PCN appeal help - ParkingEye

jg484848

Hi all, I have had a Parkingeye PCN appeal rejected and am looking for some help or guidance!

I have read the newbie section and tried to digest as much as possible. Here are the facts / timelines:

I parked my (company) vehicle at a private car park overnight with the intention to stay for 48 hours, but was limited to paying 24 hours by the “paybyphone” website…

-Sunday payment receipt stamped 14.46 (says parking valid from 14.45)

-Monday parking expiry text received 14.39 (wow thanks)

-Monday 24 hour parking expired 14.45

PCN Sunday entry ANPR: 14.38

PCN Monday depart ANPR: 14.52

The paybyphone website simply wouldn’t allow an extension – the button was there but greyed out. I even followed the link in the text reminder (that I paid extra for and only arrived 5 mins prior to parking expiry) “to add more time” but that wouldn’t allow either. I thought I had screenshotted the greyed out button at the time, but cant find it anywhere.

I ended up moving it to another nearby car park (and paying a higher rate) just to alleviate any potential aggro (how wrong I was)

So it took me 8 mins to drive in, reverse park my estate vehicle in a small and full car park, read the signs, log in to the specified website, set up and pay. Reasonable.

The 7 minute overstay was me wondering around the car park, reading signage checking there wasn’t a 24 hour limit (there wasn’t), continuously trying to extend the session before conceding and moving.

 

I’m looking for advice as I really don’t want to just “pay to keep them quiet and avoid the stress” as its wrong! Am I likely to win an appeal here? I’m not just relying on BPA consideration and grace periods, but the fact I tried and wanted to renew it!!!!

 

For refrence, my (rejected) appeal to Parkingeye is below – I appear to have conceded I was driving (hadn’t been on here at that point) which I understand is bad, given I have the “golden ticket” type PCN where the POFA is not referenced. The PCN came via HR of my company, who had it from the lease company (within 14 days). I also noticed when I went through their system to appeal, it said time paid: 0.00, overstay 24.13 – so it was essentially not registering I had paid for anything but I had.

I have removed anything that ID’s me / the location*

 

I write to appeal against your recent parking penalty notice, for parking that was paid.

I recently stayed for 2 nights in *******, hiring an apartment over the road from your car park. The owners recommended your car park for the stay… (see attached)

When I pulled in, I could only pay for 24 hours maximum on the website, so I did so promptly, removed my bags and began my stay. I paid for 24 hours plus an extra fee for a confirmation text, and another extra fee for an expiry reminder text. The plan being to simply renew/extend the parking in the morning to cover my 2nd and final night of the stay…

The next morning, I refreshed the page and went to extend the parking booking, but the button was greyed out, and wouldn’t click. I thought perhaps that it needed to expire before you could extend…

I got the reminder – just 5 minutes before the actual parking expired (not very timely considering this was a paid service) however I was already waiting on my device for it to expire so I could extend… It expired, but still would not extend. I tried the link in the reminder text itself, but this yielded the same result, so I walked over to have a look at the signage to make sure I wasn’t missing any small print about maximum stays of 24 hours – but I wasn’t. I tried again to extend but couldn’t – so I grabbed my car key and moved to the nearby ******  car park just incase – this was an attempt to AVOID any potential issues. (see attached payment relating to ************ parking)

I also note that your notice says I was 13 minutes over 24 hours – this was the time I spent on the car park trying to extend – you will see if you check your CCTV. Also, as it took a few minutes to park in the tight space when I arrived, to when I booked the parking, I am technically only over 24 hours by 7 minutes. Even then, I would consider this to be well within a reasonable grace period to attempt to extend/move – as I did so. Most car parks have a 15-20 minute grace period to allow you to get to the vehicle and get off the car park itself.

I made every effort in good faith to actually stay on your car park and extend for a further 24 hours, but your system simply fell short on the day. I would appreciate you void this penalty at your earliest convenience. I was inconvenienced having to move, pay more for the *********** car park and now deal with the admin of this penalty notice.

Many thanks

Any help or guidance massively appreciated, this seems to me like a hustle, as their own website set me up to fail.

Coupon-mad

I think try POPLA (not using a template) providing evidence that you did pay and explain in detail why it took 7 minutes to do that on arrival. Also attach your proof of paying to park elsewhere because POPLA like that. It proves you rejected the possible contract to renew because it was impossible to do so, and you left without gaining any further amenity from the site beyond the 24 hours paid for. Paying to park elsewhere within minutes proves that position.

NB:
double check you paid for the right vehicle - no typo in the VRM? - because it is odd that PEye seem to be saying you didn't pay. Hope you didn't pay for the wrong vehicle (your own car) by mistake?

jg484848

Coupon-mad said:

I think try POPLA (not using a template) providing evidence that you did pay and explain in detail why it took 7 minutes to do that on arrival. Also attach your proof of paying to park elsewhere because POPLA like that. It proves you rejected the possible contract to renew because it was impossible to do so, and you left without gaining any further amenity from the site beyond the 24 hours paid for. Paying to park elsewhere within minutes proves that position.

NB:
double check you paid for the right vehicle - no typo in the VRM? - because it is odd that PEye seem to be saying you didn't pay. Hope you didn't pay for the wrong vehicle (your own car) by mistake?

Thank you for your advice and reply... That was my initial plan but wanted to check. My only concern is if it gets rejected im stuck with almost double the fine.

I dont think 7 mins to park and pay was unreasonable that day... the spaces were tight, and I managed to get into the last one in the corner but needed to repark as the hedges and bushes were all overgrown and I had 2 suitcases to get out the boot.

I did attach my proof of alternative parking to my appeal thinking as above, it shows intention to pay, so hopefully that helps.

Have re checked the text message it was definitely done to the correct vehicle registration...

Coupon-mad

"My only concern is if it gets rejected im stuck with almost double the fine."

What fine?

You are concerned it will double?! So what?

It isn't a fine and nobody PAYS!

jg484848

Coupon-mad said:

"My only concern is if it gets rejected im stuck with almost double the fine."

What fine?

You are concerned it will double?! So what?

It isn't a fine and nobody PAYS!

Have I missed a point? 🤣

Regardless of what you call it, I essentially dont want a debt collector harassing me or essentially a CCJ

Coupon-mad

But neither is risked.

Nobody pays. Nobody gets a CCJ by following our advice.

jg484848

Coupon-mad said:

But neither is risked.

Nobody pays. Nobody gets a CCJ by following our advice.

Ok thank you.

I will try POPLA and report back

jg484848

This is my draft, is there anything you would recommend adding?

I write to appeal against a recent parking penalty notice for parking that was paid for.

I recently travelled and stayed for 2 nights (Sunday to Tuesday) in ******** with my partner to relax and destress after a busy work period, hiring an apartment over the road from the car park in question. The owners recommended this car park for the stay… (see attached)

When we arrived, the car park was busy and tight, being a fairly small car park. We hadn’t realised it was marathon weekend so it was far busier than a normal Sunday. We travelled in an estate car so it is quite long and cumbersome to manoeuvre, so we had to do a “several point” turn and reverse park into the last space in the far right corner (image from google attached). I then went onto the recommended website after reading the signs and noting the car park ID number - It only allowed you to pay for 24 hours at a time on the website, so we did so promptly. We then had to roll forward to allow the boot to open to retrieve my 2 suitcases because the bushes were overgrown and invading said parking space (as we were going out for dinner, I did not want to climb through overhanging brambles and bushes in clean, white clothes). If you see the old image of the car park from google, you can imagine how the shrubbery and brambles can easily overgrow in that corner, and also see how the space to turn around is only a car length long – difficult in an estate vehicle when full. I paid for 24 hours plus an extra fee for a confirmation text (£0.21), and another extra fee for an expiry reminder text (£0.21) - receipt attached. The plan being to simply renew/extend the parking first thing in the morning to cover my 2nd and final night of the stay… I set a reminder on my phone to do so.

The next morning, I went back into the parking session page and attempted to extend the parking session, but the button was greyed out, and wouldn’t allow me to click through. I thought perhaps that it needed to expire before you could extend, or maybe even the wifi signal was bad etc. so elft it with a view to try again later that morning.

I tried again whilst walking around the town (on my cell data) and still had no luck so again thought it maybe had to expire before it let me extend, which makes sense…

I was already back at the car park when I got the text message reminder that I paid for – just 5 minutes before the actual parking expired at 14.39 – see attached (not very timely considering this was a paid service). As I was already waiting at the car park on my device for it to expire so that I could extend it, I waited… It expired, but still would not extend. I then tried following the link in the reminder text itself that read “To add more time call 0330 400 7275 or smartphone users can use m.paybyphone.co.uk” but this yielded the same result, nothing. I walked over to have a look at the signage to make sure I wasn’t missing any small print about maximum stays of 24 hours – but I wasn’t. I tried to call the number but the robotic automated message was urging me to use my smartphone, then told me my number didn’t have an account registered and would need to set one up – not something I can reasonably do within the timeframe – even going off the 6 minute warning allowed by their paid “reminder service”. At this point I was truly stumped and starting to panic, I tried again to extend but couldn’t – so we moved the vehicle to the nearby, more expensive **** ****** car park in an attempt to AVOID any potential issues. (see attached payment relating to the nearby ****** ******* car parking - this was a pay on exit arrangement via machine, so the payment is dated the following day)

When I appealed the PCN, the ParkingEye system said I had paid for 0.00 of time and spent 24hrs 13mins onsite. So it was initially suggested I hadn't paid at all. Proof was provided of payment for parking, along with all above rationale but I am still apparently being penalised for the 13 minutes overstay….

My parking expired 14.45 and I left 14.52 according to the ANPR. This is 7 minutes – less than the minimum BPA grace period

ANPR says I arrived at 14.38 the day before, my attached receipt says 14.46 (parking session live from 14.45 to 14.45 day after) so it took me 8 minutes to manoeuvre, park, register and pay as above – but the system does not allow to you pay backwards, nor was the car parked the second it went through the ANPR trap. Furthermore we don’t have access to the ANPR time stamps in the moment so unsure how that is relevant.

The 7 minute overstay was caused purely by the ill functioning paybyphone.co.uk mobile site.

I made every effort in good faith to actually extend our stay on the car park for a further 24 hours, but their online platform (paybyphone.co.uk) simply fell short of purpose. A platform I later came to realise is a charged service to use: £0.33 as per receipt breakdown. As this is a charged service, is there not a failure to supply / not fit for purpose argument there too?

I look forward to your thoughts and assistance.

Kind regards,

J

Coupon-mad

You need to use my words about 'gaining no amenity'.  That's a POPLA phrase so I used it for a reason. You could also quote the Joint Code Feb 2025 consideration and grace periods table and point out you didn't exceed those allowances and at all times were engaged in trying to pay.

You can also add the usual 'no landowner authority' point in post 3 of the NEWBIES thread.

Oh, and it's not a 'penalty' notice.

jg484848

OK, i I have got it to this... I did consider putting more in about ANPR from the examples given in newbie section. I will also be sure to put it into PDF format and embed my attachment images instead

Would you recommend any more points to add?

I write to appeal against a recent parking penalty notice for parking that was paid for, on grounds:

1)      Period parked was paid for (error in initial claim saying 0.00 time paid)

2)      No evidence of specific period parked (only entry and exit stamps)

3)      Grace period – BPA code of practice – non-compliance

4)      Inability to extend / renew parking session on website provided (impossible to enter into / accept a new contract)

5)      No evidence of Landowner Authority - the operator is put to strict proof of full compliance with the BPA Code of Practice

I recently travelled and stayed for 2 nights (Sunday to Tuesday) in ******** with my partner to relax and destress after a busy work period, hiring an apartment over the road from the car park in question. The owners recommended this car park for the stay… (see attached)

When we arrived, the car park was busy and tight, being a fairly small car park. We hadn’t realised it was marathon weekend so it was far busier than a normal Sunday. We travelled in an estate car so it is quite long and cumbersome to manoeuvre, so we had to do a “several point” turn and reverse park into the last space in the far right corner (image from google attached). I then went onto the recommended website after reading the signs and noting the car park ID number - It only allowed you to pay for 24 hours at a time on the website, so we did so promptly. We then had to roll forward to allow the boot to open to retrieve my 2 suitcases because the bushes were overgrown and invading said parking space (as we were going out for dinner, I did not want to climb through overhanging brambles and bushes in clean, white clothes). If you see the old image of the car park from google, you can imagine how the shrubbery and brambles can easily overgrow in that corner, and also see how the space to turn around is only a car length long – difficult in an estate vehicle when full. I paid for 24 hours plus an extra fee for a confirmation text (£0.21), and another extra fee for an expiry reminder text (£0.21) - receipt attached. The plan being to simply renew/extend the parking first thing in the morning to cover my 2nd and final night of the stay… I set a reminder on my phone to do so.

The next morning, I went back into the parking session page and attempted to extend the parking session, but the button was greyed out, and wouldn’t allow me to click through. I thought perhaps that it needed to expire before you could extend, or maybe even the wifi signal was bad etc. so left it with a view to try again later that morning.

I tried again whilst walking around the town (on my cell data) and still had no luck so again thought it maybe had to expire before it let me extend, which makes sense…

I was already back at the car park when I got the text message reminder that I paid for – just 5 minutes before the actual parking expired at 14.39 – see attached (not very timely considering this was a paid service). As I was already waiting at the car park on my device for it to expire so that I could extend it, I waited… It expired, but still would not extend. I then tried following the link in the reminder text itself that read “To add more time call 0330 400 7275 or smartphone users can use m.paybyphone.co.uk” but this yielded the same result, nothing. I walked over to have a look at the signage to make sure I wasn’t missing any small print about maximum stays of 24 hours – but I wasn’t. I tried to call the number but the robotic automated message was urging me to use my smartphone, then told me my number didn’t have an account registered and would need to set one up – not something I can reasonably do within the timeframe – even going off the 6 minute warning allowed by their paid “reminder service”. At this point I was truly stumped and starting to panic, I tried again to extend but couldn’t – so we moved the vehicle to the nearby, more expensive **** ****** car park in an attempt to AVOID any potential issues. (see attached payment proof relating to the nearby ****** ******* car parking - this was a pay on exit arrangement via machine, so the payment is dated the following day)

When I appealed the PCN, the ParkingEye system said I had paid for 0.00 of time and spent 24hrs 13mins onsite. So it was initially suggested I hadn't paid at all. Proof was provided of payment for parking, along with all above rationale but I am still apparently being penalised for the 13 minutes overstay….

My parking expired 14.45 and I left 14.52 according to the ANPR. This is 7 minutes – less than the minimum BPA grace period

ANPR says I arrived at 14.38 the day before, my attached receipt says 14.46 (parking session live from 14.45 to 14.45 day after) so it took me 8 minutes to manoeuvre, park, register and pay as above – but the system does not allow to you pay backwards, nor was the car parked the second it went through the ANPR trap. Furthermore we don’t have access to the ANPR time stamps in the moment so unsure how that is relevant.

The 7 minute overstay was caused purely by the ill functioning paybyphone.co.uk mobile site, rendering it impossible to extend my session and thus forcing me to reject the possible contract to renew - I left without gaining any further amenity from the site beyond the 24 hours paid for. Paying to park elsewhere within minutes proves that position.

According to the BPA Joint Code (Feb 2025) consideration and grace periods table - I didn't exceed any allowances and at all times either side of the 24hrs paid parking was engaged in trying to pay.

I made every effort in good faith to extend our stay on the car park for a further 24 hours, but their online platform (paybyphone.co.uk) simply fell short of purpose. A platform I later came to realise is a charged service to use: £0.33 as per receipt breakdown. As this is a charged service, is there not a failure to supply / not fit for purpose argument there too?

 

No evidence of Landowner Authority - the operator is put to strict proof of full compliance with the BPA Code of Practice

As this operator does not have proprietary interest in the land then I require that they produce an unredacted copy of the contract with the landowner.

The contract and any 'site agreement' or 'User Manual' setting out details - such as any 'genuine customer' or 'genuine resident' exemptions or any site occupier's 'right of veto' charge cancellation rights, and of course all enforcement dates/times/days, and the boundary of the site - is key evidence to define what this operator is authorised to do, and when/where.

It cannot be assumed, just because an agent is contracted to merely put some signs up and issue Parking Charge Notices, that the agent is authorised on the material date, to make contracts with all or any category of visiting drivers and/or to enforce the charge in court in their own name (legal action regarding land use disputes generally being a matter for a landowner only).

Witness statements are not sound evidence of the above, often being pre-signed, generic documents not even identifying the case in hand or even the site rules. A witness statement might in some cases be accepted by POPLA but in this case I suggest it is unlikely to sufficiently evidence the definition of the services provided by each party to the agreement.

Nor would it define vital information such as charging days/times, any exemption clauses, grace periods (which I believe may be longer than the bare minimum times set out in the BPA CoP) and basic but crucial information such as the site boundary and any bays where enforcement applies/does not apply. Not forgetting evidence of the only restrictions which the landowner has authorised can give rise to a charge, as well as the date that the parking contract began, and when it runs to, or whether it runs in perpetuity, and of course, who the signatories are: name/job title/employer company, and whether they are authorised by the landowner to sign a binding legal agreement.

Paragraph 7 of the BPA CoP defines the mandatory requirements and I put this operator to strict proof of full compliance:

7.2 If the operator wishes to take legal action on any outstanding parking charges, they must ensure that they have the written authority of the landowner (or their appointed agent) prior to legal action being taken.

7.3 The written authorisation must also set out:

a the definition of the land on which you may operate, so that the boundaries of the land can be clearly defined

b any conditions or restrictions on parking control and enforcement operations, including any restrictions on hours of operation

c any conditions or restrictions on the types of vehicles that may, or may not, be subject to parking control and enforcement

d who has the responsibility for putting up and maintaining signs

e the definition of the services provided by each party to the agreement

 

I look forward to your thoughts and assistance.

Kind regards,

J

Coupon-mad

It's not a 'penalty notice'.

Your very first point should be that you paid for 24 hours and left immediately when the system failed to allow another payment, thereby rejecting the contract. The appellant having gained no amenity from the wasted few minutes trying to extend the time because you drove out and instead paid to park for a full day at xxxxxx car park.