MET Stansted Parking Charge

Coupon-mad · 16 May at 7:04PM

OK - didn't realise - so at this stage you just use the template appeal in the NEWBIES thread.

JDriver · 16 May at 7:12PM

Okay I’ve sent my appeal using the template I found in the newbies thread (and also posted a few posts back). Will come back in here to give the verdict once I’ve received back. Thanks everyone for the help

Coupon-mad · 16 May at 7:17PM

We all know what the 'verdict' is at first stage!

JDriver · 16 May at 7:23PM

Coupon-mad said:

We all know what the 'verdict' is at first stage!

I don’t know what the verdict is going to be. Are they going to reject it and then I have to appeal to POPLA?

Coupon-mad · 16 May at 7:25PM

Have you ever read a MET thread where a first appeal was accepted?! Answer: no.

JDriver · 28 May at 5:28PM

I’m back with a response. Here it is.

“Thank you for your correspondence received in regards to the above parking charge.

The terms and conditions of parking are clearly stated on signs prominently displayed in this area. These include that the car park is a pay by phone car park but there is a 60-minute free stay for Southgate Park customers. At the time your vehicle was parked on site the premises located at Southgate Park (Starbucks) was closed and therefore the driver was not a customer. As such, the free parking period was not available, but no payment was made for their stay.

Therefore, we believe the charge was issued correctly and we are upholding it.

We are confident there are sufficient signs (copies enclosed) at this location bringing the terms and conditions of parking to the attention of motorists and it remains the driver's responsibility to check the signs where they park and comply with the terms and conditions.

As advised on the notice to keeper, where the charge has not been paid in full and 29 days has passed since we issued the charge and we still do not know the name and address for service of court papers of the driver, we are entitled to pursue the registered keeper for payment of the outstanding charge.

We do not believe we are required to provide you with the additional evidence requested and will not be doing so.

This decision, which has been based on the facts of the case and takes into account our consideration of any mitigating circumstances, is our final decision. You have reached the end of our internal appeals procedure and you now have a number of options:”

How best to handle this? Thanks.

doubledotcom · 28 May at 5:46PM

No doubt their "charge" still stands. No one is disputing this. However, only the driver can be liable and they have no idea who that is unless you tell them, inadvertently or otherwise. As the Keeper, you are under no legal obligation to identify the driver to an unregulated private parking company and you decline to do so.

You simply tell the POPLA assessor that first they must clarify whether the person being pursued is the liable party. Because the location is within the boundary of Stansted Airport, it is not relevant land for the purposes of PoFA 2012 and as such, there can be no Keeper liability. As MET have not provided any evidence that the Keeper was the driver and they are not allowed to infer or presume that the Keeper is the driver, as established in persuasive appellate case law, such as VCS v Edward (2023) [HOKF6C9C], then there is no case to answer and the appeal should be upheld.

If you search these forums for MET STANSTED, you will find links to a an official map showing the Stansted Airport boundary and the location highlighted within it. Also, there is a copy of a contract between the company that manages the land and MET which specifically fails to note a tickbox which is supposed to be selected if they are issuing PCNs under PoFA.

JDriver · 9 June at 9:37AM

Hey all. I found the above response from doubledot really insightful. I’m still however concerned that I’m going to mess up dealing with this and have therefore found myself procrastinating and not submitting the appeal.

Is there a thread on this forum that provides a template on how to respond to this specific situation? I’m going to have another look now but if anyone knows where one is I’d be very grateful for it. Thanks.

JDriver · 9 June at 9:57AM

Okay so my plan is to copy what the original poster did in this thread

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6584744/met-southgate-stansted-ntk-successful-popla-appeal-against-met-parking/p1

this situation seems similar to mine so should work right?

Ive seen other people attach photos of boundary lines etc on other appeals but my concern is if I complicate it I am liable to messing up. I might take advice from different types of appeals and mix it in to one and make a mistake.