Excel Parking Appeal Retail Parking at ALDI Rejected - Am I doing it right?

crazyvish

Dear forumites,
Could you let me know whether or not I am doing the correct thing?
I regularly shop at my local ALDI which is in a retail shopping center. Aldi customers get 3hrs FREE parking whilst shopping with them by validating their car registration number in the terminal situated near the till. I do this regularly but forgot on one 'not so fine day' . I realised this after I came back home. I called Aldi customer services to explain the same and they have asked me to keep hold of the receipt and appeal if I receive a PCN. 

After 27 days, I received PCN/NTK in the post from Excel Parking. I made an online appeal and attached the shopping receipt as proof. 
Contravention Date : 28/05/20
Issue Date : 18/06/20
Received : 24/06/20
Duration of Stay : 43 mins
Excel Parking rejected my appeal via email, which landed up in my spam folder. I now received a Demand notice for £160. I called Aldi this morning and they mentioned that they deal with certain Parking Companies but not this one which is dealt by the Shopping Center itself. I am now intending to ignore any further communication from Excel parking until I receive a court notice. I hope I am not doing anything wrong here?
Thanks all for your time.

Ralph-y

hi, and welcome to the forum ........

there will be plenty for you to read up on ...

go to the newbies thread/discussion

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822/newbies-private-parking-ticket-old-or-new-read-these-faqs-first-thankyou/p1

make sure you start at the first page not last

your plan A is to contact the retail park owners/ agents to get this cancelled.

Who did you speak to at Aldi's?

Ralph

KeithP

Complain to the shopping centre show them the receipt - you did send a copy of the receipt to Excel, didn't you?

crazyvish

KeithP said:

Complain to the shopping centre show them the receipt - you did send a copy of the receipt to Excel, didn't you?

Thanks for your response Keith. Yes, I sent them a scanned copy of the receipt. Below was their response.

<div>Having considered the points you have raised and reviewed our records, we are unable to accept your appeal. Our <span style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">main reason(s) for this decision are as follows:</span></div><div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The signs at the car park make it clear that a valid ticket must be purchased prior to exit for all vehicles which </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">park/enter the car park, giving clear notice that the land is private property and that a Charge of £100 will be levied if </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">vehicles park outside of the Terms and Conditions displayed; signs also state that when a ticket is purchased, the full </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">and accurate vehicle registration number of the vehicle parked must be entered into the P&D ticket machine. The </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">above detailed vehicle was parked without payment of the parking tariff, therefore you became liable for the Charge </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">advertised.</span></div>

I spoke with the customer services of the shopping centre and the lady on the phone mentioned that this particular parking doesn't belong to them and it is owned by the council - which to me didn't sound right.

crazyvish

your plan A is to contact the retail park owners/ agents to get this cancelled.

Who did you speak to at Aldi's?

Ralph

1. There is no clarity on who this park belongs to
2. I spoke with the customer services in the head quarters. They mentioned that could have appealed if it was one of their own carparks which are usually managed by Parking Eye or ECP. They apparently don't deal with Excel Parking

KeithP

Where exactly is this car park?

Has it been discussed before on this forum?

D_P_Dance

It is not a fine, it is an invoice from an ex-clamper to compensate them for the alleged harm they suffered when you did what you did. We call it a scam. Pay them not a penny unless a judge so orders it.

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP., it can cause the scammer extra costs, and in some cases, cancellation. 

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 later this year,

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

Fruitcake

Did you reveal the driver's identity in the initial appeal? 

crazyvish

Fruitcake said:

Did you reveal the driver's identity in the initial appeal? 

Yes, I admitted it was me.

crazyvish

@D_P_Dance, Thank you very much. I'll write to my MP.

KeithP

@crazyvish, any answers to these questions...

KeithP said:

Where exactly is this car park?

Has it been discussed before on this forum?