Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi there,

The driver of this car attempted to pay after staying in a Euro car park but when they inputted the registration it said they had only just arrived. There was no way of speaking to anyone or calling anyone to address this so they paid the amount requested. A photo of the car parks terms and conditions was also taken to make it clear that payment was to be made upon exiting the car park. They also kept a pdf receipt of this payment as they wanted to make sure there was proof that an attempt to pay for the parking was made. 2 weeks later they received a letter to say their payment did not cover the duration. As the owner of the car, I made an appeal to Euro Car Parks stating all of this but it was rejected, even though their correspondents ignored the fact that their machines incorrectly read the time of the vehicle when parking payment was made. I would massively appreciate it if someone could take a look through the evidence I have provided and let me know if it's worth my time to go through POPLA to make a formal appeal.

A huge thank you in advance to anyone who has taken the time to read through this.

Harmony guru

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Can we see the back of the PPN?

Not sure if this what you meant but here's the back of the Parking Charge Notice

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

What exactly did you put in your original appeal? Did you reveal the keeper to also be the driver? Have you complained about this charge to the business you were visiting or patronising at the time? If it is a retail park, have you tried to find out who the managing agent or landowner is and ask them to get this speculative invoice for £100, issued in error and unfairly by their agent, cancelled?

Your Plan C will be an appeal to POPLA where, hopefully, this will get cancelled as it appears to have been issued incorrectly and you have evidence to show that. There are also failures in their NtK that should prevent them from transferring the liability from the (hopefully) unknown driver to the the keeper due to no invitation to the keeper to pay the charge as required by the strict provisions of PoFA 9(2)(e)(i).

There are other BPA CoP breaches that can be included in your POPLA appeal such as poor signage and lack of prominence of the charge for breaching the terms.

I do not have a copy as it was sent via Euro Car Parks website, I made this appeal the same day I received the letter. In this appeal, I did identify myself as the driver. I originally only sent this appeal with a bank statement and later realised I had an invoice for the receipt of the transaction afterwards and sent this is a follow-up email with the below statement:

As stated in my first correspondence, I stated that your facility incorrectly recorded my entry as the time I entered my registration forcing me to have to pay the minimum fee. I have attached payment receipt as proof of this. Please note the time your system claims that I arrived which is contradictory to the alleged time in your letter. I have also attached an image of the terms and conditions of your carpark taken on the evening of the alleged incident. As you can clearly see it states that for customers to 'pay for your parking at the end of your stay before leaving the car park'. I followed these terms as stated so the fault is down to a fault in your system.

There was no confirmation from Euro Car Parks that they received this information or the evidence attached.

This was Five Ways Birmingham car park which is not park of a retail park as far as I am aware. There is a casino that can be entered via the car park but I cannot confirm the two are affiliated. I used this car park for a business (Symphony Hall) not affiliated with the car park.

Could you please explain more what is meant by the below statement in your message:

"There are also failures in their NtK that should prevent them from transferring the liability from the (hopefully) unknown driver to the the keeper due to no invitation to the keeper to pay the charge"

Thanks

Thank you for at least trying with an option before going to POPLA. I have been given a POPLa code from rejected appeal. I plan to state in my appeal that I tried to pay the correct amount but was unable to do so due to an error on their ticketing machine. There was also no way to contact anyone at the time this happened as their number only allows an option to pay a parking fine, not to actually discuss any errors or concerns. I plan to quote section 15.7 in some way referencing that the driver has paid fully for the parking (of which the ticket machine charged), complied with all other conditions of parking as stated in their signage and received a parking charge due to a reasonable genuine error. Is there anything else I should make clear?

I would include that variously the PPC is in breach of an implied term of the contract (that the machine will accept the required payment) and trying to hold you liable for their failure and/or that the contract was frustrated by the failure of their machine.

I would include that variously the PPC is in breach of an implied term of the contract (that the machine will accept the required payment) and trying to hold you liable for their failure and/or that the contract was frustrated by the failure of their machine.

Thanks Andy, should I lead with this in my appeal? Is my evidence attached in the original post enough to back up this argument?

Thanks Andy, should I lead with this in my appeal?

I would - it's the main meritoious point you have raised, so I'd lead with it, then follow up with the others that b789 has suggested.

Yes post a draft here for comment. I wouldn't offer to pay the amount it should have been. Your appeal will be making the point that the driver already intended and attempted to pay the correct tariff on the day but was prevented from doing so due to the failure of the operator's machine.