Made A Hasty Appeal to UKPC.

MikeyTT

Hi all, 

I've looked through the Newbies sticky on this forum abs it offers a lot of good advice, though I'm still so confused about my situation. If the answers are obvious then I apologise in advance, I'm just really panicking about a fine this close to Christmas.

Basically, I stayed at a Premier Inn last night where they have a multi-storey carpark which their guests can use. 

They explained that parking is only permitted on levels 4 and 5 in the carpark so if course I parked on level 4 I parked to avoid any issues. What I didn't hear was that parking is only permitted after 6pm... A Parking Attendant gave me a window sticker parking charge for £60(?!) if paid within 28 days or £100 after that. I didn't see an area to pay any money for parking outside of the alloted hours either, though I didn't look to be honest. 
 

The first viewing of the car was 5:52pm. I parked up about a minute before this so I'm confident they'll have seen me drive in. This doesn't seem reasonable to me and I was extremely surprised to see a notice this morning. 

I'm using a hire car that company I work for has hired and allowed me use of. I was very quick to throw an appeal in after viewing advice from the RAC website and without seeking advice online from forums such as this, so now they have my name and home details as I've provided them. The newbies section did say to appeal anyway if using a hire car as then they chase me rather than the keeper. 

I'm confident that they'll reject my appeal as many other threads have suggested that UKPC tend to reject appeals automatically, so I was worried that I've screwed myself over right away and may have to pay the charge. After reading through a lot of threads and posts here I'm feeling a bit more confident though. 

The images the attendant took show a sign stating "no unauthorised parking" in big bold letters, with a large amount of smaller text underneath that can't be made out in the image. It also shows clearly the Level 4 sign and that I'm parked right next to the sign showing the direction to the Premier Inn reception. 

I approached the hotel reception who told me there's nothing they can do about it due to parking before 6pm, and that I should appeal the charge based on not having known I couldn't park before 6pm.

So, below is the embarrassing appeal text I wrote in the box on the UKPC Appeals website :

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"I am making this appeal and hoping that it will be accepted, based on a few things:

As UKPC is part of the British Parking Association's approved operators, I would hope that the company would allow for me a 10 minute grace period for this mistake. This is an unbelievable amount of money for an 8 minute mistake and I hope it can be dismissed. 

The reason for the ticket is given as "registered users only", but I was parked in a bay marked specifically for Premier Inn Hotel Guests on level 4 which can be seen in the images taken by the attendant. The car park was almost completely empty at this point and there was plenty of signage to state Premier Inn guests park on level 4. 

It must have been impossible for the parking attendant not to have seen me arriving with the car park so empty, the time I arrived and the time scale this charge was given. I arrived to the hotel and in their marked bay at 5:51pm and the ticket was given at 5:52pm. 

The person in question (Parking Attendant 14071) could have easily informed me that I was about to park in a problematic place which could land a parking charge. 

I had no information given to me by any party that the car park is only available for parking from a certain time (6pm). This information was only given to me this morning when I approached reception about the charge. 

The hotel suggested I appeal to fix this as they allowed me access to the carpark before the outlined time without informing me. 

Had I known the information I have gathered from this morning, I gladly would have purchased a ticket to allow for parking there. 

Thank you,

M****** ******"

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There seems to be a huge amount of people that have great knowledge on this subject here, and I don't mean to waste time for those who have bigger issues to solve on the forum, but any help with this would be fantastic.

I don't want to be scammed out of £60 for an 8 minute mistake, who would? It doesn't seem reasonable at all!

Thanks all,

Mikey. 

beamerguy

You were told that guest parking was on levels 4 and 5 and you were not told about the times
Odd way to treat hotel guests, what do they expect customers to do if they check in early.

Forget about UKPC, all they want is money, covid is slowly killing these parking companies.
Write to the CEO of Premier and as a guest, ask for this to be cancelled. Express your concern as to how they treat guests/customers.
Search google for CEO email of .......

In future , and tell your friends that before booking any hotel, phone them and ask if they have a parking cowboy onsite and if they say yes ....... find another hotel

Redx

It's a £100 parking charge , not £60 , read that sign !

As far as you as driver are concerned the signs are unclear plus are for those hotel guests and you were one , so a genuine customer of the hotel

You should have appealed as a hirer keeper , not as driver , by using one of the templates by Edna basher , because UKPC would have definitely failed POFA so a hirer would have no liability in law , you threw that away in your appeal , by inferring that you were the Driver

Yes the Grace period may apply , a minimum of 5 minutes

This would have been an easy win with our advice , now it's not so easy , due to naming the driver so no POFA protection

In future , come here for advice , Before appealing , not after

MikeyTT

beamerguy said:

You were told that guest parking was on levels 4 and 5 and you were not told about the times
Odd way to treat hotel guests, what do they expect customers to do if they check in early.

Forget about UKPC, all they want is money, covid is slowly killing these parking companies.
Write to the CEO of Premier and as a guest, ask for this to be cancelled. Express your concern as to how they treat guests/customers.
Search google for CEO email of .......

In future , and tell your friends that before booking any hotel, phone them and ask if they have a parking cowboy onsite and if they say yes ....... find another hotel

The car park is actually shared with another building by the looks of things. The lower levels are for use by Premier Inn only on weekends so that's what I'm assuming!

If the fine ya from UKPC then does the CEO of premier Inn have a say in the cancellation? 

And RedX, I know I've messed up there, I understand that totally. I didn't know that a place as helpful as this existed. 

There's still a way out of this I assume? I guess I'm just looking for advice if how to approach the appeal rejection. Use the POPLA website, or?

Thank you for your quick responses, I very much appreciate it. 

Redx

If they reject your appeal then it's either pay the reduced fee or take your chances with a popla appeal , your choice

If you fail at popla , if you do not pay then you may have to plead your case to a judge , so again it's your choice

The CEO cancellation is best , it always is , especially as it's unlikely that UKPC are the landowner

MikeyTT

Redx said:

If they reject your appeal then it's either pay the reduced fee or take your chances with a popla appeal , your choice

If you fail at popla , if you do not pay then you may have to plead your case to a judge , so again it's your choice

The CEO cancellation is best , it always is

Thank you for that. I'll try to contact the CEO of Premier Inn in that case.

Though, I'm not really sure of what I'm information I'm supposed to relay to them. If it's not their car park is there much they can do about the situation? I'm so stressed, I panicked and wanted it sorting right away. Urghh. Such an idiot. 

beamerguy

If the fine ya from UKPC then does the CEO of premier Inn have a say in the cancellation? 

YOU HAVE NOT BEEN FINED, Parking cowboys cannot do that, just an invoice begging for money.
The hotel must have some agreement so they can cancel.

It matters not if UKPC reject it, right now POPLA is not working at present due to covid

Get serious now, the hotel needs future business and they like every business are not immune to covid.  .   Make your voice heard to the CEO ..... it is easy

MikeyTT

beamerguy said:

If the fine ya from UKPC then does the CEO of premier Inn have a say in the cancellation? 

YOU HAVE NOT BEEN FINED, Parking cowboys cannot do that, just an invoice begging for money.
The hotel must have some agreement so they can cancel.

It matters not if UKPC reject it, right now POPLA is not working at present due to covid

Get serious now, the hotel needs future business and they like every business are not immune to covid.  .   Make your voice heard to the CEO ..... it is easy

Alright, I'll take a look into emailing the CEO. I'm not used to dealing with things like this so it's a little daunting to me. 

Explain the situation to the CEO, explain I've been staying in Premier Inn hotels for years with work and won't be subject to a fine for using a car park that has been allocated for guest parking?

I understand its not a fine, sorry. I just don't understand how UKPC can operate and ask for money like this. 

KeithP

MikeyTT said:

Redx said:

If they reject your appeal then it's either pay the reduced fee or take your chances with a popla appeal , your choice

If you fail at popla , if you do not pay then you may have to plead your case to a judge , so again it's your choice

The CEO cancellation is best , it always is

Thank you for that. I'll try to contact the CEO of Premier Inn in that case.

Though, I'm not really sure of what I'm information I'm supposed to relay to them. If it's not their car park is there much they can do about the situation? I'm so stressed, I panicked and wanted it sorting right away. Urghh. Such an idiot. 

Well one thing you could say is that now you realise how easy it is to be tricked in their car park you'll never be staying at that hotel again. Carry on by pointing out that you'll think twice about staying at any Premier Inn in future. As a customer of theirs, you expect Premier Inn to arrange for this charge to be cancelled forthwith.

beamerguy

MikeyTT said:

beamerguy said:

Explain the situation to the CEO, explain I've been staying in Premier Inn hotels for years with work and won't be subject to a fine for using a car park that has been allocated for guest parking?

I understand its not a fine, sorry. I just don't understand how UKPC can operate and ask for money like this. 

A customer for years ...... maybe you will chose another hotel chain in future years and the CEO needs to know this.   I trust you realise that due to covid there are 1000's of hotel rooms in the UK begging for customers ........ Just like Arcadia and Debenhams, Premier are not excluded in the game of going bust.

Why UKPC ?   why any parking cowboy, car park owners, retailers, pubs and hotels are realising they have made a huge mistake

Redx

It's an unregulated industry , that's why they can operate like this , until the government changes it , next year

Premier Inn must have a contract with somebody , possibly the landowner

So as a regular guest of theirs , parking safely and without ridiculous charges for lawful guests should be on their customer service top five points , landowner complaints work wonders , even if it's not Premier Inn , because they hold great sway over contractors

For the sake of 8 minutes and the hotel reception told you where to park , you acted in good faith and well within a reasonable grace period

We know you don't normally deal with these things , which is why you are here and we are advising you