Grace Period

DFSOKO

I have recently been refused a appeal to Britannia Parking for not paying for my ticket in time. The driver entered a ANPR car park in Newcastle and it took some time to find a space and use the PayByPhone app to purchase the ticket (18 mins going by Britannia/PayByPhone times). Oddly though the SMS receipt of payment was received prior to the ticket valid from time?. The car was clocked on the ANPR exiting the car park 2 mins before the ticket expired. So I paid for 2hrs, but according to Britannia the time between driving in and exiting was 2hrs18mns. I feel this is a bit unfair? It's not like I wasn't trying to avoid paying. The process now goes to POPLA on what grounds should I appeal? I can't see any examples appeals of Grace Periods prior to paying for the ticket.

Coupon-mad

Oddly though the SMS receipt of payment was received prior to the ticket valid from time?

So, their app took the money and issued a receipt first, causing your parking 'licence' to take another 2 mins to start later than you performed the tasks needed to get the payment through?

Anyway search the forum for green button POPLA NCP and copy one. Show us.

Be aware the forum is shut tomorrow for an update!

DFSOKO

Thanks Coupon-mad!

I have drafted the following:

POPLA VerificationCode: XXXX
Vehicle Registration: XXXX


I, the registered keeper of this vehicle, received a letter dated 23/01/2020 acting as a notice to the registered keeper. My appeal to the Operator–Britannia Parking–was submitted and acknowledged by the Operator on 25/01/2020 and rejected via an email dated 05/02/2020. I contend that I, as the keeper, am not liable for the alleged parking charge and wish to appeal against it on the following grounds:

1. Insufficient Grace Period,
2. The signs are inadequately positioned and signs in this car park are not prominent, clear or legible from all parking spaces
3. The operator has not shown that the individual who it is pursuing is in fact the driver who was liable for the charge

1. Insufficient Grace Period:
This matter appears to flow from an allegation of an 'overstay' of 16 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 Britannia Parking 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.

The BPA Code of Practice [January 2020] (13.3) states: ‘Where a parking location is one where a limited period of parking is permitted, or where drivers contract to park for a defined period and pay for that service in advance (Pay & Display), this would be considered as a parking event and a Grace Period of at least 10 minutes must be added to the end of a parking event before you issue a PCN.’

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.”’

link

The driver of the car at the time was captured by ANPR cameras driving into the car park at 09:28am on 15/01/2020 and driving out at 11:44am on the same date. They were unable to park immediately upon entering the car park due to congestion from other vehicles, and there was further delay purchasing a parking ticket due to having to download the PayByPhone.

Although no mention is made of any ticket purchase on the NTK, a valid ticket was purchased with a start time of at 09.46am for 2 hours of parking, which expired at 11:46pm (payment receipt - figure 1).

*Figure 1*

In their appeal rejection letter, Britannia Parking state that “A PayByPhone ticket was purchased at 9:46 a.m, this period of time paid for only covers the time when the payment has been made. The ANPR camera log shows that you have arrived at the car park at 9:28 a.m, meaning that you have not paid for the full duration in the car park.” This rejection letter also states that "We therefore consider there to be sufficient, clearly visible signage in the car park to draw your attention to the terms and conditions of the parking contract that is on offer. By leaving your vehicle over the grace period without purchasing a ticket you have broken the terms and conditions, and consequently we consider the Parking Charge Notice to be valid and correctly issued."

The appeal rejection letter quotes the BPA stating that “Grace Periods, details that you have 10 minutes grace period on arrival to purchase a valid ticket. If the driver has not purchased a ticket within the 10 minute grace period, a Parking Charge Notice will be issued, as the driver has breached the terms and conditions of the car park.” Whereas it actually states in 13.3 “Grace Period of at least 10 minutes”

The 15th at 9.32 was a busy period and took the driver a while to actually park. Having recently been to the carpark and timed the durations on a non-busy day I can say from entering the carpark to finding a parking spot took approximately 4 minutes. At the top of the car park there are is no visible signage. The only payment point is at the entrance to the carpark, which is not clearly signposted. For an abled bodied person who knows where this is it took a further 5 minutes to walk to form the top of the carpark. Taking the back stairs as pictured in figure 2 & 3 you do not pass any signage until you get to the ground level. This takes the total to 9 minutes. This is also the only place the PayByPhone details are given, but these details are not visible as you enter the car pack. The driver, having recently updated their phone, had to download the PayByPhone and pay the for the ticket. This alone can take 5- 10 minutes. The total time clearly taking you beyond the ‘10 minute grace period’ as stated by Britannia Parking and that on a day where there was no congestion.


*Figure 2&3*


2. The signs are inadequately positioned

In their appeal rejection letter, Britannia Parking state that “We therefore consider there to be sufficient, clearly visible signage in the car park to draw your attention to the terms and conditions of the parking contract that is on offer. By leaving your vehicle over the grace period without purchasing a ticket you have broken the terms and conditions”


I note that within the Protection of Freedoms Act (POFA) 2012 it discusses the clarity that needs to be provided to make a motorist aware of the parking charge. Specifically, it requires that the driver is given 'adequate notice' of the charge. POFA 2012 defines 'adequate notice' as follows:

''(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2) 'adequate notice' means notice given by: (a) the display of one or more notices in accordance with any applicable requirements prescribed in regulations under paragraph 12 for, or for purposes including, the purposes of sub-paragraph (2); or (b) where no such requirements apply, the display of one or more notices which: (i) specify the sum as the charge for unauthorised parking; and (ii) are adequate to bring the charge to the notice of drivers who park vehicles on the relevant land''.

Even in circumstances where POFA 2012 does not apply, I believe this to be a reasonable standard to use when making my own assessment, as appellant, of the signage in place at the location. Having considered the signage in place at this particular site against the requirements of Section 18 of the BPA Code of Practice and POFA 2012, I am of the view that the signage at the site - given the minuscule font size of the £sum, which is illegible in most photographs.

There was no contract nor agreement on the 'parking charge' at all. It is submitted that the driver did not have a fair opportunity to read about any terms involving this huge charge, which is out of all proportion and not saved by the dissimilar 'ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis' case.

While there is signage at the front of the car park this area is often used as a truck parking spot See fig 4 and was obscured from the driver. Once in the carpark there are no sings legible from the car and the level at which the driver parked has no signs whatsoever. In fact, taking the back stairs down the car pack you don’t pass any signage until you are at the ground level. I draw your attention to figure 2&3 again.

So, for this appeal, I put this operator to strict proof of where the car was parked and (from photos taken in the same lighting conditions) how their signs appeared on that date, at that time, from the angle of the driver's perspective. Equally, I require this operator to show how the entrance signs appear from a driver's seat, not stock examples of 'the sign' in isolation/close-up. I submit that full terms simply cannot be read from a car before parking and mere 'stock examples' of close-ups of the (alleged) signage terms will not be sufficient to disprove this.

Coupon-mad

I am not seeing that you did this as you say nothing about the NCP/green button case!:

search the forum for green button POPLA NCP and copy one. Show us.

You also have no point about landowner authority? An absolute no brainer!

Also in the point about no landowner authority (standard stuff you see in the NCP green button POPLA threads, add the assertion that the company that issued the PCN and whose company number is shown on the NTK footer and on their signs as 'xxxxxx' (type it exactly, from their NTK footer) is not the same company who may be named on any landowner authority, which is likely to be another slightly similarly named but wholly different legal entity and Limited company (not part of the Britannia Group Ltd) such as Britannia Parking Services Ltd, company no xxxxxxx (look it up in Companies House).

DFSOKO

Hi Coupon-mad, I have the company no from the NTK, but this matches the Companies House company no for the Britannia Parking as show on the signs. (I presume this isn't what you mean though?) How do I find the landowner authority? Do I have to do this through landregistry.gov.uk?
Thanks!

D_P_Dance

Have you seen this?  You might consider a complaint to Trading Standards.

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2014/03/waiting-for-space-is-not-parking.html

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.

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.

DFSOKO

ok, looks like the land is owned by PARKING MANAGEMENT LIMITED of Knightsbridge House, 197 Knightsbridge, London SW7. so yep that doesn't match Britannia Parking. 

@Coupon-mad  Sorry I'm probably being a bit slow understanding the green button argument and I'm struggling to find a good example, could you please point me in the right direction. 

Coupon-mad

I can't because this new form is impossible to search.  Hope you have better luck than me at finding search results.

FrankCannon

Is this a valid green button PoPLA appeal ?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/76552139

The change to the search functionality is the worst improvement they've made to the forum for me.

DFSOKO

thanks, glad it's not just me struggling with the search!