POPLA appeal: Grace period

Anadan

Hi All,

I recently received a parking ticket and was hoping you could assist me with the POPLA appeal process. It took me approximately six minutes from the time of arrival to download the parking app and complete payment. Additionally, I exceeded the paid parking period by about five minutes upon exiting the car park. I have drafted the following appeal based on guidance from another source, and would greatly appreciate any feedback or support you can offer.

<p>Dear POPLA Adjudicator,</p><p>I am writing to formally appeal against the Parking Charge Notice issued by [Parking Operator] in relation to the above vehicle and date.</p><p>The basis of my appeal is as follows:</p><h3>1. Grace Period Violation – BPA Code of Practice Non-Compliance</h3><p>According to the British Parking Association’s (BPA) Code of Practice (Section 13), operators must allow a minimum 10-minute grace period after the end of paid parking before issuing a charge.</p><ul><li><p>My vehicle entered the car park at 13:26:14 and paid for 2 hours of parking at 13:32, covering me until 15:32.</p></li><li><p>I exited at 15:37:04, meaning my overstay was approximately 5 minutes, which falls within the 10-minute grace period allowed after the paid session ends.</p></li><li><p>The BPA Code of Practice states:<br>"Drivers must be allowed a minimum 10-minute grace period to leave a car park after their parking time has expired."</p></li></ul><p>Issuing a Parking Charge Notice for a stay that only exceeded the paid period by 5 minutes is therefore unjustified and not compliant with the BPA's mandatory guidelines.</p><h3>2. Consideration Period Before Payment</h3><p>The BPA Code of Practice also provides for a “consideration period” of up to 10 minutes from the time of entry for drivers to read signage, decide whether to stay, and make payment.</p><ul><li><p>My vehicle entered at 13:26:14, and I paid at 13:32 — within approximately 6 minutes, which is reasonable.</p></li><li><p>The time taken to pay for the session should not be penalised, as it falls within the acceptable consideration period before purchasing a ticket.</p></li></ul><h3>3. No Intent to Avoid Payment</h3><p>I made full payment for a 2-hour session and made every effort to comply with the terms of the car park. My brief overstay was not intentional but well within the allowable grace period. There was no attempt to evade payment.</p><p></p><hr><p></p><p>In conclusion, I respectfully request that POPLA allow this appeal and instruct [Parking Operator] to cancel the charge, as the minor overstay clearly falls within both the consideration period at arrival and the grace period at departure, per the BPA’s Code of Practice.</p><p>Thank you for your time and consideration.</p>

Anadan

Missed the following:

Arrival time: 13:26:14

Departure time: 15:37:04

Total stay: approx. 2 hours 11 minutes

Payment time: 13:32

Paid duration: 2 hours

Gr1pr

Name of the parking company   ?

Location   ?

Is the NTK PCN letter pofa compliant   ?

Was the driver revealed in the appeal  ?

Anadan

Name of the parking company : Parkingeye

Location: Brook Street 1, Peterborough

Is the NTK PCN letter pofa compliant: From my understanding yes. Attaching the PCN along for your ref.

Was the driver revealed in the appeal: Yes

Gr1pr

So time on site, 191 minutes,  ( they state  190  )  time paid for was 180 minutes, plus a minimum of 10 minutes grace period   ?

The difficulties with the app plus the grace period being a minimum should allow you to draft a popla appeal,  study recent wins in the Popla decisions thread in announcements 

Anadan

Should the grace period be 10 mins before and after? Or is it a total of 10 minutes?

Coupon-mad

That's the Reminder.

Please show both sides of the PCN.

Gr1pr

Anadan said:

Should the grace period be 10 mins before and after? Or is it a total of 10 minutes?

The current joint BPA & IPC code of practice details consideration periods and grace periods,  please download it and study it 

Anadan

This is the only letter I received. Forgot to mention that the car is not registered in my name, I got it under "Salary Sacrifice Scheme" from Octopus

Gr1pr

Anadan said:

This is the only letter I received. Forgot to mention that the car is not registered in my name, I got it under "Salary Sacrifice Scheme" from Octopus

So you are not the registered keeper , its not your vehicle 

Is it your name on the reminder or the name of the lease company or hire company   ?

Anadan

It's my name, I guess they sent PCN to Octopus who then told the parking company to reach out to me.