Court papers received Parking Eye Boots Opticians Doncaster

gandalph

On 03/02/2017 I visited Boots Opticians in Doncaster.

A couple of weeks later a PCN arrived stating that I did not input my car registration number as reception and as such I had broken the terms of the contract and was liable to a £100 charge.
Rather stupidly I asked some friends about this and had a look online. Unfortunately I took the advice to ignore all correspondance as it was only an invoice and not enforceable. I now realise that this was a mistake! We live and learn....but hence I am now in this awkward position.
On the day in question I visited the store to ask them if I could but glasses from there even though I had a specsavers prescription. I had my 11 month old daughter with me. I parked up qithout noticing any signs. My little girl was kicking off so rather than bother with the pushchair I carried her into the store as I knew it would be a brief visit. Obviously my focus was completely on my daughter and I didn't notice any signs. When I walked into the store I was immediately approached by an assistant who dealt with me. I was not told about entering my car details at reception. I didn't even go near reception, which is oddly placed at the back of the store.
So I didn't see any signs in store although I've since found out there is a sign a reception. But due to the layout of the shop this is difficult to see and you wouldn't notice it unless you walked over (I had no need as was dealt with as soon as I walked in.)

Now, on receiving the Court claim form I visited Boots and told them my problem. They said no problem they'd sort ot with the refernce number. I gave them this. I also called Parking Eye and explained the situation. I was abruptly told it was too late to cancel the PCN as court proceedings were in place, goodbye! The assistant Manager of the store was also told the same...too latre to cancel. She apologises prefusely and said the store would help in any way they could.
So to that end I have a printed letter from Bots that states:

PCN reference *******
Vehichle ******
To whom it may concern,

I am writing this letter to you as proof that Mr Jon Wright of (insert address) was a customer in the Doncaster store on the date in question:3/2/2017.
Mr Wright came into the store and at the time with a prescription from another optician and was browsing at the frames we stock. Mr Wright did not purchase anything from us at that time so I have no receipts for you to enclose with this letter.
Unfortunately at the time Mr Wright was not advised that he needed to enter his registration in to a computer on the desk. We have tried to contact Parking Eye to inform them of the above but was told that it was too late to cancel off the charge with them.
Should you require any further assistance please do not hesitate too contact me at the store.
Yours Sincerely
Sophie Godley (Assistant Manager)

So

I find it unbelievable that PE are taking this stance. Surely they are only acting on behalf of Boots and as they have advised them to cancel the PCN, they should do this?

So moving forward my plan is to today email the PE enforcement team explaining that I have a letter from Boots stating I was a customer. And if they refuse to cancel the court proceedings I will defend my case.
I have already submitted the Acknowledgement of service so I have 28 days to prepare a defence.I also am going to contact the store again and ask them to email PE clearly stating that hey wish for the charge to be dropped. I'll ask them to copy me into the email too.

What a mess! And I'm more annoyed with myself as if I'd have contacted Boots after recieving the initial invoice they would have cancelled it for me!! My fault nobody else's.
Any advice would be greartly appreciated? With the evidence I have and witnesses from the store saying I was there, will it even get to court? Is Boots acknowledgement enough or do I need to start looking for more points for my defence? Lack of signage, carrying a baby, not being told about entering my details, reception right at the back of the store, shappe of the store, etc.

Any help greatly appreciated, thank you

System

Keep pressing Boots to contact ParkingEye. Often PE will send a £60 'offer' to settle but you need Boots to press this.

At the same time do not miss out on putting in a defence e.g. busy with kids, not seeing signs, Boots asked PE to cancel etc.

So keep the pressure on, and watch the timescales for court.

The_Deep

It all comes down to what the judge thinks on the day. If he feels that your failure to enter your VRN in a terminal in a shop has cost PE a £100 then you will have to pay.

If on the other hand he thinks that this is a scam and a penalty. then he may well find for you.

Put your trust in the Golden Thread if British Justice.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua9QU6RjGcg

Lamilad

When I walked into the store I was immediately approached by an assistant who dealt with me. I was not told about entering my car details at reception. I didn't even go near reception, which is oddly placed at the back of the store.

From the Boots letter "Unfortunately at the time Mr Wright was not advised that he needed to enter his registration in to a computer on the desk"

I think you now need to take this up with Boots Head Office, and get tough. Tell them you are being subjected to this distressing experience as a result of being a genuine customer of theirs - where's the duty of care? You went to their store in good faith believing you were visiting a reputable and trusted organisation - and they have thrown you to the dogs. You are disgusted by their treatment of you.

As far as you're concerned this is as much Boot's problem as it is yours. They have admitted that they caused your breach of the parking T&Cs when they said:
"Unfortunately at the time Mr Wright was not advised that he needed to enter his registration in to a computer on the desk"

So, if they think they can show you some 'lip service' sympathy, write you an email that achieves nothing then say "sorry, pal, we tried help but hey-ho!"... then they've got another 'think' coming. You will not be letting them off the hook. In fact if they don't sort this out, and fast, you will report your experience, including their admission of fault, on facebook, twitter and in the local media.

Furthermore, if the matter remains unresolved you will file an application to have them named as a co-defendant in ths case and use their email as evidence in court that it is Boots who are liable for the breach of contract, not you. The outcome of this may then lead to you commencing further litigation against Boots for the damages, distress and expenses you have been caused as a result of their treatment of you.

Then as IamEmanresu says you need to 'keep the pressure on'.... chase them up every few days demanding a resolution and threatening to take it further. The idea is that they'll just decide you're not worth the hassle and sort it out one way or the other.

I find it unbelievable that PE are taking this stance. Surely they are only acting on behalf of Boots and as they have advised them to cancel the PCN, they should do this?

sadly you couldn't be more wrong. PE, as with all PPCs, are acting on behalf of themselves, and themselves only. They have no interest whatsoever in fair car park management, only in making as much profit as they can from operating car parks. They have no interest in mitigating circumstances, unforeseen occurences, or events beyond your control. They don't care if you acted in good faith or even if you're blatantly innocent... They just want your money, and they'll squeeze you as hard as they can to get it.

do I need to start looking for more points for my defence? Lack of signage, carrying a baby, not being told about entering my details, reception right at the back of the store, shappe of the store, etc.

Yes you need to consider other defence points. All the things you mention there are relevant especially signage which I think you can build a strong argument against in this case.

Read post #2, headed " Small Claim" of the NEWBIES sticky thread at the top of page one. Use the search function to search phrases like "Parking eye defence" or "Parking eye court" etc, to find other threads with defences which you can read and crib from to build your own defence.

As above you need to give Boots some real grief about this but don't miss the deadline to submit your defence. Post your draft defence here for critique and advice.

The_Deep

I have read several PoPLA adjudications recently where there is no end date on the contract and the adjudicatior rules that ne/she is not satisfied that there is a valid contract in place.

Marktheshark

Drop the I did not enter my registration NOW and keep it dropped.
.

gandalph

Thank you for all the advice so far!

Update - Emailed the store manager again to ask them to keep pressing PE. Told she was escalating the situation to head office and copied them in on the email. I was in the process of drafting out an email to head office, raising some of the points made by Lamilad, but I recieved this before I finished it.....

Dear Mr Wright

I have been forwarded correspondence regarding the problem you experienced after parking at our opticians practice in Doncaster, when attending an appointment in January.

Just as background on this matter we instructed Parkingeye to manage the car park at our Doncaster practice purely for the benefit of our customers. The ‘free’ parking was being abused by motorists leaving their vehicles there all day, which resulted in customers not being able to park.

We will always endeavour to resolve any parking issues for genuine customers, like yourself, at a much earlier stage than this and it is therefore most unfortunate that this matter has been allowed to progress to the stage it is at the moment.

I can confirm that I have been in touch with Parkingeye and have instructed them to issue a Notice of Discontinuance, which I trust will bring closure to this matter. As a result of your experience we will also look to increase the visibility of signage at this site, and others where Parkingeye are engaged, so that there can be no similar misunderstandings in the future. Our store staff will also be reminded to ask customer whether they have registered their vehicles when they are initially greeted.

I do hope that this gives you the reassurance and confidence to be able to continue visiting this practice in the future. If you wish to discuss this with me further, please give me a call.

Kind regards

Janette Worker
Landlord Consent Manager

So is this an end to it? Obviously I'm going to contact PE, mentioning the email, and asking for written confirmation that the charge has been lifted.
I've already started trying to work on my defence, but I'm a single working parent and there aren't enough hours in the day as it is. My deadline is 21st May so I think I'll at least wait until I hear from PE (if i do at all). I'll also reply to Head Office and press them to get something in writing from PE too.

Coupon-mad

So is this an end to it?

Yes, if you get a Notice of Discontinuance!

Reading between the lines, Boots have paid PE's £60 (their usual cop out settlement when a landowner muscles in) I reckon.

Is this the same place?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5607748

roymallinson

Hope it is over for you, as my journey has just started. £100 for 10 minutes while collecting glasses, and as you say you are not told to enter details of car.
Also been in touch with Boots head office and was told, tough, that whoever owns the car park has passed the responsibility of it to PE.
My journey begins.
mallysChalet .

Coupon-mad

10 minutes is within grace periods - easy to beat at POPLA. Read the NEWBIES thread.

pappa_golf

you should have started your own thread!

2 things you need to do ,

1: go and read the stickies thread

2: read the BPA code of practice regarding grace periods