APCOA PCN at St Albans Station - POPLA Dilemma (£60 vs £100)

12itagb

Hi all,

Hoping you can offer some advice on a PCN from APCOA and whether it's worth the risk of a POPLA appeal.

Date of parking: 24th August 2025 at St Albans Station (APCOA, railway land).

    The Contravention: Parking without a valid payment/permit. The parking fee was only £3.60.

 What happened: I tried to pay via the APCOA app when I arrived, as I usually do. The payment failed because I accidentally entered the wrong CVV, but I didn't realise this at the time, I likely entered the CVV from the wrong card. I have a screenshot from my banking app which clearly shows the attempted payment and the 'Incorrect CVV' decline reason.

The Story So Far:

I appealed to APCOA, explaining what happened and providing the screenshot to show my intent. They've now rejected that initial appeal with what looks like a standard template letter and have issued a POPLA code.

My Dilemma:

The failed payment was my error, of course, but as I'd shown a clear intent to pay I was hoping it might be forgiven in good faith (I know, very hopeful thinking!).

Now I'm stuck. My 14-day window to pay the discounted rate of £60 ends in just a few days (around 1st October). My other option is to appeal to POPLA, but if that fails, the charge goes up to the full £100.

This is where I could really use your expertise.

Firstly, do you think it is worth appealing to POPLA with the evidence I have? Or should I just pay the £60 and call it a day?

If so, I'd be very grateful for any advice on what I should write in the appeal. What are the key arguments I should focus on? Is there any specific wording or technical ground for appeal that has proven successful in cases like this before?

Also, has anyone had a similar experience with an appeal for a simple payment error like this?

Thanks so much for any guidance you can offer.

ChirpyChicken

Of course you dont pay. Just forget about paying. Why would you.

kryten3000

There is no dilemma. 

The £60 discount is a bribe to get you to pay up quickly and without questioning the charge.  Payment is an acceptance of liability and the parking company will consider the matter closed.

Refunds are hard to obtain (but not impossible) which is why we always say not to pay if the charge is disputed.

Umkomaas

Is this a Penalty Charge Notice, or a Parking Charge Notice?

ChirpyChicken

kryten3000 said:

There is no dilemma. 

The £60 discount is a bribe to get you to pay up quickly and without questioning the charge.  Payment is an acceptance of liability and the parking company will consider the matter closed.

Refunds are hard to obtain (but not impossible) which is why we always say not to pay if the charge is disputed.

Other wise known in these parts as the "mugs discount period"

DjangoUnchained

 Had a couple of so called penalty charges from potters bar station apcoa, both times they issued popla codes and once my defence was put in they pulled out within 2 weeks so don't be intimidated, hold tight and don't give in.

12itagb

Thank you all the great advice.

It was a Penalty Notice, not a PCN, my mistake.

I've had a couple 'Penalty Notices' before and always got them cancelled by appealing straight to APCOA with proof of a simple mistake (e.g typo in my reg, payed late but fee covered the time of parking etc, machine not working etc etc). This was the first time they've ever rejected one, which is how I ended up here. Info I found on the forum was a real eye-opener.

Anyway, I submitted the POPLA appeal yesterday using info and templates found here. Feeling pretty good about my case now, but I'm not holding my breath. 

But now I know what to do if it fails, and what to do in the future if I do ever get another one.

Thanks again for all the help, really appreciate it. If by miracle POPLA sides with me, I'll post an update.

Coupon-mad

Do nothing if it fails.

In the future you won't be able to get PNs at railways stations - see the thread I started about the relevant land' PoFA amendment.