Senior moment may cost me £100

Lulu58

I parked in a Britannia Parking car park today.  A few years back the car park was run by John Lewis. You paid when you left via a man in a kiosk.

I have been to the car park once or twice since Britannia took it over and paid for parking via a machine. As I was leaving today I realised that I hadn't purchased a ticket when I arrived. I had it in my mind that you paid on exit ... a senior moment!

I tried to call Britannia Parking for advice but went through to an answerphone so I left a message. I tried one of the other options on the recorded message but that also went through to an answerphone. I left another message.

I also tried calling their payment line in a hope that one of the options was to speak with someone but it was purely a number to pay for parking

I didn't know what to do so I purchased a 5 hour ticket.  I was in the car park for around 1 hour 45 minutes.

Does anyone have any idea as to what, if anything, I can do about this? I wasn't trying to avoid paying for parking, it was genuine mistake on my part.

mebu60

Do they have ANPR cameras on entrance and exit? Do you have to enter reg no when buying ticket? If the answer is no to both of these then it's unlikely they know you were even there unless someone was patrolling and saw there was no ticket displayed. 

Coupon-mad

Bound to have ANPR. They captured you leaving, so you will get a PCN. 

You won't pay anything.  See the NEWBIES thread.  The last few Britannia NTKs I saw recently were non-POFA and easy to beat.

Lulu58

mebu60 said:

Do they have ANPR cameras on entrance and exit? Do you have to enter reg no when buying ticket? If the answer is no to both of these then it's unlikely they know you were even there unless someone was patrolling and saw there was no ticket displayed. 

The sign states they have ANPR, but I'm not sure to be honest. I did have to enter my reg number.

Lulu58

Coupon-mad said:

Bound to have ANPR

The signs said they have ANPR but I was so upset I forgot to check.

Coupon-mad said:
In that situation some people might be surprised you drove out past the cameras.  But you did let them capture you leaving, so you will get a PCN. 

What should I have done (in case I do something similar in the future!!)? There is only one in/out so I couldn't do anything but leave via the exit. I did purchase a 5 hour ticket even though I was there for less than 2 hours but I don't suppose that holds much sway with these companies.

Coupon-mad said:

You won't pay anything.  See the NEWBIES thread.  The last few Britannia NTKs I saw recently were non-POFA and easy to beat.

I'll go and check what the NEWBIES thread says about Britannia. 

Fruitcake

If/when you get a PCN, Plan A is always a complaint from the keeper to the landowner and the keeper's MP. If the driver didn't know they had to pay in advance, or whatever else the Ts and Cs were, then the signs were obviously inadequate. Include the proof of payment, which would have been made by an occupant of the car who was not necessarily the driver. 

Plan B is to appeal.

Get photos of the site and signage if possible. Where did the alleged event occur? It may have cropped up here before.

Lulu58

Fruitcake said:

If/when you get a PCN, Plan A is always a complaint from the keeper to the landowner and the keeper's MP. If the driver didn't know they had to pay in advance, or whatever else the Ts and Cs were, then the signs were obviously inadequate. Include the proof of payment, which would have been made by an occupant of the car who was not necessarily the driver. 

Plan B is to appeal.

Get photos of the site and signage if possible. Where did the alleged event occur? It may have cropped up here before.

The signage is quite clear that it's pay on arrival. I just didn't see the signs and was on 'auto mode' in terms of the way the car park used to operate.

How do I find out who the land owner is?

It's in Welwyn, Herts.

Coupon-mad

Lulu58 said:

What should I have done (in case I do something similar in the future!!)? There is only one in/out so I couldn't do anything but leave via the exit.

I can't say.  We are aware of what some people might do when trapped like that, in a case where you'd paid.  But this is moot and we are now talking after the event, and it's not what we do here.

You drove out past a camera. That's a fact. You paid. That's also a fact. You were right to pay.  You owe them nothing.

Keep your ticket as proof & take a photo of it as evidence, if it's flimsy paper.

I'll go and check what the NEWBIES thread says about Britannia. 

The NEWBIES thread is 'one size fits all' advice and not about Britannia. Don't look for info about a specific PPC.

These are all the same and easy to beat. 

Lulu58

Coupon-mad said:

Lulu58 said:

Coupon-mad said:

But you did let them capture you leaving, so you will get a PCN. 

What should I have done (in case I do something similar in the future!!)? There is only one in/out so I couldn't do anything but leave via the exit. 

I can't say.

Ah ok, just you said, 'In that situation some people might be surprised you drove out past the cameras.  But you did let them capture you leaving, so you will get a PCN.' so I thought you were meaning I should have done something else other than trying to call them before giving up and buying a ticket after the event.

Coupon-mad

No you were right to pay for a ticket.

You then drove past a camera.

I think you misconstrued what I meant but these are easy to beat - please read the NEWBIES thread.

Lulu58

Coupon-mad said:

No you were right to pay for a ticket.

You then drove past a camera.

What do I do now - do I just wait and see if I'm sent a PCN?

Also, as I've left two messages asking for advice on their answerphone service what should I say if they bother to call me back? I'm beginning to think I shouldn't have called them