CEL POPLA Appeal - 95 Otley Road

uncivilenforcement

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81860524#Comment_81860524

Totally my bad for not updating when I said I would… let's give it a go, let me know how we proceed from here? Thanks for this by the way :)

Coupon-mad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81860541#Comment_81860541

I have emailed Sara and cc'd in the MHCLG (Government) so watch this space. I should get you a BPA Complaints ref to use urgently. CEL can unpick this but only if the BPA lean on them.

What's the judgment date please?

uncivilenforcement

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81860628#Comment_81860628

Thank you so much! The judgement date was 27/01/2026.

Coupon-mad

Good. There is a bit of time.

When are you back in the country, next week?

uncivilenforcement

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81860644#Comment_81860644

Yep, back on Monday morning luckily!

Coupon-mad

OK when you are back is in time, next week. Do nothing yet.

I have an auto receipt telling me Sara is out of office until Weds 4th. So hopefully I will pm you a BPA Complaints ref by this time next week.

uncivilenforcement

Brilliant thank you ever so much! I'll drop a PM / message here next Friday if nothing still!

Coupon-mad

Enjoy your break. This is in hand and the Government are aware.

Comes to something when PCNs that break the applicable consumer protection law are only banned by this rogue industry ten years later, and their self-serving 'appeals service' failed to protect you.

uncivilenforcement

I wanted to wait a little bit before updating just in case CEL would send something to confirm if this is now all resolved… but I've waited two weeks and of course they haven't, so here's the update!

Massive thanks to @Coupon-mad for their help with starting a complaint with Sara Davies at the BPA. In the end, I also sent an email to Sara/BPA to follow up on the complaint.

Days before I received a reply back, the claim was marked as settled on MCOL and paid on CEL's website and it now looks like the CCJ is now off my records after I received my latest credit reports on Friday.

Here's the email I received from Sara:

Thank you for your patience while I approached Civil Enforcement Ltd also t/as Starpark/Creative Car Park/Parksolve/Creative (Contracts) Car Parks for further information.

It might be helpful if I begin by explaining that our role as an Accredited Trade Association is to investigate alleged breaches of the Code of Practice by members of our Approved Operator Scheme. Please appreciate that our remit does not extend to compelling operators to cancel charges or becoming involved in the appeals process.

Civil Enforcement Ltd also t/as Starpark/Creative Car Park/Parksolve/Creative (Contracts) Car Parks has responded to advise that they have now decided they will cancel the parking charge and will arrange for the CCJ to be removed.

I have concluded my investigation and closed this case.

Kind regards

Sara Roberts

British Parking Association

For anyone interested, this is the follow up email I sent to BPA to chase as well after Coupon-mad didn't get a response quickly enough:

Dear Sara,

I hope I find you well.

I am writing today to request your urgent intervention in a PCN issued by Civil Enforcement which has led to a CCJ being entered against me.

In December 2024, Civil Enforcement issued a PCN to me alleging “payment not made in accordance with the terms displayed on signage”. However, payment was made prior to the vehicle leaving the site, and for a duration in excess of the actual duration parked. I have attached a receipt confirming the same. The parking was paid at 11:57am on 21st December 2024, and the car was inside the site for a total of 33 minutes between 11:34am and 12:07pm.

Appeals were made to Civil Enforcement and later POPLA which were both rejected. On 29th January, whilst on a long holiday spanning Christmas and New Year, I discovered through a friend that I had received a claim form. I learnt of the claim too late and as such, a default judgement had already been made against me on 27th January.

However, this case is a clear and classic example of ‘5 minute rule’ case that should have not been litigated by Civil Enforcement Ltd themselves in the first place in consideration of the unfair terms clause of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. This is further validated by the fact that (especially in light of media attention) in February 2025, the sector single Code of Practice that the BPA and its members subscribe to was revised to “reinforc[e] fairness for motorists" and all but scrap the ‘5 minute rule’.

To come to a swift resolution, I would be happy to submit a nominal sum of £1 to settle the matter immediately, thus avoiding the £313 fee to set-aside the CCJ which a judge would later require Civil Enforcement Limited to pay if a set-aside were to be applied for.

The PCN reference is XXXXXXXXXX for VRM XXXX XXX, issued on 29th December 2024 and the CNBC claim number is XXXXXXXX.

I would be obliged if you would be able to provide me with a BPA complaints reference at your earliest convenience and if you would be able to update me on the status directly, particularly as time is of the essence since there is only a couple of weeks remaining to be able to get this CCJ wiped.

Yours sincerely

Thanks to everyone on the forum here, particularly Coupon-mad, for their help - the NEWBIES guide is amazing and I really appreciate everyone's additional insight and assistance with proofing appeals and replies to CEL/POPLA and the BPA!

Coupon-mad

Yep the BPA sorted it out in time for the CCJ to be wiped within the first month.

Couldn't really have done anything else, given the MHCLG were all looking, haha!

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!

I got this reply:

Hi xxx

BPA-067xxx

We have a good outcome.

Firstly, if I may, I do want to clarify…

The parking charge was issued before the updated sector single Code of Practice came into effect in February 2025. At the time of the incident, the operator had not breached the rules then in place, and POPLA, acting independently from the BPA, assessed the appeal using the correct Code of Practice for that period.

The charge itself was not issued for any breach of a “5‑minute rule,” as no such contravention exists. Instead, it related to non‑payment in line with the terms stated on the site signage, which can understandably be less obvious.

Several attempts were made to contact the motorist over the last year and during this time an address check indicated a change of residence, a new Letter Before Action was sent followed by a Claim Form. No response was received to either. 

Civil Enforcement Limited note that despite their usual checks this case inadvertently progressed.They have a manual checking procedure to ensure that claims are not issued for parking charges that fall under the V1.1 of the sector single Code of Practice.  They are reviewing this procedure.  Had the motorist responded to the communications they have advised the CCJ would not have been registered.

As a resolution, Civil Enforcement Limited have now cancelled the parking charge and taken steps with the court to ensure the County Court Judgment is removed from the motorist’s record.

I hope this is helpful.

Sara

Sara Roberts, Head of Parking on Private Land, British Parking Association

It's all very well (and ten times better than I'd ever have got from the IPC, in my experience) but we have a defended 5 minute rule claim on the forum which I will now throw into the mix, so CEL's manual checks clearly aren't working.