Britannia Parking Scotland HELP

vst01

Hi everyone,

I parked at a retail park at 18:49 and left at 20:05 on the 17th of May and today, I received a letter from Britannia parking asking for a discounted £60 from £100. The machines were broken up until very recently, and there was no indication they were fixed! I never got a ticket before, what should I do? I parked there one more time so I reckon I will get another ticket soon!! They attached photos of entering and exiting the car park. 

Le_Kirk

Did you miss the NEWBIE please read these first?  In there you will find this advice: -

Q - ''I'm in Scotland/NI, so is the advice different?'' 

YES. IF THE EVENT TOOK PLACE IN SCOTLAND OR NORTHERN IRELAND, WE SUGGEST YOU DO (ALWAYS!) COMPLAIN TO STORE MANAGEMENT IF YOUR PCN IS FROM A RETAIL PARK, AND SEND THE USUAL TEMPLATE APPEAL FOR YOUR CASE, NOT SAYING WHO WAS DRIVING. HOWEVER, DO NOT TRY POPLA BECAUSE POPLA (IN A CASE THAT TOOK PLACE OUTSIDE ENGLAND/WALES) WILL REQUIRE YOU TO STATE IF YOU WERE DRIVING OR NOT, AND THAT IS THE ONE THING NOT TO DISCLOSE.

vst01

Thank you - where is the Newbie section , please?

Umkomaas

vst01 said:

Thank you - where is the Newbie section , please?

Right on the first page of this forum, from where you created this thread. How did you miss that - it's headed up in block capitals to make it noticeable?

vst01

Adhd unfortunately! Thank you, I will give it a read!

vst01

Hi there, apologies but I got another letter today which says final reminder and that the discounted period has now expired. I read the thread but I'm not sure it applies totally to my case simply because although I did park at the retail park, I didn't use any of the shops there, so not sure if sending a letter to the shop manager will suffice. I didn't pay as the machines were broken for so long and I wronly assumed they still are.

Now I'm thinking maybe I should try and pay the discounted price. The date of the notice is the 25th of May but I only got the ticket on the 5th of June. Sometime this week , I got another letter saying the final reminder and that the discounted period has now expired. I was away on holiday for a week so I only saw it today.  Basically by the time I got the discounted first letter and the second final reminder it's been only a week between them! 

vst01

Also, the ticket has my name and they have contacted DVLA straight away and they have pictures of the car too. 

Coupon-mad

All normal. But this isn't to be paid under any circumstances! 

Complain to the retail park anyway but WITHOUT SAYING WHO WAS DRIVING.

If this was in Scotland why would you think about paying, after reading the NEWBIES thread?

I had hoped that the sticky makes it clear about Scotland being different (at the moment).  As quoted above by Le_Kirk.

The law will change (for the better) in 2024 for new PCNs, as this rogue industry is to be regulated in the UK.  Unfortunately, to be brought in line with England you will get 'keeper liability' which will be a bad change for Scottish keepers - but the rest will be fairer.  For new PCNs in 2024.

But you don't have keeper liability in 2023 so obviously ignore these daft threatograms.

Certainly DO NOT give away who was driving!

Not a single poster here will advise you to pay a private parking charge in Scotland. Are you getting bad advice from other people who don't know that keeper liability isn't a thing yet and are unaware that practically no parking cases are ever brought to a Scottish court?

Britannia won't.

Enjoy the £170 letters. They make good hamster cage bedding or to line your cat litter tray.

TO BE CLEAR:
DO NOT PARK THERE AGAIN.  WE NEVER ENCOURAGE OVERSTAYING OR IN ANY WAY ABUSING A RETAIL CAR PARK.  

Always read signs in future. If you cannot comply with the terms then leave very quickly.

vst01

Thank you that makes sense. I had people telling me how Britannia will chase me up and is not a guarantee that I won't go to court. So I ended up sending the blue no-!!!!!! letter because I was super panicky as the 28 da period will come to an end. I explained how there is insufficient signage and that the timings of their letters do not match up using the appropriate bullet points. I did not say who was the driver and on the appeal I simply put myself as the keeper of the vehicle since they already know that from DVLA.  I hope that would be enough, what do you think? I will also complain to the retail park. 

Coupon-mad

I knew you'd had bad advice!  

Tell them how wrong they are. 

Appealing doesn't stop the letters. The appeal will be rejected.  Please stop taking the bait.

Stop responding!

We really really mean IGNORE the £170 demands.

vst01

Those letters are so intimidating. 

What should I do moving forward? According to the thread, if they reject the appeal, they I need to appeal the appeal is that right? Or should I just ignore them all together.