Apcoa Airport Parking Fines

Kitkat5678

Wondering if anyone can help. My partner dropped off my Mother and I at at Manchester Airport in December last year and also picked us up from the airport. He received a fine for both even though we thought we'd done everything correctly.

We were lead to believe that drop off in the drop off zone was free with a blue badge and my Mother has a blue badge so we took it but noticed there were no barriers and there were no staff that we could see so he dropped us off and left. He received a £60 fine for this.

He also picked us up on return in the multistory area which was chaos and there were cones set out which he followed that took him up a few levels into the multi storey rather than where you can usually access on the ground floor where people enter from the terminal. Either way he payed at the machines by the doors where we came in from the terminal, when he could finally get to them because there was a huge crowd. When he went up to get his car to come down and collect us so we could jump in he ended up waiting in a queue as the barriers appeared to be broken which we could see from where we were waiting and he ended up stuck in that queue for about 45 minutes. It was chaos and ridiculous. He received a fine for this saying he hadn't paid.

He appealed and submitted evidence of the Blue Badge holder and details of flight and details of purchasing the ticket on picking us up etc but couldn't get the website to work to be able to submit the information. He then tried to call them but couldn't get that to work so he emailed the evidence to an email address provided on the letter. They declined the appeal via email so he sent everything to the ombudsman which he has only received a response regarding the dropping us off at the airport saying that if there are no staff to validate the blue badge it is the drivers responsibility to pay (which seems bizarre to me because that just means they will never put the staff on so they can get more money out of people) and apparently there are signs saying this which we didn't see so would think they're not that obvious. They haven't come back to us regarding pick up where my partner did in fact pay. We have received multiple letters saying the fines has gone up £200 then received another that the amount had gone back down to £60 if we paid.

My question is, has anyone else had an experience like this? Do they have a leg to stand on if we just ignore them now? Because I feel like it's just a big con and they're probably making a fortune from people.

Gr1pr

Definitely no mention of the word fine or fines on any of your paperwork

Magistrates issue them, no private parking companies

ignore them !

Coupon-mad

Easy!

No link, just search the forum. Read the Airport Drop Off Group thread.

100% win as long as the KEEPER appeals.

EDIT: Oh, i see they binned the win with a terrible appeal. Oh well. IGNORE THEM.

Kitkat5678

Thank you for your responses.

Yes it doesn't say 'fine' only a 'parking charge'.

I also read something about it being better not to admit that the keeper was driving but he didn't know that at the time and i think he did word it as if he was the driver so I don't know if that effects anything.

We have just become concerned as we don't want a CCJ at all if it ended up going to court.

Gr1pr

It wont go to court, Apcoa are court shy

FYI, if you receive a Money Claim, go to a court hearing and lose, you would not get a CCJ as long as the full amount is paid promptly, within the grace period allowed by a court, its only recorded on the register if it remained unpaid after the deadline, which is usually about a month

FYI, nobody wants a CCJ.

Kitkat5678

What would a Money Claim be? Just another letter that they send. It's also a worry if the charge keeps increasing as we don't even have the money spare to pay the low amount now let alone anything higher if it comes to that. Would just like to hope that they will eventually just stop writing.

Gr1pr

You can easily Google the MCOL Money Claim system for England and Wales, please study it if you are curious, and study the newbies sticky thread in announcements near the top of the forum too

As was said earlier, IGNORE THEM

Kitkat5678

Okay thank you for all your help

Coupon-mad

What would a Money Claim be? Just another letter that they send. It's also a worry if the charge keeps increasing as we don't even have the money spare to pay the low amount now let alone anything higher if it comes to that. Would just like to hope that they will eventually just stop writing. 

It's just a Claim Form like you see in every other thread! Nobody posting here with a Claim Form is panicking and nobody is risking paying anything nor risking a CCJ.

Nothing increases.

There is nothing to pay. Never will be.

APCOA have never sued anyone. NEVER.

Next time, come here first. So sad that the easiest one ever to appeal - with 100% win guaranteed at first contact - was binned!

James_Poisson

It's APCOA nothing will happen, ignore them.

Kitkat5678

Thank you for your comments with your advice and help. As I say we tried but we will indeed just carry on ignoring it