Previous Penalties Influence New Ones

joelambrose

I have received several fines from smart parking, some of which I have paid. I recently, received one where I am only 40 seconds overtime. I want to fight this but not sure if previous ones will count against me as some sort of acceptance of i should know the system. Or will the grace period be relevant no matter? Thanks.

waamo

The previous paid ones merely tell them you are a sucker who rolls over easily.

That means they will milk you dry if you let them.

Redx

SMART PARKING issue INVOICES , not fines !!


and I would have contested each and every one


read the BPA CoP , January 2018 edition , clause #13 about grace periods


read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread on how to contest it (them)


each case is dealt with separately, on its own merits

Coupon-mad

You CANNOT have got a PCN for a few seconds or minutes overstay. Can't happen.

This will be an allegation of a wrong VRN being typed into a machine. But no appealing blabbing who the driver was!

I have received several fines from smart parking, some of which I have paid.

Wow, despite the fact they fold pretty much EVERY time they see the forum template?!

And when they don't give up first try (as long as you are in E&W) they WILL lose at POPLA as long as you cite the POFA, and appeal only as 'keeper'.

NO-ONE here loses an appeal v Smart, ever. 100% guaranteed nailed on win for you, so no mucking up an appeal or worse, paying them again!

Have you got money to burn, or have you only just come here, read the NEWBIES thread and discovered that you couldn't be held liable by Smart as keeper?

Make this the year you stop paying these. The NEWBIES thread explains.

Half_way

I have received several fines from smart parking,

no you haven't, smart parking do not, and can not issue fines

some of which I have paid

Why???




you said that they have tried charging you for a 40 second overstay, is this correct?
if it is there may be a way to recover your losses.


If you want help, you need to get a grip on what the private parking industry is, how it operates, and how it muddys the waters and creates confusion so that people think these things are fines.


Do not pay another penny.


First a few questions;
you said "Some of which I paid"

how much did you pay, and why were the original parking charges issued, if an overstay then by how much?, you said 40 seconds, so how many of these overstays were 10 minutes or less, 15 minutes or so, 20 minutes or less, greater than 30 minutes, greater than 1 hour?


There should be a 10 minute grace period
letting us know the length of overstay, or reason why a parking charge was issued will help us to help you



Whose car park were these issued in?
In most cases the car park owner, ie a supermarket will be jointly liable for the actions of its agents, ie the parking company.
If the overstay is less than the ( or around) 10 minute grace period, then it could be said that the parking company has failed to abide by its trade associations code of practice, following the trade associations code of practice is key to the parking company having just cause to access and process your personal data.


If your personal data has been obtained with out just cause ( ie the parking company did not follow its trade associations code of practice) then there could be a data protection breach (GDPR)

As the car park owner would be jointly liable for the actions of its agents, then it may be possible to jointly claim against the Parking company, and car park owner ( ie supermarket)

joelambrose

Thanks for your replies.

Hi couponmad, why will smart parking always lose at POPLA as long as you cite the POFA, and appeal only as 'keeper'? And what is E&W? And if it is a wrong VRN does that mean I could lose?

Umkomaas

If their NtK is not PoFA compliant they are destined to fail at POPLA as long as the appellant does not identify the driver and puts together a fairly straightforward appeal.

The_Deep

Read what one MP said in the HofC recently about these scammers.

Pete Wishart (SNP, Perth):

"I am sick and tired of receiving emails from people complaining about the behaviour of parking companies, telling me that they will never again visit Perth city centre because of the negative experience they had when they had the misfortune to end up in a car park operated by one of these companies. I have received more complaints about one car park in the city of Perth than about any other issue. That car park is operated by the lone ranger of the parking cowboys: the hated and appalling Smart Parking—I see that many other Members are unfortunate enough to have Smart Parking operating in their constituencies. It has reached the stage where one member of my staff now spends a good part of each day just helping my constituents and visitors to my constituency to navigate the appeals process.
…
The BPA does not have the ability to regulate these companies and has shown no sign whatsoever that it is trying to get on top of some of the sharper practices. The BPA gives a veneer of legitimacy to some of the more outlandish rogue operators by including them in their membership, allowing them to continue to operate. The Bill will oblige operators such as Smart Parking to amend their practices."

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.

joelambrose

Thanks. And what is the specific PoFA wording they have to use?

The_Deep

joelambrose wrote: »

Thanks. And what is the specific PoFA wording they have to use?

This is a question, the answer to which, we expect you to find yourself , either by using a search engine or reading the stickies/FAQs.

joelambrose

Thanks. I have read around here, parking cowboy and other sites, and I haven't been able to come up with a specific that details how they are not compliant with PoFA. Sorry, therefore to ask.