Parking Charge Notice from APCOA at Reading railway station

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This discussion was created from comments split from: # Seeking Advice: EV Charging Bay PCN.

probinsonn182

I received a pcn for “exceeding maximum stay period”, in a Tesco car park in London for 40 minutes on 20 October 2024.  I charging my electric vehicle in the car park from 07:28 to 08:08. I appealed the pcn as I believe this was under the maximum permitted stay, and mentioned that I’d been in contact with Tesco customer service regarding the issue and they confirmed that the maximum stay at this location is 3 hours (2 hours on match day). Based on this information, it appears the pcn was issued in error, and Tesco advised that I pursue an appeal with Horizon Parking, as they believed the charge should be waived.  I then received an email on 5 November 2024, rejecting the appeal stating the parking charge was issued lawfully and in full and proper accordance with the Private Parking Sector Single Code of Practice by the British Parking Association (the BPA). The email goes on in detail, but in a nutshell, they stated that although they have rejected my appeal, they would be happy to review the status of my appeal should supporting evidence be provided. They require that I send a copy of the dated invoice/receipt or any other evidence which would support my claim that I was charging my vehicle at Tesco, so that they may assess my appeal accordingly.

My question is, if I can’t get the details from my pod point app to prove I had charged on the date in question, can I use the “Notice to Keeper” wording to appeal to POPLA? 

Thanks in advance for the advice. 

mhart68

mhart68 said:

I recently received a Parking Charge Notice from APCOA at Reading railway station. I'm hoping for some guidance on how to proceed.

Two weeks ago I received a Parking Charge Notice from APCOA at Reading railway station. The ticket was issued for parking in a restricted area, specifically an EV charging bay. The fine is £85, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days. 

I paid the day rate of £20 and with the intention to charge my car in the car park. I parked my electric vehicle (EV) in a designated charging bay at the station. Upon arrival, I connected my charging cable and attempted to initiate charging but encountered difficulties with the charging point. As I was running late for my train, I decided to try starting the charge remotely using the APCOA app. Many EV owners can attest to the challenges of using these apps, which are often not straightforward or user-friendly. While on the train, I made another attempt to initiate charging on a timer. Unfortunately, due to an unreliable connection during my journey, this attempt also failed. When I returned to the carpark in the afternoon I had a PCN on my car.

My primary concern is that I did, in fact, park an EV in the appropriate bay and made multiple attempts to charge my vehicle. It's important to note that I wasn't trying to avoid parking fees. 

My wife appealed straight away and explained the reason why we were parked there. Any we have now received a response stating that 'the car was parked in this area without using the charging ports'. The picture even shows the charge lead in the car and the charge port.

The circumstances seem to stem from technical difficulties rather than intentional misuse of the parking bay.

I would greatly appreciate any help or guidance you can offer, I know that my wife should not have responded to the appeal straight away and waited until the last few days.

[Images removed by Forum Team]

Many thanks!

I have now removed the name, address and VRM, as well as APCOA references, sorry about that.

Coupon-mad

My wife appealed straight away and explained the reason why we were parked there.

Oh no. Why do that before coming here?

Did your wife appeal because she was driving, or because she is the named registered keeper?

Who has the POPLA Code, you or your wife?

mhart68

She literally appealed as soon as she got home as she was seething! She also did it in my name thankfully. 

I did tell her to wait until I came on the forum as well! SMH

Grizebeck

Her seething may have cost you an easy win
Why oh why do people rush

Coupon-mad

mhart68 said:

She literally appealed as soon as she got home as she was seething! She also did it in my name thankfully. 

But that's ruined the easy win, if she appealed (as you) saying or implying you were the driver. The question is ... what did she put and did she tick 'driver'?

Was the NTK addressed to you? Not her?

A winning appeal would have been so easy.

Not_A_Hope

@probinsonn182 you need to start your own thread for advice on your PCN rather than hijack someone else’s