Can I appeal for an unusual situation?

DG66

Hi all,


I'm a relatively new driver so somewhat uninformed about PCNs.


I recently parked at a ParkingEye managed car park. I wanted to pay via card but the machine didn't allow for card payments, so was instructed to use the PayByPhone app instead. The maximum option it gave me to pay for was 2 hours, which I did, thinking this was the amount that I could pay for and that everything thereafter was free, on the basis that the maximum stay of the car park was 3 hours and 3 minutes.



As it transpired, I received a PCN for the overstay. So I stated my case and appealed to ParkingEye, sending pictures of proved payment from the app and the like and the appeal got thrown out. I now am able to appeal to POLPA until Wednesday.


Do I have a case here or am I up the creek on the basis that I admitted that I am the driver and also paid for two hours already? The fine is £60, raising to £100 on Wednesday.


Many thanks for your advice in advance.

Umkomaas

Your mitigation will provide no help for you. You will need to appeal to POPLA on technical and legal points and hope that PE have failed to comply with at least one of them.

Please read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #3 which guides you through making a POPLA appeal. You have around 31 days to submit to POPLA (I know your paperwork says 28 days, but there's some slack).

You should also look up the 'POPLA Decisions' sticky, start with the more recent ones, checking for successful appeals against PE.

Did you reveal the identity of the driver in your appeal to PE? If it was phrased similar to your opening post, I guess you might have done. Can we see what your appeal said?

DG66

[FONT=&quot]I sadly did reveal myself as the driver.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]My appeal was as follows: -
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]"I write in regard to the above referenced Parking Charge Notice and appeal as follows: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]1) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Upon entering the car park on Colne Road, your CCTV footage will show that I exited my car and walked to the machine to make payment, however I only had a debit card. I pay for parking on my debit card because I only ever park in Colchester and Ipswich and never journey to Clacton-on-Sea.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]To my surprise, there was no option to pay by card via the machine at the car park. What the parking charge notice does not stipulate is that I willingly made payment to park at the car park. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]To pay by card, it was instructed that I download a mobile app named ‘PayByPhone’. I did this and wanted to pay for a sensible amount of time, on the basis I was having a meal for my friend’s birthday just across the road at Franco’s restaurant, however upon opening the app, I was met with options to pay for just 1 hour and 2 hours. Please see exhibit marked ‘A’.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]3) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]This was somewhat confusing as the maximum stay on the same page said up to a fortnight. It was deduced that I could only pay for the maximum stay as stipulated on the app of two hours and thereafter, the stay was free, and so happily, I paid the charge. Please see exhibit marked ‘B’ and ‘C’, confirming I paid the allotted amount.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]4) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]It was to my surprise that I received the parking charge notice through the post almost a week later. I feel the charge is wholly disproportionate on the basis that I paid for 66% of my stay with the greatest intention of believing that would suffice because there were no options to pay for any further. The app certainly did not suggest that I could pay for any further allotted time. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]5) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]My estimations are that the fine is incredibly disproportionate and unbecoming of the situation, on the basis that the correct payment was not signposted and not even vaguely possible. This is an application problem and it feels very amoral on the basis that it tries to catch unsuspecting victims, like myself, in order to get them to pay outrageous fines. It needs to be taken in to account that I paid for the maximum parking that the app allowed me to pay for and I had the best intentions to pay for my full stay, but only paid for what was allotted. It is not as if I just parked there without paying, as the notice sadly and disappointingly suggests. Not to mention that I spent a good 15-20 minutes after entering the car park trying to figure out how to pay, downloading an app, and all the like that comes with it, in order to actually pay for part of my stay. It’s common knowledge that ANPR cameras are not accurate in their timings regardless and this was not taken into account in the parking charge notice either. CCTV would prove my point.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]6) [/FONT][FONT=&quot]I would be more than happy to settle the issue by paying for the unpaid part of my stay by way of paying for another two hours, but as formerly mentioned, a fine of £60 - £100 is completely disproportionate and I will continue to dispute this charge on that basis.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Please be aware that the date of this letter falls well inside the 28 days of initial correspondence and I expect ParkingEye to reflect this as such.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I look forward to hearing from you soon."[/FONT]

Umkomaas

As soon as I saw the number of 'I's in the appeal, it is evident you've identified the driver.

So you're going to have to forget any points you read in other successful POPLA appeals where 'no keeper liability' has been argued.

Work through the guidance in the stickies and see where you are then.