SmartParking Ltd

Coupon-mad

Complain to POPLA that this is plainly wrong.

Le_Kirk

....... and make sure that you mark it COMPLAINT and be clear it is not a further appeal.

MarkSmith88

Is there an email, snail mail or other online form to make an official complaint?

Umkomaas

MarkSmith88 said:

Is there an email, snail mail or other online form to make an official complaint?

Check their website. We don't hold lists of PPC contact details. 

MarkSmith88

Found a form on their website, before I submit does this seem OK, anything else worth adding?

I'd like to lodge a complaint regarding the outcome of my PCN Appeal (Verification Code *******).

In the appeal, your assessor acknowledged my grounds as follows: "Whilst I acknowledge the appellant’s comments and evidence, the site they have been issued a charge on does not accept payment of any kind. It is for permit holders only, as the appellant was not a permit holder, they were not permitted to park on the site."

This claim is demonstrably false. The site is replete with signs directing customers to pay using the RingGo system. I demonstrated that I spent almost the entirety of my 19 minutes on site trying to authenticate with this system. Additionally, there was a machine present that accepted coinage, which I did not have. Furthermore, the site owners advertise the prices online, as seen here: [https://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/carpark/18_20_howard_street_south/bt7/belfast/?arriving=202402271900&leaving=202402272100](https://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/carpark/18_20_howard_street_south/bt7/belfast/?arriving=202402271900&leaving=202402272100).

Thanks

Coupon-mad

Not:

"regarding the outcome"

(you can't complain just because you don't like the outcome).

and not:

"This claim" (wrong word. Sounds like a court claim).

MarkSmith88

How about:

I'd like to lodge a complaint regarding statements issued by your assessor about PCN Appeal (Verification Code *******).
In the appeal, your assessor acknowledged my grounds as follows: "Whilst I acknowledge the appellant’s comments and evidence, the site they have been issued a charge on does not accept payment of any kind. It is for permit holders only, as the appellant was not a permit holder, they were not permitted to park on the site."
This is demonstrably false. The site is replete with signs directing customers to pay using the RingGo system. I demonstrated that I spent almost the entirety of my 19 minutes on site trying to authenticate with this system. Additionally, there was a machine present that accepted coinage. Furthermore, the site owners advertise the prices online, as seen here: [https://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/carpark/18_20_howard_street_south/bt7/belfast/?arriving=202402271900&leaving=202402272100](https://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking/carpark/18_20_howard_street_south/bt7/belfast/?arriving=202402271900&leaving=202402272100).

Coupon-mad

Yes but you need a conclusion.

MarkSmith88

I complained to POPLA and they responded with:

When assessing POPLA appeals, we can only base our decisions on the evidence provided by both parties. In this specific parking car park, the operator has provided evidence of the signage, which states the following:

 

 

In the absence of any evidence to suggest otherwise, the assessor could only be satisfied that parking is for permit holders only.

 

While it is not disputed that there may be different car parks in the vicinity with different parking restrictions, signage, and payment machines, your vehicle was captured entering and remaining within a specific parking area for permit holders only. As such, the assessor could only base their decision on whether you had a permit to park.

I reached out to RingGo for clarification as they definitely had signs in the car park asking for payment and ultimitely they confirmed

Thank you for your patience whilst we waited to hear back from Smart Parking. 

It has been confirmed that the car parks located at Howard Street in Belfast are as follows 'Howard Street Permit Holders' and 'Howard Street Car Park'. The former is exclusively reserved for permit holders, while the latter is the designated area for RingGo location (21489) and can be paid for by motorists.

This does mean that your payment made to RingGo was incorrect sadly. We always recommend checking the signage when you park, to ensure that you are selecting the correct location. 

I returned to the site to confirm this for myself.

There is only one way in and out of the site with clear signs showing that payment is accepted:




And indeed there are some signs within this site that state "permit holders only":



That's clearly misleading, any reasonable person would assume as I did that one could pay for a permit using the mechanisms advertised at the front gate!

This seems utterly corrupt and predatory. Any further I can take this, given the misleading signs?

Coupon-mad

It's NI so you just ignore the PCN.  Nothing will happen.  No-one pays.

But you could raise the lack of delineation and the horrifically (deliberately?) similar site names on the app, with your Consumer Council.