Euro Car Parks fine

JonathanMichaels

Hi all. I have searched this forum already for this answer but I couldn’t find one specific to my odd situation so I’ve now decided to make this post, but if it has been answered already and I’ve missed it I wholeheartedly apologise and would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

At the end of December 2018 I parked in a Euro Car Park. The machine to pay with was broken and I asked a few people in the car park (car wash workers and the sports centre receptionist) if it was definitely fine to not pay and they said yeah. So I didn’t. Fast forward a week and I receive a Euro car park letter informing me of a £45 fine rising to £75.

MY MISTAKE here was that I appealed it out of anger, citing the reasons above. Yesterday I received the followup from it stating my appeal has been rejected and I now have two weeks to pay the reduced fee. Coincidentally yesterday I also met a current enforcement officer who advised me that EuroCarParks I should’ve just ignored all communication from them as they can’t enforce anything. Despite his role, it still sounded too good to be true so I did a few google searches and everyone else seems to offer the same advice.

Unfortunately because I already appealed initially I’m worried I’ve left a “paper trail” and they can in future try take me to court or send debt collectors after me.

So what I’d like some help on please is whether to now:

A) pay the £45
appeal to POPLA as suggested by the appeal rejection letter
C) ignore this and any future communication from them

Whilst I was awaiting my response from euro car parks I got another parking ticket (just my luck) but this time it was from the council so I paid that one immediately. I mention this because my finances are shot to pieces so I could really do without having to pay this euro car parks fine. Thank you in advance for any help or guidance!

Half_way

A: its not a fine
B: was this car park for the leisure centre??
C: have you complained to the leisure centre yet?


before you complain to the leisure centre, if it was their car park, put what you intend to say up on here first

p.s follow advice on here and you wont be paying a penny.

Ralph-y

hi and welcome to the forum....

A) pay the £45

No


appeal to POPLA as suggested by the appeal rejection letter


Yes

with forum help the success rate at popla is very high

C) ignore this and any future communication from them

No

you may will be set to ignore any debt collectors letters

but ....

you must not ignore any court or before court letters


did you divulge the drivers identity ?

read through the newbies thread again to familiarise your self re debt collectors and what to do if court papers arrive


Ralph:cool:

JonathanMichaels

Thank you. The car park was for Westway sports centre in Ladbroke Grove. I haven’t complained to them, I wasn’t planning to tbh as I thought the car park was controlled by ECP.

JonathanMichaels

I guess I divulged the drivers identity (me) by appealing and referring to myself through. Example “I deny this charge as I couldn’t pay due to the machine being broken”

In my appeal that I will make to POPLA I was going to write something along the lines of me not having alternative ways of paying (the rejection letter suggested it was my responsibility to find alternative method of payment like pay via phone) so I was going to say I didn’t have my phone on me on the day. Was also advised to make some mention of how I’m depressed and going through a tough time.

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 five readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 7-8 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.

KeithP

JonathanMichaels wrote: »

Thank you. The car park was for Westway sports centre in Ladbroke Grove. I haven’t complained to them, I wasn’t planning to tbh as I thought the car park was controlled by ECP.

Was it the sports centre who hired ECP?

If so, then of course they control their agents.

Yes, prepare for a PoPLA appeal, but first complain to the ports centre. If they tell you they have no control, then ask them who does.

MistyZ

JonathanMichaels wrote: »

In my appeal that I will make to POPLA I was going to write something along the lines of me not having alternative ways of paying (the rejection letter suggested it was my responsibility to find alternative method of payment like pay via phone) so I was going to say I didn’t have my phone on me on the day. Was also advised to make some mention of how I’m depressed and going through a tough time.

None of that will wash with POPLA. Winning depends on technicalities. If you do an advanced search for 'Euro Car Parks POPLA' you should see drafts of POPLA appeals. Check out the Newbies' POPLA section too.

Be warned, it looks daunting at first! But chill out & browse till the penny drops that copying and pasting sections, tweaking them carefully to fit the specific situation, is the way to go.

Meanwhile, go for it with the landowner complaint ASAP. I hope it's successful.

The_Deep

None of that will wash with POPLA.

Then it should.

IMO, the only way that it is acceptable to pay car park charges is in cash.

Not everyone has credit/debit cards, and not everyone owns a smart 'phone or tablet, I own neither. If I cannot pay cash, I cannot pay.

If I want to visit a shop or restaurant, I do not see why I should park elsewhere, some distance away because P&D machines are out of order. If PPCs are going to harass me, I shall withdraw my custom from all of the shops served by the car park.