Website Not Up to Date

Ash_H21

Hi Forumites,

I've received a PPCN for an overstay in a car park managed by APCOA. I normally park in this location for work on and have to ring a chargeable telephone number to pay the parking fee.

On this occasion, when I parked the vehicle, I was still covered by the previous days parking ticket. This expired about an hour after parking the vehicle.

I attempted to use the APCOA website to purchase additional time, however the parking location is not listed on their website. I was unable to telephone during this period as mobiles are not allowed in the area of the building I work in.

I escaped as soon as I could to call through and purchase additional parking, but was informed I had already had a PPCN issued.

I appealed on the grounds that I had tried to purchase additional time via their website, but was unable to as it was not up to date, but this was rejected (unsurprisingly).

Is it worth fighting this charge? I am aware that this is probably a reasonably 'fair' fine, as I was parked without a ticket for approximately 3.5 hours.

Any help/advice would be appreciated.


Regards

A

Umkomaas

Follow the advice in the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #1 which will guide you through this. There is no need to jump to pay anything to APCOA. Follow the sticky.

Ash_H21

Thank you for the swift response. Unfortunately I have already submitted an appeal, perhaps (rather naively) expecting something other than a rejection.

Does this alter the situation as a result as I won't be able to stick to the timelines given in the Newbie Sticky thread?

Additionally, if it ever does go to court, the fact that I use the car park regularly will probably be a big black mark against me...?


regards

A

Umkomaas

Did the APCOA rejection of your appeal letter provide you with a POPLA Code?

Additionally, if it ever does go to court, the fact that I use the car park regularly will probably be a big black mark against me...?

APCOA have never taken anyone to court, despite issuing hundreds of thousands of tickets a year. Everyone who comes here with an APCOA ticket is advised not to pay them, and my guess is that the vast majority follow that advice - we have had no one come back to say that APCOA have taken any further direct action against them (other than meaningless debt collector letters).

Ash_H21

I received a POPLA Verification Number.

Umkomaas

Ash_H21 wrote: »

I received a POPLA Verification Number.

If it's still in-date, use it. A full POPLA appeal guided by the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #3 is an almost certain way of getting this killed off. Often APCOA do not even contest when they see a weighty POPLA challenge.

Do some forum searches on 'APCOA POPLA' and learn from other recent appeals - use them to help you develop your own. Plagiarise as needed (as long as it is generally in line with your parking event).

HOW TO USE THE FORUM SEARCH FUNCTION:

Hit your 'Back' button to get back to the forum thread list. On the bar just above the threads you'll see the 'Search' function. Click on the 'Advanced Search' button and on the following page place your keyword(s) in the 'Search By Keyword(s)' and make sure the 'Show Results As' button (at the foot of the window) is changed from 'Threads' to 'Posts'.