Is it OK to change a part of the template that doesn't apply?

Coupon-mad

Are they allowed to start the 28 days for appeal from the date of the letter

Yes, the BPA let them get away with any old sh!te IMHO. That's why Parliament is stepping in.

Luckily, you are not putting in any appeal that says ''I'' in terms of who the driver was.

fisherjim

K_Parking wrote: »

Right, I've done that; I also included a scan of the envelope which was clearly franked 4th April, the day after the date of the letter.

Presumably it will take the BPA a week or so to get back to me, so I suppose I'll have to try submitting the appeal again tomorrow.

Are they allowed to start the 28 days for appeal from the date of the letter, given that they didn't post it until the day after, and I received it two days after that?

It's interesting their website states that "I didn't see the signs" is not a valid ground for appeal - I've been to the store to check things out and the sign saying you're on camera/ANPR is only visible on the way OUT of the car park, and there is NO point at which it is straight ahead of the driver (it's on a corner).

There is a difference between "I (or the driver) didn't see the signs" and the signs weren't there, or legible, or visible, etc.

Remember the BPA are there to protect their members not the public and a little deception or slight of hand is part of their arsenal!

K_Parking

fisherjim wrote: »

Remember the BPA are there to protect their members not the public and a little deception or slight of hand is part of their arsenal!

So true. If it weren't for the help of this forum I'd be thinking I genuinely had no grounds for appeal, even though we've been to that shop many times and had literally never seen these signs.

K_Parking

Nothing back from the BPA yet, as expected, and I've just tried again to submit my appeal via the website. Same as yesterday - "Unfortunately you are unable to appeal this charge at this time". The letter says "All appeals must be received within 28 days from the date of our initial correspondence". 3rd April + 28 days is tomorrow by my calculations, so it's now too late to appeal by post.

I've tried to find an email address for Britannia, to submit the appeal that way, but no luck. I've looked at "Resolver", but the list of "issues" doesn't include "they won't let me appeal within the time limit".

So do I now appeal to Britannia in writing, with printouts of the screengrabs showing they wouldn't accept my appeal within the 28 days? Or do I just wait for the BPA to get back to me?

I'm guessing I need to demonstrate that I have done my best to submit the appeal within the 28 days, which given the Post Office is now closed means posting it tomorrow.

K_Parking

Got an email from the BPA this morning offering to forward my appeal to Britannia, so I'm about to email them the appeal text, the driver's receipt and my covering letter, in which I state that

(a) the BPA have my screenshot showing I was unable to access the online process within the 28 days

(b) I will not be held responsible for failing to submit in a timely manner any other information that process would have requested.

I have asked the BPA not to provide my email address to Britannia Parking - it's not a huge deal if they let me down on that, but I don't want to correspond with them via email and I don't see why they should have it when they don't make their own email address public.

Does all that seem OK, or am I about to do something stupid?

KeithP

K_Parking wrote: »

I have asked the BPA not to provide my email address to Britannia Parking - it's not a huge deal if they let me down on that, but I don't want to correspond with them via email and I don't see why they should have it when they don't make their own email address public.

I think that's a bit petty - but that's just my opinion.

Coupon-mad

I think it's your choice not to give Britannia an email addy, albeit had you been able to appeal online, you'd have had to!

K_Parking

KeithP wrote: »

I think that's a bit petty - but that's just my opinion.

Fair enough, but I don't exactly feel magnanimous towards them!

Coupon-mad wrote: »

I think it's your choice not to give Britannia an email addy, albeit had you been able to appeal online, you'd have had to!

OK; I've made the point in my letter that I have no idea what information I would have been asked for in the online process. I'm guessing they would use it for confirmation of submission which is perfectly fine, but I don't want to open myself up to all kinds of marketing rubbish from them.

K_Parking

Just a quick update - got a letter from Britannia today:

"The appeal has been reviewed. The photographs and any evidence have all been taken into account. Having considered the content of your letter and our internal review, we have cancelled this notice."

So that's a relief - many thanks to everyone for your help and support! I would never have had the nerve to challenge this without it.


By the way, I took my son with me to the shop a couple of weeks ago so that as I drove in he could be taking pictures for the appeal, showing how from a car one of the two T&C signs is literally hidden behind another sign.

I then asked him to walk with me to the shop entrance to assess for himself how easy to see the other T&C sign was (he was being a bit judgemental about me not seeing the signs...). We got to within six feet of the sign where it tells you about the fines and he was still asking "So where's the sign then?" I then got him to take some photos of how the sign is hidden behind a plant display!

I appealed this charge because although the driver did overstay, we had genuinely never seen the T&Cs signs, nor the one stating that they use ANPR (which is on a corner as you drive OUT) until we went searching. It is literally impossible to consent to their conditions on the basis of the information you can see before or on entering the car park and I'm guessing they know that and that's why they've cancelled the charge. Thanks again everybody!

Fruitcake

Well done.

What happened when you complained to your MP?