POPLA Appeal

Sandra62

I received a parking charge notice for £100 (discounted to £60 if paid within 14 days) for the Riverwalk car park in Durham city. I was parked for 3 hours 29 mins and the parking signage indicated a £3 charge. This was issued by ParkingEye.
The back story to this is as follows:

Initially, we had trouble locating a pay machine that worked and eventually found one 2 floors up from where we were parked.

When I entered my car registration into the pay machine I was presented with a request for £2.

I was slightly confused as this differed from the signage rates but, in my experience, car parks of this nature generate the correct charge. There are other 'pay on foot' car parks in and around Durham and they work in a similar way (entering reg no and generate charges)

I paid the rate the machine requested, and recieved the confirmation bits of paper.

I subsequently recieved the parking charge , which I appealed on the basis that I paid what I was requested to pay by the machine. I presented photos of the confirmation of payment and the amount requested. l also queried if there was an issue with the machines working correctly due to having issues finding one that actually worked.

The appeal was rejected and I was basically advised to either pay up or appeal to POPLA. If I paid they advised 'as a gesture if goodwill they'd extend the discount period for a further 14 days and I'd only need to pay £60' !!!

Can anyone advise what my chances are of winning an appeal to POPLA?

fisherjim

Well you won't win at POPLA with that story but you might with signage and all the other usual technical/ law and procedural appeal points, pity you never got a photo of the machine screen.


It would appear that Parking might think they are on a sticky one here as they don't make many reduced payment gestures.


What did the landowner say when you complained to them?

MistyZ

I need to park in more private car parks (not!) .... but have to ask those in the know, do payment machines issue confirmation of payment if payment is incorrect? I would have expected to get nothing if payment was insufficient.

If this car park is close enough, could you spend a couple of quid testing that machine again, taking photos of every step? Minus car, of course. Bit of a long shot after an interlude, I realise that. But in any case you could do with a good selection of signage photos for POPLA. If the standard payment is not stated on machine, that's something to include.

I agree with fisherjim that ParkingEye most likely know very well that there's been a problem with that machine ..... and maybe there still is, given their 'largesse'.

Also agree re. landowner complaint. Identify who owns or manages that car park and complain vigorously - no half-heartedness allowed and not a smidgeon of an 'apology' either.

Castle

I wonder if this is the same car park:-
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=76747533&postcount=3793

The_Deep

Concentrate on signage, read this

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5972164/parking-eye-signs-oxford-road-reading

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP, it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and has been known to get the charge cancelled.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. 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, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]

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

Coupon-mad

Can anyone advise what my chances are of winning an appeal to POPLA?

High if you word it well about the confusing screen and show a picture of it (go back and get photos to show that the screen DOES NOT 'clearly and transparently in large lettering' prompt people that they have to change the time/tariff manually!), then use the normal templates too, from the NEWBIES thread post #3.

MistyZ

Castle wrote: »

I wonder if this is the same car park:-
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=76747533&postcount=3793

Woohay! Is it the same one?

Sandra62

Yes it most definitely is. Thank you so much. I'll be using the info provided in my appeal :🤞😊

Sandra62

Where do I find the appeal templates on this site?

KeithP

Sandra62 wrote: »

Where do I find the appeal templates on this site?

You need to be reading post #3 of the NEWBIES thread to help you create a winning PoPLA appeal.

Coupon-mad

My signature has it in large colourful letters and tells you where to click.