George & Dragon Batheaston - Parking Eye PCN - Ticket Purchased - Machine Fault / Minor Keying Error

fullyrendered

Thank you in advance for help and direction given 

Postal PCN NTK received dated 2nd October 2023 for a parking event on 27th September.

George & Dragon, Batheaston, Bath - Parking Eye. Location: BA1 7NB

The car park is used for the pub and also parking for local amenities, a ticket can be purchased from a machine in the car park, you are required to enter your registration.

The driver paid the correct parking tariff. On reviewing the ticket issued, there is an obvious error in the registration reproduced.

Example registration: AB123CDE
Registration as it appears on the ticket: AB123CDEAB

The driver is uncertain whether on entering the registration into the machine the characters did not appear on the display in a timely fashion (i.e. instantly) and therefore began to re-enter the registration. Or whether this is entirely a software or hardware fault that has generated the additional characters.

Plan A - the landowner, which is the pub, are not returning calls.

Plan B - appeal to Parking Eye on the basis that this is equivalent to a minor keying error, and under the terms of the BPA's Code of Practice they should have cross-referenced the machine records with the camera and seen that the full registration is present, and not issued the PCN in the first place.

When appealing to Parking Eye should it just include this point, or include the other relevant sections from the blue text first appeal template?

Umkomaas

I'd just write to them telling them that the machine was at fault as it has added two spurious digits to your already correctly inputted VRM (why otherwise would you add two additional digits?). Tell them as a minor keying error, the BPA Code of Practice requires the cancellation of the parking charge. 

UncleThomasCobley

But you have entered the full correct registration. The fact that there are spurious additional letters is nothing to do with you.

You should continue to try and get the landowner to get the PCN cancelled. Write to your MP as part of Plan A and get them to intervene.

When you have exhausted Plan A, go to Plan B and tell PE that you have entered the full registration and if they weren't so intellectually malnourished, they would be able to see that. The fact that their system has a fault and adds spurious characters after your full registration is their problem and that it is obvious to anyone with the IQ of a brick or higher that your full registration has been entered on the ticket.

They'll probably reject or try to get you to fork out £20 for a keying error but, unless you are a fool and their money, you should stick to your guns and see if they want to take it further. You never know, your Plan C POPLA appeal may work and if not, let a judge be the final arbiter of whether you did in fact enter your full registration as your Plan D.

Coupon-mad

When appealing to Parking Eye should it just include this point, or include the other relevant sections from the blue text first appeal template?

Don't use the template.

Write an appeal in your own words as driver and say what you see, attaching a copy of the ticket.

fullyrendered

UPDATE - PCN CANCELLED - PLAN A & B

Took a three-pronged approach last week further to advice above:

Plan A
- wrote (snail mail) to the business owner/land owner
- complained to MP

Plan B
- appealed via the Parking Eye website, as per @Coupon-mad guidance including copy of the ticket, added reference to the BPA Code of Practice likening it to a minor keying error.

Received an email from the landowner stating that they would cancel it, but looks like Parking Eye got there first and they responded stating that further to the appeal they have cancelled the PCN.

The Parking Eye website now shows £0 owing for this PCN.

Emailed the MP again to update them and ask that they support the new legislation.

Thank you all for your fantastic work!

Coupon-mad

Very good and I'm glad you are asking your MP to support the Code of Practice!