Hi everyone,
I am a new driver and I lost track of time and received a Parking Charge Notice.
The notice was issued by MET Parking Services for a McDonald’s car park with a maximum permitted stay of 90 minutes. The ANPR system recorded the vehicle as being on site for 103 minutes. I was a genuine paying customer at the time and have proof of purchase.
I did submit an appeal, but I was not aware of this forum at the time. Had I been, I would likely have approached it more accurately and with better understanding.
However, this was the appeal I submitted:I received this notice on 22 April 2026 and write as the registered keeper of the vehicle.
The driver was a genuine customer : On 11 April 2026, the driver visited McDonald’s **** as a paying customer. I enclose evidence of a transaction at this location on that date. The driver was on site as a legitimate customer using the restaurant and its facilities during the recorded period.
No breach has been established : The operator relies on ANPR entry and exit timestamps. These do not accurately represent the actual period of parking, but rather the time a vehicle was recorded on site.
They include the consideration period on arrival - the time taken to enter the site, locate a space, and review the terms, and the grace period on departure - the time taken to return to the vehicle and exit the car park. These periods would not normally be considered part of the parking duration itself.
The operator has not demonstrated that these required periods have been properly accounted for in the recorded timestamps. As such, the evidence provided does not establish that a breach of the parking terms has occurred.
There was also a reasonable delay before leaving the site, which contributed to the overall time recorded.
In light of the above, I respectfully request that this parking charge be cancelled.
I have now received a rejection from MET. In summary, they stated:The terms and conditions of parking are clearly stated on the signs prominently displayed around this site. These include that parking is for customers whilst on the premises only and that there is a maximum permitted stay in this area of 90 minutes. You have acknowledged that your vehicle remained on site for longer than the maximum permitted stay therefore we believe the charge was issued correctly and we are upholding it.
Turning to the points you have raised --
We are confident that our notice to keeper complies in all respects with the requirements of the Protection of Freedoms Act and you are advised that where the charge has not been paid in full and 29 days has passed since we issued the charge and we still do not know the name and address for service of court papers of the driver, we are entitled to pursue the registered keeper for payment of the outstanding charge.
We appreciate that the driver was a customer at the time, however, the time limit applies to all motorists that visit the site.
We note your comments, however, the time limit relates to how long a vehicle remains on site and not the length of time it is actually parked.
Please note that a grace period was observed in line with Section 5.2 and Annex B of the Single Sector Code of Practice and was exceeded. The Code specifically states that grace periods do no apply in isolation so as to allow free parking up to the sum of the consideration and grace periods. In this instance, we were only required to provide an additional 10 minutes.
We are confident there are sufficient signs at this location bringing the terms and conditions of parking to the attention of motorists and it remains the driver's responsibility to check the signs where they park and comply with the terms and conditions.
They have provided a POPLA code, so I now have the option to appeal further.
I would really appreciate any guidance on whether this is worth taking to POPLA and if there are stronger grounds I should be using at this stage.
There was no issue with unclear signage at the site. The terms appeared to be in place, and I accept that I simply lost track of time and remained on site longer than intended.
Thanks in advance for any help.
