Paid for parking... but in the wrong machine!

Hammer2&8

So, recently parked in a carpark in Derby. At the very edge (and I mean at the very edge) of the carpark (and between my car and my destination) was a pay and display machine so I dutifully paid for an hour, took my kids into Bounce Revolution, went back out an hour later to get another permit for a second hour and left within my permitted time. However, a week or so later, I receive a fine for non payment of my parking.

I hadn't realised it was number plate recognition, not pay and display and the machine I had purchased my ticket from was a pay and display for the road right next to the carpark. There was a sign on the back of the machine but no other signage around it. A busy carpark combined with the route I took to the machine meant that I only saw the front of the machine.

If I'm honest, at first I was convinced I had paid in the right place. Whilst I couldn't find my permits (as I had thought I'd thrown them in the bin) I thought the parking company were trying it on. Needless to say, they rejected my appeal.

So I went through POPLA. By this time, I had found my permits. I took pictures of the permits and drove to the carpark to take the necessary pics showing the signage around the machine. I thought they would actually recognise how I (and probably a whole bunch of other people) had gone wrong... fat chance. These guys are supposed to be neutral aren't they? The explanation for rejection was inadequate in my opinion.

I sent them a pic from google maps taken over a year ago showing no change to the signage and asked how much had been generated in fines due to this mistake in the past year. They didn't answer but I feel they should have... any thoughts?

Anyway, I've been unsuccessful in my appeal. Any thoughts on what to do next? One thing I know is that I will not be paying it. As far as I'm concerned, I've paid for my parking so honoured my end of the contract.

Coupon-mad

Which parking firm? Some sue, some are less likely to try. Always defendable!

Your POPLA appeal was always doomed; most here win but we don't just tell the story of what happened. Too late now.

They didn't have to reply to your question about how much in fines had been generated in the past year. The Council might have figures regarding the number of complaints made to them about that parking firm and/or that location. Councils are subject to FOI requests but private firms are not.

I would hop onto 'WhatDotheyKnow?' and fire off a FOI to the Council for numbers of complaints about that parking firm and that location/misleading car park beside a machine belonging to the Council.