Smart Parking - overstayed due to ticket error

Jesstaria

The keeper has had a postal PCN from smart parking for a council car park and have apparently overstayed the time paid for - The driver thought they had paid for longer than needed. But they had a baby in one hand and bags in the other, stuffed coins in and stuck the ticket in their window without looking. All I can assume is that it hasn’t accepted all the coins and theyve ended up paying for less time than actually needed. What should they do? Do they just appeal with the template response and risk smart parking saying theyve overstayed by longer than the assumed grace period of 20 minutes? They don’t know how long they actually paid for so don’t know how much they overstayed!

Umkomaas

How do you know (for certain) that it is a council car park?

KeithP

Hi and welcome.

Send the already written for you blue template appeal that you will find in post #1 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread.

Send it unchanged - no additions or alterations needed.

Send it as the keeper.


But first you need to edit your post to remove clues to the driver's identity.

It was the driver who parked and it was the keeper that received the postal PCN.

Coupon-mad

Do they just appeal with the template response

Yes.

and risk...

There is no risk.

If the registered keeper appeals without saying who was driving, using the forum template appeal from the NEWBIES thread, Smart will give up in about a month.

Don't overthink it; you cannot ask for a simpler one to practice on, than Smart!

Jesstaria

Update: keeper had no response to the appeal and has been sent further demands and now a debt recovery letter? What should they do now?

Coupon-mad

Did you screenshot the appeal lodged?

Did the keeper check their junk email for a rejection letter in April?

If the keeper can prove they appealed, complain to Steve Clark at the BPA:

steve.c@britishparking.co.uk

Jesstaria

No screenshot was taken, keeper assumed we would get an email receipt but nothing. Nothing in junk mail. Does the keeper need to respond to the debt collection agency?

Redx

NO , post #4 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread tells you that

the best option is to complain to the BPA , as mentioned earlier

it was foolish not to get proof of posting of the appeal (or a screenshot) because the keeper can also assume that they will state that it never arrived and I can assume that the keeper will get demands for £100 , so possibly an expensive lesson (that proof is needed in legal matters)

Coupon-mad

Jesstaria wrote: »

No screenshot was taken, keeper assumed we would get an email receipt but nothing. Nothing in junk mail. Does the keeper need to respond to the debt collection agency?

No.

Send a SAR to Smart and ask for all correspondence.