Double-edged success from complaint

Coupon-mad

I got an unacceptable remedy offer from Travelodge – to pay the fines, send proof of payment and then the card that was used to make the bookings would be reimbursed.

Unacceptable kow-towing to a scammer, by Travelodge, and well worth a bad Tripadvisor rating, telling clueless victims that all they need to do is come to MSE Parking forum and send the template appeal from the NEWBIES thread.

Try submitting it now, late, and see if they give up. They usually do and I'm sure we've seen this happen even with a late appeal.

Bardot

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Unacceptable kow-towing to a scammer, by Travelodge, and well worth a bad Tripadvisor rating, telling clueless victims that all they need to do is come to MSE Parking forum and send the template appeal from the NEWBIES thread.

Try submitting it now, late, and see if they give up. They usually do and I'm sure we've seen this happen even with a late appeal.

Would you clarify which appeal you have in mind? The first appeal to Smart Parking? I can't submit one to POPLA as they never sent me a POPLA code.

Coupon-mad

Yes the template appeal that everyone should use, in the NEWBIES thread. If every single Travelodge victim used it, they'd all win easily.

twhitehousescat

Bardot wrote: »

Would you clarify which appeal you have in mind? The first appeal to Smart Parking? I can't submit one to POPLA as they never sent me a POPLA code.

a code to use POPLa should have been issued With the appeal decline , not when you got the ticket

Bardot

twhitehousescat wrote: »

a code to use POPLa should have been issued With the appeal decline , not when you got the ticket

It wasn't, unfortunately.

Coupon-mad

You missed POPLA because you didn't appeal at all? As I said, submit it NOW.

Bardot

Coupon-mad wrote: »

You missed POPLA because you didn't appeal at all? As I said, submit it NOW.

Sorry about causing a confusion. I appealed to Smart Parking. They rejected my appeal on the grounds that it had not been submitted within 28 days of their Notice to Keeper (I was away on holiday at the time). Meanwhile the said Notice to Keeper was sent to me a month after the alleged contravention, so they were way beyond their 14 day limit too. The only number on the appeal rejection letter from Smart Parking was the same as the reference number on the PCN, so I am guessing it is not a POPLA code.

Coupon-mad

Did you appeal as keeper, and didn't say who was driving?

Bardot

Fruitcake wrote: »

Personally I wouldn't pay a bunch of scammers in the hope that someone else paid me back.

When you contact the CEO again, tell them what our MPs think of this scam.

''Rip-offs from car park Cowboys must stop''; unfair treatment; signage deliberately confusing to ensure a PCN is issued; ''years of abuse by rogue parking companies''; bloodsuckers; ''the current system of regulation is hopeless, like putting Dracula in charge of the blood-bank''; extortionate fines; rogue operators; ''sense of injustice''; unfair charges and notices; wilfully misleading; signage is a deliberate act to deceive or mislead; ''confusing signs are often deliberate, to trap innocent drivers''; unreasonable; a curse; harassing; operating in a disgusting way; appeals service is no guarantee of a fair hearing; loathed; outrageous scam; dodgy practice; outrageous abuse; unscrupulous practices; ''the British Parking Association is as much use as a multi-storey car park in the Gobi desert''; and finally, by way of unanimous conclusion: ''we need to crack down on these rogue companies. They are an absolute disgrace to this country. Ordinary motorists and ordinary residents should not have to put up with this''.

To add to your impressive list, Smart Parking in particular was referred to by an MP during the second reading of the Parking Code bill as "appalling" and "rude", "the John Wayne of all these cowboys", a company that "distributes fines like confetti and the so-called smart technology seems almost designed to frustrate and harvest fines from motorists".

Bardot

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Did you appeal as keeper, and didn't say who was driving?

That's right.