POPLA appeal rejected!! What should I do next? (Euro Car Parks)

TheHaj

Hi all

I've recently (yesterday) had my appeal for 2 PCN's rejected by POPLA. Appreciate it was a huge error on my part not coming on here initially for advice but because of the circumstances i thought POPLA would conclude in my favour.

Here's a summary of the issue faced with ECP, the steps  taken, and the basis of the appeal, along with the rejection from POPLA:

I have been encountering persistent issues with Euro Car Parks (ECP) ANPR system and have had Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) issued for alleged violations in their car park (3 in total issued last month, 2 which been rejected at POPLA and the other is at appeal stage with ECP, but expecting same scenario).

Despite being a regular patron of the car park due to my visits to the gym within the complex, the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system repeatedly failed to recognise my vehicle registration mark (VRM) at the pay stations and calculate exact amount owed for the stay. When operating correctly, upon exiting the carpark you would enter the VRM at the pay station and it would tell you the exact entry time and calculate amount owed for the stay. Throughout many years, on occasion the ANPR has failed to pick up my VRM and on these occasions i haven't paid and received no follow up (just FYI - i didn't mention this on the appeals) However last month i received three PCN's. 

When the VRM is not recognised a the Pay-station, it provides you with two options:
pay for "up to 1 hour" or "up to two hours". 

I lodged an appeal directly with ECP, providing evidence in the form of video footage from another occasion showing the malfunction of the pay station and demonstrating it not recognising the VRM and working correctly to take the exact amount owed for parking. Unfortunately, my appeal was rejected by ECP, prompting me to escalate the matter to POPLA.

Despite presenting the same evidence to POPLA and highlighting the systemic failures of ECP's ANPR system, my appeal to POPLA was rejected, leaving me in a challenging position.

**Basis of Appeal:**

1. **Faulty ANPR System:** The core issue revolves around the consistent failure of ECP's ANPR system to recognise my VRM at the pay stations. Despite being lawfully parked within the designated spaces, I have been unjustly issued with PCNs due to the technical shortcomings of their equipment.

2. **Inability to Determine Correct Payment:** The malfunctioning ANPR system has also resulted in my inability to accurately determine the correct amount to pay for parking. Despite my best efforts to comply with parking regulations, the unreliable nature of the pay station has left me in a position of uncertainty regarding payment.

**Current Status:**

Unfortunately, despite my efforts to resolve the issue with ECP and subsequently with POPLA, I have been unable to obtain a favourable outcome. As a result, I am seeking guidance and assistance from the forum community to determine the next steps in addressing this situation at this stage and my options? I assume failure to make payment will result in passing the debt to a collection agency at some point or would it go legal?

Many thanks

KeithP

TheHaj said:

**Current Status:**

Unfortunately, despite my efforts to resolve the issue with ECP and subsequently with POPLA, I have been unable to obtain a favourable outcome. As a result, I am seeking guidance and assistance from the forum community to determine the next steps in addressing this situation at this stage and my options? I assume failure to make payment will result in passing the debt to a collection agency at some point or would it go legal?

Many thanks

Hello and welcome.

You are now waiting for the parking company to do what they want.

How to deal with debt collectors letters is described in the fourth post of the NEWBIES thread.

If you receive either a Letter of Claim or a County Court Claim Form then let the second post of the NEWBIES thread be your guide.

Whatever happens, or doesn't happen, you must make sure that ECP have your current address at all times.

fisherjim

ANPR is not fit for purpose for calculating anything in private car parks it isn't reliable enough.

Authority run car parks are banned from using it by the government, but of course private car parking is an unregulated free for all money makers industry.

Police controlled ANPR systems are strictly regulated and have to be verified and to defined standards even then the regulations accept that they can be down to 95% accurate.

The PPC camera up a wobbly pole linked at worse by localised wifi with no certification has absolutely no regulations, standards, verifications or checks other than (supposedly) the ppc's own checks.

Working on OCR technology with images subsequently enhanced they can read and assume anything, and who even knows if the time clocks are synchronised but of course the BPA let them carry on regardless, and Trading Standards can't get involved as there are no regulations to enforce.

If a butcher sold you a joint from a scale that wasn't authorised and sealed he would be prosecuted, but these Muppets can use un-verified timing devices to slap charges on you with impunity it stinks, don't let the dimwits get away with it.

TheHaj

KeithP said:

TheHaj said:

**Current Status:**

Unfortunately, despite my efforts to resolve the issue with ECP and subsequently with POPLA, I have been unable to obtain a favourable outcome. As a result, I am seeking guidance and assistance from the forum community to determine the next steps in addressing this situation at this stage and my options? I assume failure to make payment will result in passing the debt to a collection agency at some point or would it go legal?

Many thanks

Hello and welcome.

You are now waiting for the parking company to do what they want.

How to deal with debt collectors letters is described in the fourth post of the NEWBIES thread.

If you receive either a Letter of Claim or a County Court Claim Form then let the second post of the NEWBIES thread be your guide.

Whatever happens, or doesn't happen, you must make sure that ECP have your current address at all times.

Hi KeithP, thanks for the welcome and for your feedback.

Yes unfortunately seems i've put myself in a vulnerable position. Do you think I have a strong chance of turning this around? 

Grizebeck

TheHaj said:

KeithP said:

TheHaj said:

**Current Status:**

Unfortunately, despite my efforts to resolve the issue with ECP and subsequently with POPLA, I have been unable to obtain a favourable outcome. As a result, I am seeking guidance and assistance from the forum community to determine the next steps in addressing this situation at this stage and my options? I assume failure to make payment will result in passing the debt to a collection agency at some point or would it go legal?

Many thanks

Hello and welcome.

You are now waiting for the parking company to do what they want.

How to deal with debt collectors letters is described in the fourth post of the NEWBIES thread.

If you receive either a Letter of Claim or a County Court Claim Form then let the second post of the NEWBIES thread be your guide.

Whatever happens, or doesn't happen, you must make sure that ECP have your current address at all times.

Hi KeithP, thanks for the welcome and for your feedback.

Yes unfortunately seems i've put myself in a vulnerable position. Do you think I have a strong chance of turning this around? 

Just come back if you get a court claim.

JoeN1988

 Do you think I have a strong chance of turning this around? 

Yes, absolutely.

Well defended cases have a 99% win rate with the help of your forum. You won't pay. 

Ignore any debt collector letters and come back of you get a Letter Before Claim

TheHaj

Thank you for the feedback. I will ignore any letters from ECP for payments and revert to the forum if a court claim is received.

On the subject of the 3rd PCN issued under the same circumstances, I have a couple weeks left to appeal to POPLA for that one. Based on the precedent POPLA have set with the first two, is there any point submitting an appeal?

Coupon-mad

Not in my opinion. I advise friends to avoid POPLA this year, unless there's an easy win like no keeper liability, etc. So, I wouldn't waste your precious time.

TheHaj

I know i'm meant to ignore any letters from DCAs but thought i'd post one i received for the community as i found their choice of words quite amusing ...



(Image removed by Forum Team)

fisherjim

I find it more insulting than amusing, the alternative one with their yes/no check list is even more juvenile!

TheHaj

Hi all

So i received two letters titled TERMINAL NOTICE - PRE LEGAL ACTION from Debt Recovery Plus for two PCN's i'm appealing. Are these the LBC or are those sent by legal firms and therefore i should ignore these?