Smart Parking Ltd in Scotland - fine

Mistymountains23456

Hi everyone,

Looking for a bit of advice!

In February we attempted to park at a space we'd found in Glasgow which advertised as £11 for 24h. When we arrived at the site at 7pm we attempted to pay for the 24h parking at the machine but it would only allow us to pay until 11.59pm. The parking sign was unlit, and as it was dark we could barely read it; there's photos which show the sign is in an unlit area and there's a bin Infront of it so you cant drive closer to see it in your car. The car park is basically a scrap of land.

We attempted to pay via the app which took several minutes to download due to poor signal, and a few minutes to find the parking space and go through to payment. Again, the app gave the option to pay for 24h of parking but only allowed us to pay until 11.59. After spending some time figuring out we'd need to buy a ticket until midnight, and then another 24h after that, we decided not to park as it would work out more expensive than parking at our hotel. According to the ANPR this took 13m in total before we left.

A couple of months later, and 2 days after our baby was born prematurely, we received a parking fine. We appealed it, first through smart parkings portal and then through IAS. Both rejected, just stating that we did not have a valid ticket, with no reference to the unclear signage and need to download the app to read the T&Cs. IAS seemed not to have taken into account any of the evidence we supplied and we can't appeal.

We've now received the final notice. Unfortunately, because we thought we had a very obvious defence and were in the first few days of a NICU stay, my husband had already appealed instead of claiming not to be the driver.

Looking for some advice on what the best thing to do would be. The fine is now £170 and just another unnecessary stress and cost at a difficult time. We live in England, so the cost/effort of going to court seems huge.

Gr1pr

Definitely not a fine, just an invoice from a private parking company, Smart Parking

Ignore the powerless debt collectors letters

Come back to this thread if or when you receive a Letter of Claim giving you 30 days Notice, or a Money Claim

Eventually you will pay nothing, definitely worth the effort at the correct time

Le_Kirk

For your information, you could read the Smart parking group thread: - Smart Group Thread

Coupon-mad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6677165/smart-parking-ltd-in-scotland-fine

You don't have a fine.

Nothing will happen as the event was in Scotland. There will be no court case and you MUST NOT PAY THIS.

Why on earth do you think any court hearing would cost you any money or would be in Scotland? It wouldn't be set at the area where the event happened! Any hearing would be at your local court but it will not happen because:

• Smart never proceed to hearings, and
• Smart never sue over Scottish events.

NOTHING will happen. Stop engaging!

"We appealed it, first through smart parkings portal and then through IAS. Both rejected, just stating that we did not have a valid ticket, with no reference to the unclear signage and need to download the app to read the T&Cs. IAS seemed not to have taken into account any of the evidence we supplied and we can't appeal." 

You really should not have bothered!

Please post the IAS Decision in my thread of IAS Decisions so that we can use it as evidence for the UK government and can all laugh at the farce …you now know it isn't impartial and is considered a kangaroo court, yes?!