Free Traffic Legal Advice

Live cases legal advice => Private parking tickets => Topic started by: Wintercat on September 11, 2025, 01:41:50 pm

Title: Re: PCN For overstay parking due my broken down car
Post by: Wintercat on September 11, 2025, 06:38:50 pm
Thank you all for time and effort. I intend to follow you advice and take them on, even if it means getting Debt collector letters and more. Just read what “frustration of contract” means and it appears to fit like a glove in this case.
Will be in touch with any updates and for further advice and guidance along this journey.

Thank you
Title: Re: PCN For overstay parking due my broken down car
Post by: DWMB2 on September 11, 2025, 06:01:12 pm
All of the above is correct. I would add to it by saying that even if you were one of the very few unlucky ones who did have to go all the way to a court hearing, you'd seem to have a very strong case on the basis of frustration of contract.

Frankly you did far more than most by proactively contacting them at the time to advise that you would be unable to comply with the terms, so it's hard to see how even the £20 would be justified, much less the £100 now being sought.

If it were me I'd probably also opt for option C, but if you decide to go with option B, show us anything you plan to say before sending it.
Title: Re: PCN For overstay parking due my broken down car
Post by: b789 on September 11, 2025, 05:51:23 pm
So, let's break this down so we can suggest options:

What happened
• You were within the 2½-hour limit but then the car broke down.
• You phoned the car park’s call centre and were told to email CP Plus/GroupNexus and that you’d be exempt because the overstay was caused by a breakdown. You did email.
• Despite that, a £100 Parking Charge Notice (PCN) was issued.
• On appeal, the operator rejected it but (as mitigation for a proven breakdown) said they’d accept £20 within 14 days under the PPSCoP, Annex F.
• You chose to take it to the independent appeal (POPLA). POPLA rejected the appeal. The operator then withdrew the £20 offer and reverted to £100.

Why they say they can do that

• The £20 is not a legal right; it’s a discretionary mitigation suggested by the PPSCoP for breakdowns if evidence is supplied. It’s guidance, not law.
• Operators can withdraw a discretionary reduced amount after an unsuccessful POPLA appeal and insist on the standard charge.

Your options now

A. Pay £100 and end it.
B. Ask GroupNexus to reinstate the £20 as a goodwill resolution (attach your RAC reference, timeline, and the email you sent when told you’d be “exempt”). They don’t have to agree, but they sometimes will.
C. Stand your ground. If they pursue you, it would be a small-claims matter. Your core defence would be “frustration of contract” (you couldn’t leave due to a genuine breakdown) plus the fact you relied on their call-centre assurance that you’d be exempt. POPLA’s decision is not binding on a court. If you were one of the less than 0.1% that lost, there’s no lasting CCJ provided you pay within a month of judgment.

My personal advice... Option C, because if you choose this, you will not pay a penny to GroupNexus/CP Plus. It will lead to a county court claim but there is a less than 1% chance this would ever reach a hearing as it will be struck out or discontinued before they had to pay the £27 trial fee.

For now, you can safely ignore all the debt recovery letters that you will receive. Debt collectors are powerless to do anything except to try and intimidate the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree to pay out of ignorance and fear.

Come back when you receive a Letter of Claim (LoC) from DCB Legal who are the bulk litigator of choice used by this unregulated private parking firm and we will advise o the next steps.
Title: Re: PCN For overstay parking due my broken down car
Post by: Wintercat on September 11, 2025, 01:58:21 pm
sorry it should have been POPLA. Don't know where i got Opta from.
Title: Re: PCN For overstay parking due my broken down car
Post by: DWMB2 on September 11, 2025, 01:52:24 pm
At face value, the contract would seem to have been frustrated.
Title: Re: PCN For overstay parking due my broken down car
Post by: b789 on September 11, 2025, 01:46:53 pm
Before I can respond... what on earth is "OPTA"?
Title: PCN For overstay parking due my broken down car
Post by: Wintercat on September 11, 2025, 01:41:50 pm
Hello, I would be grateful for any guidance on this overstayed parking issue due to car broken down. On 17 June 2025 I was parking in a car park operated by CP Plus Ltd in Greater Manchester, it has a 2.5 hr maximum stay. when I was about to leave within this time I was unable to do so because I discovered my car had broken down and I contacted the RAC. Told it would be a number of hours before they could attend.  I called the Car park call centre and was told, If I e-mailed the CP Plus Ltd that I would be exempt given I've exceeded the time due to waiting on breakdown recovery. RAC estimated 4-5 hours before they could get there. I decided to get a taxi home, sent the email to CP Plus at info@groupnexus.co.uk. explaining the situation as advised, then at 10.30 got a taxi back to car park to meet RAC. I was issue with a PCN by CP Plus for £100 for this incident. I appealed to CP Plus / Nexus which was rejected. But they did state they would reduce it to £20 if I paid in 14 days as per The Private Parking Sector Single Code Of Practice annex ‘F’. But if I appealed to POPLA and it was rejected the reduced charge of £20 would be withdrawn
I appealed to POPLA and this was rejected. They also stated in the rejection that because my appeal had been rejected CP Plus were in their rights to cancel their reduction and pursue the full £100 charge.
Do I have to pay the full £100, can I pay the £20 or is their another alternative.
Thank you