PCN reminder before further action - CEL

Tephra12

Hi all,

Looking for some advice on a parking charge I’m currently dealing with.

I got a PCN from Civil Enforcement Ltd for a visit on 25 October 2025 at a village hall / football ground (Clapham, Bedford). The reason given is for "exceeding the notified maximum free parking period of 2 hours without obtanaing a permit". It’s now gone up to £140 (I should note that they did reduce the charge to £20 after my appeal).

The thing is, I was there playing in a football match that day. I’ve got the FA teamsheet which I appealed with and as of today the club secretary confirming I was listed as a player. I overstayed after the game to use the the clubhouse (food/drinks), so I was a genuine visitor using the site as intended.

The parking setup is ANPR. Apparently you get more than 2 hours free if you register your car on a “touchscreen inside the premises”. The signs mention this, but they don’t really explain where it is or what you’re actually looking for. It just says “inside the premises”.

I had no idea I needed to go into a building (there's about 5 at the ground) and enter my reg on a tablet. I’ve played at loads of other grounds and never come across anything like this. I also arrived a bit late so I was in a rush to get the changing rooms and get sorted.

A few things that don’t sit right with me:

• The requirement to register inside a building feels pretty unusual and not obvious at all for using a football pitch for a typically 105 minute game (inc. halftime)
• The signs don’t clearly say where the device is or what it looks like
• You can access the pitches from the side (through a play park), so you wouldn’t necessarily even go in or through the clubhouse.
• Even the club have said coaches get caught out by this, which suggests it’s not that clear in practice.

On top of that, I asked CEL for more evidence back in November after the losing the internal appeal and got no response. The original PCN didn’t include any vehicle photos, and even during the initial appeal process there were no images available on their system.

I checked the portal again today (25th March) and it was only showing an entry photo, with no exit image. Then a couple of hours after submitting my formal complaint, the exit image suddenly appeared on the system. I’ve taken screenshots showing this.

By them not responding, it meant I didn’t have access to the full evidence when I was seeking to challenge the charge to POPLA. and since they didnt respond, I missed the chance to take it to POPLA by the deadline.

I’ve now submitted a formal complaint to CEL and will go to the BPA if needed.

Just wanted to sense-check, does this sound like something worth pushing based on:

• unclear / non-obvious terms
• poor handling of evidence
• and the fact I was a legitimate visitor there for a match

I've already contacted the Village Hall and they said they've tried but couldn't do anything and pushed me to appeal. I might be able to try and go to the Parish Council who I think own the site but is it worth it at this point?

It just seems wild to me that the Village Hall/Parish Council would enter into such a contact with such restrictions, when one of the main uses of the site means that you'd be there for at least 2 hours at a bare minimum, even if the game starts and finishes dead on time.

Any advice appreciated, especially if anyone’s dealt with something similar.

Thanks

Coupon-mad

Yep CEL threads are almost all about hidden keypads. I suspect the BPA might get CEL to cancel it so do escalate the complaint about not getting a reply to your appeal & not being given a POPLA code.

You'll never be paying this invoice anyway.

Tephra12

Thanks for the reassurance! Just to clarify, I did get a reply to my appeal, just not to my multiple follow up emails asking for more information and their evidence.

I'll carry on down the line I'm on though. I'll give them their 28 days to repsond to my complaint, and then escalate to the BPA when they inevitable dismiss it!

Tephra12

Quick update on this.

CEL have now responded to my complaint. They’ve sent me two attachments:

The original appeal rejection (fine, I had that already); and

A second letter dated December 2025, which they say was a response to my email from 30 November 2025.

I never received that December letter at the time. More importantly, it doesn’t actually contain any of the information I asked for (no images, no evidence, no signage details, etc). So even if I had received it, it wouldn’t have allowed me to properly assess the case or progress a POPLA appeal.

I’ve now replied to them, formalising my complaint further and raising the issue of missing/late evidence. I’ll wait for their response and then escalate to the BPA.

Separately, I’ve now also contacted the parish council asking them to cancel the charge.

I also note from the PDF letter metadata that the correspondence appears to have been generated via a system called “Smart Flows”, with the author attributed to a generic Gmail account.

If third-party software is being used, particularly external AI systems, to generate correspondence and process personal data, this raises potential concerns in respect of GDPR compliance, particularly around how personal data is stored, accessed and shared, and whether any external processors are involved.

If responses are being generated through automated, templated or AI systems rather than properly reviewed by a person, that would appear to be a blatant breach of the BPA Code of Practice requirement for complaints and appeals to be considered by "appropriately" trained appeals and complaints staff…

Anyway, I'm going to keep kicking up a fuss, beacuse, why not!

And since the invoice is already at £140, I guess there's really no point not to take this all the way now…

Coupon-mad

"since the invoice is already at £140, I guess there's really no point not to take this all the way now".

Correct.

Their greed hoists them by their own petard. If the sector stayed under three figures they'd be paid in almost every case.

Tephra12

Quick update and would appreciate some views on next steps.

CEL have basically continued to either dismiss what I’ve said or only very loosely answer my emails/requests. I’d been asking for evidence and proper answers for months, and when they finally sent some of it over, they still didn’t actually deal with the substance of the complaint.

Because of that, I escalated it as a Stage 2 complaint under their own complaints procedure. Their website says:

“In the event that you are not satisfied with the handling of the complaint, the complaint can be escalated to our Compliance Lead…”

and then at Stage 2:

“If you remain dissatisfied with our determination of the complaint, we will provide you with the details to enable you to complain to the British Parking Association…”

Instead of following that process, they’ve now come back with a fresh POPLA code.

What’s odd is that they had previously told me I was not eligible for a new POPLA code because the time had expired. They’ve now reversed that position and issued one anyway, without really answering the complaint points I raised or giving the BPA escalation details their own procedure says they should provide.

So I’m a bit stuck on what the best move is now.

Do I just take the practical win and use the new POPLA code, even though they still haven’t properly dealt with the complaint? Or do I ignore the POPLA code and keep pushing the complaints route / BPA route on the basis that they haven’t even followed their own published process?

At this point the whole thing feels like a mess. Their position keeps shifting and they don’t seem to have much of a clue what process they’re actually following.

Any advice appreciated.

Coupon-mad

Depends if you have a winning point for POPLA.

Nellymoser

Can't advise you on the POPLA code but re your complaint...I don't think you need CEL to give you details how to complain to BPA CEL's complaint policy already provides the link:

The BPA Complaints Portal link for escalated complaints can be accessed from the following webpage https://www.britishparking.co.uk/Contact-Us-Public

The BPA will want copy of CEL's final complaint response. If they haven’t provided one to you demand they do or you'll adding their refusal to your BPA complaint.

Tephra12

@Coupon-mad - My case is basically as follows:

• I was a legitimate visitor, playing in an organised football match and using the clubhouse afterwards
• The parking system requires registering on a “touchscreen inside the premises” but it doesn’t say where the touchscreen is (theres like 5 buildings on the site) or what it looks like (phone, tablet laptop etc)
• The playing fields can be accessed thorugh the play park without entering a building, so it’s easy to miss the registration requirement entirely.
• I have emails from the hall itself and football club saying that regular users (coaches) get caught out, which suggests the system isn’t that clear in practice
• No ANPR photos were provided initially (either with the PCN or during the appeal stage)
• Only an entry image appeared later, and the exit image only showed up after I submitted a complaint (I’ve got a screenshot of the website with only the entry pic showing - this was after the original POPLA appeal lapsed)

Does that sound like a reasonable POPLA case? my only concern is that appealing to POPLA and losing it might benefit CEL's case if it were to go all the way to court.

@Nellymoser - Thanks — I’m aware of the BPA complaints route and will use it if needed. I’m just pushing this point with CEL first as they have a clear complaints process on their website which says they’ll provide BPA details for escalation to stage 2, but so far they don’t seem capable of following their own process, which just adds to the joke of it all.

Thanks!

Coupon-mad

Does that sound like a reasonable POPLA case?

Nope, nothing that POPLA will accept.

Tephra12

Hi All,

I’ve received a Letter Before Action, which i assume is the Letter Before Claim from Civil Enforcement Ltd. It came directly from CEL, dated 23 April 2026, but I only received it yesterday, 30 April 2026.

It includes papers which I assume are the financial statements and a tick box reply form, along with a 2015 press report of case law.

I’ve read the newbies thread, so I assume the next step is to respond using the standard LBC response/debt protocol reply, making clear that the debt is disputed and requesting the relevant documents/evidence.

Just to check timing: they have given 30 days. As the letter is dated 23 April but only arrived on 30 April, should I reply straight away, or is there any tactical reason to wait? My assumption is that I should respond well within the 30 days and not leave it to the last minute.

I will include my reasons for disputing the charge, including:

• I was a legitimate visitor attending and playing in an organised football match and using the clubhouse afterwards;
• the requirement to register on a “touchscreen inside the premises”. The signage does not clearly identify where the touchscreen is, what it looks like, or which building/premises it is located in. This is not a standard or obvious parking requirement, particularly for a small Village Hall
• the site can be accessed without entering the whichever premises contains the touchscreen;
• CEL failed to provide the evidence I requested back in November, which prejudiced my ability to submit a properly informed POPLA appeal;
• ANPR/photos and other evidence were not provided at the appeal stage and only appeared later after I complained;
• CEL’s complaints handling has been poor, inconsistent and does not appear to follow its own procedure or the BPA Code of Practice.

I am also drafting a separate complaint to the BPA regarding CEL’s handling of the appeal and complaint process, including their failure to properly respond to my requests for evidence, failure to follow their own complaints procedure, and inconsistent handling of POPLA access.

I assume a complaint whether the BPA take it further or nor wont stop proceedings so i'll probably submit that today or tomorrow.

I’ll post that separately below - any comments on that would be greatly appreciated! {update - i've decided not to post this for now unless anyone wants to see it, just to keep this threat clean).

Separately, I’m going to chase the Parish Council to confirm whether they have asked CEL to cancel the invoice, and I’m considering FOI requests for any relevant byelaws, land ownership/management information, and the parking contract for the site.

Thank you guys!