APCOA soft appeal advice

bobbat

Hello,

I have read through lots of APCOA appeals on here but wondered if anyone could offer some advice on my appeal to APCOA.

I had visited Bristol Travel Lodge, and we had paid around £8 for parking in what has turned out to be a APCOA car park. It was right next to the Travel Lodge (practically within the same building) and the pay machine right outside the Travel Lodge entrance.

After paying the parking and believe there to be spaces, we found the only space available was between two large pillars which would have been too difficult to park in without risking damage to the car. This was late at night after a long drive, and the space was not easy to access at all.

So the car was parked out of the way within the car park, in a sensible place not to obstruct any vehicles or exits etc. At this point we thought it was a Travel Lodge and there would be no issue, having done similar many times in a TL car park when busy.

However we found the charge the next morning, and received a NTK, asking for £60.

I was planning on sending a soft apeal, with a copy of the parking recipet we paid for in order to gain a POPLA code. Not naming the driver, and stating how misleading the car park is, the lack of clear signs and the unreasonable charge. Does anyone have advice on the this particular case?

Any help would be much appreciated

DoaM

APCOA = BPA member = use the template BPA appeal from the NEWBIES FAQ.

What does the PCN state as the "offence"? (If it was on the windscreen it was a NTD not a NTK - you can consider waiting for the NTK, or appeal the NTD as keeper around day 26 after the NTD).

I've stayed in a TL before where APCOA have "managed" the car park.

bobbat

Hi,

They state the offence as 03- Parked outside of a marked bay

Which is correct, however it was parked outside of the bay as the only bay available to use, was very difficult to access due to the large pillars either side of it. The pillars were also angled, and there was little room to manouver in the car park. We had paid for the parking, and assumed it was just a Travel Lodge car park.

I shall use the BPA template thanks.

I'm just wondering how much of a case they have to issue such a charge.

Fruitcake

bobbat wrote: »

Hi,

They state the offence as 03- Parked outside of a marked bay

Which is correct, however it was parked outside of the bay as the only bay available to use, was very difficult to access due to the large pillars either side of it. The pillars were also angled, and there was little room to manouver in the car park. We had paid for the parking, and assumed it was just a Travel Lodge car park.

I shall use the BPA template thanks.

I'm just wondering how much of a case they have to issue such a charge.

CRAPCOA don't care whether they have a legitimate case or not. They just want your money. Just follow the tried and tested process and appeal around day 26. Did you take any pics of the signs when you found the PCN?

What happened when you complained to the Travelodge manager? If they won't cancel, you should leve negative feedback on their website and social media such as Trapadvisor.

The_Deep

£90 for a B&B in Sunbury. You can stay in an Ibis in Spain for a third of that including parking. Only in Rip off Britain!

bobbat

As it happened I didn't complain there and then as I was on a tight schedule and needed to leave. I should perhaps complain to them now. Somebody I was with also recommended to wait until or if the NTK was issued. Seems they contacted the DVLA for an address.

DoaM

The_Deep wrote: »

£90 for a B&B in Sunbury. You can stay in an Ibis in Spain for a third of that including parking. Only in Rip off Britain!

I was down there on business so my company was paying.

DoaM

bobbat wrote: »

As it happened I didn't complain there and then as I was on a tight schedule and needed to leave. I should perhaps complain to them now. Somebody I was with also recommended to wait until or if the NTK was issued. Seems they contacted the DVLA for an address.

Hang on ... was there a PCN on the windscreen or not? If yes this was not a NTK (keeper), it was a NTD (driver). For a NTD there has not been any contact from APCOA to the DVLA. So if it was stuck on the windscreen to be found the next morning, it was a NTD.

That's why it can be advised to appeal the NTD as keeper around day 26, as it usually means the company will forget to seek keeper details from DVLA. That way you have a slam dunk winning case ... no NTK sent means POFA does not apply mean the keeper cannot be held liable for the charge.

Umkomaas

You definitely need to be rattling the cage of the manager.

bobbat

Yes, there was a PCN notice stuck on the windshield. Which was kept and ignored until the NTK arrived in the post. I also kept the parking reciept which showed that the parking was paid for.

My main concern is that the car was indeed outside of a bay. The frusrtation is that the space available was hard to access and I had belived it to be a Travel Lodge car park so did't think it was an issue to park the car out of the way.

I'm going to contact Travel Lodge and see what they say, although I suspect they will wash their hands of it. I also imagine APCOA will tunr down the appeal, so hopefully an appeal to POPLA will work.

Umkomaas

so hopefully an appeal to POPLA will work.

It will, but the issues you've raised won't take you far. Please read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, Section 3 about how to appeal to POPLA, including some ready made templates for you to use.

In addition read the last few weeks of posts from the POPLA Decisions sticky to understands what wins; also do a forum search on 'APCOA POPLA' to read recent threads.