Group Nexus – Waterfields Retail Park Watford – keys locked in car, genuine breakdown (help needed)

amort3ntia

Hi all, I’m new here and this is my first parking charge, so I’m trying to figure out what to do.

On 11/11/25 I parked at Waterfields Retail Park, Watford. The car park has a 2-hour limit.

I arrived at 12:05 pm and planned to leave around 12:50 pm.

When I put my shopping bag on the passenger seat (with my car keys inside), the car automatically locked itself- fault in the keyless entry system of my 2024 Kia Stonic. I couldn’t get back in.

I called my mum and dad. My spare key was at home, but my bedroom door key was on the same keyring that was locked in the car, so I couldn’t get to it. My dad picked me up, and my mum came home from work to help me break into my room, and we had to cut around the lock to open the door and get the spare key.

I returned to the retail park and finally drove away at 2:25 pm. The car was parked for 2 hours 19 minutes.

I received a £60 PCN from Group Nexus on Saturday. I appealed immediately, explaining the above and providing timestamped messages, call logs, and photos of the broken door as evidence.

Today (25 Nov) I got a rejection email- a generic template saying it’s the “driver’s responsibility” and that there are “clear signs”, which has nothing to do with a mechanical fault that made the car immobile.

I know POPLA is the next step, but if I lose there I’ll owe £100 instead of £60. From the stats I’ve read, only around 40% of cases through POPLA win. I’ve also read that the landowner can sometimes intervene (though I’m not sure who currently owns Waterfields). I have an email address for the retail park but don’t know if it’ll help.

Any advice on how best to proceed would be really appreciated.

Car1980

You owe zero, so it doesn't matter if they claim you owe £60 or £5000. Certainly don't fall for the mug's discount.

You won't be paying.

Try Popla if you want, but don't apply in the same manner as you did using "mitigating circumstances". You need to think contract law - Google frustration of contract. In fact I would specifically state you are not appealing on the basis of mitigating circumstances, but based on the law of contract.

If you had a heart attack and were carted off in an ambulance the contract would be equally voided.

Gr1pr

Plan A ( retail park complaint  ) is the next step,  not plan C ( popla  )

Complain to the retail park management company or landlord or landowner ASAP,  get them to cancel it 

Try popla before the code runs out, around 30 days after the issue date of the rejection 

You wont be paying a penny, regardless,  so ignore the figures and concentrate on getting it cancelled ASAP,  plan A 

No paying 

Coupon-mad

I would not try POPLA. They do not get involved in mitigating circs but the courts do.

I'd ignore the letters and come back if a small claim arrives. Ignore debt demands.

Still unsure that we are right? Just click on the little red 'MSE link' in the small 'Parking Ticket Appeals' banner at the top of this page which leads to the MSE Guide to fight PCNs.

Same info is shown in both this forum and in that Guide, as regards the debt recovery letters being a futile stage and risk-free. Consistent advice here is easy to find and not just from random strangers. The MSE Guide is official 'Martin Lewis backed' advice.

amort3ntia

Thanks so much for the advice. Do you have any advice on how to word the email to the retail park management/landowner? I want to make sure I say the right things and include what’s most effective.

Also, does it matter that I have no official breakdown report (as I solved the issue myself by retrieving the spare key)? 

The only evidence I have are text message receipts on the day with timestamps, call logs on the day, and photo evidence of the bedroom door with timestamps. 

Gr1pr

Just explain it to the landowner or landlord or retail park management company,  like you explained on here 

Read this too, same core company 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6462234/pcn-from-highview-parking-watford-waterfields

amort3ntia

Just a quick update- I’ve emailed Waterfields Retail Park management (cc’ing all MAPP addresses I could find) explaining everything as I did here, with full evidence and references to the BPA Code of Practice and frustration of contract. I’ll update when I get a response. Thank you all for your help so far, I really appreciate it.

Le_Kirk

If the retail park don't get it cancelled and it does go as far as a court claim, remember to cite Jopson v Homeguard as you were "dealing with a vicissitude of short duration".  That was the judge's wording in that incident.