Free Traffic Legal Advice

It'll be hard to offer much advice on arguments around clarity if signage without seeing the signs. A look on Google suggests that drivers are required to pay for parking, did the driver pay?

If all of you received PCNs because none of you knew that it was controlled parking, then it is fairly obvious that the signs were not prominent nor capable of bringing the charge to the attention of the drivers. Looking on GSV, the newest photos of the entrance area are from 2022, possibly before PE were contracted. There were no signs at that time at the entrance to the facility.

Do you know anyone in the area that could get some up to date photos of the entrance area and the car park itself to see how prominent or not, the signs are?

Have you actioned Plan A yet? If you were patrons of the facility and you've been invoiced by an unregulated private parking company for the privilege, you may want to complain to David Lloyd and ask why it was not brought to your attention that it was a paid for car park.

When the time comes for Plan B, the appeal to PE, do not reveal who the driver was. Any appeal is done only as the keeper. The NtK does not fully comply with the strict requirements of PoFA 9(2)(e)(i) and therefore they cannot transfer liability for the charge from the driver to the keeper. PE will disagree and reject the appeal. However, you can use that for your Plan C POPLA appeal.

POPLA may or may not accept that point if it is not argued well and the assessor is not led by the nose to the strict requirements of PoFA. There are other arguments that will include signage and landowner authority etc.

For now, concentrate on Plan A and prepare your Plan B appeal and show us that before you send anything off to them You have until Tuesday 18th June to submit for that, so no rush.

I've just spoken to the facility manager and he is not willing to get the fine cancelled, he stated that there's adequate signage all around and that I should call Parking Eye for any dispute.

I don't know anyone from that area and I tried using Google maps which doesn't go inside the premises.

Were you all patrons of the facility? Did you all spend any money there? Have you all written a complaint to the facility manager expressing your anger and upset?

Is there a social media page for the facility that you can all go on and point out the problems with using the facility and that their manager appears to not understand the ramifications for the business as customers trickle away once they realise that there is a £100 surcharge for being a patron.

If the signs are so poor so as to not bring to the attention of the driver the charge for parking there, t ParkingEye is in breach of its CoP and PoFA. The manager should understand that the facility owner is jointly and severally liable for the actions of their agents.

Perhaps going higher up the management food chain would elicit a more facourable response. Find out who is the CEO or owner and ask them to intervene and point out that the “manager” does not appear to know who is the monkey and who is the organ grinder in their contractual relationship with ParkingEye.