Author Topic: Parking Charge Notice for Chesil Beach but parked at West Bexington (Dorset)  (Read 763 times)

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I have been issued a PCN by Euro Car Parks for overstaying a one hour stay in its Chesil Beach car park (24hrs). I was not driving the car at the time. However, the driver has assured me that they paid for a ticket in cash at a different car park - West Bexington. According to the Dorset Council website, Chesil Beach charges apply 24hrs and West Bexington 8am to 6pm. Parking was paid for between 5pm and 6pm at West Bexington. The ANPR camera image shows our number plate but we cannot understand why a notice was issued for Chesil Beach when not parked there.

We would like to return to the area but are concerned about this happening again.

I would appreciate guidance about how to launch an appeal.


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A couple of initial questions/requests to help us help you:
  • Can you reupload the notice, adding back in the dates and times (you can continue to redact personal info), as well as showing us the rear page of the notice?
  • Can you show us, via links to Google Maps ideally, where the driver parked? I'm not local to the area but from a quick look on Google Maps I can't find any Euro Car Parks car parks around there (although the Street View images are slightly out of date)
  • Are you the registered keeper of the vehicle?

 Thank you for your reply.

1. I have attached both front and back of the parking charge notice to this reply.

2. The driver parked the vehicle at West Bexington:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/rksRo3ipJg76QFmP8

The notice was issued for Chesil Beach:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/mtBYscbBqnXa5XNq6

3. I am the registered keeper of the vehicle.

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Quote
2. The driver parked the vehicle at West Bexington:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/rksRo3ipJg76QFmP8
Again I don't have the benefit of local knowledge, but Google Maps suggests that car park is in Abbotsbury, closer to East Bexington than West Bexington. There is a car park labelled as "West Bexington" on Google Maps HERE, but that's a 5 mile drive away from the one you linked to.

At any rate, the one you linked to would seem to correspond at least somewhat with the address on the Notice to Keeper, which they state as "Chesil Beach - Dorset, Chesil Beach, Abbotsbury, Weymouth , DT3 4LA". They don't seem to be claiming that the vehicle was parked at the car park you linked to on Portland Beach Road, which has a different postcode, and doesn't seem to be in Abbotsbury.

Can you show us a photo of the sign(s) outlining the terms and conditions of parking at the site? In particular one showing that parking is free after 6pm.
« Last Edit: November 28, 2023, 03:13:30 pm by DWMB2 »

Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

We are not local and don't have any photographs of the parking restrictions. I will check the location with the driver.

This photo from Google, which the user says was taken at the site in question 7 months ago, suggests that charges apply at all times:


OP, I think you need to get back to the driver and examine their account in light of ECP's evidence which seems pretty damning on the face of it. Although the pictures are cropped, they'll have better and so unless the driver claims that the car was out of their control for the period in question how would you hope to convince a POPLA assessor or court that the car didn't enter and leave at the stated times* given that the PCN looks to be PoFA-compliant? 

Yes, there is a slim outside chance that ECP don't have landowner authority etc. etc, so the question would be whether after 13 Dec, which is the earliest date on which their legal right to hold the keeper liable kicks in, you want to dispute the issue.

*- I've put it this way because this is the crux of their claim, their assertion that the car was on site continuously between these times is a deduction, not an independent fact.