PCN-Matalan

urban_fox

Hi, We had been to shop at Matalan Leicester recently and a week later rec'd a PCN in the post from Smart Parking. I couldn't find the till receipt but was able to print off the transaction page of my c/c showing the purchase. Unfortunately it only shows the date the purchase was made. Armed with the documents we went to the Matalan branch and asked to speak to the manager. She said that there is nothing she can do and that I should appeal to Smart Parking. I mentioned that the parking attendant in the booth only asked us if we were shopping at Matalan and then waved us in. She admitted that he should have explained that we would have to pay and display and we would then get the amount refunded at the store. If he had briefed us we would have gladly obliged. That evening we emailed Smart Parking with an appeal. Please see a copy of the email sent (with some editing).

Dear sir/madam
I wish to appeal against the Parking Charge Notice dated xx/xx/2016 which I received today,xx/xx/2016 on the following grounds:

We arrived at the Matalan car park on xx/xx/2016 for the purpose of shopping at the store.
At the entrance of the car park, the parking attendant in the booth stopped us and enquired whether we intended shopping at the Matalan store. We confirmed that that was the case. Upon which he waved us through. we subsequently parked in one of the parking bays. My husband stayed in the car while I went in and purchased some items. I recall that I was in the store for approximately 15 minutes and following the purchase we drove out of the car park and proceeded for home.

Following receipt of the PCN today, we visited the Matalan store and spoke to the Manager, and explained the circumstances. She informed us that following a change in parking policy, we were required to purchase a ticket and display it. She went on to state that we should have been advised of this on arrival by the parking attendant, whose name we now understand to be xxxxxx

We wish to inform you that at no stage was this information conveyed to us by xxxxxx. He only asked if we were shopping at the Matalan store.

We understand that a number of Matalan customers have found themselves in a similar situation to ours following this change in parking policy.

We are unable to provide you with the till receipt relating to the purchases but instead have attached a copy of the credit card transactions which include the purchase of £xx made at the Matalan store on xx/xx/2016.

I hope you are able to view this appeal favourably and if there is any further information you require, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours faithfully

xxxxxx xxxx

We subsequently received a letter upholding the PCN and were suplied with a POPLA verification code.
I am now not sure how to approach this situation and would like some advice before I go any further.
PS. I have managed to contact my credit card provider who are sending me a letter which states the amount, date and time of the transaction. I couldn't provide this informaton at the time of the appeal.
uf

Quentin

Spend some time reading through the newbies faq thread to get up to speed on the game you are now involved in.


Then set about constructing a POPLA appeal and post it up for comment


(Should have come here before sending your initial appeal and revealing you were the driver)


(Also escalate your complaint to Matalan - you were a genuine customer!)

urban_fox

Hi Quentin, Thanks for your prompt response. In my email to Smart Parking, there was no mention of who the driver was. All I said was that I left my husband in the car while I went to shop at the store without stating who the driver was. As I was a genuine customer who made a few purchases on the day, your suggestion that addressing the matter with Matalan before POPLA does makes sense.

beamerguy

urban_fox wrote: »

Hi Quentin, Thanks for your prompt response. In my email to Smart Parking, there was no mention of who the driver was. All I said was that I left my husband in the car while I went to shop at the store without stating who the driver was. As I was a genuine customer who made a few purchases on the day, your suggestion that addressing the matter with Matalan before POPLA does makes sense.

Continue with POPLA and of course a severe complaint to Matalan.
Matalan store managers do not have any clout so go straight to the HO. Prove you are a valuable customer with a receipt or the store card

Guys_Dad

If there is a procedure in place for Matalan customers, then is it clearly displayed on signs in the car park and in the store? Get photos.

In parallel, write to Matalan as a customer - or get someone else with a diiferent addresss to write - asking them what is the procedure for free parking.

All that will be excellent evidence for POPLA and even better for court if the photos come down in your favour.

At the moment, you are quoting the booth attendant but without their confirmation, then it is hearsay.

urban_fox

I know that the booth attendant will not admit to his error - his job will be on the line if he did - and of course I have no independent witnesses. He waved us through after we confirmed that we were going to shop at the store. He was obviously economical with his information in not explaining the parking procedures.We followed the ground rules i.e. made purchases at the store and stayed there for just over 15 minutes before driving out ( they have video evidence of the entry and exit times on the PCN). It is clear that this is not an attempt to defraud Matalan or Smart Parking. We have nothing to gain from not paying and displaying a ticket since the cost would be reimbursed after a sale at the store anyway.

Quentin

All the more reason to escalate to someone higher up at Matalan to get this cancelled

urban_fox

Hi Quentin, At present I am waiting for the letter from my Credit Card provider which will give a breakdown of the Matalan transaction that will include the exact time the purchase was made. I have the customer services e-mail address. Please see below:

" If you are an online customer, or you don’t feel that your complaint has been addressed to your satisfaction in-store, we would request that you document the incident and either send this information via a letter to our Complaints team, or e-mail this directly to us: E-mail: cs@matalanonline.co.uk "


Do you think that that would be the place to address my issue or do you know of an alternative?
Many thanks.

urban_fox

I've managed to obtain the Managing Director's e-mail address. Should I be writing to him as opposed to CS?

Quentin

Why not both??

urban_fox

Been in touch with matalan cs and the md. No reply from md. CS don't want to know. I wrote a comprehensive email with attachments. I don't even think they bothered to read my complaint in full. They have responded with a cyclostyled email directing me to POPLA. I don't know what I want to do now. I would appreciate some guidance. Thanks.