My Court mediation overview

Driver62

I just wondered if anyone else has had a similar experience to this, and what the outcome was. It has caused me several months (over a year now) of stress and deprived me of several family activities that our precious to me. As a full time carer for my adult son, this has also had a knock on effect on him. I will not sit back and allow this company to intimidate and bully me and wondered if anyone else has experienced the same action?


I received a Parking Charge Notice via post, for parking at South Beach, Blyth, in an area I genuinely believed offered unrestricted free parking. This belief was based on years of visiting the location, where white signs with black writing—approximately 4ft by 3ft—have consistently indicated free parking across the entire 2-mile stretch.

Over time, the car park has been extended, and each new section has followed the same signage style. Most recently, a new row of retail units was added, and again, the same familiar signs appeared. There was no obvious difference in appearance or placement to suggest that the terms had changed.

It was only after receiving the parking charge notice that I returned to investigate and discovered that the signage in parts of this latest extension had different wording—limiting parking to 90 minutes. Some retail units apparently allowing up to 4 hours if you have a meal or hairdressing appointment. These differences were not clearly communicated, and I had not been made sufficiently aware of them.

It is important to stress - No signage was present in front of the row of bays in which I parked and over a year later there is still non

I appealed the charge through the Parking Group’s platform, but due to a strict 500-character limit, I had to keep my explanation brief.

That appeal was rejected, and I was directed to POPLA, where I was able to expand my statement thanks to their 10,000-character allowance. I reiterated that the signage resembled the rest of the area and that a simple Google Maps search would confirm this.

Unfortunately, Parking Group responded dismissively, claiming I had changed my statement rather than simply expanded on it.

They submitted a photo of a car similar to mine parked in front of a sign, perhaps implying it was my car and I therefore must have seen the sign. However, I was not allowed to respond to this point, as POPLA’s process does not permit rebuttals. It was not my car, it was not the same parking bay row and it was digitally time stamped 6 months earlier.

POPLA rejected my appeal, citing adherence to the BPA Code of Practice, particularly the section on 'entrance signs'. This was the first time I had heard of the code, so I researched it myself. Version 9 of the code (which was in force at the time of the charge) clearly states that where restrictions apply, there must be a visible sign at the entrance.

Parking Group stated to POPLA that
“there are large clear entrance exit signs”
This is simply not true and never has been.
I believe this wording was deliberately misleading. The Code of Practice makes no mention of an exit sign — it specifically requires an “entrance” sign. By using the hybrid term, Parking Group avoided confirming whether the sign was actually positioned at the entry point, which it was not. I believe they were aware of this discrepancy and chose their wording carefully to obscure the issue.

In fact, I found several breaches of the entrance sign requirement:

1. The sign was placed on the exit side of the wide road, not the entrance. It was even several meters away from the exits roadside too. On some wasteground.

2. It was not visible to drivers entering the car park without diverting their attention from the road ahead.

3. It was frequently blocked by vans and delivery vehicles.

4. It lacked the required BPA logo.

5. It was not even set at an angle facing incoming vehicles

Parking Group’s own photographic evidence confirms the absence of the logo, and their wording to POPLA was misleading about the sign’s position. I have video and photographic evidence showing that the sign was not clearly visible to drivers entering the area, and that no signage was present directly in front of the row of bays in which I parked.

Since then, the sign has been repositioned and updated with the logo, but it still fails to meet the visibility standards outlined in any of the the codes and they still continue to issue parking charges to unsuspecting drivers.

In light of these facts, I maintain that I did not pass a valid entrance sign and was not sufficiently made aware of any differing restrictions. The Code of Practice is not a suggestion—it sets the minimum standards that parking companies must follow. Several of these standards were not met, and I therefore do not believe a valid contract was formed between myself and Parking Group and they purposely set out to mislead POPLA with evidence they know to be untrue.

Umkomaas

So what happened at your mediation call?  I thought that was the purpose of your post. 

"My Court mediation overview"

Driver62

It is on 21st November

Umkomaas

Court mediation stage - simple. 'I don't wish to negotiate. No offer from me'!  Mediation over. 

Driver62

I have had to cancel a family holiday and book a 4 day one instead of the previous 2 weeks one because the mediation call had been booked by them for a date we would have been in Tunisia and no guarantee of reception.
They wouldn't let me change the date of the call and said if I failed to take it a magistrate may take it into account and rule in favour of parking company.

Driver62

The photos I uploaded have displayed in a different order to which I had uploaded.
They were taken from a a pair of video glasses being worn as I drove into the carpark.
Just to demonstrate where the "entrance sign" actually is, you may just see it starting to appear behind the van from the side of the car window on the 7th photo.

ChirpyChicken

Driver62 said:

I have had to cancel a family holiday and book a 4 day one instead of the previous 2 weeks one because the mediation call had been booked by them for a date we would have been in Tunisia and no guarantee of reception.
They wouldn't let me change the date of the call and said if I failed to take it a magistrate may take it into account and rule in favour of parking company.

Not at all. I have missed many mediation calls it causes no issues at all on this level of case

In fact missed one this morning and it will continue as normal
In addition its a district or deputy district judge not a magistrate
I am sorry you didnt come here for advice first
Another mediation call I did yesterday went like this
"Sorry I dont see any point wasting your time. Please advise the claimant its a zero offer as they will discontinue their claim anyway.
Thank you for your time..
I then continued making a curry

Sorry you have missed holiday for no reason

Ps there are some great roman ruins in Tunisia and the trains are worth using!

Mediation really is pointless for these cases and is just a tick box excercixw

Driver62

Ahhhh!!!  Not sure if I feel better or worse now hahaha.
As you will have noticed, I am not familiar with the process, so have had to assume I need to jump through all the hoops and do as they say. It is all so frustrating as the evidence is all still right there at the scene of the crime for all to see, yet the parking company seem to have just been able to say anything and it is taken as being true, even google maps images show the lack of entrance sign as long as the car park has been there and still to this very day.

Your telephone mediation appointment

Appointment date: 21/11/2025

Appointment time slot: 09:30 to 12:30

Your confidential telephone mediation appointment has been booked for the above date and time slot. This means that the mediator will call you between the times shown. Your appointment will last for around one hour from the point at which the mediator calls.

The mediator will call both parties separately – you will not talk directly to the other side. They will try to help you both come to an agreement before the case goes to court.

Where your mediation appointment is mandatory, If you do not attend the appointment, the judge will take this into consideration at any court hearing and may issue a penalty. This could include the judge automatically ruling in the other party’s favour or ordering you to pay for some or all the other party’s costs.

ChirpyChicken

None of this has any relevance to mediation
Please dont waste your time over thinking it.
As you are offering zero that is the end of the 

Car1980

FYI Popla rarely rule on signage. The BPA state they audit all their members' signage, so therefore it must all be perfect and no errors could possibly occur. Popla assessors have "I am satisfied the signage is clear" on copy and paste.