Do I need to pay a parking fine if POPLA assessed and decided my claim is unsuccessful

edmond

I have received a letter from Debt Recovery Plus this morning over an unpaid parking fine

I raised fine with POPLA siting the following

The terms and conditions of the car park were not properly signed. The signs do not mention parking within a marked bay. • The legal parking charge document the grammar is very unprofessional. The appellant has provided images of signs and a copy of the operator’s response to their appeal. This has been considered in making my determination.

I then received the following 

The operator has provided a site plan and photographic evidence of the signage in place in the car park, the terms and conditions of this car park are: “PARK ONLY WITHIN MARKED BAYS”. The signage also states a Parking Charge of £100 will be issued for failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the site. The operator has provided photographs of the appellants vehicle on site, not parked within a marked bay, with time and date stamps of 28 September 2022 at 13:23, 13:32 and 13:33. When entering onto a private car park such as this one, any motorist forms a contract with the operator by remaining on the land for a reasonable period. The signage in place sets out the terms and conditions of this contract. The British Parking Association (BPA) has a Code of Practice which set the standards its parking operators need to comply with. Section 19 of the Code says parking operators need to have signs that clearly set out the terms. In this case the parking operator’s evidence shows that there is signage at the entrance and throughout the site and I am satisfied that these comply with the BPA Code of Practice. The images of signage that the appellant has provided is the site entrance sign and this sign states that terms and conditions apply and to see the signage in the car park for full details. The driver of the vehicle does not need to have read the terms and conditions of the contract to accept it. There is only the requirement that the driver is afforded the opportunity to read and understand the terms and conditions of the contract before accepting it. It is the driver’s responsibility to seek out the terms and conditions, and ensure they understand them, before agreeing to the contract and parking. I acknowledge that the appellant has said that they feel the grammar in the parking charge document is very unprofessional. POPLAs role is to determine if the PCN has been issued correctly by the parking operator. We have no influence on how the operator operates. If the appellant wanted to raise this further, they would need to contact the parking operator directly. The operator has supplied date stamped photographic evidence showing the appellant’s vehicle parked outside of a marked bay. POPLA would consider a marked bay to be an area with white lines either side, therefore from the evidence provided I am satisfied that the appellant’s vehicle is not parked in line with the terms and conditions of the site. Ultimately, it is the driver’s responsibility prior to leaving their vehicle in the car park, to seek out the terms of parking, ensure that they understand them and to ensure that the vehicle is parked in accordance with the terms and conditions of that site. The appellant was not authorised to park on site and subsequently accepted the consequence of receiving a potential PCN. For the reasons outlined above, I conclude that the PCN has been issued correctly. Accordingly, I must refuse this appeal

Now its been escalated to a Debt Company do i need to pay the fine?

Half_way

As you have not had a fine, or been fined, or had a penalty, then there is no requirement to pay.

Also, who's car park was is?
Where was it?
Name of parking company?

edmond

Half_way said:

As you have not had a fine, or been fined, or had a penalty, then there is no requirement to pay.

Also, who's car park was is?
Where was it?
Name of parking company?

Also, who's car park was is? Morrison
Where was it? Erith
Name of parking company? Euro Car Parks

Thanks

Coupon-mad

Do I need to pay a parking fine if POPLA assessed and decided my claim is unsuccessful

Answer: NO.  Of course not!

Please read the 4th post of the NEWBIES thread.  We beg for no new threads about Debt Recovery letters.  You'll see why not from that post.