Smart Parking given POPLA code

[biggeorge]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]55583[/ATTACH]Hi all, have been helping a friend of the wife's out with a parking ticket from smart parking.

 

Original notice was for £30 but she only received the letter on the 16th day from the so called over stay, I think I have read correctly that they must write within 14 days.

I will confirm the dates if needed, from the time of overstay to the day letter received.

 

Sent an appeal in under those reasons or asking for POPLA code and they sent another notice this time for £70 and ignored the first letter sent via recorded delivery.

 

Sent a 2nd appeal letter again via recorded delivery and this time they have provided the POPLA code.

 

The actual car park is free and I am 100% sure when it first opened as a private parking the maximum stay was 2 hours, This has now been changed to 1.5 hours.

The signs I have seen are small and where it stated 2 hours has now been changed to 1.5 hours, about the size of an A4 sheet of paper, if this even matters.

 

Friend over stayed by 26 minutes while shopping at the various shops there.

 

Could do with some help on next step and the POPLA appeal form on what to put down,

I have read that the appeal should be arguing the genuine loss of earnings or something along those lines.

 

Any help appreciated

 

George

 

P.S

 

Have enclosed the latest letter as PDF

[ericsbrother]

You have said most of what you need to write down-

1. That the notice to keeper arrived 16 days after the dtae of the event so not compliant with S9 of the PoFA and therefore no keeper liability. The keeper declines to name the driver at the time as there is no obligation to do so.

2. That the free parking period is 2 hours but new signage has been changed to indicate that it is now only 1.5 hours. The keeper requires a copy of the planning consent that allows this alteration and proof of contract between the landowner and Smart Parking that allows them to unilaterally change the parking conditions previously displayed and that allows them to enter into contracts and make legal claims in their own name.

3. That in any case, being a free car park the keeper submits that the actions of the driver has not caused a loss to Smart parking so the charge is not a quantifiable claim for losses due to a breach of the contract nor is it a genuine pre-estimate of loss and as such is an unlawful penalty charge.

 

POPLA will most likely only visit one of the points as you are certain to win on the last one. To make a decision on point 2 destroys the whole of the private parking industry's business model so they wont go there unless forced to.

[biggeorge]

Many thanks for the quick reply and info.

 

Can now confirm:

Contravention 20/11/2014

Date of parking charge notice is 04/11/2014 (Received on the 06/11/2014)

 

Will grab the forms and get them filled in.

 

Many thanks

 

George

[f16]

Many thanks for the quick reply and info.

 

Can now confirm:

Contravention 20/11/2014

Date of parking charge notice is 04/11/2014 (Received on the 06/11/2014)

 

Will grab the forms and get them filled in.

 

Many thanks

 

George

 

The date of the NTK (notice to keeper) precedes the offence ?

[biggeorge]

Oops was a typo.

 

Can now confirm:

Contravention 20/11/2014

Date of parking charge notice is 04/12/2014 (Received on the 06/12/2014)

 

George

[armadillo71]

Check the code is valid here:

 

 

http://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/popla-code-checker/

 

 

And not from the firstl ignored appeal...

[biggeorge]

Parking charge now cancelled by Smart Parking, Friend is very happy.

 

Not sure how much it costs Smart Parking to issue the POPLA code but it cost them for it and they received nothing.

 

George

[f16]

well done biggeorge,

 

 

it costs about £29.00 I think

[Dublindel]

Not sure it cost them anything as they cancelled before the hearing

[themagician]

£27.00

[ericsbrother]

If you make your appeal to POPLA they have to pay whther they send any evidence or not. These companies now just do nothing and save themselves a few quid on printing and postage rather than risk losing out on a point of law, which could damage them in the future.

[Dublindel]

So! At the point of issuing the code, the ppc becomes liable for the £27.00 would that be correct or does it have to get further into the process. I was never entirely sure on this point

[renegadeimp]

The charge is levied when the code is issued

[Dublindel]

Glad to hear that. That means I stung MET the other week.

[renegadeimp]

That's why we always say to appeal and not ignore. They're guaranteed to lose and it costs them money too.

[DragonFly1967]

It costs them a lot more (in real terms) to get a case as far as POPLA.

 

£2.50 DVLA fee

£27.00 POPLA fee

As there'll have been at least 2 letters (NTK and rejection of appeal) cost of printing & postage x 2 we'll be generous and call that £7.50

Having to pay someone to tap a few keys on a PC, let's call that another £2.50

Then the cost of preparing their 'evidence' for POPLA (if they're daft enough to go there) probably an hours work so we'll say another £10.00

 

Which brings us to around about £50.00 per POPLA appeal.

 

And then, just to add insult to injury, they have to write to you again to tell you that they've cancelled the charge after they've lost at POPLA.

 

 

 

 

I'm surprised that any of them are still in business with such a flawed business model, but it serves to prove that if every single person appealed (certainly where BPA members are concerned) they'd be out of business and bankrupt (Financially at least (as they already are morally)) within a fortnight. Shame

[ericsbrother]

no, the fee is levied when the appeal is made so it costs them whether you win or not but it costs them more to send all of the paperwork to you, POPLA, dig out and redact contracts so they are worthless etc and if you use the right reasons for appealing they are never going to recoup any of that so mention GPEOL and they dont bother as they know they are stuffed.