EuroCarParks appeal rejected

Qwerty987456

Hi,
I was parked at a restaurant for 12 minutes, the driver walked up to the front desk, asked about a table and was told there'd be an hours wait to be seated. The driver refused to wait for this period of time and went elsewhere,
The driver did not put the reg into the tablet at the bar due to not even entering the establishment. With no proof of purchase from the establishment, where exactly do i stand and what further steps can i take?

"You have now reached the end of our internal appeals procedure.
You can make an appeal to The Independent Appeals Service (POPLA) within 28 days online at *popla* with the following reference number"

Thanks!

Guys_Dad

The BPA Code of practice reads
13 Grace periods
13.1 If a driver is parking without your permission, or at
locations where parking is not normally permitted they
must have the chance to read the terms and conditions
before they enter into the ‘parking contract’ with you. If,
having had that opportunity, they decide not to park but
choose to leave the car park, you must provide them with
a reasonable grace period to leave, as they will not be
bound by your parking contract.
13.2 If the parking location is one where parking is normally
permitted, you must allow the driver a reasonable
grace period in addition to the parking event before
enforcement action is taken. In such instances the grace
period must be a minimum of 10 minutes.

That's a minimum of 10 minutes so you will need to show why it took you 12 minutes to get out the car, go to the restaurant to be told of the wait, then return. Seems to be excessive to me, however.

But if the instructions on the tablet say it is for diners etc, and you were not a diner, then it is a Catch-22. Check the instructions again.

fisherjim

Qwerty987456 wrote: »

Hi,
I was parked at a restaurant for 12 minutes, the driver walked up to the front desk, asked about a table and was told there'd be an hours wait to be seated. The driver refused to wait for this period of time and went elsewhere,
The driver did not put the reg into the tablet at the bar due to not even entering the establishment. With no proof of purchase from the establishment, where exactly do i stand and what further steps can i take?

"You have now reached the end of our internal appeals procedure.
You can make an appeal to The Independent Appeals Service (POPLA) within 28 days online at *popla* with the following reference number"

Thanks!

have you read the "Newbies thread" yet?


What did the restaurant say when you complained to them about their contractors predatory scamming tactics?


You now need to prepare your POPLA appeal, but not on those grounds.

The_Deep

The whole industry is a scam, relying on threats of court, and the public's ignorance of the Law, A bill is currently before parliament which will regulate the scammers, many of whom are ex-clampers.

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. Is has been suggested by an MP that some of these companies may have connections to organised crime.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, (especially 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.

Sir Greg Knight's Private Members Bill to curb the excesses, and perhaps close down, some of these companies passed its Second Reading in the Lords this month, and, with a fair wind, will l become Law later this year..

All three readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 6-7 hours), and published in Hansard. MPs have an extremely low opinion of the industry. Many are complaining that they are becoming overwhelmed by complaints from members of the public. Add to their burden, complain in the most robust terms about the scammers.

Qwerty987456

Guys_Dad wrote: »

That's a minimum of 10 minutes so you will need to show why it took you 12 minutes to get out the car, go to the restaurant to be told of the wait, then return. Seems to be excessive to me, however.
But if the instructions on the tablet say it is for diners etc, and you were not a diner, then it is a Catch-22. Check the instructions again.

Thanks for your reply.
The night was a horrible rainy night. Low visibility in the car park so going slowly to avoid accidents, girlfriend wanting an umbrella before getting out of the car, queue to get to the reception desk, deciding whether to wait or go elsewhere and then walking back to the car. Again, taking care to leave the car park carefully and safely.
Still, i'm not sure £85 is reasonable for 12 mins of parking.

Qwerty987456

fisherjim wrote: »

have you read the "Newbies thread" yet?
What did the restaurant say when you complained to them about their contractors predatory scamming tactics?
You now need to prepare your POPLA appeal, but not on those grounds.

I did read it, yeah. I sent my appeal based on the template with an additional statement explaining why i feel it's unfair
I contacted the restaurant 22 minutes after receiving the notice and they said it's not their business, ECP are not part of them etc etc. I have to complain to them. I left them a review stating my experience and they haven't replied to that. Many many others have also left similar reviews stating their frustration and they just reply with it's not them, it's not their notice complain to ECP. I spoke to the landlord when i phoned too, absolutely useless.

Regarding my POPLA appeal, should i just state in my own words what happened on the night? Rainy, dark being told to wait for a table and deciding whether or not to stay there?
May I PM you with a little more info that definitely helps my case but will also make it extremely identifiable?
Cheers

KeithP

Qwerty987456 wrote: »

Regarding my POPLA appeal, should i just state in my own words what happened on the night? Rainy, dark being told to wait for a table and deciding whether or not to stay there?

No, that's not a good idea. You said you have read the NEWBIES thread.

Your best bet is to read the NEWBIES thread again.

This time concentrate on the third post which will guide you towards producing a winning PoPLA appeal.

Coupon-mad

The night was a horrible rainy night. Low visibility in the car park so going slowly to avoid accidents, girlfriend wanting an umbrella before getting out of the car, queue to get to the reception desk, deciding whether to wait or go elsewhere and then walking back to the car. Again, taking care to leave the car park carefully and safely.

...parked at a restaurant for 12 minutes, the driver walked up to the front desk, asked about a table and was told there'd be an hours wait to be seated. The driver refused to wait for this period of time and went elsewhere,
The driver did not put the reg into the tablet at the bar due to not even entering the establishment.

I would say the above goes into your POPLA point about BPA Grace periods, to explain why the above took just 12 minutes and was a perfectly reasonably time to take and not enter into any contracts, given the above detailed facts.

Then the usual POPLA points from pot #3 of the NEWBIES thread can follow.

To find one written before, why not ''search this forum''? ADVANCED SEARCH.

POPLA BPA Grace periods 12 minutes will find one (choose: show results as posts).