Parking charge for not entering car registration when parked in East of England COOP car park

CLDM98

Back in July I parked in an EOE COOP car park that requires you to register your car number plate in the store . Once registered parking is free for customers. I am unfamiliar with this parking system as none of my local supermarkets operate like this. I didn't see any signs in the car park explaining how to register, according to COOP customer services there are tablets in store to enter your reg but instead of being at the entrance they are hidden at the back of the shop. As a result of all this I didn't realize I had to register. At the beginning of August I received a PCN from Civil Enforcement LTD (CE) for £100, I completed their appeals process but was unsuccessful. I tried to appeal to POPLA but the PCN number keeps coming up as invalid, I'm also concerned that if I appeal to POPLA and it's rejected then it will effect the outcome if it goes to court. I complained to the COOP twice by phone and once in writing but they say they cant help. It seems unfair as I was a customer, I have a bank statement to prove it, so I should have been entitled to park there. CE are now demanding I pay £140 or they'll begin court proceedings. Not sure if there's any action I can take at this point or if it's just a case of waiting.

Quentin

Everyone is politely asked to read up on this in the newbies FAQ thread near the top of the forum before starting a new thread

Go there now to learn about the game you are now caught up in and how to deal with this

You will see there's nothing to do now.

You are in the debt collectors/wait and see stage

All explained in#4 of the FAQ

Le_Kirk

When your appeal failed, did you received a POPLA code and if so, is it the POPLA code that is failing? If you did not receive a POPLA code complain to the BPA, if you did receive a POPLA code and it fails complain to CE LTD.

Coupon-mad

At the beginning of August I received a PCN from Civil Enforcement LTD (CE) for £100, I completed their appeals process but was unsuccessful

Have you at least read the NEWBIES thread now, so you know how this could be killed next time, with ONE email (no POPLA needed?). Learn from the error of your appeal, this was not how to do it and CEL are easy to beat, when you know how.

The Co-op can't cancel this one as they have no contracts with CEL; they allegedly kicked them out of all their car parks years ago, so THIS car park must be a retail park owned by someone else.

Complain to the owners/agents and complain to your MP to put pressure on that landowner. They (the retail park managers) can cancel it.

CLDM98

Thanks for your reply, I have read the newbies thread now.

Apparently the East of England COOP is a separate company and still uses CEL. They own the car park but customer service just say it's not thier problem. I am going to try another complaint and see if I get any luck.

The_Deep

If they have a Facebook page write bad stuff on it and complain to your MP.

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

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and others have already been named and shamed in the House of Commons as have Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each week, hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned. They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

The problem has become so widespread that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. It has even been suggested that some of these companies have links with organised crime.

Watch the video of the Second Reading and committee stage in the House of Commons recently. MPs have a very low opinion of this industry.

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

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-07-19/debates/2b90805c-bff8-4707-8bdc-b0bfae5a7ad5/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill(FirstSitting)

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

Umkomaas

Apparently the East of England COOP is a separate company and still uses CEL.

Because they know what's coming their way if they should dare try to cancel the contract - as their 'sister' found out - CEL pursuing actual Coop staff members, whose vehicle details were kept surreptitiously by CEL and then issued with parking charge notices for dates when the staff were actually working.

Around 50 staff members were issued with court proceedings some 4 years ago - we have not been able to find what the final outcome was.

Nasty lot!