One Parking Solutions Vantage Point Brighton - Advice, please!

ParkingMad

@Coupon-mad can @confused_larchie send OPS a SAR asking to see the redacted car park payment log containing their own car registration?

confused_larchie

Dear All,

Yesterday, the UNSUCCESSFUL decision from PoPLA came, as most of you told me it would. Below is their explanation, with the options of 'Make a payment' or 'Proceed to Citizen's Advice Bureau'. 

Is there any point to proceed to Citizen's Advice? As they stated that the mistake was mine because payment was not made within 10 minutes of arrival.

Any advice/suggestion on what to do next would be much appreciated.

-------------------------------------

POPLA assessment and decision

30/05/2024

Verification Code

4980754053

Decision

Unsuccessful

Assessor Name

Taylor-Jade Ryan

Assessor summary of operator case

The parking operator has issued the parking charge notice (PCN) as the parking session was purchased after the grace period expired.

Assessor summary of your case

The appellant has raised the following points from their grounds of appeal. • They parked and attempted to pay using POPPAY • Due to having no signal in the underground car park, they bought time via coins • They tried to purchase more time again, but the app was not working, so they sought more cash and paid at the machine again • On leaving they misplaced their car key, and it took them some time to find it and leave, resulting in the 9 minutes overstay • The reduced fee time frame of 14 days is inadequate time to respond properly The appellant has provided 1. A pdf containing their grounds 2. A copy of the PCN The above evidence has been considered in making my determination.

Assessor supporting rational for decision

When assessing an appeal POPLA considers if the operator has issued the parking charge notice correctly and if the driver has complied with the terms and conditions for the use of the car park. The terms and conditions of the car park state that payment must be made, and a ticket displayed in the windscreen, or an electronic permit in place from the POPPAY app. The signs state that all parking sessions must be purchased within 10 minutes of arrival on site. The parking operator has confirmed the 2 payments made by the appellant however, this evidence shows that the first payment was not made until 34 minutes after they entered the car park, which was a breach of the terms. I understand that the appellant has explained they had issues using the app initially and ended up paying by cash, but the terms and conditions of the car park are applicable at all times. If the appellant was unable to pay for their parking session within 10 minutes of arriving at the site, they had the option to leave the car park and locate alternative parking arrangements. I appreciate the appellant misplaced their keys which is what resulted in a 9 minute overstay, however, this is not the reason the PCN was issued. Even if the appellant would have left on time, the charge would still be valid as payment was not made within 10 minutes of arrival. The timeframes associated with PCN’s being sent out, and the time a reduced fee is valid for is set out by the British Parking Association (BPA) and is contained within their Code of Practice. If the appellant does not agree with this Code, or has any complaints, they will need to raise it with the BPA directly. POPLA’s role is to assess if the operator has issued the charge in accordance with the conditions of the contract. As the terms and conditions of the car park have not been met, I conclude that the operator has issued the parking charge correctly, and the appeal is refused.

kryten3000

Citizens Advice don't get the scam, so there's no point in approaching them

Wait for the inevitable Letter of Claim and ignore the debt collectors letters in between.

Coupon-mad

Yep - use the third option: us! 

Bazarius

Bazarius said:

2 things i have  concerns about this BS contractual obligations to park at this particular site .  (Going by the 2020 signs it may have been changed since then  ) 

Firstly the terms on the sign does not mention anything about the 10 minute rule it says from what I can see “prior to leaving the site” 

Secondly the contract that OPS have  with the landowners mandates that a MINIMUM 10 grace to purchase a ticket and the same applies to leaving the site .  . Again it may have changed since then . 

Please go back and take photos of the sign - you will need this later on down the line .

The 2020 sign 

LDast

OP, if you've read the Newbies/FAQ thread properly, you will know that losing a POPLA appeal is in no way detrimental to any future proceedings. In fact it has no bearing whatsoever.

For now, you just weather the storm of useless debt collector letters. You can safely ignore them or use them as kindling. Do not under any circumstances try to communicate with any debt collector.

If/when you eventually get a Letter of Claim, go back and read the second post of the Newbies/FAQ thread and refresh yourself on what you need to do. Most importantly of all, stop worrying. This is easily beatable and you won't be paying a penny.

Coupon-mad

There's a 15 min grace period at Vantage Point but I have literally no idea why anyone parks there in Brighton.

Soooo many better places!  Why seek out a private car park where scammers lurk?

You can park on-street in many parts of any City, including in London and in Sussex by the Sea, and can never get an ANPR PCN.

95Rollers

Bazarius said:

Bazarius said:

2 things i have  concerns about this BS contractual obligations to park at this particular site .  (Going by the 2020 signs it may have been changed since then  ) 

Firstly the terms on the sign does not mention anything about the 10 minute rule it says from what I can see “prior to leaving the site” 

Secondly the contract that OPS have  with the landowners mandates that a MINIMUM 10 grace to purchase a ticket and the same applies to leaving the site .  . Again it may have changed since then . 

Please go back and take photos of the sign - you will need this later on down the line .

The 2020 sign 

I am a bit rusty - but they are part of the BPA and I'm pretty sure the BPA CoP mentions something about an "industry standard" grace period.  In fact, in my case their Rent-A-Brief referred to that I'd gone over this "industry standard" period (when in fact I'd entered, left, re-entered and left again!).  So it is there somewhere, you might need to download the BPA CoP document and type in Grace Periods which will bring it up.  Again these (and nothing else in the parking game) aren't set by law, just "guidelines" - but they (OPS) clearly love cherry picking the "rules" they use as I (and others) experienced (which is why they keep losing in courts).

There is a video online of the their old sign from 2019 (or maybe 2020) being read aloud word for word at a normal pace which actually takes 10 minutes!  If you read the comments, it was done by someone who OPS took to court and lost against. But it was used to exhibit the fact that it driving in, finding a spot, and properly reading the "contract" will take you over this 10 min grace period before you can even attempt to pay!  This system is clearly rigged as there are none of these "Contract" signs outside the premises...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PenKvC4seCs

Coupon-mad

They've recently added a pretty large entrance sign now readable from the road which says "Pay on Arrival".

It was never there before.

confused_larchie

Dear All,

The first of the debt collector letters arrived last week, and today, by email. As many of you advised, I will ''...weather the storm of useless debt collector letters. You can safely ignore them or use them as kindling. Do not under any circumstances try to communicate with any debt collector.'' @LDast

Can I block these collector's emails, too?

My son accepted a place at Brighton Uni, and we're going there next week to look around again, but this time, we're taking our bicycles on the trains !!! A-Level results come out on 15/Aug, then we'll have to take the car to move his things, and then, we'll know where NOT to park, but thanks to this forum, we've got lots of ideas of where to park.

Wishing you all a good summer and I'll keep you posted when the Letter of Claim arrives.

Many thanks.