MET Southgate Park Stansted Starbucks McDonald’s, wait or appeal?

slickt2010

I know that my case is not unique but just wanted some advice please under the current ‘lockdown’ conditions we are now in.

I received a parking charge notice in the post yesterday from MET parking services As being the registered keeper of the vehicle . Date of ‘infringement’ was on 26th Feb 2020 and date of notice was 3rd April 2020. At this stage I have done nothing, other than read threads on this forum. The car was parked in Starbucks car park and the driver is said to have walked to McDonald’s to get food which according to MET is a breach of their parking contract as according to them the driver left the ‘premises’ but the driver did return to Starbucks after eating at Macdonald’s and purchased something for which a credit card statement exists to prove, not sure if this makes any difference.

As the registered keeper of the vehicle I have read the Newbies section and it is very helpful however following the recommendations the first stage as suggested is to appeal to landowner which in this case is Starbucks however due to the Coronavirus it is closed until further notice. Other members have said in past threads they have been successful with the manager being very nice and got the parking fine cancelled so my question is should I just wait until the store reopens to try plan A first or as that may be several weeks or more should I move straight to plan B and make an appeal to MET? 

Thank you in advance.

Le_Kirk

You could try Starbucks head office (CEO) with an indignant but polite request to have it cancelled as you were a Starbucks customer.  If no response then appeal using to the standard blue text appeal in the NEWBIE sticky.  Also search for other "left site" posts and defences, there are a lot of them.

D_P_Dance

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, when life gets back to normal, it will become impossible for those scammers who are left to continue their vile trade, 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.

Umkomaas

Did you have a ticket on your windscreen from MET, or was the first notification the letter through the post?

If the latter, it is not Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (Schedule 4) compliant and MET cannot hold the keeper liable.  You must urgently edit your opening post to remove any information that identifies the driver. 

Even in this crisis, you must meet the required deadlines and processes given in the NtK and any subsequent communications. 

slickt2010

thank you very much for your advice. There was no ticket issued/left on the vehicle on the date in question first notification was the letter in the post. I will contact Starbucks head office next week when back open and see if they can help. If I have to go to plan B and make an appeal using blue text shall I include in that there is evidence of purchase at Starbucks or not mention it as MET will just argue that the driver left the premises first?

KeithP

slickt2010 said:

thank you very much for your advice. There was no ticket issued/left on the vehicle on the date in question first notification was the letter in the post. I will contact Starbucks head office next week when back open and see if they can help. If I have to go to plan B and make an appeal using blue text shall I include in that there is evidence of purchase at Starbucks or not mention it as MET will just argue that the driver left the premises first?

Why wait for Starbucks HO to be open? Were you thinking of phoning them?
You really want to do this stuff in writing, and of course an email can be sent at any time.

When sending an appeal to MET, no need to mention anything. Just send the blue text template appeal easily found in the first post of the NEWBIES thread. Send it unchanged - no additions or alterations needed. Send it as the keeper.

Umkomaas

If I have to go to plan B and make an appeal using blue text shall I include in that there is evidence of purchase at Starbucks or not mention it as MET will just argue that the driver left the premises first?

Not if MET aren't contracted to Starbucks. 

It's at POPLA you'll kill this off, but that could be some time after this crisis eases. However, you must still meet each appeal deadline. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6126237/popla-update#latest

Le_Kirk

slickt2010 said:

thank you very much for your advice. There was no ticket issued/left on the vehicle on the date in question first notification was the letter in the post. I will contact Starbucks head office next week when back open and see if they can help. If I have to go to plan B and make an appeal using blue text shall I include in that there is evidence of purchase at Starbucks or not mention it as MET will just argue that the driver left the premises first?

Just send the blue text appeal immediately, as is, with no additions, deletions or modifications as advised by @KeithP.  It is designed to be a shot across the bows (and they won't read it anyway) without giving away the driver's name.  The keeper has more protection in law than the driver.

slickt2010

I was going to call them on Tuesday when they are back open rather than e-mail as my thinking was if someone answers and says they will help I will then request it in writing if they tell me they can’t help/do anything which is most likely then I can go to plan b straight away with blue writing appeal word for word.

thank you very much again for everyone’s advise, much appreciated but looks like I am in this for the long haul as POPLA is not going to process anything until everything is back to normal. 

Coupon-mad

However it will be a very easy win as long as you never imply who was driving.

POPLA have shown their assessors can't count to 14, but even they will spot the NTK was fatally late!

Le_Kirk

slickt2010 said:

I was going to call them on Tuesday when they are back open rather than e-mail as my thinking was if someone answers and says they will help I will then request it in writing if they tell me they can’t help/do anything which is most likely then I can go to plan b straight away with blue writing appeal word for word.
thank you very much again for everyone’s advise, much appreciated but looks like I am in this for the long haul as POPLA is not going to process anything until everything is back to normal. 

If you do get a reaction as you hope, then you could follow up with an e-mail just confirming the main points of your conversation and what they agreed to do on your behalf.
You should still submit a POPLA appeal so that, if you do not get a positive response from Starbucks, you will not miss any POPLA deadlines.