POPLA appeal against ECP - NTK and unlit signage

3shirts

Well that was a waste of time. This is POPLA's ruling:

"The operator has provided photographic evidence of the terms and conditions, which state “Failure to comply with the following will result in the issue of a £100 Parking Charge Notice…Purchase and display a valid ticket or permit clearly inside your windscreen or have a valid pay by phone session”. The operator states it issued the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) as the appellant purchased insufficient parking time. The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera has captured the appellant’s vehicle entering the car park at 18:56 and exiting at 22:36, totalling a stay of three hours and 40 minutes. The appellant states a compliant Notice to Keeper was not served. As the appellant in this case has not been identified as the driver, I must consider if the operator has met the requirements of PoFA in its attempt to hold them, as the registered keeper, liable for the charge. I have reviewed the copy of the notice to keeper that has been issued, and I am satisfied that this meets the full requirements of PoFA. He says that the operator has not shown the individual it is pursuing is liable for the parking charge. I note this ground of appeal; however, as previously stated the Notice to Keeper complies with POFA and therefore the registered keeper becomes liable for the parking charge. The appellant has questioned the operator’s authority in issuing and pursuing parking charges at this site. Section 7 of the BPA Code of Practice requires operators to own the land or to have written authority from the landowner to operate on the land. The operator has provided its contract with the landowner, which I am satisfied, confirms the operator has the required authority, in line with Section 7 of the Code of Practice. I note the appellant’s comments; however, as previously stated I consider the contract sufficient to prove it has the authority. He says that the signage is not prominent, clear or legible at night or from all parking spaces. He explains that there is insufficient notice of the sum of the parking charge. Section 18.3 of the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice states, “You must place signs containing the specific parking terms throughout the site, so that drivers are given the chance to read them at the time of parking or leaving their vehicle. Keep a record of where all the signs are. Signs must be conspicuous and legible, and written in intelligible language, so that they are easy to see, read and understand.” The operator has provided a number of photographs documenting the signage at the car park in question. As such I am satisfied that appellant had the opportunity to read and understand the terms and conditions before agreeing to the contract. Ultimately, I consider the signage was compliant with the requirements set out in the BPA Code of Practice. I note the appellant’s comments regarding lighting at the site, however, as the driver purchased a parking ticket. I am satisfied they were able to see, read, and understand the signage at the site, meaning the lighting at the site is sufficient. Therefore, the driver agreed to the terms and conditions of the site and entered into a contract with the operator. The operator has provided a system report, which confirms the appellant purchased a three hour parking session. As such, I am satisfied that the appellant purchased insufficient parking time. Upon consideration of the evidence provided, the appellant purchased insufficient parking time and therefore did not comply with the terms and conditions. I conclude the PCN was issued correctly. I must refuse this appeal."

I am angry about the 'sufficient lighting' part because they seem to be saying that the fact I bought a ticket means I could read the sign but my point was that the fines were unclear and, surely the fact I got an incorrect ticket shows I couldn't read it clearly.

Anyway, I'm done with this. I'm not sitting and sweating about a potential court date. I paid the £100 (which would have been £60 and a lot less time writing appeals if I'd done it earlier ).

Thanks for all the advice here but sadly this time, no justice.

Quentin

You have been too hasty

If you had taken the trouble to check out the PPC at the bmpa website you would have seen their approach to going to court

(Over the last 3 years they issued approx 800,000 tickets and took exactly 3 of them to a hearing)

3shirts

I know but I don't want to leave it hanging around. It is stressful even if there is little chance of them going that way.

I'll chalk this up to experience and just never use ECP again.

Quentin

Thing is these invoices are like any other you get you don't agree with.

The creditor always has an option to issue a county court claim

Not too stressful to deal with an out an out scam invoice by simply ignoring all correspondence except court correspondence which in your case looks unlikely!

This forum would have assisted you!

3shirts

I used this forum extensively and the advice was firmly NOT to ignore it.

Quentin

You misunderstood

You posted you knew there was no chance (3 in 800000) of going to court yet paid up as soon as popla rejected your appeal

But once that happens the advice is ignore everything you get except court correspondence.

That's not too stressful!!

3shirts

You underestimate my propensity to stress.

I do see what you mean but I was so disheartened I just wanted this closed and done with.

Quentin

You'll understand why others reading this thread should not follow your reaction to a Popla rejection!!

That's not the advice of this forum ! The FAQ advises on the game after a popla rejection

It involves ignoring junk mail which you must get lots of anyway

And you can read what the debt collectors letters look like long before one turns up.

Coupon-mad

If you had asked first, we would have told you to search for POPLA lost to read all the other POPLA cases lost where NO-ONE PAID.

POPLA is an option to try, not a reason to pay! Sooo frustrating, we did we bother?

This is as bad as if you joined a PPC, you have now sponsored/funded the next few PCNs.

3shirts

I'm sorry I have upset you, I did misunderstand. Hopefully others finding this thread will not follow my lead.
I was at the end of a very bad week and felt very defeated. Foolish to act so quickly.

Thank you for your help.