Parking Eye Admin Charge

Hkingsto

Hi,
After searching historical threads cannot see any on the Admin charge Parking Eye now hit you with.
Situation: Stayed at Holiday Inn Walsall and parking included in my stay. I confirmed this with reception and gave Reg details as there were parking signs everywhere - we parked directly under the hotel.
Following week we had letter from Parking eye with £100 charge. Immediately rang Holiday Inn and complained. They emailed me, confirming they had contacted Parking Eye to cancel the ticket, but warned me I'd get a £20 Admin fee from them. They included the following snapshot:
It reads:
Cancellation Request:
We will correspond with the motorists and/or cancel the car parking charges when and where applicable.
Please note there are circumstances when we can't cancel a parking charge, such as when legal action has commenced or the matter is with the independent appeals service or costs have been incurred, resulting in a request for a reduced payment from the motorist.

I emailed Holiday Inn again saying that they were contracted to give me free parking and they should cover the £20, or credit me the amount. They replied with the following:

You should receive a letter to reduce the fees, however due to Parking Eye’s new legislature, it means you may have to pay £20.00 Administrative fees. I do apologise for the inconvenience, but now you must contact Parking Eye through their website if you wish to appeal further as there is now nothing that we are able to do on our end.

Do I have any option?
Is it worth appealing?
I believe the Holiday Inn are at fault here, or their process of notifying Parking Eye, but we as consumers of the service are penalized. Parking Eye can simply get £20 off all guests staying at the hotel ...it would have probably been cheaper to pay to park! 
Really frustrated and welcome any advice,

Sincere thanks,

Fruitcake

Was this at the Holiday In Express hotel next to the M6 roundabout, opposite another hotel? If so, Google Streetview show there is no sign at the car park entrance, and the signs overgrown in images from May 2022.

Complain to the hotel manager and the UK CEO of IHG hotels, and your MP, and keep complaining until it is cancelled.

The parking industry is unregulated and make up their own rules. There is no legislature new or otherwise and PE are simply trying it on. If they charge the hotel a fee to cancel a parking charge, more fool the hotel for not having the business acumen to bar such contract clauses.

A parking contract in civil law is made between the motorist and the parking operator, and the contract terms and conditions are made on the signage displayed at the material location at the material time. New terms and conditions cannot later be added. You should also complain to the BPA that one of their trade association members is trying to add terms and conditions to parking after the event that are not displayed on the signs at the site.
I believe the case of Thornton v Shoe Lane is the definitive law regarding adding terms after the event. You should look it up and quote the relevant parts in your complaints.  It provides a good example of the rule that a clause cannot be incorporated after a contract has been concluded, without reasonable notice before.

Do not pay them a penny. I doubt PE would want this to go to court.

Hkingsto

Thank you, yes this is the Holiday Inn Express by the M6 roundabout!

Coupon-mad

I'd pay the £20 then escalate the Hotel complaint because they caused this loss and erred in two ways:

- they took your VRM to exempt your car but then failed to do so. They caused the PCN;

- they replied: "due to Parking Eye’s new legislature, it means you may have to pay £20.00 Administrative fees".  There is no such legislation. Either the hotel lied or PEye did.

patient_dream

Seems like Holiday Inn Express  are having the wool pulled over their eyes by Parking Eye.  Cowboy-ism at it's best

"Please note there are circumstances when we can't cancel a parking charge, such as when legal action has commenced or the matter is with the independent appeals service or costs have been incurred,"

What rubbish .... they can cancel right up to the day in court.
The CEO of Holiday Inn Express should be very upset that his customers are being used as a cash cow by Parking Eye

"due to Parking Eye’s new legislature" ??? ... whatever that means ?   Not much difference to the BPA adding fake charges in their CoP.

1505grandad

Besides the word "legislature"  (Cambridge Dictionary):-

"an elected group of people who have the power to make and change laws in a state or country

PE "ain't" one of them.

Hkingsto

Thank you everyone for your contributions - After writing to the CEO of Holiday Inn, I've had confirmation from the GM of the Hotel that they will cancel the remaining £20 fee direct with Parking Eye. 
I have asked them to please fix the process so no others fall foul of the same situation in future.
Thank you again.

Coupon-mad

That's a perfect outcome and I'm glad you've asked them to fix it.