Do I have Napier Parking on the Ropes, advice needed

mumpyh

To cut along story short about 28 days ago we parked in a Napier car park and unfortunately due to heavy rain I had a delayed exit from the vehicle before getting to the machine.

We duly paid my £2 fee for an 2 hours, went for a walk, returned back to the car and drove home.

Two days letter I received a Parking Charge Notice though the post. There was a hidden ANPR camera in the car park which said I was there for 2hr 40 mins less 10 mins grace.  Effectively I overstayed by 30 mins. Subsequently, I've been back and confirmed the ANPR car park signage is very defininately missing/unclear. 

I duly appealed to the PPC on the basis that the ANPR signage is unclear (borderline mis-leading). Surprisingly the appeal was rejected, so appealed to the IPA and again dismissed. Amazingly my 2nd appeal was rejected at exactly 13 days 23 hours and 45 mins after my second appeal giving me only 15 mins in order to take advantage of the discounted £60 PCN.

Somewhat annoyed at the situation and resigning myself to the inevitable debtors letters I did some more research, when I made an interesting discovery:

The car park I am being invoiced for, was until 2021 a free carpark in a conservation area. When Napier took over the Carpark they installed an ANPR camera on a pole and installed Tariff new signage. According to the local authority, there was never any planing app for these changes. Additionally, Napier were also supposed to display signage to advise motorists in 2021 that there was a new anpr system in operation, when it was installed and I'm pretty sure they didn't do this either.
 
I'm now faced with going to a small claims court but if Napier refuse to do this, how do I stop 6 months of debtors letters? Also, the ANPR system is obviously being used illegally in contravention of Kado, how I report them to the DVLA. Also, what other bodies need informing and how can I make this a a costly error for Napier Parking?

Lastly, how many others out there, over the last 4 years have fallen foul of this illegal ANPR installation?

The_Slithy_Tove

You can only wait to see what Napier's move is regarding court action. You don't have control over that.

In what way is the ANPR installation a contravention of their KADOE agreement with the DVLA? Lack of planning permission is a separate matter. It's also likely they don't have advertising consent for the signage which, although illegal, is rarely if ever prosecuted by the local authority and again won't make a difference in terms of potential court action from Napier. Worth hassling via the relevant local authority just to cause them some aggro, though.

Hope you didn't own up to the identity of the driver in your appeals. Depending on the NTK itself, POFA may still be your friend in any future action.

Gr1pr

It will just play out in the same manner as all the other similar cases, especially at car parks like that one

Debt collectors letters can be ignored, but you cannot stop them arriving, its inevitable 

Its currently an unregulated industry so dont expect easy or quick solutions 

Court is where it will be settled. ( Or discontinued. ) , within the next 6 years following the incident date 

The IAS didn't help ( not surprising, par for the course. )

I doubt that the DVLA will be interested 

You should complain about it to your local MP if you have good grounds , otherwise I think that you are flogging a dead horse 

Grizebeck

why are people worried about letters
do you worry about flyers and junk mail through the post

fisherjim

There is no legislation covering ANPR cameras in private car parks that is one of the problems, and it's all hidden unless you see it, however there should be signage to say it is being used.

Changes to parking terms have to be signed for 4 months according to the COP so that argument is dead.

Not surprised at all the appeals were rejected, it's a money skimming scam that's what they do.

There is no discount period it's a bribe period to bet you to pay up and shut up with the minimum fuss.

Gather some evidence and photos and save it in the event they try court.

Coupon-mad

Grizebeck said:

why are people worried about letters
do you worry about flyers and junk mail through the post

I agree! This doesn't matter:

I'm now faced with going to a small claims court but if Napier refuse to do this, how do I stop 6 months of debtors letters?

6 years for them to litigate. You can't stop letters and it really doesn't matter a jot.

Is this Willen Lakes?

kryten3000

It won't be Willen Lake because Napier lost that contract to Smart and the PCN amount there is £50 (or at least it was the last time I went there.  Napier issuing me a charge at Willen got me into this game so I keep a careful eye on that location