Good morning. I wonder if someone can advise if it is worth me continuing to fight a parking fine that I recieved.
A bit of background...
At the end of November last year I visited Alexandra Palace to see a show and parked in the East Court car park. On entering the car park we were stopped by a parking attendant who asked us to confirm that we were there for the show that we had booked, and then waved us through. A series of subsequent attendants then directed us to a free space.
None of these attendants mentioned a parking charge, we saw no signs or ticket machines (though it was dark) and as we had been checked that we were there for a particular event we assumed that the parking was for this event only. If parking charges apply regardless of the reason for visit then why care the reason for someone's visit?
After the show and on leaving the car park we were again directed out, again with no mention of parking charges.
Then in early January I received a letter from Euro Car Parks, claiming to be a FINAL NOTIFICATION LETTER and requesting £100 for non-payment of a parking charge.
I followed their appeal procedure online, outlining the information above and also offered to pay the original parking fee of £15, stating that there was clearly insufficient signage and that I had not intentionally avoided payment.
I have now received the below response to my appeal. Do I have any grounds to continue fighting this? I remember some years ago it used to be the case that you could safely ignore parking fines from private parking companies, but I recall that may have changed at some point.
If I do need to roll over and pay up, then I have a little under a week remaining to do so, so any advise would be greatly appreciated!
Having carefully considered the evidence provided by you we have decided to reject your appeal for
the following reasons:
The car park operation is Pay on Foot therefore each time you leave the car park you
are required to pay.
The car park in question is on private land and upon entering such land vehicles are subject
to the terms and conditions of parking as shown on the signage. This signage quite clearly
states that if your vehicle is in breach of the terms and conditions of the car park then a
Parking Charge Notice will be issued.
On entry to private land it is the responsibility of the driver to check for signage and ensure
that your vehicle has been correctly parked. Any vehicles found not adhering to the signage
will be issued with a Parking Charge Notice.
Please be advised that there are a number of signs around the car park indicating the
restrictions of the site and it is the responsibility of the driver to read them when parking.
I would respectfully remind that contract law applies in this instance.
The car park is private property and signage on entrance and within the private car park
clearly set out the rules and regulations of the car park and tariffs (if applicable). By entering
the car park, parking and leaving the vehicle the driver has accepted the contract and
therefore if the driver fail to comply with the terms and conditions a parking charge notice will
be correctly issued.
Euro Car Parks accept no responsibility for individuals failing to receive their letters. Letters
are sent to the registered keeper's address which is supplied via an electronic link directly
from the DVLA and it is your responsibility to keep the DVLA updated with your current
address so that you can be contacted there. It is also your responsibility to make
arrangements to receive your post if you do not have access to your registered address.
Euro car parks and other operators do not have to send tracked or recorded post, neither
does the council or the police when communicating penalties and toll charges
As you did not purchase a valid payment/permit prior to leaving the car park the
Parking Charge Notice was issued correctly and remains payable.
We are in receipt of your correspondence; however, you have not provided any supporting
documentation to substantiate your appeal. All supporting evidence must be uploaded within
14 days to
www.eurocarparks.com/enquiry . Please note that any supporting evidence
C1 MB
ARC/POF/v.001
uploaded may change the above decision, and therefore if you are submitting the evidence
to Euro Car Parks please do not log an appeal directly with POPLA. Please include your
PCN reference number and vehicle registration mark with your evidence submission. If
evidence is unavailable or is not received in the next 14 days, the internal appeal process will
conclude, and the PCN will remain payable.
Please use one of the following options below to make payment for the amount of £100.00
1. Online: By visiting
https://www.eurocarparks.com/pay-a-parking-charge/2. Phone: Use the automated telephone service 0203 553 4559.
3. Post: Make your cheque payable to Euro Car Parks Limited (include a £2.50 handling
charge for cheque processing) and post to Euro Car Parks Ltd, 30 Dorset Square, London,
NW1 6QJ, quoting the PCN number on the reverse of the cheque.
The parking charge notice will be held for 14 days from the date of this letter to allow time to make
payment.
You have now reached the end of our internal appeals procedure.
You can make an appeal to the Independent Appeals Service, POPLA (Parking on Private Land
Appeals) using the unique POPLA Reference code provided above. Please note, should you decide
to appeal to POPLA, or if you appeal to POPLA and your appeal is subsequently rejected, the option
to pay the discounted amount will no longer be available and the Full Amount of the PCN will be due.
