Double-edged success from complaint

Bardot

Thanks to the forum members’ numerous responses and excellent advice offered – it is really appreciated! – I have made up my mind what to do next. I have composed a sort of a warning for litigation letter to the hotel CEO and I would be very grateful, if you could have a look at and comment on the tone and argumentation of the letter, especially from a legal point of view. I have tried to be as concise as possible, but it is a long story and the CEO will see it for the first time. I was wondering whether I should quote the relevant parts from the Consumer Rights Act here, since I warn I am considering litigation, or should I leave it for later?


Here is the text of the letter to the CEO, addressed exclusively to him (Is that the right thing to do when one threatens litigation?):

Dear Sir,

I have to seek your attention because I am considering litigation, along with complaints to relevant authorities and extensive publicity in the official media and social networks, regarding, among others, the hotel’s role in unfair parking charges for hotel guests and the harassment surrounding those charges. Here is the background story in a nutshell:

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and I stayed at the Travelodge in

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, on

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and

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2018 respectively. On arriving home from our holiday on

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, we were shocked to discover a PCN from Smart Parking, dated

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, charging the car keeper, a month later from the date of our first stay at the Travelodge, with an alleged contravention of parking OVER FREE TIME on

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2018!

We thought there had to be some mistake, as we had chosen to stay at this hotel because a hotel portal (HRS) promotes it as having a hotel-owned car park and the hotel’s own website advertises free onsite parking – here is the full text regarding the parking availability and terms of use:

Free parking onsite!
Limited free parking is available at this hotel on a first come first served basis. Parking is controlled by Smart Parking Ltd. Please ensure you provide your vehicle registration to reception on check in.

We complied with these requirements in full on both occasions. Furthermore, when registering for the first stay, we confirmed with the receptionist, who was able to see our parked car on their CCTV, that it was parked on the hotel’s grounds and not on the neighbouring ones of ASDA’s. For the second stay, we arrived later in the day, and finding the hotel parking full, followed assurances from the hotel reception that there was an agreement between the hotel and ASDA, according to which we could park in the ASDA parking overnight, so long as we moved the car to the hotel parking before 8 am. We did so only to get a PCN, amazingly not for the ASDA parking, but for the early morning hours on the hotel grounds!

We made numerous attempts to contact the hotel on the phone to ask them to rectify what we believed were obvious mistakes, but it was to no avail, so we had to ask

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, who lives in the Borough

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, to go there in person and speak to the staff on our behalf.

Our representative was advised to approach Smart Parking and follow their procedures first and was assured that if that did not help, the hotel would then take steps to quash the charge. Ultimately, I, as the car keeper, received a letter, dated

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, in which Smart Parking claimed that my appeal had been submitted late and the matter was referred to Debt Recovery Plus. In the meantime, a PCN, dated

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also arrived for our second stay at the hotel on

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2018, indicating that wrong parking charges are not a fluke, but a regular malpractice at this hotel.

As a result of my complaint addressed to yourself, I got an offer from the Travelodge Customer Service – to pay the fines, send proof of payment and then the card that was used to make the bookings would be reimbursed.It is an unacceptable remedy for me for the following reasons:

1. As the keeper of the vehicle, I dispute the parking charges and deny any liability or contractual agreement.
2. I will not condone predatory conduct on the part of rogue private parking companies, such as “Smart Parking”, eloquently described 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". The hundreds of shocking one-star reviews of Travelodge hotels on Trip adviser abound with similar parking fines stories - another proof that Smart Parking indulges in a long-standing deliberate scam with the techniques and details being perfected regularly.

From the customer service reply to my complaint it transpired for the first time that the pretext Smart Parking is using for the charges in my case is the car registration number not being entered on a tablet, in addition to us having informed the reception about it and it being entered on a paper sheet. In the Trip Adviser reviews one reads about people having entered the number on the tablet themselves with help from the receptionists and still getting PCNs. As can be seen above, the hotel advertises its own free onsite parking, without any restrictions, or conditions, or procedural requirements, no mention of tablets or other equipment or self-service on its website, so customers are not warned to look for parking charge signs or machines and have no reason to expect any.

Several more questions arise here, boiling down to:
• Why does Travelodge allow false/mismatching advertising regarding its parking availability?
• Why is the fact that one was a guest of the hotel not enough proof that one is not liable to pay parking fees?
• Why should the onus be on the customers to prove the car registration validation when there are no means for them to do so?
• What are the guarantees against system malfunction or staff negligence?
• What about the duty of care on the part of the hotel to make sure that the customer rights and well-being are upheld and all the necessary procedures performed?
• Why can’t or won’t Travelodge instruct Smart Parking to quash the charge, as initially promised, but is offering this worse than inconvenient round-about remedy?
• Doesn’t the Customer Service offer prove that they deem the charge unwarranted?
• Why is the customer not advised whom else they could turn to if the hotel doesn’t have the authority to resolve the issue in a straightforward way?

We fail to see how the onus should lie with a customer, at no fault in any way, to rectify a dealer’s and/or their agent’s errors or omissions and bear the brunt of their failed duty of care for their customers! We believe that, whether or not the hotel is the landowner of the parking, as it carries out the car along with the customer registration process, it has a duty to make sure that the customer is served competently and fairly. Therefore, we deem the hotel itself in breach of the following provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015:

• Part 1, Chapter 4, 49 (1) – trader’s failure to perform the service of car parking registration with reasonable care and skill.
• Part 1, Chapter 4, 50
(1)Every contract to supply a service is to be treated as including as a term of the contract anything that is said or written to the consumer, by or on behalf of the trader, about the trader or the service, if—
(a)it is taken into account by the consumer when deciding to enter into the contract – customer’s decision to choose this hotel because of advertised free onsite parking
(4)A change to any of the information mentioned in subsection (3), made before entering into the contract or later, is not effective unless expressly agreed between the consumer and the trader – consumer left unaware of the discrepancy between instructions on website to “provide your vehicle registration to reception on check in” and actual expectations
• Part 1, Chapter 4, 57
(1)A term of a contract to supply services is not binding on the consumer to the extent that it would exclude the trader’s liability arising under section 49 (service to be performed with reasonable care and skill).
(2)Subject to section 50(2), a term of a contract to supply services is not binding on the consumer to the extent that it would exclude the trader’s liability arising under section 50 (information about trader or service to be binding).
• Part 2, 62
(4)A term is unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations under the contract to the detriment of the consumer – customer must prove they have validated the car registration
(6)A notice is unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations to the detriment of the consumer – same as above
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Part 2, 68
(1)A trader must ensure that a written term of a consumer contract, or a consumer notice in writing, is transparent – waiting for pictures of signage before I can say more.
(2)A consumer notice is transparent for the purposes of subsection (1) if it is expressed in plain and intelligible language and it is legible.

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Sincerely yours,

beamerguy

My input ..... Don't threaten ..... TELL ?

Dear Sir,

I have to seek your attention because I am considering litigation, along with complaints to relevant authorities and extensive publicity in the official media and social networks, regarding, among others, the hotel’s role in unfair parking charges for hotel guests and the harassment surrounding those charges

COMPLAINT
Dear Sir,

You will already be aware of a severe problem that is clearly creating a problem for your company. The problem is your willingness to employ private parking companies who are not interested in car park management but more so a profit based method to extort money from your customers.
You will understand that my options to expose this is unlimited and therefore I request you cancel this parking charge.

The Story thus far .........

Bardot

beamerguy wrote: »

My input ..... Don't threaten ..... TELL ?

Dear Sir,

I have to seek your attention because I am considering litigation, along with complaints to relevant authorities and extensive publicity in the official media and social networks, regarding, among others, the hotel’s role in unfair parking charges for hotel guests and the harassment surrounding those charges

COMPLAINT
Dear Sir,

You will already be aware of a severe problem that is clearly creating a problem for your company. The problem is your willingness to employ private parking companies who are not interested in car park management but more so a profit based method to extort money from your customers.
You will understand that my options to expose this is unlimited and therefore I request you cancel this parking charge.

The Story thus far .........

I really like this, thanks a lot. Should I still leave the rest as is, clarifying where I see the hotel at fault and relating it to the law? Or should I soften that bit as well and summarise the legal support? Will the complaint have any effect if I do?

beamerguy

Bardot wrote: »

I really like this, thanks a lot. Should I still leave the rest as is, clarifying where I see the hotel at fault and relating it to the law? Or should I soften that bit as well and summarise the legal support? Will the complaint have any effect if I do?

Wait to see what others have to say

NeilCr

I (and, maybe it's me!) am not quite sure what you are trying to achieve here. If it's that you want the ticket quashed it may be best to shorten and at the end have a sentence along the lines of 'if this does not happen I will take legal action".

And then if you don't get the result that you want you can use some of this draft in your follow up.

In all honesty it is rather long and I am not entirely sure that anyone will (or want to) wade their way through all of it.

And at the end you are asking for their advice. (?)

As far as I can tell your story is

You got a ticket completely unfairly and totally against what the parking rules say and you were told by Travelodge

You contacted CS who said they would squash it.

They didn't and, instead, want you to pay and they will reimburse

This is totally unacceptable to you and you are asking this guy to stick to Travelodge's initial promise.

And you consider that Travelodge should seriously look at their processes.

Maybe something a bit longer (but not too much) along those lnes.

That's assuming I have got it right!

Bardot

NeilCr wrote: »

I (and, maybe it's me!) am not quite sure what you are trying to achieve here. If it's that you want the ticket quashed it may be best to shorten and at the end have a sentence along the lines of 'if this does not happen I will take legal action".

And then if you don't get the result that you want you can use some of this draft in your follow up.

And at the end you are asking for their advice. (?)

The goal is to get Travelodge to stop laying the blame at the customer's door and pretend they have no control over the PC's decisions. Also to make them aware that they can't assume customers don't know their rights and can be intimidated by being sent on a wild goose chase. I have not made it clear, but I have not really put a proper ending to the letter - just a dotted line, after which I am asking advice from the forum members. Apologies! I have deleted the confusion-causing sentence.

NeilCr

Bardot wrote: »

The goal is to get Travelodge to stop laying the blame at the customer's door and pretend they have no control over the PC's decisions. Also to make them aware that they can't assume customers don't know their rights and can be intimidated by being sent on a wild goose chase. I have not made it clear, but I have not really put a proper ending to the letter - just a dotted line, after which I am asking advice from the forum members. Apologies! I have deleted the confusion-causing sentence.

Can't you just say that then?

Add to what I said (I assume you want the ticket quashed) a few sentences along those lines. "I am well aware that Travelodge can tell Smart to cancel tickets as I am asking you to do now. Customers do know their rights and I, like others, am prepared to fight for them"

Again, I just think it's too wordy. You can always go again if the answer is unsatisfactory.

Anyway I'll shut up now and see what others say. Good luck by the way!

Fruitcake

I agree with everything you say in your complaint, but I also think it is overly long.

In my opinion I think you should shorten it, at least at this stage, and be more succinct in getting your message across.

Bardot

Thank you all for the detailed, concrete and clear guidance. I understand now what should go in a letter of complaint and how to shift the focus from the writer to the receiver. The initial letter I wrote is more like a submission to court - I was trying to give a step-by-step chronological account of the events, while presenting my defence. I think I needed to prove to myself that I have a strong case and the fact that you do not disagree with my claims and references to law gives me courage. I am hoping to get pictures of the hotel signage today and after a last polish of the final version of the complaint, I will send it to the CEO. I hope that soon I will have a favourable result to report to you! Thanks a million once again!

DoaM

In any complaint letter/email to a "CEO" (it doesn't go to the CEO, it goes - at best - to the personal assistant) you need a short preamble to set the scene then bullet points to summarise what happened, and what you want to happen now.