EUROCARPARKS appeal rejected. Looking for help.

APBP060789d

First time here so please be gentle. I have been fined £100. £60 if paid early.
I entered the car park at Handforth Dean Tesco early in the morning ready to start my first day of work. I have never parked in this car park before so unaware where specific bays are located. I did notice the car park sign that stated after 5 hours there is a charge, but did not read any smaller print.
I put my registration in the visitor touchpad as to not get fined for going over the 5 hour time limit.
I arrived in heavy and constant snowfall, and unknowingly parked in a diagonal lined bay, but I did not know this due to the ground being completely snow covered.
You couldn't see tarmac, let alone parking bay lines. Travel warnings were in place that day and it took me a hell of a long time to get to work.
There were no signs present at this particular bay to say it was a disabled spot, or restricted from parking for any reason. My argument is that I had no idea it was a restricted spot due to lack of visibility, so appealed with attached photo of the ground once I had finished work, but by then the snow was not covering the whole car park and parts had melted therefore exposing the parking bay in parts. Any help would be massively appreciated.  Thank you very much. 

Gr1pr

Welcome 

Nobody has been fined here,  but an invoice,  a PCN was certainly sent to you,  with the words Parking Charge Notice,  PCN, and probably the words Notice to Keeper,  on it ( you won't find the word "fine" on it anywhere at all, magistrates issue fines   )

Presumably they gave you a Popla appeal code  ? 

Firstly,  try to get it cancelled by the business due to the bad weather etc

Also draft a popla appeal based on the circumstances,  snow covered bays, poor signage etc

APBP060789d

Thank you for the message and correction. Yes they have sent a POPLA appeal code. I will be asking the business if they can help, but as it is regarding a parking bay, I'm not hopeful. Yes, I'll try and draft a decent Popla appeal this evening. Once you appeal with Popla though, the charge increases doesn't it?
Thanks

ChirpyChicken

Why does it matter as your not paying it 

Fruitcake

The charge doesn't increase. It remains at £100. Nobody here will ever suggest anyone pays the mug's discount.
A PoPLA decision is not binding on the motorist so can be ignored if you lose.

Plan A is always a complaint to the landowner and your MP. Not being able to see the signs/surface markings caused a frustration of contract meaning the driver was prevented from forming a contract due to no fault of their own. Indeed, it is the parking company's fault that caused the charge to be issued because they failed to keep the car park free of snow.

Do the PPC's photos show snow on the ground?
Was a NTD left on the vehicle?

Nellymoser

You may wish to include Smoof's template letter in your complaint to your MP and please Sign/share the petition demanding re-launch of Govt-backed Parking Code  🙏

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6583618/ive-written-to-my-mp

We must keep pressure on new Govt to protect motorists from parking industry's greedy sharp practices.

APBP060789d

Their photo evidence, which was taken hours later in the day shows snow and ice on the ground yes, just not covering the car park in a blanket of snow as was the case when I arrived in the morning. 

Gr1pr

The Parking Charge Notice is £100, says so on it and also on the signs, never changes,  never goes up or down, it's always £100

Clearly the weather conditions and your newbie to the job status  played a part, so the popla appeal would be based on those facts,  force majeure etc

Your complaint to the business would be helpful and may result in a cancellation,  should have been done when that £100  pcn arrived , plan A,  never too late for plan A 

You already did plan B, the initial appeal which was rejected 

Plan C, popla appeal,  should be submitted on day 30 or 31 following the rejection date,  to try to get plan A to work 

Fruitcake

As above, Plan A first including your MP which is an absolute must. If that doesn't work then appeal to PoPLA. Post your draft here for checking before you submit it. Use all relevant points available to you from the third post of the sticky Announcement for NEWBIES including but not limited to,

Inadequate signage (surface markings) incapable of forming a contract with the driver.
Failure by parking operator to bring the signs to the attention of the driver by failing to clear snow from surface markings. A contract cannot be formed if the driver cannot see it. Lord Denning's "red hand rule" applies.
Contract is formed at the time of agreement following consideration (at the time the driver parked when surface markings could not be seen) not hours later when some snow had melted. Thornton v Shoe Lane applies.
Unfair contract (changing the contract terms after parking began because the operator allowed surface markings to appear that were not present when the driver first parked). Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies.
Not the landowner.
No standing to issue charges in their own name.
Joint BPA/IPC CoP failures.

PoPLA codes expire on day 33, hence Gr1pr's comments about when to appeal above.

Please also sign the petition linked from the post below, and get all yotu friends and family to do the same. It's the only way this sort of behaviour by the unregulated private parking industry will ever be stopped.

Parked in a disabled Bay, no ticket - Page 3 — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Le_Kirk

If they are a Parking Management Company, why did they not manage the car park by clearing it of snow for the valued customers?

Coupon-mad

You'll never be paying this - but give useless POPLA a whirl if Tesco won't cancel it.  Which they can, so escalate the complaint.