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Be prepared for a wait, POPLA often take over 8 weeks to assess cases.

When you hear back, let us know the outcome!

Good afternoon


I just received this email from smart parking.

Just keeping the house updated

Thank you


Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your email.
We note the comments made and we would like to make you aware that as you have chosen to appeal further to POPLA, we would advise for you to await an outcome to your POPLA appeal.
We are unable to intervene at this stage.
You will receive an email confirmation when you are able to view this information.


Kind regards,

 

Smart Parking Limited

Ok I will update the house once I hear from POPLA

Thank you

According to Michaela Sutton
Day 11 is 3 April
Day 13 is 4 April
I think there’s a problem here!

POPLA has made a big error in its calculations, hasn’t it?

Thank you so much

I will send the email and keep you posted

Good morning all

I just received an email from POPLA and below is there response to my appeal

"Thank you for your email, which was passed to me by the POPLA team as I am responsible for responding to complaints.
 
I note from your correspondence that you are unhappy with the decision reached by the assessor in your appeal against Smart Parking - EW.
 
POPLA is an impartial and independent appeals service and we do not act either for the parking operator or the appellant. It is important to explain that POPLA is a one-stage process and we would not change a decision because either party disputes the assessor’s decision. However, we may consider an appeal if there has been a procedural error, for example – if we failed to allow a motorist to comment on a parking operator’s evidence pack.
 
My role as a complaints handler is not to determine if the decision is correct, but to establish if the assessor has failed to follow the correct POPLA process and identify whether a procedural error has occurred.
 
I have summarised your complaint below and will respond accordingly.
 
You are writing to express my utter outrage and disbelief at the appalling standard of adjudication demonstrated by the assessor during the handling of your appeal. You say the handling of a breach under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act (PoFA) 2012 was incoherent. You say the assessor concluded PoFA202 had been met, yet the assessor’s own timeline confirms the PCN was not issued to be delivered within the relevant 14-day period. You say you wish for a review of the decision, an apology, an explanation of the action taken and a commitment to retraining on the statutory requirements of PoFA 2012.
 
Having reviewed your complaint, I have looked at the case including the notice to keeper issued.

As can be seen the date of the event is 23 March 2025.
 
Day 1 of the relevant period is 24 March 2025.
Day 14 of the relevant period is 6 April 2025 and this day fell on a Sunday.
To ensure the PCN was delivered within the 14 day relevant period, the PCN would need to be posted by 2 April 2025 which was a Wednesday.
As the PCN was posted on 3 April 2025  (a Thursday), this would have been considered to be delivered on the second working day after posting, which would have been Monday 7 April 2025. This was day 15 and outside the relevant period.
 You are correct that the assessor has not correctly considered PoFA 2012 requirements and for this I do apologise as the notice did not meet the requirements. With that being said, she has considered PoFA 2012, albeit incorrectly. She has not made a procedural error she has made a mis assessment, and due to this it would not result in us revisiting the decision.
 
I will uphold your complaint and provide the relevant feedback for coaching and decision-making improvement purposes in the application of PoFA 2012.
 
As POPLA is a one-stage process, there is no opportunity for you to appeal the decision. In closing, I am sorry that your experience of using our service has not been positive. We have reached the end of our process, and my response now concludes our complaints procedure. I trust you will appreciate that there will be no further review of your complaint, and it will not be appropriate for us to respond to any further correspondence on this matter.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Amy Smith
POPLA Complaints Team"


That admitted making a mistake but won't change their decision.

Please what can I do next.

Thank you

How failing to count up to 2 working days is not a procedural error is beyond me, but there we go.

In terms of what to do next, keep hold of that response, and wait to see what Smart Parking do next. Come back here if you receive a Letter of Claim from a legal firm representing them. You'll have a very strong defence.

Ignore everything unless it is a Letter of Claim (LoC). Keep the POPLA response as evidence.

I strongly advise you to contact your MP and show them the failures by POPLA and their weasel excuses. The response is a false dichotomy. A misapplication of law is a procedural error when it results in a decision contrary to statute. POPLA’s refusal to revisit the decision despite acknowledging the breach undermines its claim to impartiality and legal competence.

Find your MP's email (https://members.parliament.uk/findyourmp) and send the following:

Subject: Request for Referral to Parliamentary Ombudsman – POPLA’s Refusal to Correct Statutory Breach

Dear [MP’s Name],

I am writing to request your assistance in referring a matter to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman concerning the Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) service, which operates under the oversight of the British Parking Association (BPA).

POPLA recently adjudicated an appeal I submitted regarding a parking charge issued by Smart Parking. The appeal turned on a clear statutory requirement under Paragraph 9(5) of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA), which mandates that a Notice to Keeper (NTK) must be delivered within 14 days of the parking event to establish keeper liability.

The facts were not in dispute:

• The parking event occurred on Sunday, 23 March 2025.
• Day 1 of the relevant period was Monday, 24 March 2025.
• The NTK was posted on Thursday, 3 April 2025.
• Presumed delivery (two working days later) was Monday, 7 April 2025—Day 15, outside the statutory limit.

Despite this, the POPLA assessor upheld the charge, wrongly concluding that PoFA had been complied with. I submitted a formal complaint, and POPLA’s own complaints handler admitted that the NTK was delivered outside the relevant period and therefore did not meet the statutory requirements. However, they refused to overturn the decision, claiming that the error was a “misassessment” rather than a “procedural error”, and that POPLA is a “one-stage process” with no mechanism for correction.

This is a textbook case of administrative injustice:

• A statutory breach was acknowledged.
• The decision was not corrected.
• The complaints process was closed with no recourse.
• The adjudication body continues to uphold legally defective decisions.

POPLA presents itself as an independent appeals service, yet it refuses to apply or enforce statutory law correctly. This undermines public trust and leaves individuals with no remedy when faced with unlawful enforcement.

I am therefore requesting that you refer this matter to the Parliamentary Ombudsman for investigation. I am happy to provide all supporting documentation, including the original appeal, the complaint, and POPLA’s written admission of error.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Yours sincerely,

[Your Full Name]

[Your Address]
[Your Email]
[Your Phone Number]