PARKING EYE - court claim 2025

Nellymoser

Move on to ensuring your MP is aware of the private parking problem and Govt must protect motorists from their greedy nasty behaviours. 

• email your MP, easy with Smoof's template letter (adjust to suit your situation)

• sign/share petition demanding re-launch of Govt-backed Parking Code 

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

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/701453

fisherjim

Parking eye sent you an invoice, like you get from any firm, stop thinking of them as any form of authority, as for the appeals process it's a con too, you are over thinking this, these are just dodgy Muppets that have hit on an industry that bullies people into giving them their money.

There is no fair play, or reasonable behaviour is any of their shenanigans!

Coupon-mad

GinaGrey said:

I've seen on the forum that some people didn't get letter before court (the post lost it) and they got CCJ before they could even defend themselves. So that's pants. It happened before, can happen again.

I also spoke to Citizens Advice Bureau and they said I can also pay and write that 'I'm paying UNDER PROTEST' and then sue ParkingEye in the Small Claims Court.

That so called advice is embarrassing. I mean you'd get better advice from the man down the pub than that utter misleading rubbish!

I don't charge or run a business. We (as a free forum) help people win in court almost 100% of the time and have done for close to a decade.

Sit tight & come back at claim stage. You can read about ParkingEye LBCCCs which are mentioned specifically in the NEWBIES thread.

GinaGrey

Thanks for your comments everyone! So I've found the landowner - he also owns a shop we occasionally shop at, here's what I want to write to him (hopefully we'll chat on the phone today too), please could you see if this is good/bad/needs amending?

Dear xxx

We visit xxx Shop occasionally to purchase your unique products and we've always been so impressed by the Shop's customer care. However, I would like to complain about PARKINGEYE who are responsible for running your parking at xxx car park. They ignore the Code of Practice for parking on private land and there is no way of discussing this with them.

When we were paying for parking, the machine displayed PAYMENT APPROVED on its screen and we have evidence of that in the form of a photo taken on our iphone (so date, location and geotag is also included, attached) which we took because the machine was taking a while to process the payment.

There was NO on-screen warning or indication that the payment had failed. The machine did not alert me to a failed transaction and I reasonably believed the payment was successful. 

Motorists cannot be penalized for machine malfunctions outside their control.
The machine provided a printed receipt, and according to the Code of Practice it is good practice to ensure the design of a “payment failed” slip is not liable to be mistaken for a parking tariff receipt, and the void transaction receipt we got looked exactly like a normal receipt, it even showed the amount and our card details. This was the reason we only realised about this when we got a parking charge from Parkingeye a week later and we were shocked because we genuinely thought we had paid for our 35 minute stay.

That's why, as soon as we saw their invoice, we immediately got in touch with Parkingeye, explained the situation and provided all the evidence we had. And they also had an opportunity to resolve this issue before issuing a charge by checking for failed transactions in their system (we have the transaction reference too). Had I been made aware of the voided payment in a clear way (not a misleading VOID TRANSACTION receipt that looked exactly like a normal receipt), I would have immediately paid via another method because we never had any intention of not paying.

One of POPLA's explanations for rejecting my appeal was the fact that I entered the car park at 11:15 and attempted to pay at 11:17. They said that since the first 10 minutes were free, the system may have voided my transaction due to the timing. But a parking charge should not have been issued if their system voided the payment due to timing. I just wanted to pay and they made it impossible and now they are asking me to pay £100.

So just to sum up

The machine’s failure was not my fault.
The operator should have considered mitigating factors.
A parking charge should not have been issued if their system voided the payment due to timing.

POPLA also failed to properly consider mitigating factors, including the machine malfunction, lack of intent to avoid payment, unclear machine feedback. And they may not have applied the Code of Practice correctly to decide in favour of Parkingeye who actually fund them.

I have no other ways of appealing this than a small claims court and risking my credit score to be affected for 6 years! Of course I would be more than happy to pay what I owe, which is £1.60 because I never intended to not pay and Parkingeye has always known that from my correspondence with them. If they take the case to court, they will very likely lose and will have to pay all costs related to this case.

That's why I was hoping that if I complain to you, the landowner, about their scandalous handling of this case, you will ask them to cancel their invoice that is so unfair. And by looking at my client experience at your xxx Shop I really believe you are kind and care about your clients.

I also think, and this is supported by the Code of Practice, that the invoice of £100 is unfair and disproportionate. The Supreme Court case of ParkingEye v Beavis [2015] allows charges only if they serve a legitimate interest. In this case, I made a genuine attempt to pay. Penalizing me for a machine failure does not serve a legitimate interest. Also the parking was not busy at the time I stayed there.

I am more than happy to provide all the evidence I have, I've always been transparent and honest during the appeal process, and I am more than happy to chat with you about it.

I look forward to hearing back from you

Kind regards

xxx

Coupon-mad

I'd make it 5 times shorter otherwise you lose the reader's attention.

GinaGrey

Coupon-mad said:

I'd make it 5 times shorter otherwise you lose the reader's attention.

ok cool, thanks so much! :-)

GinaGrey

Okay, just got LETTER BEFORE COURT, what do I do now?

Sloppyjoe

Reading back I cannot believe the POPLA assessors ridiculous comments which show them to be incompetent, even talking about a "PCN fine" in their reply.

As for the letter before court refer to the relevant section on here.

GinaGrey

Sloppyjoe said:

Reading back I cannot believe the POPLA assessors ridiculous comments which show them to be incompetent, even talking about a "PCN fine" in their reply.

As for the letter before court refer to the relevant section on here.

@Sloppyjoe

So this would be my acknowledgment and request for additional details. 

Is this OK?

Thanks again! xx

Dear Sir/Madam,

I acknowledge the receipt of your Letter Before County Court Claim, dated [insert date], relating to the parking charge for [vehicle registration] at xxx

Upon review, I note that your LBA does not comply with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct (PD) under the Civil Procedure Rules, and, in addition, it is also misleading. 

You are required to provide A FULLY COMPLIANT LBA with the missing information before initiating court proceedings. Please explain your legal standing to bring these proceedings, providing copies of any documents that you propose to rely on.

 

1)      Please specify which terms of contract were breached as the details of your claim are not clear, your letter does not specify the legal basis of the claim.

2)      Please explain what specific signage was violated to provide the clear summary of the facts.

3)      Please provide the breakdown of how your demand of £125 (£100 + £25 recovery fee) was calculated and justified. Please:

-          state how this charge has arisen

-          quantify how the charge has been calculated – include a breakdown of the claimed amount

-          please identify and quantify any loss claimed

4)      Please provide the essential documents – particularly the copies of:

-          the contract between the Parking Eye and the landowner authorising you to issue PCNs.

-          clear photographic evidence of the parking terms and conditions as well as signage at the car park and proof that it was visible at the time of the alleged breach

-          proof that the payment machines were working correctly at the time of the incident

5)      Your letter doesn’t properly explain any further ADR options or whether mediation is possible before court action. Please confirm that you are willing to engage in Alternative Dispute Resolution or mediation before court action.

Your letter does not invite me to request missing documents I may need to assess the claim which is just another example of it being non-compliant with the Pre-Action Conduct Practice Direction. Just like your letter claims this compliance but does not actually meet its requirements, which is therefore misleading.

Failure to provide the information above may result in the court penalizing you for non-compliance with the Practice Direction, should you proceed with a claim.

I await your response within 14 days. If I do not receive a satisfactory reply, I will report your conduct to the relevant regulatory bodies and prepare my defence accordingly.

Yours sincerely,
[Your Full Name]

Coupon-mad

No. Where on earth did you find that?

Clearly you just use the reply in the NEWBIES FAQS but PLEASE don't post it here.