Euro Car Parks PCN, Puregym car park - appeal rejected but fine reduced

Adam1997

Hey fellow PCN fighters,

Need advice of what to do next, I will add a short summary (TL;DR) at the end.

Got a PCN for parking without paying on 23/01/2023. I was in my gym, PureGym, at that time, and as CCTV showed (PureGym administration has provided CCTV footage) I have forgotten to enter my car registration details into display.

Focused on PLAN A, just like Newbies guide suggested, and started contacting my local gym. Had a back and forth email conversation with local PureGym administration - we have met in person, reviewed CCTV footage, and unfortunately it confirmed that I did not type anything into display. Which meant they cannot/don't want to email Euro Car Parks, as "forgetting" is not a good excuse to cancel the ticket according to Euro Car Parks (PureGym administration mentioned they are constantly in fight with Euro Car Parks and by now they know what is a good excuse and what is not). They were happy to provide me with the email confirming that I have indeed been in the gym at the time of parking and suggested appealing directly through Euro Car Parks appealing system and to hope I get "a nice" appeal reviewer that will cancel my PCN.

So my question now is what to do next?
My thoughts:

• Wait till my 27 - 28th day of appeal term and appeal it with all the info I gather from PureGym as a proof it was a genuine accident.
• Just don't expect Euro Car Parks to cancel my PCN, and just apply on the last day of my appeal with a standard appealing template from the Newbies thread and start preparing for POPLA.
  
• Keep pushing PureGym to email Euro Car Parks (maybe send our conversation to general PureGym customer service and try to go "nationwide" instead of chatting only with local administration)

What are your thoughts guys? Any help/past experiences would be very much appreciated!


TL;DR Forgot to input my car details into display at PureGym. Got PCN, PureGym don't want to email Euro Car Parks as CCTV shows I have not entered my details. They are recommending to appeal directly. What should I do next?

I will try to update this thread with my journey so fellow comrades can use it in the future as a possible guide of what to do/not to do!

--- UPDATE ---

We have tried getting our ticket cancelled by PureGym - no luck. We will be appealing now through Euro Car Parks. 

Please see my latest comment with a draft of my appeal. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

--- UPDATE --- 30/03/23

Hey guys, back at it again with a small update.

After submitting appeal to Euro Car Parks on 23/02/2023, we have finally received a reply on 28/03/2023. The appeal got rejected, as expected, however they have agreed to reduce the fine to £20. As this was a main suggestion in this forum, we are thinking of accepting it and paying the reduced fine.

Just wanted to share this story with everyone and hope that it might help out someone when in similar situation.

Thank all for your help!

Coupon-mad

All of the above. No need to wait to appeal.

Tell ECP that this was a 'major keying error' situation in not keying in the VRM (human error) but the gym want it cancelled and have supplied the attached proof that you were and are a genuine regular gym member patron, which ECP's own records of this numberplate from other days will confirm.  Offer to settle at £20 as per the keying error clause in the BPA Code of Practice.

Adam1997

Could anyone comment on my appeal draft? Thanks

As the keeper of the vehicle, I would like to appeal this decision.

On the day that this ticket was issued I was having my regular gym visit where I have 2h free parking. As you might see in your system, I am regular gym visitor and always type in my vehicle registration details.

Unfortunately, on the day PCN has been issued, I have forgotten to do that. I have got in touch with local PureGym administration and have got an email confirming my attendance on 23/01/2023 between 6:26am and 7:21am, which perfectly matches parking time (see a screenshot of the email attached below)

As a first-time incident I would appreciate if you could cancel my PCN. As a last resort I would accept a settlement at £20 as per the keying error clause in the BPA Code of Practice.

KeithP

I would definitely not be sending that.
It tells the parking company who was driving.

Apart from that, where are the words 'major keying error' that it was suggested you use?

Adam1997

KeithP said:

I would definitely not be sending that.
It tells the parking company who was driving.

Apart from that, where are the words 'major keying error' that it was suggested you use?

Thanks KeithP. Have cut it shorter and added Coupon's notes. Which statements can be used as a proof that I might have been a driver?

As the keeper of the vehicle, I would like to appeal this decision.

This incident occurred due to a major keying error by not keying in the VRM (human error).

PureGym administration has confirmed it and has provided an email with confirmation of my attendance that matches parking time (see attached). You should have own records of this vehicle’s numberplate from other days to confirm I am regular gym user in this area.

As a first-time incident I would appreciate if you could cancel my PCN. As a last resort I would accept a settlement at £20 as per the keying error clause in the BPA Code of Practice.

B789

Adam1997 said:
As a first-time incident I would appreciate if you could cancel my PCN. As a last resort I would accept a settlement at £20 as per the keying error clause in the BPA Code of Practice.

Please show us where exactly the above is referenced in their current CoP:

https://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/AOS_Code_of_Practice_January_2020_v8(2).pdf

If you're going to try and get these bottom-dwellers to act in your favour, you'll need more than that, especially if there is actually no reference to "forgetting" to input anything rather than a "major keying error". Good luck though.

See 17.4(b)

Adam1997

B789 said:

Adam1997 said:
As a first-time incident I would appreciate if you could cancel my PCN. As a last resort I would accept a settlement at £20 as per the keying error clause in the BPA Code of Practice.

Please show us where exactly the above is referenced in their current CoP:

https://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/AOS_Code_of_Practice_January_2020_v8(2).pdf

If you're going to try and get these bottom-dwellers to act in your favour, you'll need more than that, especially if there is actually no reference to "forgetting" to input anything rather than a "major keying error". Good luck though.

See 17.4(b)

Hey B789, thanks for your reply. I have modified my appeal slightly, by adding some quotes from CoP. Do you think it adds any value?
Regarding "forgetting" - it's not stated in the examples, but the further explanation suggests that just being "a patron of the place" should count as a valid excuse, which I have confirmed by PureGym.
Let me know what you think guys.
---------------------

As the keeper of the vehicle, I would like to appeal this decision.

This incident occurred due to a major keying error by not keying in the VRM (human error).

PureGym administration, assistant manager XXX XXX, has confirmed it and has provided an email with confirmation of my attendance that matches parking time (see attached). You should have own records  of this vehicle’s numberplate as well from other days to confirm I am regular gym user in this area.

As a first-time incident I would appreciate if you could cancel my PCN. As a last resort I would accept a settlement at £20 as per the keying error clause 17.4 , in the BPA Code of Practice, that states:

“...In these instances we would expect that such errors are dealt with appropriately at the first appeal stage, especially if it can be proven that the motorist has paid for the parking event or that the motorist attempted to enter their VRM or were a legitimate user of the car park…

...It is appreciated that in issuing a PCN in these instances, the operator will have incurred charges including but not limited to the DVLA fee and other processing costs therefore we believe that it is reasonable to seek to recover some of these costs by making a modest charge to the motorist of no more than £20…”

Coupon-mad

Yes that's fine.