MET Parking Services fine at a local BP

eits1000

Hi, I made a POPLA appeal a couple weeks ago and received comments back from MET. I'm not sure how to counter their response in the comments section and have to respond by the end of this week. I have read the NEWBIES thread but still none the wider about gow to respond. 

I overstayed at BP by 30mins not knowing anything about their signage or minimum stay having used their petrol pump, M&S and the toilet.

In my POPLA appeal I used a template and incorporated a lot from my own, mostly about signage being far and small and one prominent sign had a light bulb missing at night. 

Can someone help on this response please? 

Thanks in advance! 

(Removed by Forum Team)

eits1000

Hi, I used the template in the newbies fortin to dispute my parking ticket which I received at a BP station for overstating the 30mins grace period as I was feeding my kid in the car whilst it was parked. I was a paying customer and had no idea there was a 30min time limit to being in a petrol station!.

I just received this response and wondered what is my next step? 

Site: (963) BP Clarendon Borehamwood

Issue date: 23/10/2023

POPLA Verification Code: 

Thank you for your correspondence received in regards to the above parking charge. 

The terms and conditions of parking are clearly stated on the signs prominently displayed around this site. These 

include that parking is for customers whilst on the premises only and that there is a maximum permitted stay in this area 

of 30 minutes. Your vehicle remained on site for longer than the maximum permitted stay therefore we believe the 

charge was issued correctly and we are upholding it.

Please find the requested photographic evidence enclosed.

We are confident there are sufficient signs at this location bringing the terms and conditions of parking to the attention of 

motorists and it remains the driver's responsibility to check the signs where they park and comply with the terms and 

conditions.

As advised on the notice to keeper, where the charge has not been paid in full and 29 days has passed since we issued 

the charge and we still do not know the name and address for service of court papers of the driver, we are entitled to 

pursue the registered keeper for payment of the outstanding charge.

This decision, which has been based on the facts of the case and takes into account our consideration of any mitigating 

circumstances, is our final decision. You have reached the end of our internal appeals procedure and you now have a number of options:

1. Pay or, if you were not the driver of the vehicle at the time of the incident, request the driver to pay the parking charge 

at the prevailing price of £60.00 within 14 days of today's date. Please note that if payment is not received by this date 

the parking charge will be payable at £100.00 and further costs will accrue if the case is passed to our debt resolution 

agents for collection or if we need to proceed with court action to collect the money due to us. Payment may be made 

online at www.paymetparking.com or by phone on 020 3781 7471.

2. Make an appeal to POPLA, the Independent Appeals Service, within 28 days of the date of this letter by going to the 

online appeals system at: www.popla.co.uk using verification code: (Removed by Forum Team) Please note that POPLA will consider 

the evidence of both parties and make their decision based upon the facts and application of the relevant law. Please 

note that if you opt to appeal to POPLA, and should POPLA's decision NOT go in your favour, you will be required to 

pay the full amount of £100.00. Please note if the contravention occurred in Scotland only the driver may appeal to 

POPLA. By law we are also required to inform you that Ombudsman Services (www.ombudsman-services.org) provides 

an alternative dispute resolution service that would be competent to deal with your appeal. However, we have not 

chosen to participate in their alternative dispute resolution service. As such should you wish to appeal then you must do 

so to POPLA as explained above.

3. If you choose to do nothing, we will seek to recover the monies owed to us via our debt recovery procedures and may 

proceed with court action.

Do I now have to appeal to popla? Can someone kindly guide me to my Options?l or just I now pay? 
Any thanks in advance! 

Coupon-mad

You need to edit the POPLA Code out of your post!  Someone could try to use it.

You will never pay this. See NEWBIES thread.

eits1000

Coupon-mad said:

You need to edit the POPLA Code out of your post!  Someone could try to use it.

You will never pay this. See NEWBIES thread.

Thanks for your message! Could you guide me to which part of the newbies thread I need to turn to next? I've gone through it a few times and I'm a bit confused.... 

Many thanks in advance 

Coupon-mad

The POPLA section. 

eits1000

When should I do the popla application? On around the 26th day? 

eits1000

Hi, I have just received a response from my popla appeal. Any idea what I can do next here? I would really appreciate some guidance, thank you. 

Pls see the response from MET:

In the appeal to POPLA Mr x raises the following grounds for appeal: • No liability We are confident that we have complied with the relevant requirements of PoFA 2012. Please see our compliant Notice to Keeper in Section B of our evidence pack. Please also see a full explanation of why we may pursue the registered keeper under Schedule 4 of PoFA 2012 in Section C of our evidence pack. • No landowner authority We have included a copy of our contract with the landowner in Section E of our evidence pack. We have redacted commercially sensitive details and highlighted relevant clauses for ease of reading. Our contract with the landowner grants us authority to form contracts with motorists and issue parking charge notices for contractual breach. • No clear signage We are confident that there are sufficient signs in place in this car park and that the signs are prominently displayed and clearly state the terms and conditions. In Section E of our evidence pack we have included images of the signs in place and a site plan of the location. We have also included images of signs made of the same material taken in low lighting in order to demonstrate that they remain visible in the hours of darkness due to the retro-reflective material they are constructed with. Please note this site is a 24-hour petrol station therefore it is illuminated during the hours of darkness so that motorists can see to fill up with fuel and purchase items from the shop. We would also point out that Mr x's images demonstrate that there is adequate lighting, and that the signage is clearly visible at night. A motorist does not have to have read the terms and conditions of parking to enter into a parking contract, there is only the requirement that the parking operator affords them the opportunity to do so. As stated above, we are confident that there is sufficient signage at the site in order to afford motorists the chance to read the terms and conditions that are in place. Upon entry to the site, it is the motorist’s obligation to seek out any terms and conditions that may be in place before choosing to park or remain on site.   • The amount of the charge is a penalty We refer you to the Supreme Court ruling in ParkingEye v Beavis which may be found at https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/docs/uksc-2013-0280-judgment.pdf. This ruling revolved around a charge of similar size and nature and the judges ruled that the charge need not represent the loss suffered, was not excessive or unconscionable, did not breach the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations and was enforceable. • The photographic evidence appears to have been doctored Whilst we note POPLA are fully aware of how the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras work, we will explain this in simple terms for the benefit of the appellant. The cameras are fixed cameras with specific designations that are set for the locations where they are erected so that all data received from the cameras can be allocated against the specific location. The images showing the vehicle entering and exiting the locations which include the numberplate of the vehicle are date and time stamped at source with the date and time on the relevant camera being updated against the atomic clock. An enlarged section of these two date and time stamped images focusing on the numberplate is included for the benefit of the motorist. We have ANPR cameras placed at the entrance and exit that record vehicles entering and exiting the car park and will only generate a parking charge if an overstay occurs, such as in this instance. Our cameras meet industry standards and our practices relating to them adhere to the requirements of the British Parking Association of which we are a member. Our ANPR cameras are peripherals attached to a central computer system. The computer’s clock is kept accurate using the internet. The date and time stamps on the ANPR images are accurate and consistent as they are provided by the computer system and not the peripheral. We are confident that we conduct the necessary checks and tests to ensure ANPR quality, and that the timings on the notice are accurate. Mr x has brought into question the conduct of our company. In fact, accusations of fraudulent behaviour have been made. Such claims are taken very seriously. We are members of the British Parking Association and must adhere to the strict guidelines laid down in their Code of Practice. We would like to assure you that no fraudulent activity has taken place and confirm that the images have not been doctored; the number plate has merely been rotated for ease of reading. The evidence provided is fully compliant with the BPA Code. We would point out that at no point has Mr x denied that his vehicle was on the premises for the length of time recorded, nor has he provided evidence to show that it wasn’t. The terms and conditions of parking are clearly stated on signs prominently displayed at the entrance to and around the car park. These include that parking is only permitted for BP customers whilst they are on the premises only and there is a maximum permitted stay of 30 minutes. These terms and conditions apply to all motorists who use the car park, including paying customers. The photographic evidence in Section E demonstrates that the vehicle remained in the car park for longer than the maximum stay. It remains the driver’s responsibility to check the signs where they park and comply with the stated terms and conditions. In light of the above we believe the charge notice was issued correctly and the appeal should be refused. 

Coupon-mad

Ignore it of course.

eits1000

Thanks for your reply. Should I make comments on their response as is indicated on popla? I'd have thought I'd have more chance of a positive decision? 

They are so aggressive in this response. 

Coupon-mad

Yes - POPLA COMMENTS stage is already in the NEWBIES thread third post.

eits1000

Thank for your reply and I have read thoroughly the popla section but I am unsure how to argue my case being thst they have seemingly covered everything and made it hard for me to counter. All I feel I can say is that the signs weren't clear and one of the signs had its lighting off and it was night time. I'm not sure how to contest this, any help gratefully received.