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ParkingEye - LBCCC

Hello, newbie here!

I have read the Newbie thread.

I got a PCN back in May - foolishly didn't contact the land owner and appealed with ParkingEye, then POPLA - both rejected.

I have now contacted the land owner (my child's school) and they say they can do noting as I appealed direct to ParkingEye & POPLA. - I live and learn!

I have received an LBCCC (this week) from ParkingEye and have sent an SAR on their PRIVACY page.

I'm about to email their litigation team to try to resolve the dispute (enforcement@parkingeye.co.uk) but am not sure what evidence I should include... basically my defence is that half of the signs in the carpark (literally the whole half of the carpark to the right of the entrance where I parked) are missing - they are on their plan, but there are physically not there!

Should I base my email on this evidence or am I better off keeping my powder dry?

Thanks for any advice!


Comments

  • D_P_Dance
    D_P_Dance Posts: 11,592 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Their signs are pants.  It is likely  that a judge will agree.  Read this and complain to your MP.

    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5972164/parking-eye-signs-oxford-road-reading/p1

    A judge earlier this year made these comments

    "This signage contains a huge amount of wording, in varying fonts. There are

    between 650 ta 700 words, by my rough count. it's well known that the average
    reading speed of most adults is aground 200 to 250 words per minute. On the basis
    however that this is reading a sign and there are many technical words, it would
    probably take an average reader about 3 to 4 minutes to read everything on the
    sign. The key part however is found be found some 140 words into the text. It is in the
    middle of the sign and it says this, in capitals, then below it is a lower sized font
    referring to the £100:"   DJ Harvey


     
    You never know how far you can go until you go too far.
  • Coupon-mad
    Coupon-mad Posts: 155,731 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 14 September 2021 at 1:05PM
    Go back to the school and ask them to send a cancellation request anyway because you have read that in fact ParkingEye cancel at any point before court and/or it otherwise causes them to make a settlement offer if £60 and you want that opportunity.

    I am telling you this is what PE will do but the landowner MUST send that email!

    Then you reply to the LBCCC telling PE that you have complained to the landowner/school and you are prepared to offer £30 to resolve the dispute.  See what I’m doing here? You set your offer low.

    PE will come back offering for you to pay at £60 but only if they get that landowner email.
    PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
    CLICK at the top or bottom of any page where it says:
    Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD
  • The school have tried to cancel the PCN:

    “13/09/21 - Really sorry this has happened. Usually, when customers come to us with parking fines, we can cancel them really easily for legitimate customers. I have tried to do the same with yours today, however, because you went to Parking Eye and POPLA without contacting us first, it is now out of our hands. For this reason and because you were on site for school reasons, I have contacted our Account Manager at Parking Eye to see if she can do anything for us. Someone will be in contact as soon as possible, once we hear back.”

    “14/09/21 - As explained yesterday, I contacted Parking Eye and wanted to let you know their response. 

    'You have submitted the above reference via the portal for cancellation. Unfortunately, this is now with our Enforcement Team, the motorist has lost their appeal at POPLA and therefore cannot be cancelled.'

    Really sorry we can't do anything more to help.“

    If I wanted to pay £60, I would have done it a long time ago. 

    My question is: should I share my evidence (the fact that ALL 7 signs per the signage plan are missing from the half of the carpark that I was parked in) with ParkingEye in an attempt to get them to cancel the pcn or just wait for court and let the judge decide?
  • Redx
    Redx Posts: 38,084 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 14 September 2021 at 7:47PM
    The latter

    You can still try to settle at £30 and see what happens , looks better in court too

    You won't strongarm PE into a cancellation , so it's mediation or court , a loss in court is £185
  • I won’t be offering them anything. I didn’t see any signs (and therefore didn’t enter into a contract) because the signs were nowhere near me. The red circles are where the signs are missing. The green x is where I was parked. I never left my car (waiting for my daughter) and it was raining. If ParkingEye definitely won’t cancel with this evidence then I’ll just rely on the judge.

  • Picture taken from the entrance of the area where the missing signs should be. I was parked somewhere in the middle.
  • Coupon-mad
    Coupon-mad Posts: 155,731 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 14 September 2021 at 10:49PM
    How was this lost at POPLA? I mean I know their assessors are pretty terrible but that picture shows no signs at all.

    I would respond to the LBCCC but as you say, without making an offer and I applaud you for that - good on you!  I wasn’t sure how you felt about the idea of a court case but we will assist you every step of the way.

    But respond to the LBCCC reiterating your evidence and also stating that they have no legitimate interest in pursuing you, unlike in their Supreme Court case of ParkingEye v Beavis.  This is because the school wants it cancelled and has confirmed you were authorised.

    That, plus the lack of signage in that area of the car parking location means they have no cause of action and should cancel the charge regardless of the farce of POPLA being paid for by ParkingEye.  It’s a cost that cannot be passed on to a consumer anyway.

    Reply robustly as above and keep responding.  You can contact PE’s litigation team by email:

    enforcement@parkingeye.co.uk

    Unlike other PPCs, ParkingEye can be stopped at LBCCC stage by robust responses.  Their litigation team is quite pragmatic and will weigh everything up.  Get into some email tennis reiterating that the school want it cancelled.  Copy in your MP and/or the school, and you might well see PE drop it.
    PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
    CLICK at the top or bottom of any page where it says:
    Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD
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