Parking fine appeal help please - Fistral Beach Initial Parking

ParkingBabe

Good afternoon,

I've been reading through the faqs and POPLA decision etc, but I am not able to see lot of recent success stories for Fistral Beach parking so hoping someone can help.

Could someone please help advise me on how to put together an appeal letter?

On the 28 Aug (UK Bank Holiday) we parked up at the Fistral Beach car park. We drove around a little to find a space, and managed to grab one of the last ones available. It was really busy parking considering it was a bank holiday. It took us 12 mins to find a space, park, find signal on mobile, download the app, add payment details and pay. We paid for the parking for an hour and extended for another hour using app. We packed up before our time was over and drove out of parking space. It was very busy car park and took us 8 more mins to exit the car park. 
Assuming that there would be some grace period built in for people to find space and park and same during exit, we did not bother much. My company (registered keeper) has now received a PCN from Initial Parking showing pictures from the ANPR camera noting down time of the entry and exit from the car park. 

I have not written to Initial Parking yet and wanted to find out if I should write to them to appeal? Do you see any chance of winning this appeal at this stage or at POPLA stage?

If I should write to Initial Appeal, could someone please help me with a template?
If I appeal to Initial Parking and POPLA (if it goes to next stage), would I still have chance to pay reduced fine, in case they both reject it?

Would REALLY appreciate any help thank you!

Fruitcake

It is not a fine, but it is well that you have not appealed yet and have asked for help instead of jumping the gun.

Fistral Beach is a known scam site because of its size and all the other problems you mention.

Since this is a company car, "The Company" (the name shown on the V5C) should appeal using one of the edna basher appeal letters you will find in the sticky Announcement for NEWBIES. There are three to choose from so you will need to check each one out to find the one that fits best. They are listed quite a way down the first post of the NEWBIES, after the template in blue text.

Post the one you have selected here before you submit it.

Parking companies find it impossible to correctly transfer liability to a company or a hirer/lessee, so make sure the driver's identity is never revealed. Your use of the word "We" above is a good example of how to do this.

ParkingBabe

ParkingBabe said:

Good afternoon,

I've been reading through the faqs and POPLA decision etc, but I am not able to see lot of recent success stories for Fistral Beach parking so hoping someone can help.

Could someone please help advise me on how to put together an appeal letter?

On the 28 Aug (UK Bank Holiday) we parked up at the Fistral Beach car park. We drove around a little to find a space, and managed to grab one of the last ones available. It was really busy parking considering it was a bank holiday. It took us 12 mins to find a space, park, find signal on mobile, download the app, add payment details and pay. We paid for the parking for an hour and extended for another hour using app. We packed up before our time was over and drove out of parking space. It was very busy car park and took us 8 more mins to exit the car park. 
Assuming that there would be some grace period built in for people to find space and park and same during exit, we did not bother much. My company (registered keeper) has now received a PCN from Initial Parking showing pictures from the ANPR camera noting down time of the entry and exit from the car park. 

I have not written to Initial Parking yet and wanted to find out if I should write to them to appeal? Do you see any chance of winning this appeal at this stage or at POPLA stage?

If I should write to Initial Appeal, could someone please help me with a template?
If I appeal to Initial Parking and POPLA (if it goes to next stage), would I still have chance to pay reduced fine, in case they both reject it?

Would REALLY appreciate any help thank you!

To add here, the parking app JustPark does not allow you to set the start time for parking which means that you can not start parking until the parking app is on which is only after you have safely parked. I remember parking signs/ terms and conditions saying that you can pay for the parking for earlier time (do not remember exact words but what it means that you can start your parking start time from the time of entry in the car park) but the JustPark app does not allow you to set the start time. This means that the time of start of the parking can only be when you start the app. How am I suppose to keep the app open when I enter the car park, it will always be after I have parked and found out which app this particular car park accepts. 

fisherjim

The landowner gets the parking fee paid, the PPC gets the PCN monies only it therefore follows that in this scam industry the PPC loves these situations that's where they get their ill gotten gains from.

ANPR is not allowed in authority car parks as it's not fit for purpose but in the unregulated private parking industry anything goes at the moment.

Castle

A trip down "memory lane", (at the same car park):-
Driving around waiting for a space is not parking — MoneySavingExpert Forum

ParkingBabe

Fruitcake said:

It is not a fine, but it is well that you have not appealed yet and have asked for help instead of jumping the gun.

Fistral Beach is a known scam site because of its size and all the other problems you mention.

Since this is a company car, "The Company" (the name shown on the V5C) should appeal using one of the edna basher appeal letters you will find in the sticky Announcement for NEWBIES. There are three to choose from so you will need to check each one out to find the one that fits best. They are listed quite a way down the first post of the NEWBIES, after the template in blue text.

Post the one you have selected here before you submit it.

Parking companies find it impossible to correctly transfer liability to a company or a hirer/lessee, so make sure the driver's identity is never revealed. Your use of the word "We" above is a good example of how to do this.

Hi,

I am planning to go with below letter:

*************************************************************
Dear Sir,

Parking Charge Notice [0123456789]: Vehicle Registration [AA11ABC]

I refer to the above-detailed Parking Charge Notice (“PCN”) issued to me by Initial Parking Ltd (“Initial Parking”) as a Notice to Hirer. I confirm that as the hirer of this vehicle, I am its keeper for the purpose of the corresponding definition under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“POFA”) and I write to formally challenge the validity of this PCN.

You will no doubt be familiar with the strict requirements of Schedule 4 of POFA to be followed in order for a parking operator to be able to invoke keeper liability for a Parking Charge. There are a number of reasons why Initial Parking’s Notice to Hirer did not comply with POFA; in order that you may understand why, I suggest that you carefully study the details of Paragraphs 13 and 14 of Schedule 4 in particular.

Given that Initial Parking has forfeited its right to keeper liability, please confirm that you shall now cancel this charge. Alternatively, should you choose to reject my challenge, please provide me with details of the Independent Appeals Service (POPLA), their contact details and a unique POPLA appeal reference so that I may escalate the matter to POPLA.

Thank you for your cooperation and I look forward to receiving your response within the relevant timescales specified under the British Parking Association Ltd Code of Practice.


Yours faithfully,
(**I am not planning to write any name here)

*********************************************************

Could you please confirm if this is a good letter for initial appeal?
The car is owned by my own limited company and I use it as Benefit in Kind. What does it mean in the second line when it says - I confirm that as the hirer of this vehicle, I am its keeper...

Thanks

B789

It just means that you are the day to day "keeper" of the vehicle. The "driver" could be anyone who is insured to drive the vehicle or has their own insurance and the keepers permission to drive it. 

The "keeper" and the "driver" are two separate entities in law. As the PPC has not adhered to PoFA 2012, they can only pursue the "driver", not the "keeper". They have no idea who was driving unless you have told them that you were. There is no legal obligation to reveal the identity of the driver to an unregulated private parking company.

KeithP

ParkingBabe said:

Yours faithfully,
(**I am not planning to write any name here)

An anonymous appeal??
That's not sensible.

ParkingBabe

KeithP said:

ParkingBabe said:

Yours faithfully,
(**I am not planning to write any name here)

An anonymous appeal??
That's not sensible.

Whose name shall I use here? Can I use my name as director of the limited company? Do I have to add my title in the appeal as Director?
Is the above appeal letter format good enough for me to write to them?

B789

If the V5C is in the company name, use that for the signature. I'll bet that no one has signed their name to any letters you have received so far.

Coupon-mad

Put your initial and surname and job position.