Shell Gatwick North

Coupon-mad

It is still a thing and the POPLA website FAQS page, tells you about making a complaint (but they rarely uphold ANY).

windsmurf

SUCCESS via Shell, after POPLA rejection:
"Following on from my conversation with the Retailer of this service station and ECP, we will on this occasion cancel the parking ticket as a gesture of goodwill without accepting any liability to Shell. I hope that this resolves the matter to your satisfaction however should you have any further concerns please do not hesitate to contact me."

Full chain below. I suspect the mention of social media helped. I'm tempted to write back and insist they address the complete lack of signage in the forecourt, a point which Shell have refused to acknowledge despite me providing them with a helpful map (further up the thread I think). However, I'll leave this be in the hope that they leave the signs as they are and provide future victims of ECP with a solid point of contention - i.e. you have not proved that I left the forecourt. There are no signs in the forecourt.

Many thanks to all who contributed and offered support in fighting this.

Final email chain below

Mon, 19 Nov, 13:44

Dear Mr _____,

Further to your email of the Xth November 2018 concerning the parking charge notice that was issued following your visit to Shell Gatwick North, I would like to apologise for my belated response.

I have discussed your further comments with the Retailer of this service station and also with our car parking service provider Euro Car Parks (ECP) whose services ensure that this service station remains accessible and safe for all customers.

Further to your comments on the location of the signs, I would like to advise that in line with BPA Code of Practice which provides information on where signs should be placed, there are signs mounted by light poles and placed at the entrance where a customer pulls into one of the pumps. These we believe provide customers with sufficient information of the parking policies at this service station however following your comments we will continue to review this.

Following on from my conversation with the Retailer of this service station and ECP, we will on this occasion cancel the parking ticket as a gesture of goodwill without accepting any liability to Shell. I hope that this resolves the matter to your satisfaction however should you have any further concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention and for giving me the opportunity to respond.



Yours Sincerely,

(SHELL MAN)
Operational Manager - UK Retail


----












Sun, 18 Nov, 18:14 (2 days ago)
Dear Mr (SHELL),

I note that you have not responded to my previous email detailing how ECP are breaching BPA code of proactive on Shell property. Please advise how I should proceed in order to initiate some action? Would I be better of addressing this issue via twitter / Facebook?

Regards

________

Tel: +44 ____

On Tue, 6 Nov 2018 at 12:27, ________> wrote:
Dear Mr (Shell)

I thought you may be interested in the attached map provided by ECP as part of the appeals process. This map shows the location of each of the 22 signs that you mention in your email.

You will note that:

- No signs are located within the petrol station forecourt.
- No signs are located next to the pumps
- No signs are located between the forecourt and the shop.
- No signs are located in the shop.

As the segregated parking areas were closed at the time of the drivers visit and the vehicle remained on the petrol station forecourt, ECP have failed to provide any signs detailing parking restrictions / conditions where the driver of the vehicle could see them having left the vehicle on the forecourt.

As you state, ECP are a member of the BPA, and you are right to highlight their strict code of practice available here, which is in place to protect both drivers, operators and their clients such as Shell. I draw you attention to Clause 18.3 of the code of practice which states that: "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."

In enforcing parking restrictions in the petrol station forecourt were no signage is provided to drivers, ECP have failed to comply with BPA code of practice. ECP are operating in breach of the BPA code of practice on your property.

ECP are therefore also in breach of their operating contract with Shell International Petroleum dated 10/4/18, which states in Appendix A, Authorization instructions which states:

Clause 2: Shell International Petroleum Co. Ltd (the Client) hereby requires ECP to comply with all aspects of the COP as published and amended from time to time by the AOS and administered by the BPA.

Clause 4: ECP will ensure that signage will comply with the COP.

Let's be clear. I have no issue with parking restrictions being imposed and enforced to protect your business interests, as long as drivers are afforded the opportunity to make an informed decision on whether they wish to accept the conditions, or go elsewhere. The BPA code of practice exists to enable this. In this instance, having studied the map showing location of all parking signs you must agree that drivers visiting your forecourt are not being informed of the restrictions in place when they visit your forecourt. You must also agree that ECP are therefore breaching BPA code of practice. Your customers are being bullied into paying an invoice under a perceived contract with ECP when they have not been given a fair opportunity to understand the terms.

I respectfully request that in light of this additional information concerning specific location of the signs, you revisit your decision and take steps to quash this PPN. Please also take urgent action to improve the conduct of ECP on your land, starting with installing signage within the forecourt area, as other valued customers of Shell are being exploited by ECP.

Kind Regards

_____
On Mon, 3 Sep 2018 at 15:28, ____SHELL wrote:
Sent on behalf of Shell

Dear Mr ____,

Further to my email of the 30th August 2018, I have now completed my investigation regarding the parking charge notice that was issued for your driver’s visit at Shell Gatwick North

I have investigated your complaint and discussed with our car parking service provider, Euro Car Parks (ECP). ECP are member of the main regulatory body, the British Car Parking Association, who have strict rules that its members must adhere to. This service station has had a history of people parking and waiting for friends and family to arrive at the airport and thus not allowing other customers the opportunity to park and visit the shop. We obviously want to give a consistent experience for all of our customers, not just the few, so in 2015 we took the decision to introduce clear signage at the station indicating that there was a 20-minute maximum wait time. The signs also state that a driver would face a fine of up to £100 if they went over that time limit.

There are 22 signages on the forecourt and the parking area informing our customers as such. At night, 8 of these signages mounted by light poles are lit up and the contents of the signs remain readable for customers to be informed of the station’s parking policy. The other signages, although not mounted by light poles, were made with red text that will clearly be seen under bright yellow backdrop.

We take Health & Safety very seriously in Shell and customers having enough time to consume their goods was a concern we took into account. The 20 minutes time frame was decided upon following a series of tests on the actual amount of time it would take a customer buying a hot drink and hot food to consume either in the shop or sat in their car before getting back onto the road. We obviously cannot control whether customers choose to do this or not but feel we have allowed adequate time for them to choose to consume on the premises.
I understand that you may not be happy with our response and I am truly sorry about that. I hope we have addressed your concerns regarding the policy at our service stations.
Thank you for taking the time to bring this matter to my attention and we appreciate the opportunity to address your concern.


Yours sincerely,
Mr (Shell)
Operational Manager - UK Retail

Coupon-mad

Well done, got there in the end! :T

Redx

as you have a POPLA code, start drafting a popla appeal asap

KeithP

Mumra123 wrote: »

Hi. I'm posting here as I don't want to start a new thread.

Why is that?

Mumra123 wrote: »

LADIES AND GENTS WHAT'S MY NEXT MOVE PLEASE?

Your next move is --- Start a new thread.

Diverting an existing thread in the direction you want it to go is commonly called hijacking.

It is discourteous to the poster who started this thread.

Please delete your post from this thread.

Thank you for your understanding.

Coupon-mad

Regrettably this parking policy is not the site's control because they have a contract with Euro Car Park.

That is a lie.

Reply and ask why they've lied? The parking firm is their agent and the principal has full control and can cancel any PCN for a customer, it's in any standard ECP contract.

Also tell them that 20 minutes is not enough.

Clearly they didn't test the timing with due diligence, with no real allowance being made for people who have a coffee and use the toilet, and also carry out basic checks on tyres, fill up with air and get petrol & pay for it, then the time to leave. People are widely reporting this scam online, and are up in arms about it which will certainly adversely affect Shell's reputation. Disabled or elderly people are particularly at risk of an overly-short maximum stay time that should be at least half an hour.

Insist the complaint is escalated to the Manager of the person who replied, as that didn't come from anyone high up, we can tell.


NO REPLY HERE PLEASE - NEW THREAD ONCE YOU HAVE TRIED THE ABOVE.