Premier Park, Charlestown - POPLA Appeal Successful

silly_seagull

I'd just like to say a huge Thank You to everyone who takes the time to post on here to help others beat these cowboy operators.

We received a postal PCN for parking at Charlestown Harbour in Cornwall back in May. It was a small crowded car park and the only space available was tucked away in a corner with a large bush encroaching into it. 

The PCN was for not parking wholly within a bay.

We went through all the steps advised, including contacting our MP and the company who we thought was the landowner, and ended up at POPLA.

We appealed to POPLA quoting tons of points and when Premier Park submitted their evidence, we contacted the organisation named on the Landowner Agreement who denied being the actual landowner. ( Made sure this was in writing!!)

In the comments to POPLA re the evidence, we made sure to highlight this.

POPLA found in our favour but due to the PCN having a different name than the Landowner Agreement, not that the agreement had the wrong landowner named.

Once again, huge Thanks to all the contributors. Don't think we could have done this without your help.🎉

silly_seagull

Decision

Successful

Assessor Name

Paul E Walker

Assessor summary of operator case

The operator says the vehicle was parked not wholly within a bay, and has issued a parking charge notice (PCN) for £100.

Assessor summary of your case

The appellant says the PCN didn’t comply with the Protection of Freedoms Act (POFA) 2012. They advise signs on site weren’t adequate. They say the operator wasn’t authorised by the landowner to operate. They advise there were mitigating circumstances around why the driver parked as they did. They say the bays on site are too small. They advise the operator frustrated the driver’s ability to comply with the contract. They say there was no loss incurred. The appellant has provided a document elaborating on the above appeal grounds in detail. Having seen the operator’s evidence, the appellant expands on some of their original appeal grounds.

Assessor supporting rational for decision

The operator is a member of the British Parking Association’s (BPA) Approved Operator Scheme, and must follow the associated Code of Practice. The Code says that if an operator doesn’t “own the land on which [it is] carrying out parking management, [it] must have the written authorisation of the landowner”, that authorisation “must be given before […] operating on the land in question and give […] authority to carry out all the aspects of car park management” and that “it must say that the landowner […] requires [the operator] to keep to the Code of Practice and that [it has] the authority to pursue outstanding parking charges.” The appellant has queried whether the operator was authorised by the landowner to operate on site. The operator has provided a copy of a document which it says shows it was authorised, but, having reviewed the document, I can’t agree. The document provided is a contract between a landowner and the operator, authorising the operator to manage parking at a particular car park. The location of the car park is given as “Shipwreck & Heritage Car Park, Quay Road, St Austell, PL25 3NJ”. The evidence also includes a copy of the PCN, which gave the location of parking as “Charlestown Pay & Display, Charlestown, PL25 3NJ”. Whilst the two locations share a postcode, they don’t otherwise appear to be the same location. If they are the same location, it’s unclear why the operator’s contract with the landowner would give the location one name and the PCN another. I’m not satisfied from the evidence that the operator had appropriate authority to operate on site. I’m not therefore satisfied that the PCN was issued correctly and must allow this appeal.

silly_seagull

I hope this is useful to others - having seen the Google reviews for this car park.

Fruitcake

Well done, and thanks for letting us know.

Would you mind posting this in the PoPLA Decisions sticky Announcement at the top of the main forum page please?

silly_seagull

No problem @Fruitcake Will do it now 🙂

Coupon-mad

Great stuff - and I love your username!  Matches my avatar.

fisherjim

Great job, it's nice to see these dozy Muppets that think they hold all the trump cards kicked in to touch

silly_seagull

Coupon-mad said:

Great stuff - and I love your username!  Matches my avatar.

Oops 😊 Sorry.

Been mugged on two separate occasions by seagulls!!

silly_seagull

There are Google reviews about this car park with other people having issues with spaces not being long enough for a modern standard car. I really hope that others will find this post and that it helps them fight too.