Two hour no return ticket

Mikey_Boosh

Hi,

I've received a parking charge from parking eye, falling foul of a 2 hour no return trap, at a Costa Coffee. It was a free car park.

The paperwork as 4 (low res) photos of the car arriving twice and leaving twice 1 hour apart. The first photo is almost black though, with just the reg standing out. You can't see who's driving in any picture.

The driver(s) were Costa customers on the times recorded.

How do I proceed? Appeal and say they were different drivers on each occasion?

Mikey_Boosh

Edit: each stay was around 15 minutes 

Car1980

Don't lie. But I cannot see how a no-returns clause on a sign overrides a simultaneous contractual offer.

It's an unfair contractual term and the fact you successfully formed a contract with Costa supercedes it.

No returns are plainly ridiculous. If you left your phone in there are you forbidden from retrieving it until the next day?

I'd just email Parking Eye with proof of both purchases and instruct them to cancel the charge as it's an unfair contractual term. Don't call it an appeal, just instruct them.

knightstyle

As has been said many many times first complain to Costa and show them what good customers you all are.

savergrant

Car1980 said:

Don't lie. But I cannot see how a no-returns clause on a sign overrides a simultaneous contractual offer.

It's an unfair contractual term and the fact you successfully formed a contract with Costa supercedes it.

No returns are plainly ridiculous. If you left your phone in there are you forbidden from retrieving it until the next day?

I'd just email Parking Eye with proof of both purchases and instruct them to cancel the charge as it's an unfair contractual term. Don't call it an appeal, just instruct them.

The principle behind 'no returns' was that traffic wardens would visit one hour parking every 65 minutes and if they saw your car twice you couldn't say 'I left and came back'. It's completely unnecessary in the days of anpr. You say it was a free car park, how long a stay is allowed? If you had not left the car park and returned would you have still qualified for free parking  (75 minutes?)

Mikey_Boosh

I'm not sure how long the signage says you are entitled to stay, it's not exactly local to me.

Thanks for the replies so far.

LDast

Had this discussion with a judge last week. No other fact were involved. My question was:

If a Notice to Keeper (NtK) is issued to the Keeper because a vehicle registered to them returned to a car park that has a posted restriction on their terms and condition signs that states “NO RETURN WITHIN 4 HOURS”, can that liability be enforced against the Keeper, assuming that the NtK was fully compliant with all the requirements of PoFA? Take into account that it may have been two different drivers.

Initial answer from the judge:

I’m assuming that the same vehicle parked for the first time and then left and then returned within four hours

Then the PPC has a stone cold case. 

It makes no difference who the driver was each time. The mischief is the return of the car within four hours, not the return of the driver

My retort:

Even if the Notice to Keeper (NtK) is fully compliant with PoFA, the private parking company cannot simply hold the Keeper liable for an "unknown driver’s" liability unless they can prove that the same driver returned.

If a different driver returned with the vehicle, then the original driver (who was the one bound by the "No Return" restriction) did not breach the contract. The parking company would have no evidence that the Keeper’s vehicle was driven by the same individual.

PoFA does not impose liability on the Keeper for any and all drivers who use the vehicle—only for the breach committed by a specific, identifiable driver. If the parking operator cannot prove that the returning driver was the same as the original driver, then no enforceable breach exists.

Judges response:

Your argument is as respectable as mine!

Coupon-mad

knightstyle said:

As has been said many many times first complain to Costa and show them what good customers you all are.

Do this first.