Ticket for daring to use a hand car wash

gorilla17

I recently availed myself of a hand car wash service located at the back of a local car park.

A few days later I received a PCN, claiming the vehicle was parked in the car park, and "Payment was not made in accordance with terms displayed on signage".

The car was not parked at any point - it was driven straight to the car wash, sat in the queue (for ages) and then left again straight away.

I appealed on this basis but the appeal was unsurprisingly rejected.

So my question - is there any point in appealing to POPLA? Or should I just wait for the threatening letters to start coming?

Many thanks.

twhitehousescat

1: phone a friend

2: read the newbies thread

choose one that may help

KeithP

You appeal to PoPLA .

For a start, clearly the signs weren't explicit enough to get the message to you that you needed to pay to queue up and use the car wash.

There are other PoPLA appeal points discussed in post #3 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread. Use all the appeal points relevant to your situation.

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.

gorilla17

Thanks all

beamerguy

OH DEAR, which stupid parking company did this ?

Bet their signs did not refer to a car wash.

Coupon-mad

Is it Premier Park, same place as this thread?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5800138/premier-park

HTH

gorilla17

Hi guys,

I received a PCN back in April from CEL for allegedly not paying to park in a car park, when I was in fact just there to use the hand car wash service based in the car park. I have photographic evidence to prove that free parking is offered for users of the hand car wash.

I appealed the PCN, which was obviously rejected, so I'm now playing the ignoring game. The most recent letter I've received was from QDR Solicitors, on behalf of ZZPS, on behalf of CEL (!)

I am aware that there's no point in responding at this stage. However having read through this forum, it looks like CEL are quite likely to take this forward to County Court stage.

So my question is simply this - are there any copy and paste defences on here reflecting the specifics of my case - car was not actually parked, I was just using the car wash - or will I need to put something together based on other defences and adapt it to suit these specific circumstances?

I've searched for "car wash defence" and "hand car wash CEL" and haven't come up with anything, so if anyone's aware of any threads relating to this, I'd be most grateful if you could point me in the right direction.

Many thanks.

nosferatu1001

What happened to the appeal to POPLA? It would have been upheld there.

Obv no copy and paste for that specific circ.

Umkomaas

Get in touch with the landowners (is it a supermarket, lots of these car washes hang out there?) and get them to cancel.

Can the car wash boys give you any help?

gorilla17

Unfortunately I missed the POPLA deadline due to being on holiday and other more pressing issues.

It's a general purpose car park, not attached to a supermarket etc. Next to a church, behind the high street. Not clear who owns it.

I spoke to the car wash people after my appeal was rejected, but they only had records of number plates for the last 2 weeks, and this was 5-6 weeks later. They said I should come back and talk to the owner of the car wash business, but he's never around when I've tried, and I haven't got time to keep going back to the car park time and again during their operating hours (and risk getting another PCN!)

I can try the car wash people again now, but they'll probably tell me to get lost 4 months after the event! So I figured my best option was to defend against CEL. Do you disagree?