Smart parking never sent appeal outcome

H_sketch

Hi all,

I would appreciate some advice regarding a Smart Parking PCN as I'm not sure where I stand now.

**Background**

The PCN relates to Poundstretcher Car Park, Swadlincote.

According to Smart Parking's ANPR photos, my vehicle entered at **11:59 on 21/03/2026** and exited at **13:48**, a stay of approximately **108 minutes**.

I later discovered that the site has a **90-minute maximum stay**, so Smart Parking state there was an 18-minute overstay.

I received a Notice to Keeper dated 31/03/2026 demanding £100, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.

**Appeal Submitted**

On **11/04/2026** I appealed online through Smart Parking's website using the process detailed on the PCN.

Immediately afterwards I received an automated acknowledgement email stating:

> "We can confirm that your appeal has been received and that all action has been suspended pending adjudication."

The email also stated:

> "If your appeal has been received within 28 days of issue of the Parking Charge (PC) and your appeal is unsuccessful, the PC will revert to the amount outstanding at the point of appeal."

As my appeal was submitted within the discounted period, I understood this to mean that if unsuccessful the charge would revert to £60.

**No Further Communication**

After submitting my appeal I received:

* No appeal decision by email.

* No appeal decision by post.

* No reminder letter.

* No further appeal code.

* No payment reminder.

I checked:

* Inbox

* Junk folder

* Deleted emails

* All post received

I have never found any rejection letter.

**Debt Recovery Letter Arrives**

The next correspondence I received was a Debt Recovery Plus letter demanding **£170**.

The letter suggested that non-payment was now being treated as a deliberate choice despite the fact I had submitted an appeal.

This was the first indication I had that my appeal had apparently been unsuccessful.

**Complaint to Smart Parking**

I emailed Smart Parking asking:

* What had happened to my appeal.

* Whether a decision had been made.

* Whether a further appeal code had been issued.

* Why the case had been referred to debt recovery.

* Why the amount had increased to £170.

I attached:

* My appeal acknowledgement email.

* The original PCN.

* The Debt Recovery Plus letter.

**Smart Parking Response**

Smart Parking then supplied:

* A copy of what they say was the appeal rejection letter.

* A case timeline.

The timeline states:

26/03/2026 - Parking charge recorded

31/03/2026 - Notice to Keeper issued

11/04/2026 - WEB APPEAL RECEIVED

30/04/2026 - APPEAL REJECTED AT DISCOUNT

19/05/2026 - FIRST REMINDER NOT SENT

04/06/2026 - CASE READY FOR DEBT RECOVERY

04/06/2026 - CASE SENT TO DEBT RECOVERY

The rejection letter they provided is dated **30/04/2026**.

It states that:

* The appeal was rejected.

* The discount was extended until **19/05/2026**.

* Further appeal rights were available.

However, I never received this letter.

The first time I ever saw it was when Smart Parking attached a copy to their later email response.

**Interesting Timeline Entry**

One thing that stood out to me was the timeline entry:

> "FIRST REMINDER NOT SENT"

I have asked Smart Parking to explain:

* What this means.

* Why it says NOT SENT.

* Whether any reminder was actually issued.

**Response from Data Protection Team**

I initially emailed the wrong department.

The Data Protection team replied stating:

> "The appeal rejection was sent out via Royal Mail second class post, and we have no hold over the postal service and therefore cannot comment on why this did not reach you, however, we can confirm that this was sent."

However they have not provided:

* Proof of postage.

* A dispatch record.

* Any mail log.

* Any evidence showing when it was actually posted.

**Current Position**

I then submitted a formal complaint to Smart Parking's main email address asking:

* How and when the rejection letter was sent.

* Whether evidence of dispatch exists.

* What "FIRST REMINDER NOT SENT" means.

* Why debt recovery commenced when I had never received the appeal outcome.

That email was sent approximately **5 days ago**.

So far:

* No reply from Smart Parking.

* No further debt collection letters.

* No Letter Before Claim.

* No court paperwork.

**My Main Concern**

I appreciate Smart Parking may say the rejection letter was posted.

However:

* I received the original PCN.

* I submitted an appeal immediately.

* I received the acknowledgement email immediately.

* I responded promptly whenever correspondence arrived.

* I have thoroughly checked all email folders and postal correspondence.

* I never received the rejection letter.

* I never had the opportunity to use the further appeal process mentioned in the rejection letter.

* I never had the opportunity to pay the extended discounted amount by 19/05/2026.

It feels unfair that I followed the appeals process, received an acknowledgement, then the next thing I knew the charge had increased to £170 and been sent to debt recovery.

Given the timeline, the "FIRST REMINDER NOT SENT" entry and the fact that Smart Parking can currently only tell me that the rejection was allegedly sent by second-class post, what would forum members recommend as my next step if Smart Parking either doesn't reply or simply repeats that the letter was posted?

Thanks in advance for any advise

ChirpyChicken

The advice is simple

All the above is irrelevant and has no bearing on the case, unfortunately all a wasted effort

await a court claim

defend easily and win

Simple.

Coupon-mad

You've wasted a lot of energy on a fake appeals service that was impossible to win at, even if they had sent the rejection letter.

And we are with you (we don't believe for a minute that they posted that at all and if they did, they certainly should not be using second class post for time-bound next 'appeal' farce stages).

You should have just ignored them. There was no appeal. IPC firms don't offer a proper impartial appeals service.

Await the Claim Form which is where every defendant easily wins. No CCJ is risked.

It's a copy & paste defence, ten times easier than an online appeal and Smart ALWAYS discontinue.

See the DCB Legal thread by @Umkomaas

😀

H_sketch

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82045042#Comment_82045042

Yeah thank you for the advice. I think I just wanted to ensure I had a paper trail of my actions for if It ever did reach court however unlikely it might be. I will just compile all correspondence and timelines in a folder and forget about it until I may need to 👍🏼 just always nice to hear some reassurance with these things I guess 😊

Coupon-mad

Forget about it unless:

• you move house (you must tell them)

or

• a Claim Form arrives, which it will.

ChirpyChicken

You wont need any of the above for any court claim