parking charge notice appeal

dimi_2

hello! I used smart parking at hull last month to park my car. I purchased a 24h ticket (pay and display) which i placed on my windscreen and i only stayed there for 2.5 hours. I received a parking charge notice from smart parking saying i didnt pay with photos of my car entering and leaving their parking lot. I made an appeal to them with photo of my pay and display ticket(because i keep them all for a while) and i received an answer today saying that they searched their system and i havent payed so they continue with the PCN. but i have my pay and display ticket and i have also payed by card so the bank statement is also my proof. what should i do when appealing to popla because i am not leaving it like that.

KeithP

Time for you to read the NEWBIES sticky/pinned thread at the top of this forum.

In there you will find out how to deal with this.

Please do come back with specific questions.

pappa_golf

is your vehicle registration shown on the ticket , have you used a o instead of a 0

incidentally under UK registration laws the DVLA treat both characters the same and v only use one , so why do ticket machines have both?

https://www.veripark.co.uk/?q=content/uk-number-plate-conventions

dimi_2

the vehicle registration number is appearing correctly on my pay and display ticket. On their letter today they say that the reason is insufficient paid time on site because they checked the payment system and they say that no payment was made. But then why do i have my card charged and a pay and display ticket printed ??? I couldnt find a similar case to mine.

Loadsofchildren123

The parking companies routinely reject internal appeals. The next level of appeal is to POPLA if it's a BPA member or to the IAS if it's an IPC member.


The IAS is pointless - they seem to pick random appeals to win in order to be able to say that x% of appeals win, but most are rejected even where they are very strong.
PoPLA is slightly better, but still make wrong decisions sometimes.


I take it you've identified yourself as the driver? If it's a BPA member we normally say not to identify the driver because it can be a winning point at POPLA.


My view is where you have a strong defence as driver, it's pointless running a case saying they must prove you were. You just say you were and defend with your winning defence.


Once you've exhausted the appeals process, you will then get a series of letters from debt collectors and then solicitors, all claiming increasing amounts of money. Eventually solicitors will write a Letter Before Claim (LBC) and then they issue a court claim. This can go on for months or years. They have 6 years to issue a claim. If you move house be sure to have postal redirect and tell them. Keep copies of everything.


Normally we say to ignore the debt collectors and only reply to the LBC. Given that you have a really strong defence (you did pay and can prove it) I would go against the grain and, if you fail at appeal and start hearing from debt collectors, I would write one standard letter saying you did pay, attaching evidence of the ticket and the payment, and that there is not claim. Also say that any further attempts to contact you will be acts of harassment under Section 1 of the Protection from Harassment Act, and any attempts to retain and process your data will be a breach of your rights under the Data Protection Act.


Then whenever you get another letter, just send a copy of that letter again.


The point of doing this is that if they ultimately do sue you, you are better placed to argue that they have been unreasonable and that you should recover costs to reflect that (known as unreasonable behaviour costs under CPR Rule 27.14(2)(g)). You are also well placed to counter-claim for damages under those two Acts.


Please make sure you keep the ticket and bank statement and anything else you have (eg photos).


Was this an ANPR Camera car park? Is there any chance you entered your car reg wrongly on the ticket (was it one of those machines you have to enter the VRN?)


Also ask them for any photographs of your car parked.

Loadsofchildren123

cross post


This changes things a little. So how different is the vrn on the ticket to your actual vrn?

pappa_golf

dimi wrote: »

the vehicle registration number is appearing correctly on my pay and display ticket. On their letter today they say that the reason is insufficient paid time on site because they checked the payment system and they say that no payment was made. But then why do i have my card charged and a pay and display ticket printed ??? I couldnt find a similar case to mine.

have they issued a POPLa code in order for you to make an appeal?

dimi_2

i had to enter the registration number but i entered it correctly. it is displayed correctly on my pay and display ticket so i dont understand what their problem is. i have to send an appeal to popla but after reading the threads here i dont know what my chances are if i use my own words because i cant find a template letter that suits my case.

Coupon-mad

OK as you've unfortunately already blabbed about who was driving, you can't kill it using the POFA/no keeper liability (100% winner against Smart).

So use the template for 'no landowner authority' anyway as your point #2, but write your own version and embed the ticket scan, into the appeal document as evidence, for your first point of appeal. Show us that draft before submitting it, no rush, a POPLA code lasts 30 days.

Before you do that, I would email a complaint about this to Steve Clark at the BPA and ask him to shed light on it:

steve.c@britishparking.co.uk

He will reply and it should help. Show him your evidence and ask him what Smart are playing at.

Loadsofchildren123

Sorry dimi, I read your post #4 wrongly.


Do what c-m says on POPLA.


But I would write to the PPC now to say you are astonished they have rejected your appeal, you have provided evidence that you paid, you have your ticket showing the correct time, date and reg number, and your bank statement, all of which showed you paid for the time you were parked. Tell them that any further attempts by them to contact you, both directly or via debt collection agents or solicitors, will be acts of harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act, and that their obtaining, retention and processing of your data is a serious breach of the Data Protection Act, and that you will counterclaim if they pursue you for this non-existent debt (or if they cease to pursue you ultimately you will give serious consideration to making your own claim for damages against them).


C-M can't dimi just do his/her own popla appeal simply based on the fact (s)he paid, with evidence that (s)he did?