Smart Parking - Fistral Beach, Newquay

inquisitivewanderer

Hi all,

Looking for some advice if you will please...

Not long come back from a 2 week break in Cornwall. Received a letter in the post Friday morning from Smart Parking, with a PCN requesting £100 unless I pay within 14 days on which they'll do me a solid and let me pay £60 instead!!

They have the vehicle entering the car park at 12:25, and leaving at 14:43.
I did pay for a 2 hour ticket, but it took me almost 10 minutes to go to the machine and get it. Probably my ignorance, but I couldn't see any disabled bays after we had entered the car park, and ended up driving to the far end which provided easiest access to the beach for my disabled father in law. We did not park in a disabled bay as there was an end space which provided ample space to access/exit the vehicle for him. We also had a teething, screaming 4 month old baby with us, who needed feeding, which my partner obliged to do.

I do have the parking ticket in my car - need to double check the times, but pretty sure the time on the ticket was 12:34 to 14:34.
So fair enough, we were late getting a ticket, and slightly late out of the car park also.

However, as I say, my father in law has a blue badge, is not easy on his feet, and whilst out and about, had his blood sugars drop - he is a type 1 diabetic in addition to all his other ailments, therefore we ended up having something to eat in Rick Steins. It took him between 10-15 mins to walk back to the car after eating. Hence we were slightly late back.

I know a lot of car parks round by our home give an additional 1 hour parking on top of what you pay for, although I'm not sure if this car park does that off the top of my head.

I've not yet responded to the company but do intend to challenge the decision and will go to POPLA if need be.

Can anyone tell me whether the above should be enough to get this charge wrote off?

Cheers,
L.

inquisitivewanderer

Quick update - just been told there is a 20 minute grace period on that site by a surf school that are located there. Does anyone know if this is definitely the case? If so, I can surely get it dismissed straight away on the basis that I paid for a 2 hour ticket, and was in the car park 2 hours 18 mins ?

The surf school also state that there are no disabled bays, hence I wasted 5 minutes looking for one when entering!

Coupon-mad

Just send the usual template first appeal for BPA members which is written in the NEWBIES FAQS thread (blue writing, no need to copy it here please).

You can add that an occupant of the car was disabled so suitable time must be allowed and indeed in the BPA CoP it warns operators that disabled people might take significantly longer to board/alight and/or access a pay & display machine. So Smart need to make an allowance, especially as there appear to be no disabled bays so the car was parked at the end, not very near to a machine at all.

Attach a copy of the P&D ticket if you have it (DO NOT SAY 'MY' TICKET) and a copy of both sides of the Blue Badge. You could add that the Surf School have advised that there is a 20 minute grace period for able-bodied visitors anyway, let alone vehicles with a disabled occupant who quite reasonably, may need longer to carry out the same task.

Be careful NOT to say who was driving at any point! If this goes to POPLA stage, a 'registered keeper' appellant wins it FAR more easily than a driver can. You need to play the game to win it. This is not an operator who will give up easily so hit them with a 'forum appeal' and evidence.

Umkomaas

Use the initial appeal template (blue text) from the newbies FAQ sticky which often sees Smart Parking back down. There is a grace period to allow 'sufficient time' (undefined) to enter the car park, find a space, read the signage, decide if to stay, pay for the ticket. There's also a minimum of 10 minutes to leave the car park - all above covered in the BPA Code of Practice.

It is important that the identification of the driver is not revealed both in the initial appeal (that's why it is written for you as it is, don't change anything) and in your posts here (it's a public forum and PPCs read it), so you'll need to amend your posts suitably.

inquisitivewanderer

Appealed, awaiting a decision. Any info as to how long this can take?

Umkomaas

Luke221987 wrote: »

Appealed, awaiting a decision. Any info as to how long this can take?

14 days to acknowledge receipt (although many don't) and 35 days to accept the appeal and cancel the charge, or reject the appeal and issue a POPLA code.

Ivor_Pecheque

The grace period was reduced from 20minutes to 10minutes when SMART took over.

This video demonstrates the problems with a 10 minute period. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kqA9V81iu0&feature=youtu.be

Carthesis

That video is brilliant actually.

Watch it again, deliberately looking for the signage they no doubt claim is clear and prominent...

... that's what I was doing. I admittedly skipped through chunks of it, but I didn't see many signs until the very end, where the driver went past what was obviously the ANPR mast, with what appeared to be a 'standard' parking sign halfway up the mast, with fairly small writing (that was illegible on what is obviously a fairly hi-resolution video), that was ALMOST COMPLETELY OBSCURED BY THE CARS IN PARKING SPACES ALONG THE ACCESS ROAD!!

If that isn't unclear, unremarkable, non-obvious signage then I don't know what is!

Ivor_Pecheque

this is the entrance in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swJ_elscsJM&feature=youtu.be


at 14:29:20

Carthesis

The signage on the way into the car park / at the entrance is fairly unremarkable and difficult to see.

HOWEVER - it does look to me as though the penalty charge is in fairly large lettering (looks like white text on a red background) on the fairly large sign immediately next to the PnD machine. Difficult to see from the video, but if that's the case then arguments about the clarity of the signs might be difficult to dismiss as the OP obviously stood right next to it when using the PnD machine. If that text is what it looks like, then I don't think you can argue that it wouldn't pass the "Red Hand Test".

It shouldn't matter, because the Equalities Act argument + the grace periods should be enough to cover it.

utigers

Sorry to hijack this thread....but I have just had mine cancelled from this location. I used the template letter and explained the poorly set out car park and that I didnt find a space so left as my reasons for them to cancel..........and they did.

Get the letter emailed via their website.