Total Carpark PCN

toddler9

I parked in a Parkonomy carpark in Manchester - the same one I park in every week. The only option to pay is via the app. There are no machines or alternative ways to pay. I tried to pay for the parking on this particular day and the card payment was declined on the app. I tried 3 different cards in total - all declined. I then contacted the support service on the app to get another way to pay. After 30 minutes I hadn’t heard anything so I moved my car to another location.
The next day I received a response from the company to say they were unable to process Mastercard payments on the day in question and that was the reason I was unable to pay. 

Two weeks later I have received a PCN in the post for £100.
I appealed this with screenshots of the email the company had sent me saying they were unable to process Mastercard payments when I’d tried to pay. 

They responded to say that as a gesture of goodwill they will reduce the fee to £30. 

Any advice on this please? In no way have i tried to avoid paying for the parking session and when I didn’t receive a response after 30 minutes I moved my car- I am still happy to pay for this 30 minutes but have not been provided a means to do so. Shall I stick to my guns and just agree to pay the original parking cost? 

Fruitcake

Please confirm the correct name of the PPC as there are at least three with similar names.

Coupon-mad

I would ignore them and say you'll see them in court. You'd win.

toddler9

Good Evening - just an update on this case which DCBL Legal have decided to pursue and I received a claim form 15th June. - I have filed my Acknowledgement of Service last week and am ready to submit my defence. Feedback welcome on these paragraphs I have drafted to use in addition to the template: 

1. Introduction: the defendant denies liability for the entirety of the Claimant's claim for an alleged "Parked without paying for a valid parking session". The Defendant asserts that payment was attempted in good faith but was not possible due to the Claimant's inability to process MasterCard payments at the time of the alleged breach of terms. 
2. Background: On 25/09/2024, the Defendant parked their vehicle at Dantzic Street, Manchester M44DW operated by the Claimant. The Defendant attempted to pay for the parking via  three different, valid MasterCard debit and credit cards, which is a widely accepted and commonly used method of payment. 
3. Payment Attempts & Sytem Failure: The Defendant made multiple attempts to pay for the parking session using the mobile payment application as instructed in on-site signage directions. However the system failed to process MasterCard payments due to a technical fault beyond the Defendants control, which was confirmed in writing by the Claimant in a message dated 26/09/2025 in response to the Defendant's help query raised at the time of parking and payment attempt. The Defendant made reasonable efforts to comply with the payment requirements, including seeking a pay machine to use cash to pay and when none could be found the Defendant made contact with the help function on the Claimant's payment mobile application asking for an alternative way to pay. 
4. No Alternative Payment Method Available: At the time of parking, the Defendant did not have access to an alternative payment method such as a Visa or American Express credit card and no other methods of payment were available to use on the site i.e cash or Apple Pay and no clear signage or notice was displayed to inform users of the payment system malfunction or to provide guidance on how to proceed in such circumstances.
5. Frustration of Contract: The Defendant contends that any contractual obligation to pay for parking was frustrated by the Claimant's failure to provide a functioning payment system. A contract cannot be enforced where one party is unable to perform due to the other party's failure to uphold their end of the agreement- in this case the provision of a working payment facility. 
6. No intent to Avoid Payment- The Defendant did not wilfully avoid payment and would have paid had the Claimant's system functioned correctly. The Defendants conduct was reasonable and in good faith.
7. Conclusion: In light of the above the Defendant respectfully requests that the court dismiss the claim in its entirety and considers that no parking charge is due. 

Gr1pr

Check for spelling errors and correct them using the edit button 

toddler9

Thanks, it is not showing any spelling errors when I check. Is it good to go otherwise?

Gr1pr

3 has a spelling error,  third word,  so your spelling checker is faulty too, the same word is spelt correctly in 6

Castle

toddler9 said:

Good Evening - just an update on this case which DCBL Legal have decided to pursue and I received a claim form 15th June. - I have filed my Acknowledgement of Service last week and am ready to submit my defence. Feedback welcome on these paragraphs I have drafted to use in addition to the template: 

1. Payment Attempts & Sytem Failure: The Defendant made multiple attempts to pay for the parking session using the mobile payment application as instructed in on-site signage directions. However the system failed to process MasterCard payments due to a technical fault beyond the Defendants control, which was confirmed in writing by the Claimant in a message dated 26/09/2025 in response to the Defendant's help query raised at the time of parking and payment attempt. The Defendant made reasonable efforts to comply with the payment requirements, including seeking a pay machine to use cash to pay and when none could be found the Defendant made contact with the help function on the Claimant's payment mobile application asking for an alternative way to pay. 

1) System
2) Defendant's
3) Time traveller!

fisherjim

This just goes to show what a deep routed scam the private parking industry is and what a total sham the (we always reject em) appeals process is too, supported of course by greedy, morally exempt DCBL!

toddler9

Thanks all I have corrected the typos and submitted my defence. I genuinely can't believe I have had to go through all this nonsense because their payment system was down! 

Coupon-mad

toddler9 said:

Thanks all I have corrected the typos and submitted my defence. I genuinely can't believe I have had to go through all this nonsense because their payment system was down! 

And there will be more forms to follow. Complete waste of your time! DCB Legal will discontinue by Christmas though, so no need to buy a new smart shirt for the non-existent hearing!