Matalan Sutton Parking Fine

prettyinpink111

Hello All,


I was wondering if you could help! I have recently started driving again and decided to do a bit of shopping with my mother at Matalan. She took her time and we left empty handed from the store. We were over stayers (I put a quid in the machine thinking that would be enough) by 45 minutes which I hold my hands up to but now I've received in the post a fine of £85 going down to £50 if I pay it by next week.

I rang the owner of the retail store and explained as a Retail Manager myself I would really appreciate it being cancelled as my mother and I do most of the Xmas shopping there.
The manager explained that she was fed up of all the complaints and that she had emailed SMART PARKING on a couple of occasions but it was near impossible to get a response or that they had refused to cancel. It is apparently not owned by Matalan!

Attached is the parking fine I received If any of you could help I would greatly appreciate it. As I've said just started to drive again after a long time and its completely knocked my confidence.


PS How can I upload a photo of the fine?

pogofish

It is NOT any kind of fine!

Start by having a good careful read of the Newbies Sticky, which outlines your options from now-on.

You don't need to upload a photo.

beamerguy

prettyinpink111 wrote: »

Hello All,


I was wondering if you could help! I have recently started driving again and decided to do a bit of shopping with my mother at Matalan. She took her time and we left empty handed from the store. We were over stayers (I put a quid in the machine thinking that would be enough) by 45 minutes which I hold my hands up to but now I've received in the post a fine of £85 going down to £50 if I pay it by next week.

I rang the owner of the retail store and explained as a Retail Manager myself I would really appreciate it being cancelled as my mother and I do most of the Xmas shopping there.
The manager explained that she was fed up of all the complaints and that she had emailed SMART PARKING on a couple of occasions but it was near impossible to get a response or that they had refused to cancel. It is apparently not owned by Matalan!

Attached is the parking fine I received If any of you could help I would greatly appreciate it. As I've said just started to drive again after a long time and its completely knocked my confidence.


PS How can I upload a photo of the fine?

Smart Parking are a rude ignorant company.

The manager of the store should be reporting this to her head office. This is what you must do now. Your Matalan card will show them how much you spend.

You must question to the Head Office why Smart are in this car park considering ASDA kicked them out earlier this year.

If the manager is peed off with the complaints, think how distressed they will be if you take it to the local press.

Won't be the first time Smart have been in a newspaper for losing companies money

Coupon-mad

Attached is the parking fine I received If any of you could help I would greatly appreciate it. As I've said just started to drive again after a long time and its completely knocked my confidence.

Don't worry, we never lose a POPLA (2nd stage) appeal v Smart...as long as you follow the advice in the NEWBIES thread near the top of this forum:

1. Complain to the retailers anyway - Head Office of Matalan then if the store Manager is fed up with the scam but unable to assist.

2. Submit the template appeal (the one in blue writing) shown in the NEWBIES thread, only calling yourself the keeper. DO NOT add anything in case it implies who was driving.

3. Then win at POPLA when you get a rejection letter, by copying from other recent ones by searching the forum then, for 'Smart POPLA'. Try it now and you will see we always beat them as long as the KEEPER appeals, not talking about who parked.

prettyinpink111

Rang Matalan Head Office and got put through to a customer service rep who apologised and said the usual rubbish that they had NO control over fines and neither does the store manager. Looks like I'm back to filing a complaint with Smart Parking!

Coupon-mad

No, you are merely back to sending the template appeal as keeper, not a complaint. No adding any wording to the example in the NEWBIES thread.

prettyinpink111

Do you mean this template below?

Dear Sirs

Re: PCN No. ....................

I challenge this 'PCN' as keeper of the car and I will complain to the landowner about the matter if it is not cancelled.

I believe that your signs fail the test of 'large lettering' and prominence, as established in ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis. Your unremarkable and obscure signs were not seen by the driver, are in very small print and the terms are not readable to drivers before they park.

Further, I understand you do not own the car park and you have given me no information about your policy with the landowner or on site businesses, to cancel such a charge. So please supply that policy as required under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. I believe the driver may well be eligible for cancellation and you have omitted clear information about the process for complaints including a geographical address of the landowner.

There will be no admissions as to who was driving and no assumptions can be drawn. You must either rely on the POFA 2012 and offer me a POPLA code, or cancel the charge.

I have kept proof of submission of this appeal and look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,

Coupon-mad

Sorry I can't answer because that's just not a question I can take seriously, even though I will always help people I just can't speak when I see that yet again.

I can't ever take it seriously when people copy & paste the entire appeal from the NEWBIES thread that I wrote, and which I clearly advise to send, into another thread and then ask 'is this the one to send?'

prettyinpink111

Hi Coupon mad,


Sorry but for some of us it really is confusing. I'm not very tech savy either so thank you so much in explaning how to do it I will take another look

Coupon-mad

Have you got your rejection letter yet?

There are now template POPLA appeal points to copy, in 'POPLA Decisions' penultimate page, posted there in September. Do use them and create a draft POPLA appeal.

DO NOT PAY.