Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi Everyone

Complete newbie here, so apologies in advance if I make any errors.  I wish I had read this forum beforehand.

I'm writing on behalf of my mum, who is 78 years old and a Blue Badge holder.

She received a PCN from ParkingEye for an alleged transgression whilst using the Aspire Leisure Centre.  She is a member there, having been referred by her GP for physio.  She visits multiple times per week.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/4cF48XbZfNEJCkmcA

The leisure centre has free parking for 4 hours, but requires VRN entry at a terminal at the reception. There is no confirmation sent from the the terminal to state that the vehicle has been registered.  My mum has done this every time since she joined.  As she has been classed as vulnerable, the leisure centre have put her VRN on a whitelist.

On the day of the PCN, she was using a courtesy vehicle from Enterprise, having been involved in a road traffic accident and her normal car was in for repair.

ParkingEye have issued a PCN stating that she did not enter the VRN in the terminal.  She is adamant that she did, and for the courtesy car, not her normal car.  I even sent her a photo of the car registration to ensure she had it to hand for when she went to the leisure centre.

I wish I had read this forum, but have already sent in the first appeal.  I confirmed that she was the vehicle hirer/driver.  The initial PCN had been sent to Enterprise Rent-a-Car.

The leisure centre are saying there is nothing they can do to cancel the notice.  However, they have provided me a screenshot to say that she was at the leisure centre for a pre-booked activity covered the period of the PCN.

I sent the appeal to ParkingEye, along with copies of her Blue Badge & screenshot of her booking.

ParkingEye have replied that she has not provided any proof that she did enter the VRN into their system, which is an absurdity.  Below is an extract of the text they have sent:

"In your appeal you state that the vehicle was registered to park on site for the duration of
the stay. After reviewing our records, we are unable to locate any vehicle details that
match or resemble your vehicle registration within our system.
In order for us to consider your appeal, we kindly request you provide further evidence to
confirm your vehicle was registered to park on site."

I have further responded, restating that she was on the whitelist as a vulnerable leisure centre user, provided evidence of a pre-booked session, and asked various questions about the integrity of their IT systems. 

I expect this to get rejected.

Any advice on how to proceed?  I have no faith in POPLA.

My mum has been through cancer and mobility issues over the last 5 years.  The leisure centre is a lifeline for her.  I was worried that after being involved in a car accident, she would become housebound, but thankfully she continued to use the leisure centre.  I don't want her to be deterred from using the leisure centre due to these frivolous PCNs.

I've attached copies of her PCN, and the correspondence with ParkingEye.

Given the car park is actually free with a 4-hour limit, and my mum stayed for about 90 mins, what is the actual loss that they can charge for?

Thank you!

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What a pity the "golden ticket" was wasted. I don't think you have any chance with POPLA. Mitigation is not considered and you have no proper argument to rebut their evidence that the vehicle was not registered to park.

You would have much better chance at court, if this ever escalated to a claim and hearing. The odds of it ever getting the far are slim. However, if ti did, you'd have a good chance of succeeding.

Depending on how ParkingEye choose to escalate this, whether through their own in-house legal team or by using a bulk litigator, will be the main factor. If they use DCB Legal to issue a claim, you can guarantee that as long as it is defenced, no matter how poorly, it will either be struck out or discontinued.

So, you can try POPLA for what it's worth but I doubt it will be successful. In which case, their decision is not binding and has no bearing on anything going forwards.

There would follow a whole load of useless debt recovery letters which can be safely ignored. Debt collectors are powerless except to try and persuade the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree to pay up out of ignorance and fear.

Eventually, a Letter of Claim (LoC) would be issued and that is when  would advise you come back over this, unless anyone else is prepared to assist you with a futile POPLA appeal.

A final update that after emailing the MP the PCN was cancelled.  Thanks all!