63597
  
  They were bested by a Winchester barrister
  http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?377246-UKPC-liable-for-trespass-**SUCCESS**
  
  They were involved in a large scale scam which resulted in a DVLA suspension
  
  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11858473/Parking-firm-UKPC-admits-faking-tickets-to-fine-drivers.html
  
  They are in trouble in court
  
  http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-min=2016-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2017-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=50
  
  And then of course there was Tracey Kiss
  
  http://www.tracykiss.com/product-reviews/my-ukpc-parking-charge/

• .

Redx

I hope you did not reveal who was driving in your UKPC appeal ?

if you did , you have less legal grounds to win at POPLA

they are correct about the EA2010 and they have a duty of care to ensure those spaces are free for protected people under the EA2010, otherwise the landowner could be taken to court over it

I do not believe you qualify under the EA2010, nor do I think having a young child assists either

yes they can enforce parivate parking invoices on private land, ultimately a judge would decide the outcome if it got that far

by parking on private land you entered into a contract and agreed to abide by the rules

however, if the bay markings are poor and the signage isnt at those bays to explicitly warn people that they are disabled bays only, then you may have a case, and UKPC signage is woefully inadequate and may well fail the BPA CoP

popla wont rule on mistakes , or compassion , or mitigation, or even the EA2010 (not so far anyway)

any popla appeal will be based on legal arguments as seen in recent 2016 popla drafts on here and over on pepipoo forums

you can search and read those appeals, removing anything about POFA2012 etc if you named the driver, or inferred who was driving

kaydee56

Many thanks The Deep and Redx for your helpful replies. Unfortunately I did reveal that I was the driver in my appeal. I wanted to get the thing sorted as quickly as possible and sent off my appeal the very next day - a case of fools rush in! It doesn't sound like I'll have much luck appealing to POPLA. I will keep reading and try to come to a decision. The "fighter" in me wants to continue with the appeal and see if they take court action against me if POPLA agree with them, but the other side of me wants to just pay the damn thing and forget about it!

The_Deep

Even if they did take you to court, they have a mountain to climb, contracts, signs, timing. standing. mitigation. Judges are sometimes ill-disposed towards these scammers.

kaydee56

Thank you. I'm starting to lean towards an appeal to POPLA but I'm not sure if I should include something in my appeal other than the fact that I parked in a disabled bay by mistake and had my 6 week old granddaughter with me. Sounds a bit of a weak argument when I put it like that! The bay did have a logo painted on it but there were no specific signs alongside the bay indicating it was for disabled drivers only. Although I expect there are signs in various areas of the car park stating the rules etc. Unfortunately, the retail park is not local to me so I would have to make a journey to Leeds to double-check signage, take more photos, etc. I've tried to find appeals with similar circumstances to mine and have found one where the driver held a blue badge but had not displayed it and POPLA refused that appeal. That one went to Court and the driver won the case as he was able to prove he was disabled.

Just one thing I'm not quite clear on. Why should I have not revealed I was the driver? Would they have not just gone for the registered keeper (husband)?

The_Deep

I parked in a disabled bay by mistake ... Sounds a bit of a weak argument when I put it like that

It is, read some of the latest posts here


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4488337