Euro Car Parks- POPLA appeal, please help!

crazyzombienurse

I want to start by saying I have read the ‘newbie’ threads, I’m just a little overwhelmed and lost.

My situation is that ‘the driver’ visited a hairdresser a few months back, she lives in a town 60 miles away and it was a special one off visit. ‘The driver’ parked in a Euro Car Park site and paid for 3 hours, believing that would be adequate. Unfortunately she overran, so ‘the driver’ was 59 minutes over and this was caught by camera and keeper received a NTK.
Keeper was told by loads of people to appeal it, so keeper appealed to ECP using the draft template on the newbie thread, not admitting anything etc. They obviously refused the appeal and keeper now needs to go to POPLA.

What I want to know is- given the fact that yes, it was ‘the drivers’ fault for going over the parking time by almost an hour, what chance does the keeper have of winning the POPLA appeal!?
In the appeal to ECP, the keeper asked for images of their sign in this car park and they didn’t send any. They only sent proof of a ticket purchase and a cropped image of the number plate with time stamp. Obviously this unfamiliar car park is very far away from me, so i’m not really in a position to go and take pictures myself- but I would imagine it’s one of their standard !!!!!! signs where the penalty isn’t particularly bold or obvious. The driver certainly doesn’t recall seeing it....

I suffer from a severe anxiety disorder and just want to know is this worth fighting or should I just pay the £100? I can’t deal with threats of CCJ’s etc if POPLA is unsuccessful and I actually would pay after an unsuccessful POPLA appeal because the threats, no matter how empty, would exacerbate my mental health.

Any advice would be great!! Thank you

Redx

You have zero chance of winning at popla based on your story , none at all

Any win at Popla would be on a legal technicality , such as no landowner authority , poor and inadequate signage , pofa if the driver was not identified for example , but if they know who was driving then forget POFA

As the newbies FAQ sticky thread near the top of the forum tells you , a landowner cancellation is best

Name the car park and location if you want pictures , try Google Street view too

Coupon-mad

What I want to know is- given the fact that yes, it was my fault for going over the parking time by almost an hour, what chances do I have of winning the POPLA appeal!?

Doesn't matter.  Losing at POPLA means nothing.

is this worth fighting

Yes, just ignore the debt demands and if really anxious get a robust 'no-nonsense' family member or close friend to open them and even give their address fro service so you never see the letters.

or should I just pay the £100? 

Never.  Not unless a Judge tells you to. 
Come on it's only ECP, I've ignored them myself and they never sue over single PCNs.  Relax and stop feeding your own anxiety.  Lean on us instead.

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.

crazyzombienurse

Redx- I didn’t admit I was the driver. I’m not planning to win on that ‘technicality’ anyway because nowadays I don’t think anyone does win that way. I’m guessing they did have poor and inadequate signing as most of their car parks do!!

The car park is ‘Brewery Street - Rugeley’, for anyone with knowledge of it. I do not know the area one bit and I live 60 miles away so revisiting it is out of the question. 

Thank you Coupon mad and D P dance. I do agree, they are complete scams. I’m just so anxious that I’ll end up with a CCJ mark on my credit file from this. There obviously have been people that have been taken to court and lost, even if it is on the rare occasion. And as I say, ‘the driver’ is actually in the ‘wrong’ for accidentally overstaying. My only get-out really is the !!!!!! signage (which I need to find a picture of to prove!).

Agh god is it worth this effort for the sake of £100?  

crazyzombienurse

So this was the ticket machine I used, nice tiny sign above too. No other signage except another same size sign on another wall.

KeithP

crazyzombienurse said:

I didn’t admit I was the driver. I’m not planning to win on that ‘technicality’ anyway because nowadays I don’t think anyone does win that way.

Why don't you think that? Plenty of people win cases as a keeper appellant.

crazyzombienurse said:

I’m guessing they did have poor and inadequate signing as most of their car parks do!!

Those are your two winning points.

Redx

crazyzombienurse said:

Redx- I didn’t admit I was the driver. I’m not planning to win on that ‘technicality’ anyway because nowadays I don’t think anyone does win that way. I’m guessing they did have poor and inadequate signing as most of their car parks do!!

The car park is ‘Brewery Street - Rugeley’, for anyone with knowledge of it. I do not know the area one bit and I live 60 miles away so revisiting it is out of the question. 

Thank you Coupon mad and D P dance. I do agree, they are complete scams. I’m just so anxious that I’ll end up with a CCJ mark on my credit file from this. There obviously have been people that have been taken to court and lost, even if it is on the rare occasion. And as I say, I am actually in the ‘wrong’ for accidentally overstaying. My only get-out really is the !!!!!! signage (which I need to find a picture of to prove!).

Agh god is it worth this effort for the sake of £100?  

then edit all of your posts above accordingly

the driver visited the hairdressers

the keeper received the NTK and appealed as keeper

no "MY , ME , MYSELF & I" , not on here, not in any correspondence

POFA is the first hurdle to be successfully vaulted over by a PPC

poor and inadequate signage is second

no landowner authority is yet another point

so plenty of points in your favour

naming the place and checking google and google street view can yield a lot of useful information, as shown above

I will give you a simple tip for avoiding that credit mark on your credit file

if you lose in court , PAY UP , IN FULL , PROMPTLY, within 30 days , to expunge it from the record and so no issues with your credit file

its the fools that fail to pay in full within the timescale set by the judge that get the bad credit ratings (not those who follow the judges directions and pay his or her figure with his or her timescale to the claimant)

crazyzombienurse

My mistake Redx- I was explaining the story on here as it happened; in my correspondence to ECP I did not mention who was driving or any details of where the driver was going etc. I shall try to edit above posts accordingly.

I have looked on google maps images and posted the signage in the post above- am I right in thinking this would be deemed inadequate and poor signage? There were NO signs that were larger than this. I’ll post a photo of the entrance too, and as you can see- that signage seems quite inadequate too. 

Any advice would be great, I don’t know what exactly is deemed “inadequate and poor” legally. 

crazyzombienurse

Can I also clarify- if it did go to court, and I lost and had to pay; are we 100% sure as long as I paid promptly, within given timeframe, there’d be no footprint of this on my credit file? 

Thanks all, really appreciate your input.

Coupon-mad

I wouldn't bother with POPLA unless the PCN arrived after day 14 and you can show it was a non POFA one.  That sign is OK.    POPLA are not going to say that was unclear and the car park is quite small by the looks of it.

Did you not think to pay more and keep both tickets, and/or cover your rear numberplate as you left past the 'out' camera so no PCN could be generated anyway?  Protect your data, you do NOT have to show your numberplate.

Luckily this is only ECP who never sue for individual single PCNs and if they try, there is no risk and that's the ultimate 'appeal' stage.  Keep all letters.  Please no flapping when the laughable debt demands arrive, promise us you CAN ignore those and no showing them to us...please...they are so tedious!