Euro Car Parks Parking Charge Notice - 13 minute delay between arriving and paying

ptj20

I drove into a car park at 16:36. I unloaded my two young children before attempting to pay for my parking using the 'paybyphone' website. The website wouldn't load so I tried to download the paybyphone app. After several unsuccessful attempts using my own phone's network, I hotspotted from a family member and finally managed to download the app. At 16:48 (13 minutes after driving into the car park) I paid for 4 hours of parking. I drove out of the car park at 19:49. 

In summary, I purchased 4 hours of parking but only stayed for 3 hours and 13 minutes. There was a delay of 13 minutes between entering the car parking and paying on the app. I have been issued a £100 'parking charge notice' by Euro Car Parks. 

Is this worth appealing? If so, what arguments / evidence should I put forwards? Is there an official 'grace period' which should be offered to account for the delay between arriving and paying?

Thanks. 

ptj20

Further information as I am unable to edit my original post: 

1. The delay was actually 12 minutes, not 13! 
2. The car park was The Harts Boatyard in Surbiton. 

Coupon-mad

ptj20 said:

Further information as I am unable to edit my original post: 

1. The delay was actually 12 minutes, not 13! 
2. The car park was The Harts Boatyard in Surbiton. 

Are you CERTAIN you paid for 4 hours and paid for the correct VRM?

Does the app state your parking session? Please show a screenshot as evidence.

If you paid for 4 hours for the right car, then ECP are breaching the Code of Practice because the legally unfair '5 minute rule' approach was abolished in February:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2025/02/private-parking-charges-five-minute-rule/

ptj20

Coupon-mad said:

ptj20 said:

Further information as I am unable to edit my original post: 

1. The delay was actually 12 minutes, not 13! 
2. The car park was The Harts Boatyard in Surbiton. 

Are you CERTAIN you paid for 4 hours and paid for the correct VRM?

Does the app state your parking session? Please show a screenshot as evidence.

If you paid for 4 hours for the right car, then ECP are breaching the Code of Practice because the legally unfair '5 minute rule' approach was abolished in February:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2025/02/private-parking-charges-five-minute-rule/

Yes, I paid for the correct VRM. I used the app as a ‘guest’ so I have no screenshot of the app but I requested an invoice from PayByPhone who sent me the invoice below… 

Coupon-mad

Send that to ECP and say it looks like they are breaching the Code of Practice by ignoring the ban on the 5 minute rule. Clearly the vehicle was paid for in full (4 hours) so they must cancel it or explain exactly why the PCN was issued. If ECP find a VRM error they must explain exactly which digits were wrong and follow the Code of Practice.

ptj20

Thanks very much for your advice. I’ll do just that and let you know how it goes.