Advice please - Parking Eye parking Charge at M-Way services

RavSC · 12 September 2013 at 5:08PM

Hi,

Hopefully someone can help me out with some advice.

Yestterday (September 11th), I received a parking charge for £100 from parking eye.

It refers to a previous parking charge notice which I never received.
It says that "the parking charge is discounted to £60 if paid by 07/09/2013 - which is, of course, impossible.

The charge relates to my car being photographed, on 19/8/2013, in Birchanger Green services from shortly after midnight for a duration of 6 hours.
(Let's assume the driver stopped for a break due to fatigue and fell asleep, unaware of the parking restrictions.)

So, should I ...
Pay the £60 pounds?
Pay the £100?

Pay a smaller amount since the £60/£100 seems disprportionate when the parking rate was £10?

Refuse to pay as the signage was such athat the driver did not see it in the dark?

Refuse to pay since more than 14 days have elapsed since the alleged event. (The letter says that the 'Issued date' is 24/8/2013 - presumably for the letter that I never received)?

Thanks for any advice that you can give.

R.

Tilt · 12 September 2013 at 5:25PM

Well apart from anything else, the ticket should have info on it to allow you to appeal to POPLA. If it dosn't it's invalid anyway.

Secondly do parking eye have the authority to patrol the services and take people to court? (which is their only option should you ignore their charges). As I understand it, the landowner of all motorway service areas is the Highways Agency and not necessarily the franchise operator (such as Moto etc).

My argument would be that motorway service areas have a captive clientele and are provided for drivers to enable them to take rest breaks. If I had been given a 'parking charge' for overstaying, my first inquiry would be to the Highways Agency to see what their take on this issue is.

Coupon-mad · 12 September 2013 at 5:46PM

Easiest to give you this link to the last time I replied on a similar thread just the other day:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=63087106#post63087106

Best to search as suggested and read other PE/MSA threads and how they appealed. There are some MSA threads with their POPLA appeal wording shown as well which will help you if the MSA will not cancel it when you complain.

Guys_Dad · 12 September 2013 at 5:50PM

Is there a postmark on the envelope?

RavSC · 12 September 2013 at 5:54PM

Tilt, yes, i would have thought that it would have been OK to rest in the M-Way services if you felt too fatigued to drive.

I do appreciate that a services near an airpport would need to have some restrictions to prevent people using it as a free car park while they were away on holiday. But the two hour limit does not seem to address that.

The letter says that the signage states that "this is private land, the car park is managed by ParkingEye Ltd."

I just checked (Wikipedia) and the services are owned by 'Welcome break'.
I will be writing to them to point out that thie punitive charges mean that they will lose many times that amount as I will not be using their xervices in the future.

Your point about the highway code is interesting. It says .....

- avoid undertaking long journeys between midnight and 6 am, when natural alertness is at a minimum
[which happens to be the time of the 'event']

- if you feel at all sleepy, stop in a safe place. Do not stop on the hard shoulder of a motorway
[which leaves little option other than stopping at a services!]

But, the question remains ... whether to pay an amount or not...

R

RavSC · 12 September 2013 at 6:07PM

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Is there a postmark on the envelope?

I can't see one. It says UKMail / delivered by Royal Mail and has a printed reference nuimber (C9 10001) which I guess is some sort of customer number. There is an orange bar code stamped on the envelope but no numbers. I think that the bar code will be for internal sorting. Sono visible dates.

Re - Tilt's question about Popla details. the letter says that "POPLA will not accept an appeal, if you have not appealed to ParkingEye in the first instance" and it gives a ParkingEye appeals address and nothing for POPLA.

So, I guess the correct procedure is to
1. Appeal to ParkingEye (presumably a waste of time)
2. Appeal to Popla when ParkingEye.

Or I couild just send them a cheque. ?????

I might write to ParkingEye and ask them to provide all information that they have on me under the Freedom of Information Act (including all CCTV footage)! It would cost me up to £10 but it would give me some satisfaction!

R.

Tilt · 12 September 2013 at 9:05PM

Welcome Break may own the infrastructure of the services themselves but that dosn't make them the landowner.

trisontana · 12 September 2013 at 10:34PM

I would imagine the actual "landowner" is HM Government.

Coupon-mad · 12 September 2013 at 10:38PM

Cough...hope you have found the other MSA threads now? There is a difference with MSAs as regards the Dept for Transport guidelines & rules so you need to just do as I already suggested and learn from the threads of people who are ahead of you in the appeal process, not waste your time posting new questions wondering what to do - which makes me think maybe you haven't found all the MSA threads yet...?

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Easiest to give you this link to the last time I replied on a similar thread just the other day:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?p=63087106#post63087106

Best to search as suggested and read other PE/MSA threads and how they appealed. There are some MSA threads with their POPLA appeal wording shown as well which will help you if the MSA will not cancel it when you complain.

RavSC · 13 September 2013 at 2:40AM

Coupn mad - thanks.

I have read through the threads and I am more confused than ever. Maybe I am just a bit thick.

My curre3nt intention is to send a letter and cheque for the £60 (and not the £100, since I did not hear from them till after the deadline).

A bit of a cop out, maybe. But every time I drive past a Welcome Break to get to the next services, I will be reassured that I am getting my own back. Hopefully, I can recruit a few friends to my boycott, too. Maybe even a Facebook movement! Like Alice's Restaurant.

But, it looks like they will get my £60.

Also,

Guys_Dad · 13 September 2013 at 5:50AM

The next one has the same - a PPC who would hit you as well.

And if they take the £60 and then come back for the rest said the initial payment was being treated as an instalment?

Advice please - Parking Eye parking Charge at M-Way services

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