Help with figuring out whether I should appeal with POPLA or not

venkajr15

Hi, I got issued with a parking charge notice from Euro Car Parks on 6th Jan for an event that happened on 31st December. I was in the car park in question for a total of 14 minutes. I entered the car park and as I went up the narrow ramp to the parking bays, I scraped my car against the wall resulting in some damage. Once I got through, I checked the damage on my car, noticed there wasn’t sufficient enough bays to park in and left down the other ramp (albeit very cautiously as I was still pretty rattled from the initial bump) but at no point was I parked in a bay and entered and exited the car park all within 14 minutes whilst my car sustained some damage.

I appealed through Euro car parks internal appeal basis but this has now been rejected. Do I have enough ground for appeal with POPLA or should I suck it up and pay the reduced fee?

Jame4ters

Why would you pay? Nothing in the “Newbies” thread tells you to pay

Coupon-mad

Nobidy would pay. DO NOT PAY.

There's nothing to be scared of by NOT paying an unfair invoice from a parking firm.

If you try POPLA (which can give a whirl but you still WON'T HAVE TO PAY THIS INVOICE) you need evidence:

Do you have dash-cam footage?

Do you have any pics of the damage?

Do you have proof that you paid for parking elsewhere instead?

If yes then that can be used to support your account.

If no, try POPLA or don't bother! Ignore ECP and the £170 threatograms shown in pictures in post 4 of the NEWBIES thread. Please don't panic or show us.

What you DON'T do is ignore a court claim or move house without telling them. Defending a claim is ten times easier than POPLA - no CCJ - and there will be no hearing because they always give up.

And what you DON'T do is pay it 'for an easy life' because that's sponsoring and funding what MPs call a 'scam' industry and paying for the next PCNs issued to weaker people who might be daft enough to think it's a fine and actually pay it.

venkajr15

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81866561#Comment_81866561

Hi, I don’t have dash cam footage but I do have photo of the damage as well as evidence that I had parked elsewhere instead. How would you suggest to proceed based on this please?

Coupon-mad

Great! That's your POPLA evidence then (as long as you add the image metadata to your photo of the damage to show the date). Photos must be dated.

Post 3 of the NEWBIES thread explains all about how to win at POPLA.

Show us your draft and don't only use template words.

You need to firstly have a paragraph telling the Assessor what happened and that you can prove you parked elsewhere (see evidence of that, alternative parking paid for a few roads away, x minutes later), "therefore I left as quickly as humanly possible, not having gained any amenity from driving up and down the ramp and sustaining damage (proved in the attached evidence, which explains the few minutes taken to compose myself and leave). No parking took place as the bays were full and no contract was agreed; I left and went elsewhere".

POPLA like that sort of evidence and phraseology.

venkajr15

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81867063#Comment_81867063

Thank you, do you know of a previous example I can use as a template for my response? I tried looking in the thread but couldn’t find one similar. Sorry I’m very new to this.

Le_Kirk

I would have thought that, if you rewrite in your own words what @Coupon-mad wrote, you would be sufficient. Check also the POPLA decisions sticky for what others wrote and were successful.

venkajr15

Hi, is it better to use “I” or “the driver” I thought the latter but because you used “i” I thought I’d double check

venkajr15

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81868590#Comment_81868590

@Coupon-mad

paulstevens64

You can safely use "I", as you have already outed yourself as the driver in your appeal. When this gets to Court papers,, your defence will be in the third person, and your Witness Statement will be in the first person.

venkajr15

Thanks all for your help, I have drafted the below response, please let me know your thoughts and what I can add/amend.

On 31 December 2025, I entered — and remained on site for a total of 14 minutes. During this time, I attempted to access the parking bays via a narrow internal ramp and accidentally scraped my vehicle against the wall, causing minor damage and distress. Upon reaching the upper level, it became apparent that the parking bays were full and that no suitable bay was available.

I therefore left as quickly as humanly possible, not having gained any amenity from driving up and down the ramp and sustaining damage (as proven in the attached evidence, which explains the brief pause taken to compose myself before leaving). No parking took place, no contract was agreed, and I exited — entirely.

I subsequently parked at —, where payment for parking was made exactly 13 minutes after leaving —, as shown in the attached evidence. This confirms that I left promptly and parked elsewhere instead. At no point was my vehicle parked in a bay or left unattended at —.

Grounds of Appeal

1. The vehicle was not parked and remained within the mandatory consideration and grace periods
   The vehicle was present on site for only 14 minutes, during which time I was manoeuvring within —, assessing parking availability, and exiting following an unforeseen incident.

The BPA Code of Practice requires operators to allow a reasonable consideration period on arrival to read signage and decide whether to stay, as well as a minimum 10-minute grace period to leave the site. This entire visit fell well within those combined periods.

ANPR cameras record only entry and exit times and do not establish that a vehicle was parked. The operator has provided no evidence that my vehicle was parked at any time. Driving around —, reading signs, assessing safety, and leaving does not constitute parking.

2. Independent evidence confirms that the vehicle parked elsewhere
After leaving —, I parked at —, where payment for parking was made exactly 13 minutes after departure. The attached evidence confirms this.

This independently demonstrates that I did not remain on the operator’s site, did not park there, and did not accept any parking contract at that location.

3. No parking contract was formed
A parking contract requires acceptance of the terms and consideration. I did not park, did not leave the vehicle unattended, and exited promptly after determining that parking was unsafe and unavailable.

Mere presence on site for a short duration, particularly while manoeuvring and exiting, does not constitute acceptance of contractual terms. As no parking took place and no amenity was gained, no contract was formed.