Euro car parks PCN

Cactusjxck6

Hi all! 

I’ve read through the newbies thread and struggling to know what to do - got back from holiday and saw I got a PCN for parking in a disabled bay on the 20th December

I literally parked there for 5 mins while I grabbed some medicine from Tesco express but I normally don’t park in disabled at all!! 

Any advice or shall I pay the £100 “fine”?

Cactusjxck6

Also… I got a final reminder but I never even got the first letter!!! Absolutely robbing *****

Fruitcake

Parking in an accessible bay when you are not entitled to is one of the reasons why the unregulated private parking industry exists.

Having said that, Plan A is still an option, a complaint to the landowner and your MP. 

Plan B is to try and appeal using the PPC's online portal, or by post. If the latter, send it first class from a Post Office counter and obtain a free proof of posting receipt.

Plan C is to ignore until a letter of/before court or a court claim arrives.

This assumes the keeper lives in England or Wales, and that the vehicle V5C was up to date at the time of the event.

If you intend to appeal, get photos of the site and signage, and check that the NTK is PoFA compliant and capable of holding the keeper liable.

Cactusjxck6

Fruitcake said:

Parking in an accessible bay when you are not entitled to is one of the reasons why the unregulated private parking industry exists.

Having said that, Plan A is still an option, a complaint to the landowner and your MP. 

Plan B is to try and appeal using the PPC's online portal, or by post. If the latter, send it first class from a Post Office counter and obtain a free proof of posting receipt.

Plan C is to ignore until a letter of/before court or a court claim arrives.

This assumes the keeper lives in England or Wales, and that the vehicle V5C was up to date at the time of the event.

If you intend to appeal, get photos of the site and signage, and check that the NTK is PoFA compliant and capable of holding the keeper liable.

Honestly I don’t use these spaces normally! I have a fractured knee and recovery is hard so I parked there really quick- I was gone 5 mins… 

I don’t know who the landowner is? It’s a space with a few different shops scattered throughout 

what would my defence be? Or shall I just pay euro car parks?

Coupon-mad

Fractured knee which will affect you for 12 months or more? If yes, you were entitled to use an accessible bay, under the Equality Act.

If no, we don't condone your parking AT ALL and yet we won't tell you to pay ANY private PCN all the time that the scamming industry shirk responsibility for proper & fair parking management.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

If you decide to ignore and just let it go to court claim, the defence doesn't matter because we have a very easy to use 'template defence' which works without a hearing.

Sit tight. Do nothing except the below.

By going confidently into the 'ignore' stance, the only steps to take are:

- Tell them if you move house within 6 years.

- Ignore the tedious £170 threatograms shown in pictures in the 4th post of the NEWBIES thread.

- Come back if you get a solicitor's LBC as per the 2nd post of the NEWBIES thread.

Nobody pays a penny and no hearing is even needed in most cases. Search the forum and read a few cases as they are easy to beat by waiting for a claim form - it is easier than appealing!

There is no risk AT ALL in defending a court claim. No CCJ. No bailiffs.

Cactusjxck6

Coupon-mad said:

Fractured knee which will affect you for 12 months or more? If yes, you were entitled to use an accessible bay, under the Equality Act.

If no, we don't condone your parking AT ALL and yet we won't tell you to pay ANY private PCN all the time that the scamming industry shirk responsibility for proper & fair parking management.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

If you decide to ignore and just let it go to court claim, the defence doesn't matter because we have a very easy to use 'template defence' which works without a hearing.

Sit tight. Do nothing except the below.

By going confidently into the 'ignore' stance, the only steps to take are:

- Tell them if you move house within 6 years.

- Ignore the tedious £170 threatograms shown in pictures in the 4th post of the NEWBIES thread.

- Come back if you get a solicitor's LBC as per the 2nd post of the NEWBIES thread.

Nobody pays a penny and no hearing is even needed in most cases. Search the forum and read a few cases as they are easy to beat by waiting for a claim form - it is easier than appealing!

There is no risk AT ALL in defending a court claim. No CCJ. No bailiffs.

Yep I guess so - my fractured knee meant I couldn’t walk very far and I have hospital records that prove my knee was fractured, I was wearing a splint! 

Can I add - they haven’t sent ANY letter at all, except the “final reminder” sent on the 17th of Jan… the “violation parking” was on 17th December 2024. 

Is there still a rule where I have to be notified within 14 days legally?

Thanks Coupon-Mad, really appreciate the help pal 😎

Coupon-mad

There's no 14 day mandatory rule. Never was.

Wearing a splint doesn't make you disabled per se; it doesn't answer my question which was specifically about having a condition that will affect you for at least 12 months (the Equality Act definition of disability).

Cactusjxck6

Coupon-mad said:

There's no 14 day mandatory rule. Never was.

Wearing a splint doesn't make you disabled per se; it doesn't answer my question which was specifically about having a condition that will affect you for at least 12 months (the Equality Act definition of disability).

This is from the Citizens Advice website:

If you didn’t get a notice at the time you parked, you must receive a notice within 14 days of when you parked.

If you got a notice at the time you parked and you replied to it, the parking company doesn’t have to send another notice. If you didn’t reply to it, you must receive another notice within 56 days of when you parked.

If you didn’t receive the notice in time, tell the parking company you don’t have to pay the charge.

If the notice doesn’t say ‘Protection of Freedoms Act’, there’s no time limit to send it.”

And I believe so, a fractured knee is 12+ months of recovery and rehabilitation but I’m unsure if that meets the criteria for the equality act? 

Coupon-mad

The CAB website advice is generally very wrong on private parking law but in a misleading way they have covered themselves with that final sentence! Did you miss that?  The whole point is that the POFA and 14 days isn't mandatory but they don't explain that.

You don't need to quote their stuff at us.

This forum has the geekiest of pedantic parking law geeks and we know more than you'd care to ever know about this rogue industry. We know everything you wish to ask.

If you can argue that this fracture and recuperation/recovery will be pretty long-term and thus meets the definition of disability (and I worked in that field - disability advice - and I tend to agree, it probably does fall within the EA 2010) complain to the retail park and explain the law and prove your long-term condition. This is easy to cancel. You just need to say the right things to the right person.

Cactusjxck6

Coupon-mad said:

The CAB website advice is generally very wrong on private parking law but in a misleading way they have covered themselves with that final sentence! Did you miss that?  The whole point is that the POFA and 14 days isn't mandatory but they don't explain that.

You don't need to quote their stuff at us.

This forum has the geekiest of pedantic parking law geeks and we know more than you'd care to ever know about this rogue industry. We know everything you wish to ask.

If you can argue that this fracture and recuperation/recovery will be pretty long-term and thus meets the definition of disability (and I worked in that field - disability advice - and I tend to agree, it probably does fall within the EA 2010) complain to the retail park and explain the law and prove your long-term condition. This is easy to cancel. You just need to say the right things to the right person.

Haha you guys are very good at what you do!! I really appreciate it too! 

I did speak to the landowner and they were saying it’s nothing to do with them - Euro Car Parks “rent” the parking from them? 

I’ll definitely have another chat with them tomorrow and keep you updated with any letters I receive from now on

Cactusjxck6

Coupon-mad said:

The CAB website advice is generally very wrong on private parking law but in a misleading way they have covered themselves with that final sentence! Did you miss that?  The whole point is that the POFA and 14 days isn't mandatory but they don't explain that.

You don't need to quote their stuff at us.

This forum has the geekiest of pedantic parking law geeks and we know more than you'd care to ever know about this rogue industry. We know everything you wish to ask.

If you can argue that this fracture and recuperation/recovery will be pretty long-term and thus meets the definition of disability (and I worked in that field - disability advice - and I tend to agree, it probably does fall within the EA 2010) complain to the retail park and explain the law and prove your long-term condition. This is easy to cancel. You just need to say the right things to the right person.

Still no luck with talking to the landowner- I’m emailing them and spoke on the phone, they just keep saying that this is between me and ECP 

next step, raise with my MP?