Son received a euro park ticket but went to NZ for 6 months

Jvet1

So my son parked in a Sainsbury’s euro park and overstayed the 2 hours by 26 minutes. This was in 19/10/23 he left for NZ for 6 months on 23/10/25 and a PCN was issued by post on 25/10/22. 

We have just opened the post to find the original charge has gone from the £40 pay within 2 weeks to £150. 

So we’ve very much missed the opportunity to pay the reduced fine. I can’t get a phone number or email for the manager of Sainsbury. 

Do I … 
Drop a letter in store asking for the charge to be dropped or reduced to original £40 level due to him not being able to address the fine within a timely manor. 

I don’t feel like I can appeal on grace period as it was 26 minutes over - can I ask the debt collector company for the charge to be reduced to the original level ? 

Do I just wait for a court date and hope that doesn’t come ? 

I’ve read the newbie thread but it seems to rely on you not being at fault and he was at fault 26 minutes over seems indefensible or am I reading it wrong ? I don’t want him to have a ccj as he needs to apply for student loans 
thanks all 

Fruitcake

It is not a fine.

Debt collectors are powerless and can safely be ignored.

What is the full name of the parking company please? There is more than one with euro and park in the name, but to the best of my knowledge, there is not one called Euro Park.

Where did the alleged event occur? It may have cropped up here before.

Who is the registered keeper of the vehicle? It is they who should be dealing with this and nobody else.

The registered keeper should go into the store and ask to speak to the manager, taking a copy of the PCN with them, and/or email the CEO. Do not reveal the driver's identity.
The keeper should also complain to their MP.

Get photos of the site and signage, and carefully check the NTK to see if it is or is not PoFA compliant. If you are not sure, post a copy of both sides here with all personal data redacted, but leave all dates showing.

Debszzzz2

Jvet1 said:

So my son parked in a Sainsbury’s euro park and overstayed the 2 hours by 26 minutes. This was in 19/10/23 he left for NZ for 6 months on 23/10/25 and a PCN was issued by post on 25/10/22. 

Seriously? Please repost with the correct dates and leave out any time travel. Also, it is not a "fine".

Jvet1 said:

I don’t feel like I can appeal on grace period as it was 26 minutes over - can I ask the debt collector company for the charge to be reduced to the original level ? 

You say you've read the Newbies/FAQ thread yet here you go against all advice about contact with debt collectors! May I respectfully suggest you go back and re-read the Newbies/FAQ thread.

 When you mention "I don’t feel like I can appeal..." are you suggesting that the PCN is in your name? Only the person named in the NtK can appeal. If you mean can you appeal on behalf of your son, then you can do what you like but it must be in his name if the NtK is also in his name.

Abbafan1972

I was confused also, as the dates don’t add up and we haven’t even reached 2025 yet! 

Jvet1

huge apologies for fat thumbs ! 

Date of incident 19/10/2023 
notice to keeper dated 25/10/2023 
keeper of vehicle went to NZ on 23/10/2023 - he has not returned yet but I opened the post yesterday realising we had missed the early cheaper opportunity to pay the INVOICE (not the fine) 

venue is Sainsbury’s Billet St Taunton 
it is euro car parks who issued NTK. 

It is now passed on to Debt recovery plus 

Again apologies I did not explain myself very well 
the driver did make a mistake by staying 26 minutes over the allotted 2 hours. I will go and take some photos of the signage but as it is 6 months later than the parking violation will it be as valid?  Is it worth him going through bank statements to see if he spent money in store? 

The advice seems to be (again apologies if I have misinterpreted) if you cannot defend it, ie you are in violation of their terms you should pay the invoice,  if the store manager or CEO will not redact the invoice? 

However the invoice has gone up from £50 to £155. 

IF the store manager or CEO will not remove the fine my issue is that I would rather pay £50 than £155 ! As other people do drive the car would it be better to reset the fine from the keeper to another driver ? Or shall I come back to you when the keeper has been to see the store manager? 

[Images removed by Forum Team]

Jvet1

It seems to be POFA compliant as in the protection of freedoms is mentioned? But it says 28d to name the driver which has passed 

[Image removed by Forum Team]

KeithP

@Jvet1, your son's name is clearly visible on one of those images you have shown us.
You might want to hit the Report button below your post and ask MSE Forum Team to delete that image.

Umkomaas

If it's at debt collector stage, it's too late for a POPLA appeal (but you couldn't have done that in any case, just your son). So this should now be ignored unless/until ECP issue your son with a county court claim. They are generally litigation shy, so extremely unlikely that anything further will occur. Personally, I wouldn't let them know that your son is out of the country, as that would be an excuse to chance court proceedings hoping to gain a default judgment on the basis your son might not defend the claim, either being blissfully unaware and/or being so far away.

The NEWBIES FAQ Announcement, fourth post, tells you all about dealing with debt crawlers. 

Fruitcake

I don't think the NTK is PoFA compliant because, where it says, if you were not the driver, it does not ask the keeper to pass the notice to the driver. I'm fairly certain there was a PoPLA win for this reason not that long ago.
It's too late to anything about that now, but that plus VCS v Edward, and the fact the keeper was not the driver should ensure a win if it went to court.

It is not a fine. There has been no violation.
The keeper should be complaining to the landowner/store manager/CEO that they have received an invoice for an alleged event where they were not even in the vehicle, let alone driving. Point out that the PPC cannot hold the keeper liable, yet they are receiving letters from debt collectors, which is very distressing.

ANPR scameras do not record parking time, only time on site, including driving around looking for a space and driving from the entrance and to the exit. ANPR is recognised as being unfit for purpose which is why the UK Government prohibits its use in council and local authority car parks.
If the keeper is a regular shopper at Sainsbugs, they should include copies of receipts/bank statements and Nectar Card details if applicable. They should also state that other supermarkets are available that are not infested by unregulated private parking companies referred to as rogues, scammers, and bloodsuckers.

Fruitcake

This is the PoPLA appeal where the assessor found in favour of the motorists because it did not have the wording about passing the notice to the driver.

POPLA Decisions - Page 455 — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Coupon-mad

There's already a thread of pictures of NTKs to show you which wording is POFA and which isn't. Have a look at it.  As you'd expect it's linked in the NEWBIES thread.

He can appeal it when he gets back by proving he was abroad (new BPA code clause means they have to pause debt recovery & reissue the PCN.