Need help from anyone who lives/works in Worthing

Racxie

Hi all,

I had visited Worthing on 19/03 to see a couple of friends and paid for parking. I then received a letter from NCP dated 01/04 claiming I hadn't paid, so I appealed it as I fortunately still had the tickets. However, my appeal was rejected as they claim I hadn't paid enough!

I'd really like to take a photograph of the machine with the prices so that I can (hopefully) prove I had selected the right amount of time and paid the correct amount, but it would cost me around £20 and take close to 2 hours to get there and back. I've asked my friends but they're both off this week and I'm conscious about the 14 day "discount period" before they increase the cost from an already ridiculous £60 to £100.

So I'm really hoping someone here could do me a massive favour and take a photograph of the machine with the times and prices. This is the car park in question, which Google gives the post code for as BN11 1LG:



As they've already rejected the appeal once, they've stated I'll need to make an appeal through POPLA if I want to take it further. If I somehow paid the wrong amount then I'd obviously be happy to pay the difference especially as it's clear that I wasn't trying to avoid paying at all.

Really hope someone can help me out! 

DW190

https://www.ncp.co.uk/find-a-car-park/car-parks/worthing-union-place/

Scroll down page.

Racxie

DW190 said:

https://www.ncp.co.uk/find-a-car-park/car-parks/worthing-union-place/

Scroll down page.

Thank you, had no idea that site existed. Also had no idea that it would have been cheaper to pay via the app rather than the machine.

Definitely looks like I had paid the wrong amount though no idea how I managed that especially as I even asked my friends beforehand how long we'll be staying for (which I did provide them proof of).

Do you happen to know if there's any recourse here? e.g. if I appeal to POPLA how likely will it be that they would reject the appeal? I can see there's a thread with their decisions but it'd take a lot of time to shift through the 400+ pages to get a rough idea.

Gr1pr

Popla would side with NCP if the pcn was correctly issued due to insufficient payment 

Racxie

Gr1pr said:

Popla would side with NCP if the pcn was correctly issued due to insufficient payment 

Even if it was an honest mistake? I have proof that I was told we'd be staying for the alloted amount of time I thought I had paid for, and I have no intention of arguing that I shouldn't pay anything as I'd happily pay the difference I had made an error on.

Gr1pr

Mistakes wont cut it at popla, they will adjudicate based on legal factors and the BPA CoP and any laws,  not excuses

You asked about popla, I gave an honest answer based on the facts you stated 

Insufficient payment will mean they side with NCP 

You need a legal winning point at popla, not Mistakes , see their FAQs

https://www.popla.co.uk/faqs#2UjXUaMKibM0cyQlqOtdm7

Racxie

Gr1pr said:

You asked about popla, I gave an honest answer based on the facts you stated

I appreciate the response and the information you've provided, although this part felt a bit hostile as if I was arguing when I was just asking, because this isn't something I'm familiar with and was just providing more perspective on my stance. But thank you again.

Gr1pr

Not hostile,  I answered the question that was asked,  nothing more

Your reply seemed to question my reply,  so I took exception to it due to giving you sound advice,

There are many reasons why you should follow it,  but i didn't see the point in a long explanation,  but you are free to conduct your legal case in your own way, I respect that stance,  but personally I disagree with the stance of expecting a mistake or mitigating factors to find in your favour,  popla follow a narrow remit , only legal factors win at popla ,  so I gave you my best advice based on the scant information supplied and over 12 years of advising victims

Popla never find in favour of mistakes, honest or otherwise , insufficient payment is normally a win for the claimant,  the signage will inform the driver that any breach of the parking contract will attract a £100 pcn  ( its been £100 max for over 12 years   )

When asking for opinions, those answering may not agree with your own

On a side note,  my fully paid lottery ticket has more chance of winning !

Coupon-mad

Nobody's telling you to pay this, BTW.

If you hadn't appealed as driver you could have won this at POPLA (no keeper liability) but it sounds like you've said who parked the car. But then again, so did this person and NCP didn't contest their POPLA appeal:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81355640/#Comment_81355640

POPLA stage is covered in the THIRD post of the NEWBIES thread. Worth a punt.

Paying the PCN or looking at the 'first 14 days' bribe is NOT worth thinking about. Nobody pays.

Gr1pr

As above,  but its a gamble if you dont have a solid legal reason for the underpayment 

However,  if you lost at popla and front it out all the way to court,  you might win based on your account,  like the 2 victims similar stories and accounts in the following recent thread 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6547966/private-ticket-from-north-west-parking-ltd-pursued-by-dcbl-won-court-case#latest

Study their feedback regarding both cases, understand the underlying arguments   , bear in mind that judges have a wider leeway than the narrow margins at popla

As you can see,  far more to it than a simple mistake or lack of clarity, hence offering to pay the extra pound or 2 after the incident never works. They usually want their pound of flesh and each court case could have meant a loss of between £212 and say £312, typically around £280 is claimed on a claim form 

As CM says, we aren't telling you to pay, but to be aware of the issues and possible consequences, be aware , especially if we play judge Advocate

The simple truth is that admitting errors or mistakes wont win at popla, they won't even rule on the law named the Equality Act  2010, their remit fallback stance is that it needs a judge in court to decide,  like in the 2 cases I linked above 

Racxie

Gr1pr said:

Not hostile,  I answered the question that was asked,  nothing more

Your reply seemed to question my reply,  so I took exception to it due to giving you sound advice,

There are many reasons why you should follow it,  but i didn't see the point in a long explanation,  but you are free to conduct your legal case in your own way, I respect that stance,  but personally I disagree with the stance of expecting a mistake or mitigating factors to find in your favour,  popla follow a narrow remit , only legal factors win at popla ,  so I gave you my best advice based on the scant information supplied and over 12 years of advising victims

Popla never find in favour of mistakes, honest or otherwise , insufficient payment is normally a win for the claimant,  the signage will inform the driver that any breach of the parking contract will attract a £100 pcn  ( its been £100 max for over 12 years   )

When asking for opinions, those answering may not agree with your own

On a side note,  my fully paid lottery ticket has more chance of winning !

Definitely no expectation on my part which is why I was asking if there's anything I can do and how likely it is that POPLA would give me the benefit of the doubt. That's something you kindly answered and provided a link to their site with more information which I appreciate. I also don't have an issue with the view that you gave, just the way you worded it. This is all new to me so I'm just trying to understand the situation fully before even considering what action to take.