ParkingEye POPLA Appeal

ChrisiB

Hi all,

I am writing an appeal to POPLA to contest a Parking Charge Notice which states an overstay of 11 minutes for paid parking. Having read the FAQ Newbies guide, I suggest my defence is going to be based around Grace Periods.

Given there was a Pay and Display Ticket purchased within minutes after entering the car park, I suggest this would act as parking agreement to start the contract meaning the actual overstay at the end would be far less than 10 minutes.

There are some mitigating circumstances such as the car park was busy to leave, and a disabled passenger (with blue badge) fell ill after setting off - is this best to be omitted?

Having Looked at the ECP example in the newbies thread, the section 13 descriptors of the BPA CoP has changed and based on this example, I was trying to establish how much is relevant to my case, when realistically this should fall within the guidance for section 13?

Any thoughts?

-Thanks C

Redx

use grace periods (bpa CLAUSE #13) - one before and one after parking , frustration of contract , signage , no landowner authority and the EA2010

Coupon-mad

There are some mitigating circumstances such as the car park was busy to leave, and a disabled passenger (with blue badge) fell ill after setting off - is this best to be omitted?

Nope - these are NOT mitigating circumstances so do not call them that, to POPLA! These are the reasons why the occupants of the car should have been allowed more time, and why 11 mins spread either side of paid-for time, is perfectly reasonable, given the circs.

You MUST include the reasons why there was any slowness to park and/or delays in being able to leave. It's painting that clear picture that wins an 11 minute one at POPLA.

Search the forum for ParkingEye 11 minutes grace Kelvin Reynolds

ChrisiB

I've edited this to cut down on post size. final draft is in post below

Fruitcake

You really should include the information about a disabled person with protected characteristics in accordance with the EA 2010.
Not allowing extra time for such a person is a criminal offence.

Coupon-mad

So they gave you FOUR MINUTES to buy a PCN, big wow, then less than ten to leave.

What a scam.

Try making the grace periods bit a little clearer like I suggested here, where an appellant can break down the time before paying, then the time after paid-for time ran out, in two separate sub headings:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/75708021#Comment_75708021

I think PE will fold...

ChrisiB

Hi All, thanks again for your assistance with this, I truly appreciate it. I've taken the advice and redrafted the appeal. I've just attached section 1 here, and marked out the changes in quotes for easier reading.

Also, as I am writing on behalf of someone, I have amended the detail slightly due to my misunderstanding of the situation

1. No period of grace given for the driver to read the additional signs within the car park, or to exit the car park following the parking period.

This matter appears to flow from an allegation of an 'overstay' of ELEVEN minutes, despite the fact this is not an overstay at all and is unsupported by the BPA. The paid for parking session on the PCN is not established by the photographs provided from ParkingEYE in the Notice to Keeper (NTK). Photographs taken only demonstrate the time of entry into and exit from the car park but do not establish the time at which the parking ticket was purchased or at which it expired.

On Arrival at the Car Park – (4 Minutes)

The driver of the car at the time was captured by ANPR cameras driving in to the car park at 00:02 and driving out at 02:14 on the same date.

The driver had a 4 year old with them, which slows a driver down in terms of safety and speed of walking, but still managed to complete all of this within four minutes flat:
• drive into the large car park
• drive round looking for a space (it was busy, according to the driver)
• find a space
• park in that space
• unstrap the toddler, grab bags and belongings
• lock the car
• look for signs or the nearest machine
• walk with the toddler to the nearest machine
• read the sign, find the right money and queue to pay
• pay at the machine & display the ticket/receipt allowing 2 hours parking from 00:06.

There is no mention is made of any ticket purchase on the NTK, the ticket was purchased at 00:06 for 2 hours of parking, which expired at 02:06 (payment receipt - figure 1).

Figure 1

The BPA Code of Practice [January 2019] (13.2) states: ‘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.’

The entrance signs to this car park are insufficient to allow the driver to decide whether parking in the car park would breach any contract. The additional sign is within the car park and past the point where the ANPR camera has captured an entry time and therefore a grace period should be given to read the additional sign and decide whether to adhere to the terms of the contract or leave the car park.

Kelvin Reynolds, Head of Public Affairs and Policy at BPA states that:

‘“There is a difference between ‘grace’ periods and ‘observation’ periods in parking and that good practice allows for this.”

“An observation period is the time when an enforcement officer should be able to determine what the motorist intends to do once in the car park. The BPA’s guidance specifically says that there must be sufficient time for the motorist to park their car, observe the signs, decide whether they want to comply with the operator’s conditions and either drive away or pay for a ticket,” he explains.

“No time limit is specified. This is because it might take one person five minutes, but another person 10 minutes depending on various factors, not limited to disability.”

The BPA’s guidance defines the ‘grace period’ as the time allowed after permitted or paid-for parking has expired but before any kind of enforcement takes place.

Kelvin continues: “In the instance of a PCN being issued while a ticket is being purchased, the operator has clearly not given the motorist sufficient time to read the signs and comply as per the operator’s own rules. If a motorist decides they do not want to comply and leaves the car park, then a reasonable period of time should be provided also.”’

BPA Kelvin Quote Link

Exit the Car Park (8 Minutes)

Whilst returning to the car park the driver was asked to take an additional passenger who is registered as disabled on their onward journey (figure 2/3). Effective planning was taken to return to the car by the designated parking time however, on the way back, the disabled person fell ill and needed to stop to be able “catch their breath”


Figure 2

Figure 3


The car was captured by ANPR leaving past the exit at or around 02:14, this operator's timings are to be believed. Even if you take that as true and believe the cameras are synchronised, this is merely 8 minutes after the paid-for time expired.

This is well within a reasonable grace period to leave, given the size of this large car park, how busy it was, and that the driver had:
• An upset toddler to load into the car who had just experienced the reaction of the disable person becoming poorly on the way back to the car.
• A disabled person who had just fell poorly.
• Congestion within the car park, including other car park users leaving their bay.

The BPA Code of Practice [January 2019] (13.4) states that: the parking operators ‘should allow the driver a reasonable period to leave the private car park after the parking contract has ended, before you take enforcement action. If the location is one where parking is normally permitted, the Grace Period at the end of the parking period should be a minimum of 10 minutes.’

During a BPA Professional Development and Standards Board meeting in July 2015 it was formally agreed that relevant changes to the Code of Practice would be made to ensure compliance with the DfT guidelines regarding grace periods.

‘Implications of the 10 minute grace period were discussed and the Board agreed with suggestion by AH that the clause should comply with DfT guidelines in the English book of by-laws to encourage a single standard. Board agreed that as the guidelines state that grace periods need to exceed 10 minutes clause 13.4 should be amended to reflect a mandatory 11 minute grace period.’

BPA PDSB Jul 15 Link

This shows that the intention of stating vaguely: 'a minimum of ten minutes' in the current BPA CoP (not a maximum - a minimum requirement) means to any reasonable interpretation that an allegation of under eleven minutes (as is the case here) is perfectly reasonable.

ParkingEYE, on this occasion, have shown on their PCN the entry and exit times from the car park only. The entry/exit times are not the ‘period of parking’ and the law - the POFA - talk about a ‘period of parking’, not a total stay onsite in moving traffic.

The signs offering tariffs talk about a parking period, not a 'total stay'. The driver did not breach any terms at all. Taking into account the time of travelling to a parking space and travelling back out of the car park the period of parking here falls comfortably within the mandatory grace periods as outlined above.

I would like to draw the appeals process to the Equalities Act 2010 which makes it illegal to discriminate against a disabled person, in this instance, part of the time exiting the car park was caused by the disabled person feeling unwell.

In their appeal rejection letter, ParkingEye state that “insufficient time was paid for on the date of the parking event.”

It is very clear from the evidence that ParkingEye have failed to uphold the minimum grace periods set out in the BPA Code of Practice (13.2 & 13.4), as the total time in the carpark exceeded the paid period by only 8 minutes which is well within the bounds of the BPA CoP.

By any stretch of the imagination, these few minutes are well within what an ordinary independent person assessing the facts would consider reasonable. In fact, this case demonstrates significant unreasonableness on the part of this notorious parking operator who appear to be attempting to get more and more 10/11 minute false 'overstay' allegations past POPLA this year, ignoring their Trade Body rules from the BPA.

Coupon-mad

The car was captured by ANPR leaving past the exit at or around 02:14, if this operator's timings are to be believed.

Sorry there was an important word missing in the link I gave you!

ChrisiB

Hi all, I was hopeful that the appeal would go unchallenged from the PO, however, I was incorrect.

They have sent me a wonderful pack (mostly of my own correspondence), some stock photos which in most cases are 3 years out of date (and subject to weathering) [the T&Cs are illegible from the print drafts they have provided], a witness statement from a what seems to be a landowner and they have acknowledge they have a 10 minute grace on entry, but not acknowledged they if they have a grace period on exit which does not correctly address my appeal.

Would I be right in thinking here I should address

-The Stock Photos are out of date
-The T&Cs are still very difficult to read on the photos they have provided
-The Witness statement not being a contract
-They haven't acknowledged the exit grace period which covers the alleged "Overstay"

Coupon-mad

Yes to all of the above, and the 10 mins before EXIT is mandatory in the BPA CoP.

They can't choose ''if'' they allow a grace period, they have to, and the fact they offer a 10 minute observation period on arrival doesn't allow them to offset it against the BPA CoP grace period at the end of paid-for time.

ChrisiB

Thank you Coupon-mad, Redx and Fruitcake for your assistance. Popla have come back with appeal successful. I am writing to my MP as we speak to complain and will attached the details of my complaint and appeal soon for others to reference!!