Pay by phone Fistral Beach

reddefender

Hallo experts.
I'm at the stage where my first appeal has been rejected.
I didn't know this forum existed at the point I sent in the appeal.
I am now a few days beyond the grace period where my fine was £60 so I'm now looking at £100.
I parked at Fistral Beach (Smart Parking) at the end of July, had no change and called the number on the parking machine. It took two goes and the second time I believed the payment had been successful.
I was in the car park for longer than the two hours I paid for but I had no idea the clock started as soon as I entered the main gate.
I had to park, get the info from the machine, find a signal and call them twice. I then had to exit the site and the end of my stay which all adds to time spent not actually parked.
I got the postal PCN in early August.
Is there a template letter that would work for this? I have screen shots of my call history.
I guess they have to demonstrate that their voice recognition never fails.
Any help much appreciated
Thanks

Coupon-mad

Yes, on the NEWBIES thread you have already posted on (please read my reply).

Smart will cancel when they see the usual blue writing appeal but please please please do not copy it here asking ''is it this one?'' or we will self combust.

I guess they have to demonstrate that their voice recognition never fails.

No, because the appeal is not worded about the story of what happened, nor does it give away who the driver was!!

Umkomaas

I'm at the stage where my first appeal has been rejected.

If your first appeal has been rejected, Smart should have provided you with a POPLA Code. Do you have one?

If so, you need to start constructing your POPLA appeal (the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #3 guides you in this). Come back with your draft appeal so we can advise on any edits/additions you need to make.

The_Deep

I had no idea the clock started as soon as I entered the main gate.

According to a judge, it does not

https://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2014/03/waiting-for-space-is-not-parking.html.

If Smart are Not So Smart do know this, (they probably do but are scammers so try every trick in the book). it can be used at your PoPLA appeal/defence/counter claim if they took you to court. Read the BPA CoP on grace periods

They should not have refused to appeal, and their further action may have breached your D P rights.

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 House of Commons recently

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

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


.

reddefender

"blue letter?"
I'm pretty much at the point where I'm going to pay the fine.
I've now spent so much time on this forum searching and not finding any templates that I can use that £100 seems an easier way out.
Also, my letter telling me that my appeal was turned down is from 15 September so I'm assuming I've now missed any appeal windows.
Please don't refer me to the Newbies page again, all I can see are success stories for airports/Aldis etc. I have no idea what to search - have tried Popla smart parking / Fistral Smart parking but still can't find a template.
I have a Popla code

Coupon-mad

Also, my letter telling me that my appeal was turned down is from 15 September so I'm assuming I've now missed any appeal windows.

POPLA codes last 32 days. You have ages.

Please don't refer me to the Newbies page again, all I can see are success stories for airports/Aldis etc.

Then you've read the wrong bit.

You have a POPLA code so simply read the 3rd post of the NEWBIES thread (the one with #3 top right, in the NEWBIEs thread chain) or do something even easier...

Search the forum for SMART POPLA beach and copy one of the 71 results.

For obvious reasons, stop putting the word PARKING into a search on a parking forum, and then hit 'advanced search' and then SHOW RESULTS AS POSTS.

Here's one someone just won with, and these are easy to find when you know how to search (as explained above):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5891071/time-of-alleged-breach

Yours can add a section on Grace Periods, that that one doesn't have. And to find that, do a search for POSTS showing the words: POPLA Smart grace.

Smart are so weak they run away when they see a LONG forum-style POPLA appeal.

reddefender

Sorry
It is like learning a new language

simply read the 3rd post

I've read it ten times and none of it seems relevant,
You guys know your way round MSE, I'm brand new.

these are easy to find when you know how to search

After spending a day and a half trying to find a template (or anything relevant) that mentioned Smart, Phone payments and Fistral, I realized that it was actually costing me money to do this, so I paid the £100 fine.

Search the forum for SMART POPLA beach and copy one of the 71 results.

this information 2 days ago would have saved me a lot of money
I think what you guys do is great and lots of people seem to be getting off fines which is to be commended, I just found it properly bewildering.

The_Deep

so I paid the £100 fine.

It was not a fine, did you learn nothing from this incident?

Try to salvage something from this fiasco, complain to your M.P.,it is not difficult

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 House of Commons recently

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

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

Coupon-mad

It wasn't a fine...you are the first person on this forum I have ever seen, in some ten years on this board, say they've actually paid Smart Parking after being here.

This now appears to have been a wind up.

It makes no sense at all for you to have paid £100, if you were still int he POPLA window the 'charge' (scam) was £60, and in any case you can still appeal to POPLA with no risk now!

Let's see you prove me wrong by now appealing to POPLA, winning, and getting a refund.

reddefender

Let's see you prove me wrong by now appealing to POPLA, winning, and getting a refund.

I love the optimism!
You know, I actually thought it was because I overstayed my allotted time length which as I remember was 2 hours (can't be certain though).
I was there around 2 hours 30 but it would have taken around 20 mins to get the payment through on the phone, and another 5 or so to exit.
But now I just checked my statement and no payment was taken from my account even though I was certain I had given them all my details. So it was their phone payment system. And who knows how many hours I tried to pay for? I genuinely can't remember., it would have been 2 or 3

It makes no sense at all for you to have paid £100, if you were still int he POPLA window the 'charge' (scam) was £60,

I simply went to the 'pay a fine' section of their site (somewhere you will never have been!) and they tell you the amount you owe - mine was £100 as the £60 window ended on 30 September.
So now what?
I can try using one of the templates.
Watch as I claw this one back from the belly of the beast....

Coupon-mad

Might be difficult to win, but nowt to lose by trying.

What would be funny is, if you submit the usual long POPLA templates including the fact the PCN was non-POFA (even though you probably already gave away who the driver was) and if Smart then don't contest it, and don't check...

Then you could email them for the money back which they'd owe you for offering no contest at POPLA!

Search for keywords like Smart beach POPLA or Fistral surfboards POPLA to copy the style of other ones, and show us. The longer the better.