To pay or not? Read sticky. Confused

Bea787

Parking Charge Notice received via post from Smart Parking with camera evidence at entry and exit. Car was 40 mins over the free 2 hour parking period. Driver had no idea there was a charge. Has since checked and there are signs. Charge is £100 reduced to £60 if paid promptly. So am unsure if there’s any grounds for dispute? But the amount of the charge does seem disproportionate and I saw something in the threads about it being not matched to any potential loss to the land owner. The letter template didn’t seem to apply. Any advice on whether the person should pay or has a ground to dispute and how greatly appreciated. Apologies if I’ve missed the answer elsewhere and TIA.

Redx

disputes centre on

poor and inadequate signage
no landowner contract
signs not seen so no parking contract
POFA issues (the law)
BPA CoP issues (code of practice)

the disproportionate charge is dead since the BARRY BEAVIS case a few years ago

the blue text template from the NEWBIES sticky thread always applies if its a private vehicle and not hired or leased etc

use the blue text template AS IS and appeal as KEEPER, no blabbing about who was driving

check if the NTK arrived by day 15 too, if there was no windscreen ticket

Coupon-mad

Bea787 wrote: »

Parking Charge Notice received via post from Smart Parking with camera evidence at entry and exit. Car was 40 mins over the free 2 hour parking period. Driver had no idea there was a charge. Has since checked and there are signs. Charge is £100 reduced to £60 if paid promptly. So am unsure if there’s any grounds for dispute?

But the amount of the charge does seem disproportionate and I saw something in the threads about it being not matched to any potential loss to the land owner.

The letter template didn’t seem to apply.

Any advice on whether the person should pay or has a ground to dispute and how greatly appreciated. Apologies if I’ve missed the answer elsewhere and TIA.

LOL it's only Smart!

You could not ask for an easier one to win, but you have read completely the wrong stuff if you think the template appeal 'does not apply' and that you can start arguing about 'no loss' (an argument that went out of the window in 2015).

Just do what the NEWBIES thread tells you and NO ticking 'DRIVER' when appealing.

luizarios4

I'm not a PCN forum expert but I appealed and won a case similar to yours. Back then I didn't know about this forum but I just knew the signage wasn't clear enough so I wrote my appeal with my own words and POPLA cancelled the PCN (don't write your own, use the NEWBIE's template, I only did it because I didn't know about the forum back then).

I parked on a DW Shop park and the signage close to me simply said 'DW Patrons only', so yeah, that's me! Parked, went in. A few days later I got the PCN stating I was supposed to enter my car registration in the reception. I was livid as I knew nothing of it! I had to drive over there and see with my own eyes. There was one single sign at the entrance, A4 size placed on a 10ft tall pole.

I argued that that signage was impossible to see, it was small, it was 10ft tall, how can someone in a car see this signage as they drive-in? I mentioned the signage next to my car didn't mention any registration and the car park was large therefore I couldn't be expected to go reading signage by signage to find one that was different. Also it was located at the entrace, it would just not be safe for me to stand there reading while cars drove by and as mentioned, the signange was too tall to be read from my car as I drove in.

POPLA tore them to shreds! They said there was unclear and insufficient signage on site. If your case is similar, drive by and get lovely pictures of the car site showing how unclear the signage was. Obviously, if there was a sign right next to you saying 2 hours parking then I don't know what you could do, leave it to the lovely guys here who know way more than me, but if you like me just didn't see the signage then I'd say it's a no-brainer.

Coupon-mad

BUT BUT BUT, never say who was driving in a Smart Parking case.

The keeper named on the postal PCN has 100% win. So stick with the forum templates.

By contrast, an admitted driver who goes on about the signs 'where I parked' or 'I didn't see the signs' has to rely on POPLA actually reading some arguments and studying pics of signage and making the right judgement call. Not 100% guaranteed.

So you can see why appealing as keeper is the recommendation here, v Smart.

Dead easy. Quite fun!