Brittania PPC Newbie post

Taliessa

Hi this is my first post, I have read through newbie posts. Made appeal to Brittania parking and now have a POPLA code.

I understand I need to draft my appeal and post it on here first?

I live in England, car was not lease and yes I am over 18.

Driver has been frequenting Indian restaurant with free car park for 30 years. Driver went to same place, 10.00pm at night, very dark, signs were not seen by driver. Signs apparently have reflective paint on but signs are too high for headlights to shine upon the signs.

There is a 20 minute restriction on the car park now which has been in place just under a year. Driver (using this car park freely for 30 years) had no idea this was now in place.

Owner of restaurant is furious, told driver he is currently taking Brittania to court as they are not allowed to do this. He said hundreds of his customers have been trapped this way. He said car park is owned jointly by 9 businesses in the parade and he does not give consent for Brittania to be there. However, other people say the car park is owned by one of the other businesses who instructed Brittania.

Indian are in court dispute with the other business as well they want Brittania stopped. Indian restaurant manager advice to driver who is long term customer is write to Brittania, tell them what they are doing is illegal and do not pay this charge.

Found your website and followed instructions here. Appealing on the grounds of signage not seen therefore no contract. Also landowner authority in question as the joint businnesses are in legal dispute amongst themselves and with Brittania.

The business that instructed Brittania is a launderette and has disconnected their phone. There are numerous complaints on their review site. They are now taking number plates of their customers and cancelling the charge.

Driver was customer of launderette in the past but on occasion that charge was given, driver was frequenting the Indian restaurant.

I am registered keeper. Am I doing everything ok? Do I have a case here for a POPLA appeal? Would it be an idea to go down to the Launderette and have a word with them? Even though Indian restaurant are saying they are a joint landowner?

Many thanks for this forum and all your helpful support and advice.

beamerguy

Very complicated situation. Someone signed a contract with Britannia

This is a very legal problem, please wait until one of the legals replies to you.

In the meantime, from the Britannia web site ....
https://www.britannia-parking.co.uk/Content/ManageCarPark

If you own land with the potential to provide an income by operating as a car park, or if you already have a car park operating on your land and feel you are not realising its full potential in revenue terms, then please contact our car park acquisitions team to book a discrete site survey without any obligation whatsoever.

Possible that someone is earning commission from the site

Taliessa

Thankyou beamerguy for your reply. I spoke to the manager at the Indian restaurant myself. He said this has happened to hundreds of his customers who also did not see signage and have been eating there for years. He said Brittania are there illegally and he has a solicitor on the case. He feels that all his customers have the right to park outside his establishment if they are genuinely eating there and he said he has lost custom because of this. He said he has a 'solicitor' on the case and he will be sorting this out. At one point he put big plastic bags over the signs because he was so cross but someone took them off again. The launderette have had so many complaints they have disconnected their phone and no one can get hold of them. If you are using the launderette you cannot leave your laundry unattended and it takes longer than 20 minutes for the laundry cycle so you apparently give your number plate to the lady who works in the launderette and you do not get charged by Brittania. I will wait to hear from one of the legals thankyou.

Taliessa

Also I might add, this was part of the appeal rejection letter from Britannia :- (The Raj is the Indian restaurant.)

"Britannia Parking do not have a contract with the Raj, nor are we affiliated in any way to other local bisinesses. Brittania Parking therefore cannot be held liable for any misinformation provided by Non-Britannia Parking employees or information sources.

We have authorisation to act on behalf of the landowners, ensuring that the terms and conditions are adhered to. We have full authority to issue parking charge notices on their behalf. "

What I am confused about is why launderette users are exempt from the charge by providing your number plate when other genuine business users are not. The Raj seem to think they are jointly responsible for the car park.
The main issue here however is that the driver genuinely did not see the signs which are very tall and unlit and it was 10.00pm at night. You cannot eat an Indian meal in twenty minutes and it is a car park that has been used freely by the driver, regularly for 30 years.

Many thanks X

beamerguy

Taliessa wrote: »

If you are using the launderette you cannot leave your laundry unattended and it takes longer than 20 minutes for the laundry cycle so you apparently give your number plate to the lady who works in the launderette and you do not get charged by Brittania. I will wait to hear from one of the legals thankyou.

So you have to register the car in the launderette, what about the other shops such as the indian ???

Sounds like the launderette who is in control with self ticketing

Taliessa

"So you have to register the car in the launderette, what about the other shops such as the indian ???"

No. Only the launderette. But Indian manager is apparently in a legal dispute with the launderette over this. His words to the driver were....

"if you visit here again park somewhere else because there is nothing I can do about this at the moment. I have a solicitor on the case and we will be sorting this out. Britannia are here illegally and are not allowed to issue parking charges. Write to Britannia saying you will not be paying their charge as it is illegal and do not pay the charge. I have told all my customers to do the same and not one of them has heard any more. A few customers paid the charge because they were scared. I am so sorry this happened to you and I am losing business because of it. I am in the process of sorting this out."

Not word for word but this is the basically what he said.

Taliessa

Just found this from the minutes of a local Town Council meeting from June 2018 which suggests there is one landowner. The manager at The Raj told the driver that all 9 businesses are joint landowners. Currently trying to find out what is correct.


"A Shop Owner from the Parade of shops raised concerns on the 20
minute car parking limit recently imposed by the landowner, mentioning that business had been affected by 20-30% since the limit had been introduced. It was suggested that a ticket
machine would be more useful for customers in that area. The Chairman thanked the shop owner for her comments and stated the Town Council will do what they can to help with the issue, but the car park is privately-owned."

Taliessa

Just found some photographs of the car park and the Indian restaurant from google images. There is a clear notice in the window of the restaurant saying NO TIME LIMIT FOR CUSTOMER PARKING.

The driver did not see this notice on the night the driver visited The Raj but this clearly shows the dispute that is going on between The Raj and Brittania and the advice that is being given to customers.

beamerguy

Taliessa wrote: »

Just found some photographs of the car park and the Indian restaurant from google images. There is a clear notice in the window of the restaurant saying NO TIME LIMIT FOR CUSTOMER PARKING.

The driver did not see this notice on the night the driver visited The Raj but this clearly shows the dispute that is going on between The Raj and Brittania and the advice that is being given to customers.

Puzzled ... the tickets given, are they placed on the car. The place seems too small for ANPR

Has anyone seen an active warden from Britanniw ?
If tickets are placed on the car, then you and others need to turn detective and watch

If it is ANPR. whose electricity are they using ?

Taliessa

It is a very small car park with only nine businesses (Indian restaurant, fast food outlet, off licence, bakery, chemist, cafe, launderette, hair salon and clothing alteration service) . No tickets put on windscreen and no warden that I am aware of or that anyone has seen. It is operated by ANPR. I am currently drafting my POPLA appeal and have put Failure to comply with the data protection 'ICO Code of Practice' applicable to ANPR and also The Signs Fail to Transparently Warn Drivers of what the ANPR Data will be used for as two points for consideration within my appeal. I have only just been reading about ANPR having to be proportionate to need given that the cameras are in operation 24/7 here.

Taliessa

"If it is ANPR. whose electricity are they using ?"

I have no idea. But you are right it is a very small area outside this parade of shops, you can't even really call it a car park, no parking bays are there, it is really a car parking area that serves those nine businesses and it has been completely free to use until a few months ago.