£100 fine - 18 minutes - Unavoidable stop, help!

ThriftyFlahertyClan

Hi guys,

Just wondered if anyone could advise me on what to do next..

So a week or so ago I dropped my eldest off at school and set off home, I had my two year old in the back of the car, and I am also 28 weeks pregnant.

Literally within a minute of setting off, my daughter in the back of the car began to be sick. She's always been a bit gaggy and I immediately started to panic as I didn't want her to choke on it. The most immediate place for me to pull in was this derelict looking car park, it is literally just a square gravelly plot, no designated areas or anything. There were also only two other vehicles on this plot. I pulled over to the side as quickly as possible to assist my daughter and try to clean her up/move her over to the other clean car seat. As i'm quite pregnant and drive a very small car, it took some maneuvering to get her cleaned up and moved over. During this time I didn't leave the vehicle and have since received a letter from Parkingeye to say I was there for 18 minutes - £100 please.

I have appealed it and been rejected, but i'm honestly gobsmacked that it has even occurred. If this was a yellow sticker fine for parking on double yellows or something - fine, I'd pay the thing, but REALLY?! I genuinely had no option other that to pull over to prevent my daughter from choking, and being a panicky hugely pregnant ball of hormones the situation felt 100 times as stressful!

Anyway, if i'm totally wrong and should just get this paid then please say, if not, does anyone have any advise for wording an appeal to POPLA?

Thanks in advance!

D_P_Dance

Firstly, get your MP on side.

These companies only want your money, the only way to get shot of them is to win an appeal or let them take you to court for breach of contract, where most of them, will lose if you properly defend the case with our help.

Complain to your MP. On 18th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these private parking companies. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, and persistent offenders denied access. Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers.

Until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.

y

Coupon-mad

Before even trying POPLA stage, complain to the landowner if you can work out which retailers or businesses are there.

Which site was it, we might be familiar with it?