Horizon parking fine from tesco, I dispute the parking charge with POPLA now!

Shaya

Hi eveyone,wanted to see if anyone had any success with Popla before?
If they reject my dispute my fees will increase from £40 to £80.
Unfortunately I dispute it before reading the forums so they have my name already and know I was th edriver, any advise would be appreciated. 
I stayed in the parking under one hour on sunday evening, fro first glance it looked like I should be ok for an hour, you can find the picture of the sign below.

I sent this email to them 

I am writing to formally appeal against the Parking Charge Notice issued to me on Sunday at 8:00pm, on the grounds that the signage at the Tesco Customer Car Park is misleading, unclear, and fails to meet the requirements of consumer protection law and contract law under UK legislation.

Grounds for Appeal: Misleading and Ambiguous Signage

The sign displayed at the car park (photographic evidence attached) lacks clarity and is inherently misleading in the following ways:
        1.      Lack of Prominence of Sunday Restrictions:
The first two lines of the sign prominently state:
        •       “Maximum stay between 6am - 10pm: 2 hours”
        •       “Maximum stay between 10pm - 12am: 1 hour”
There is no indication in these first two lines that Sunday rules differ or that these time limits do not apply on Sundays. The information relevant to Sundays is buried further down and reads:
        •       “Maximum stay between 12am – 6am daily & 6pm – 12am Sunday: 15 minutes”
This distinction is not clearly signposted or highlighted in any way. There is no indication at the top that different restrictions apply on Sundays. This creates a false sense of security for customers who believe the general 2-hour/1-hour limits apply regardless of the day.
        2.      Breach of Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008:
Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, particularly Regulation 6 and 7, businesses are prohibited from engaging in commercial practices that are misleading through omission or unclear presentation of material information. Failing to clearly state that Sunday evenings are restricted to a 15-minute stay is a material omission.
        3.      Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999:
For a contract (such as a parking agreement) to be enforceable, the terms must be transparent and brought clearly to the attention of the customer before the agreement is made. The signage fails to do this adequately. The Sunday restriction is not prominently displayed, not differentiated by color, and not given any emphasis despite significantly affecting the terms of stay.
        4.      Precedent Set by the Supreme Court – ParkingEye v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67:
In ParkingEye v Beavis, the Supreme Court upheld a parking charge only because the signage was clear, prominent, and not misleading. In this case, the signage at Tesco fails that test. The layout, font size, and order of information do not make Sunday’s 15-minute restriction obvious, which undermines any claim of informed consent to contract.

Conclusion

I firmly believe that no fair-minded observer would conclude that a person reading this sign would clearly understand they were only permitted 15 minutes of parking at 8:00pm on a Sunday. This is a deliberate or negligent omission which has resulted in an unfair penalty being issued.

I therefore request that this charge be immediately cancelled. Should POPLA fail to uphold this appeal, I will consider taking further legal action in Small Claims Court against Horizon Parking Ltd on the basis of:
        •       Misrepresentation under the Misrepresentation Act 1967
        •       Unfair Terms under Schedule 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015
        •       Breach of Duty of Fair Dealing under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

Additionally, I will seek to claim costs for the time spent dealing with this matter and any inconvenience suffered.

I 

Coupon-mad

But if you are resolving to fight this, you aren't paying even if you lose! There are no 'fees'. It's not a bill and not a fine.

I don't think the info about Sunday is buried so I doubt this would win at POPLA.

I'd say either pay the £40 now and move on (as £40 isn't a rip off) or try POPLA and hope Horizon give up. 

And on Sunday evenings you can park in almost ANY side street in any city (even in London) completely free and with no PCN risk. Absolutely NEVER EVER seek out a car park to park a car in the evening or on Sundays. The streets are all there for you! Even single yellows don't apply on Sundays in most instances.

Shaya

Coupon-mad said:

But if you are resolving to fight this, you aren't paying even if you lose! There are no 'fees'. It's not a bill and not a fine.

I don't think the info about Sunday is buried so I doubt this would win at POPLA.

I'd say either pay the £40 now and move on (as £40 isn't a rip off) or try POPLA and hope Horizon give up. 

And on Sunday evenings you can park in almost ANY side street in any city (even in London) completely free and with no PCN risk. Absolutely NEVER EVER seek out a car park to park a car in the evening or on Sundays. The streets are all there for you! Even single yellows don't apply on Sundays in most instances.

unfortunately I can no longer pay the £40 as when you escalate to POPLA it will go up to £80

Coupon-mad

No. POPLA was not what I was suggesting.