£100 PCN for taking longer than 10 minutes to pay.

Coupon-mad

Lemur2000 said:
Good Morning All
I have already opposed this fine with 'Civil Enforcement' and been rejected by 'POPLA' as well. But still oppose this fine.

I paid for 24 hours parking, but took longer than 10 minutes to pay for it.

This was because i normally use the 'Phone and Pay' App. I parked up and on this occasion the App was not working. I tried several times and still not working. So i went down to the machines to pay but noticed on the sign that the App had changed to 'RingGo' hence why the previous App was not working. I went back to my van and downloaded the App and registered......the whole process according to the cameras took me 23 minutes from entry to paying. Is there anything i can still do to refute this because i feel that this fine is unjust and i do not want to give them the pleasure of ripping people off.

Good Morning Coupon - i trust all is well with you. I have just received a response from POPLA  in regards to the complaint you suggested.......see response below - they make three comments that are headed in Bold.......l'm now wondering what my next move is.......the best of regards....

Dear Mr........

Your complaint about POPLA decision xxxxxxxxxx

Thank you for your email outlining the reasons why you are unhappy with the decision that has been reached by the assessor in your appeal. This was passed to me by the POPLA team as I am responsible for investigating complaints.

It is worth pointing out that before submitting an appeal, our website informs appellants that POPLA is a one-stage appeal service and we cannot reconsider your appeal if you disagree with our decision.

Clearly, the crux of your complaint is that you are unhappy with the outcome reached in the assessment of your appeal. I have noted the following points and will address each one separately.

You are unhappy that the assessor stated that points 7 to 22 are not relevant.

Within the comments section of your appeal, you stated:

“Points 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 22 are all valid points to a driver that is entering the site for the first time and this is echoed by the British Parking Association advice as follows 'This is especially so if they are visiting for the first time' given in points 7 and 22 by the British Parking Association. But for someone who has used the car park several times before they would not consciously acknowledge the signs, and this is true in my case.”

The assessor stated:

“The appellant has provided further comments stating that points 7 to 22 are not relevant as they are a regular user of the car park so they would not be looking for the signage.”

I accept that the assessor has misquoted you and I apologise for this inaccurate statement within their report. I have reviewed the appeal and I can confirm that this would not have affected their overall decision. However, I can confirm that I will provide the relevant feedback for training and quality purposes going forwards.

You are unhappy that the assessor stated that you believe that the ParkingEye v Beavis applies to you.

Within your comments, you stated:

“I don't understand and fail to see what 'Parking Eye Vs Beavis has got to do with me and how it is relevant to my case. .....Beavis paid for two hours parking and stayed almost 3 hours..”

Within their summary, the assessor stated:

“In their further comments, the appellant says that the case of Beavis does not apply in this case and they do not understand why they are being charged £100 for 23 minutes.”

Within their rationale, the assessor explained:

“I accept the appellant believes that this case applies to them and they do not understand why they are being charged £100 for 23 minutes”

Having reviewed the assessor’s full response, it would appear that the misstatement was an administrative error rather than a misunderstanding of your comments. Again, I apologise for any inconvenience that this may have caused. While I am disappointed to see the errors within the assessor’s response, I can confirm that they do not affect the overall decision.

You have stated that the assessor has not shown awareness to the UK life ban on ‘the five minute rule’. You have provided Facebook links in support of this.

I can see that this ground of appeal was not raised within your appeal and this evidence was not provided. As a result, the assessor was not able to address it. It is important to explain that the purpose of our complaints process is to address any shortfalls in our procedure; it is not the opportunity to reappeal with new grounds. As such, I will not be addressing this as part of my response.

Overall, having reviewed both the appeal and your complaint, I am satisfied the decision reached is appropriate based on the evidence presented.

In closing, I am sorry that your experience of using our service has not been positive. However, POPLA’s involvement in your appeal has now ended and this response concludes our complaints process. It will not be appropriate for us to correspond further on this matter and all further correspondence will be noted on your case, but not responded to.

You are of course, free to pursue this matter further through other means, such as the Courts. For independent advice, you may wish to contact Citizens Advice at: www.citizensadvice.org.uk or call 0345 404 05 06 (English) or 0345 404 0505 (Welsh).

Yours sincerely,

POPLA Complaints Team

"You have stated that the assessor has not shown awareness to the UK life ban on ‘the five minute rule’. You have provided Facebook links in support of this.

I can see that this ground of appeal was not raised within your appeal and this evidence was not provided. As a result, the assessor was not able to address it. "

LOL!

So in POPLA la-la land... where there is a clear and obvious breach of the Code of Practice involving THE well-publicised recent change in rules (that the IPC and BPA said on breakfast TV in February, would in future "see PCNs cancelled at appeal stage because the assessors will pick this up") the burden in spotting that this is a '5 minute rule' case falls ... on the CONSUMER?!

Just wow, POPLA. This is your day job and the facts were all there. The burden was YOURS.

  

Lemur2000

fisherjim said:

They have said they won't respond any further as usual and you just ignore it until you get SCC claim where a proper impartial judgement would be made.

Thanks Fisherjim for your response.........excuse my ignorance, but what is an SCC claim ?

Lemur2000

Coupon-mad said:

You have stated that the assessor has not shown awareness to the UK life ban on ‘the five minute rule’. You have provided Facebook links in support of this.
I can see that this ground of appeal was not raised within your appeal and this evidence was not provided. As a result, the assessor was not able to address it. 

LOL!

So in POPLA la-la land... where there is a clear and obvious breach of the Code of Practice involving THE well-publicised recent change in rules (that the IPC and BPA said on breakfast TV in February, would in future "see PCNs cancelled at appeal stage because the assessors will pick this up") the burden in spotting that this is a '5 minute rule' case falls ... on the CONSUMER?!

Just wow, POPLA. This is your day job and the facts were all there. The burden was YOURS.

  

Ha Ha Ha.......POPLA la la land......Thanks Coupon, i like it, i will be referring to them as this from now on !    So do i now just wait for this SCC Claim that Fisherjim has mentioned ?

Umkomaas

Lemur2000 said:

fisherjim said:

They have said they won't respond any further as usual and you just ignore it until you get SCC claim where a proper impartial judgement would be made.

Thanks Fisherjim for your response.........excuse my ignorance, but what is an SCC claim ?

Small Claims Court. 

Lemur2000

Good Morning Umkomaas, Coupon-mad and Fisherjim - I have just received a 'Letter Before Action' and a 'Reply Form'........see both attached.     Should i complete the 'Reply Form' or do i ignore it and still just wait for the SCC ? 

Car1980

Ignore it.

Umkomaas

Reply to the LBA using the template in the NEWBIES FAQ Announcement, second post, but don't complete or return the forms that came with the LBA. 

Lemur2000

Umkomaas said:

Reply to the LBA using the template in the NEWBIES FAQ Announcement, second post, but don't complete or return the forms that came with the LBA. 

Morning Umkomaas.......thanks for the post and the advice.......i am having trouble finding this 'Newbies FAQ' announcement. 

fisherjim

Lemur2000 said:

Umkomaas said:

Reply to the LBA using the template in the NEWBIES FAQ Announcement, second post, but don't complete or return the forms that came with the LBA. 

Morning Umkomaas.......thanks for the post and the advice.......i am having trouble finding this 'Newbies FAQ' announcement. 

It's surprising when people say this as it's at the top of page one on this very forum, at the moment 4th sticky down.

Nellymoser

It's 1 of 7 Announcements pinned at the top of page 1 above the list of threads.

To get there Click on white box that says Parking tickets, fines & parking (there's one near the top and bottom of this page)

Go to the 2nd post Small Claim as advised.