Free Traffic Legal Advice

Morning

Long story short.

Hoping for some advice. Parked in a privately owned car park and paid within 10 minutes for parking by using RingGo by telephone (don't have app or coins) using number displayed on Parking signage. At the end of the payment process had verbal confirmation that the payment had been accepted and that I could hang up. No physical ticket issued obviously and no other confirmation received on phone.

Have been issued with a PCN from Excel stating 94) Parked without displaying a valid ticket/permit.

Have disputed it and suppled evidence and the case has gone back and for with Excel providing more evidence and case is about to go to arbitration with IAS.

Car has been owned for several years therefore unlikely that I put in wrong car details or location. Have provided evidence of bank statement showing pending payment on bank account on the day of parking date stamped at time of parking, evidence of parking charge debited the following day from bank account, call log of time I called the RingGo number and confirmation I was in the area attending a medical appointment.

Tried to get a receipt from RingGo but they wont supply backdated receipt neither will Excel. In an attempt to prove I had paid I raised a dispute over the transaction through my bank to query what the parking charge was for but Excel haven't responded within the 30 day timescale. Have evidence of this too.

So in summary I parked and paid for parking and complied with all the other terms and conditions displayed on signage but because I paid by phone and do not have a receipt they are progressing with their defence. I don't normally park without paying and genuinely though everything had been paid for as I was told so on the automated telephone payment message before I put the phone down. They maintain I would have been sent a receipt on my phone but I didn't so don't know what went wrong but I can prove I phoned the number at that time and that I have paid the parking charge. 

Have provided all my evidence and the case has gone back and fore a few times with both myself and Excel adding more evidence. I have nothing more I can add in terms of evidence or photographs but before I send it to arbitration anyone else got any other advice?

Anyone got any experience of using the telephone payment system and not being issued with a receipt? I've clearly paid but for some reason I didn't get a text confirming this if this is what I should have received.  It also hasn't registered on their system.

If payment was made within 14 days of the PCN then it would have been a £35 fee, its now £70 as I have taken it to appeal and have lost the right to pay a reduced amount!! Obviously more if I choose to go to court.

When I returned to the car the parking attendant was there taking photos. I showed him the pending transaction on my bank account but he said he had already uploaded the photos on his hand held device so there was nothing he could do he said. He did advise taking screenshots and photos of the area, screenshots etc which I did.

Any advice would be appreciated on the phone payment system as the only things I have found relate to the RingGo app which I didn't have at the time but which I do now have and with this you can see receipts for any parking payments you have made.

Thanks

Thanks The Rookie.

There are a few car parks in the area managed by Excel but the location number was quite clear on the signage so I would have entered that number and it would have been repeated back to me on the automated telephony system. I don't think I misheard but cant prove anything else about the call.

I have sent proof that I paid for the parking charge from my bank account at that time and proof of the telephone call. I don't have any other proof. I haven't used that before so I wouldn't have waited for a receipt to come through necessarily as I had confirmation that my payment had been accepted and that I could hang up. I've not parked there before as I was visiting for a medical appointment nearby.

Yes I could send a SAR. As part of their evidence Excel have provided a copy of a spreadsheet that has searched on my vehicle number on that date but with no entries found but that proves nothing as I cant check the search criteria myself to see what they put in. 

Interestingly I have been charged £2.60 which apparently incudes a £0.20 RingGo management fee. There is nothing on the signage to indicate the charge for the minimum time of 3 hours would be anything other than the £2.40 quoted on the signage.

Also Excel provided a site plan as part of their defence claiming the site had been audited and was fully compliant. I've revisited the site and half the signage they say should be there isn't any more and there is only one pay machine instead of the 4 they say are there on their site plan. I've provided photographic evidence of this and the signage showing the £2.40 charge not the £2.60 I have been debited.

It just all feels like a scam. Encourage you to park in a "public car park" claim its private property and charge you more for parking than they advertise and then don't give you a receipt to prove what you paid for and then slap a charge on which doubles if you dare to appeal!

Thank you b789

You have summed up the situation more articulately than I have without swearing!!

Its my view too that there is some sort of disconnect between Excel and RingGo, and my payment went through but for some reason no receipt was sent.

I'm not afraid of going to court, I'm familiar of the system through through my job and cases I take court action against for non payment of invoices, so yes it will be interesting the evidence they produce if they go down this route. I will do as you suggested regarding an SAR on RingGo and keep my powder dry with Excel until I see where they go with this after the appeal.

Many thanks

I was trying to keep it simple as I have been sent many documents by Excel to try and justify their claim and I have also sent evidence and documentation back with screenshots and pictures and didn't want to bog my post down with all of this as I have been happy to date to deal with what they have challenged me with.

You are correct, you cannot display a ticket if you pay by phone. They claim I would have been sent a receipt, presumably by text but I never received one.

I have therefore gone back and challenged this. I suspect thee has been some sort of technical glitch where payment has been made (and I can prove this) but no receipt has been issued and it hasn't registered on the IT system. Luckily I have proof I have paid and its timestamped.

My point about not being afraid to go to court was merely meant that I know some people are put off doing this and they know this and play on people's fear.

The point of my post was merely to see if anyone has had an issue like this with payment by phone, I couldn't see anything similar when I searched previous posts.