Success POPLA appeal against Parking Eye

Just wanted to share this with the forum, for others facing the same situation. I had a successful appeal with POPLA against Parking Eye when they tried to issue a PCN for me being 11 minutes over my 2 hour paid for stay. The ANPR snapped me coming in at 12.34 and I purchased my ticket at 12.38, I left the site at 14.45. I made the appeal based on grace periods and the fact that they had tried to start my time when I entered the site not when I purchased my ticket. The signs did not state that the time starts when you enter the site and so the parking period should have started when my ticket was purchased (with in reason). This is The assessment and decision:
Assessor summary of operator case
The operator has issued a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) for either not purchasing a valid pay and display ticket, by remaining at the car park for longer than permitted, or by not entering your registration details via the terminal.

Assessor summary of your case
The appellant’s case is that she left the car park within the allowed grace period as stated by the British Parking Association (BPA) code of practice section 13. The appellant says that she made payment for parking at 12:38 and left at 14:45, which was within 10 minutes. As evidence, the appellant has provided a copy of the paid parking ticket, an image of the site from google maps and a copy of the BPA code of practice.

Assessor supporting rational for decision
The appellant has indicated that she was the driver on the date of the contravention. I will therefore be considering her liability as driver of the vehicle. When entering private land where parking is permitted, you are entering into a contract with the operator by remaining on this land. The terms and conditions of this land should be displayed around this area. It is essential that these terms are adhered to in order to avoid a Parking Charge Notice (PCN); it is the responsibility of the motorist to ensure that this is the case. The operator has provided photographs of the terms and conditions, as displayed throughout the site, which states, “Parking tariffs apply 24 hours a day, 7 days a week… Failure to comply with the terms & conditions will result in a Parking Charge of: £100”. The operator has issued the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) for either not purchasing a valid pay and display ticket, by remaining at the car park for longer than permitted, or by not entering your registration details via the terminal. The operator has provided copies of its signage, including a site map. I am satisfied that the operators signage adheres to the requirements of Section 18 of the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice, which outlines the minimum requirements in relation to signage. The operator has provided photographs from its automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras. These captured the vehicle, entering the site at 12:34 and exiting at 14:45, which is a total stay of two hours and 11 minutes. Upon review of the signage, the terms do not explicitly state that the parking time begins upon entry. As such, I must assume that the parking session begins upon payment, if this is done within a reasonable period. The appellant says that she made payment at 12:38 after entry to the site. On review of the evidence, I accept this as fact. The appellant made payment at 12:38 for £2.00 against vehicle x that allowed parking until 14:38. The appellant says that as she left the site at 14:45 this is within the grace period set out by the BPA code of practice. Section 13.4 of the British Parking Association (BPA) Code Practice states: “You should allow the driver a reasonable period to leave the private car park after the parking contract has ended, before you take enforcement action. If the location is one where parking is normally permitted, the Grace Period at the end of the parking period should be a minimum of 10 minutes”. As the signage on site does not dictate that parking starts at the point of entry and as the appellant did make payment within a reasonable time, I do not consider the operator issuing a PCN for a 7 minute overstay as reasonable. Accordingly, this appeal must be allowed.
HOPE THIS HELPS AS PE ARE IGNORANT TW4T5 and this forum helped me out, will also be forwarding this to the hotel I was parked at as I complained to them as well. Good luck with the appeals.