Tower road newquay POPLA appeal

SharkMan

Hi all


Can you give me advice on this one? I made my initial parking eye appeal without reading this forum unfortunately, and naturally it was rejected. Probably revealed I was the driver also. I do not have the text anymore but we literally ran back to avoid the fine because I know parking eye are awful - and we believed we had left on time!!!


We paid for 4 hours of parking but unfortunately we took the time on the ticket as the start of the 4 hour period. We returned and left on 4 hours + 1 minute according to the ticket time (which I still have luckily) and the CCTV but they are claiming £60 and then £100 if we appeal to POPLA on the basis of the 10 minutes before the ticket time when we entered the car park. Of course during this 10 minute period we looked around for a space during busy school holiday period, walked to the ticket machine to find out the charges, back to the car to get the change, back to the machine to queue up with everyone else to get a ticket.


They clearly didn't allow us good time to get parked and pay.


They clearly are misleading car park users by printing the payment time on the ticket rather than the entry time (which should be available as you have to enter your reg number).


The money they are charging versus the time they say we overran are disproportionate (let alone the fact the car park was emptying out as we returned so we didn't do them out of business).


If you could advise me on the best wording and if its worth appealing to POPLA would be very much appreciated! I want to claim out of principal and moral standing even if the risk is the cost goes up!


Shark

Umkomaas

We've seen loads of Tower Road tickets quashed by POPLA this summer. Most on Grace Periods (GPs). Read the BPA Code of Practice, clause 13 so you know about both GPs for any visit.

Leave out any of the following, or you risk losing. The Beavis case put paid to this argument.

The money they are charging versus the time they say we overran are disproportionate (let alone the fact the car park was emptying out as we returned so we didn't do them out of business)

Beat this at POPLA.

SharkMan

Thanks for the quick reply. The fact I revealed I drove is that a bad thing?


I will read up on that thanks. I will try and search for a tower road template from a previous success (leaving out the above part!) but if in the meantime anyone has a quick link that would be a great help.


I still have around 7 days to get this sent off (online I understand)


Thanks


Shark

Umkomaas

The fact I revealed I drove is that a bad thing?

You just lose PoFA 2012 protection for the keeper. Not the best position to be in, but definitely not fatal. There are other points (including the potent GPs point) which are included in the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #3 in ready-written templates for copying and pasting.

This is very winnable.

When exactly is your POPLA deadline?

SharkMan

I've re-read my letter - I have 25 days left!! Excellent


Already taken your advice and read the BPA Clause 13 you mention. I am totally within that Grace period.


I will submit a photo of my parking ticket as part of my appeal as it shows the 10 minutes before, and the 1 minute after.


Thankyou


Shark

SharkMan

Came in to the car park 10 minutes and 28 seconds before we paid
Left the car park 1 minute after the time on the ticket


I'm really surprised they are claiming! I guess a lot of people just pay them.

Umkomaas

Already taken your advice and read the BPA Clause 13 you mention. I am totally within that Grace period

Make sure you make that the first point of your POPLA appeal.

Holiday season, car park busy, difficult to find parking space, circled round. Eventually found a spot, then off to read the PE signs. Took absolutely ages to read the mass of small print at the bottom of the sign (check Google images to remind you of that mass) to determine whether it applied to your parking, then off to the machine to pay, read machine instructions, purchase ticket, return to car to place ticket on dashboard.

Then on leaving, congestion in the car park as people panicked to avoid racking up a PE penalty, then couldn't get out of car park because of queue trying to enter the main road .......

You get my drift (it's a wonder you're still not there! :rotfl:). Get all that stuff built in. But make sure it fits with the timings shown by PE on your NtK and compared with your ticket from the machine.

Get this right and I doubt they'll contest it.

Coupon-mad

SharkMan wrote: »

Came in to the car park 10 minutes and 28 seconds before we paid
Left the car park 1 minute after the time on the ticket

I'm really surprised they are claiming! I guess a lot of people just pay them.

It's a very well-known but lucrative scam and the local MP is up in arms about it:

https://www.stevedouble.org.uk/news/steve-double-mp-names-and-shames-newquay-private-car-parking-companies-parliament

https://cornishstuff.com/2017/03/22/newquay-parking-firms-slammed-by-double-mp-names-shames-notorious-outfits-who-damage-local-reputation/

We paid for 4 hours of parking but unfortunately we took the time on the ticket as the start of the 4 hour period.

Not 'unfortunately', it's perfectly reasonable to take the receipt/ticket s the parking time. Of course!!

And no sign told you otherwise, why would anyone think the 10 minutes taken to find a space, park, lock the car, go over to signs, read them then queue for the P&D machine in a very busy Newquay beach car park at the height of Summer (BoardMasters festival time in mid-August, or Bank Holiday week?) is included in your parking time, when the ticket says no such thing?

SharkMan

Wow reading about the PoFA protection I wish I'd not have revealed myself at first stage (fool) as this would be done and dusted - the claim came through after 14 days!


Just prepping my grace period heavy POPLA

SharkMan

Can anyone share with me images of the parking signs from the 2017 season in Tower Road PARKING EYE please? I tried that facebook page but my request is still pending




(edited )

KeithP

SharkMan wrote: »

Can anyone share with me images of the parking signs from the 2017 season in Tower Road Fistral Beach please? I tried that facebook page but my request is still pending

Putting Tower Road Fistral Beach car park images into google will show you many.
No doubt some will be older, but choose wisely.

There is also a good picture in that Cornish Stuff newspaper article linked to earlier. The article is from March 2017, but no idea how old the pic is.

But all that aside, isn't the Fistral Beach Car Park managed by Smart?
Your opening post mentions Parking Eye?
Which car park were you in?