Hello, first time posting here, just wondering what you would all do in this situation.
So, I parked at a Costa recently and got a letter through the door from ParkingEye saying I owed them £60 for the privilege of parking in a carpark for over the hour and half 'maximum' stay that they'd specified.
I returned to the shop to see if I could ask the manager to speak to ParkingEye on my behalf since I had proof I was a customer, but apparently they couldn't do it. (They can because I've had other stores do it for me in the past where I've had proof of being a customer - but whatever!)
In fairness, when I did go back to look there was a number of signs dotted around giving the terms but when you've got a pushchair and everything else, I wasn't really looking up at signs placed way above my head height. What you're meant to do at this particular place, is put in your registration number on a tablet in the store when you arrive (something which the Costa staff hadn't pointed out to me) in order to get an additional hour of parking. What really annoyed me was that I had only 'overstayed' by 10 minutes which incidentally is the amount of time that British Parking Association says should be given as a grace period anyway.
So, I appealed. I sent evidence that I was a paying customer with a screen shot of a bank statement, told them that their signage obviously isn't as "clearly displayed at the entrance" as they make it out to be, (otherwise why would I have overstayed or not input my details) and that the parking industry now suggests a grace period of ten minutes be given to drivers to avoid exactly these situations.
I got a response back, which basically ignored every point I made, offered to let me pay £20 as though they were doing me a favour, and have said I can contact an "independent" appeal programme if I want to.
Frankly, I'm inclined to think they know they haven't got a leg to stand on which is why they're offering a reduced amount.
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hmmm it seems there's a good chance the OP has outed the drivers identity.
hopefully the paperwork will reveal a possible flaw.