Definitely paid for parking two weeks in a row.....

MrsPattinson

Hi there,

The driver parked in the same car park two weeks running. Both times the driver had passengers who witnessed parking being paid for.
The keeper was sent fines from PE via the lease company. The lease company refuse to fight parking fines and if anything gets tricky they pay up and charge the keeper the fine plus an admin fee.
So the driver had to write and appeal or pay up about £200 to the lease company, ignoring the fine was not an option.
The driver has appealed and had both appeals refused, the parking company claim that there's no record on either occasion of parking being paid and claim they've even searched for number plates that seem similar and found nothing. EACH time the driver has p[aid for parking.
They now say if the driver appeals they lose the right for the reduced rate fine.

What happens now? The driver has no proof of paying for parking as the driver had no idea that this company made such massive errors and would fine someone who has paid.

HELP.

nosferatu1001

No need to alk about driver if the drivers been revealed. You can make it easier to follow if it is "i" or "she"
The driver of course has proof. They have witnesses

Get the witnesses to sign WS to that effect, and send into PE. STate that on the balance of probabiltiies their machiens are faulty,a s they have no actual witness to discredit the witnrsse you have provided.

MrsPattinson

Ahhhh. sorry about that.

My witnesses are my two sons, different day different son. But they are only 14 and 16.

MrsPattinson

As the appeals have been refused twice, they are now referred to POPLA.

nosferatu1001

Yes, theyre still witnesses.
So do your research on newbies thread for POPLA appeals. Construct one and come bck here.

Guys_Dad

Best check to see if you have made any errors in paying for the ticket. Should you have entered a vehicle registration number and done it incorrectly? Best check.

The probability of the machines being faulty over a week without hundreds of other drivers also being charged isn't high. At least, that point would be put to a judge by the other side.

fisherjim

"...ignoring the [STRIKE]fine[/STRIKE] invoice was not an option", correct who told you it was?
I suspect that you put in an incorrect vrn into the pay machine, easily done with a lease car.

Now you need to construct a POPLA appeal based on technical details such as signage etc all explained in the newbies thread.

What happened on the day won't wash with POPLA, and PE are only interested in money.

I doubt very much if they checked any records, that's too much like hard work and not very lucrative in a scammers industry.

nosferatu1001

Or the machine recorded it, or you mistook a "0" for a "o" on the keyboard, given the characters are identical on the font used for UK VRMs

The_Deep

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and another company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

Hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned.

The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the HofC recently.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by Christmas.

Coupon-mad

The driver has appealed and had both appeals refused, the parking company claim that there's no record on either occasion of parking being paid and claim they've even searched for number plates that seem similar and found nothing. EACH time the driver has p[aid for parking.
They now say if the driver appeals they lose the right for the reduced rate fine.

Are you at POPLA stage then?

Did you admit you were the driver? You'd have 100% won these at POPLA if you'd only said you were the hirer/lessee, but did you actually tick 'driver' when you appealed? If so, OUCH!!

I would email PE back first and ask for the log of payments made in the half hour around your car's arrival, specifically in case there was a similar VRN input 'close match' which you think must have happened and you require the log, to be sure (and they can partially redact other VRNs on the log):

info@parkingeye.co.uk

DO NOT WAIT MORE THAN 3 WEEKS, you only have a month to do the POPLA appeals.