MET windscreen PCN - disabled bay - ASDA Arla Old Dairy.South Ruislip

[rocky_sharma]

Hi there,

 

Today I went for shopping to South Ruislip ASDA located at Arla Old Dairy. 

Car parking was quiet and ample of spaces were there to park my car et

 

however I parked my car on one of the disabled badge box because that was close to the entrance and because I had two kids with me it was also convenient for me to park somewhere close to the entrance. 

 

Usually I park my car in other ASDA where the parking also owned by the ASDA but here I now found out that the parking is owned by Met Parking Services Ltd. 

 

The parking attendant stuck the parking charge notice on the front window (windscreen) of my car because there was no disabled badge displayed.

 

  I only realised of the notice when I was half way through going back home.   

 

Notice also mention about the appeals procedure where I first have to appeal through their online appeal service (www.appealmetparking.com).

 

   I would like to know if there are any chances of avoiding the charge completely or partially through the appeal (and in that case proper way to appeal) as I am a regular ASDA customer and other ASDA locations where the parking is also owned by ASDA the rules are not strictly applied and I presumed that south ruislip ASDA parking is also operated by ASDA it self which is not the case.

 

Looking forward to helpful responses.

 

Thanks,

S

[honeybee13]

Hi. I've moved you to the private parking forum for advice from the experts here.

 

Please don't appeal until they've had a look at your thread, it probably won't help and could make things worse.

 

HB

[dx100uk]

Please complete the above

[rocky_sharma]

For a windscreen ticket (Notice To Driver) please answer the following questions....

 

1 The date of infringement?Answer: 18th June 2019

 

2 Have you yet appealed to the parking company yet? [Y/N?] 

Answer:  I haven't appealed yet.

 

have you received a Notice To Keeper? (NTK) [must be received by you between 29-56 days]

what date is on it

Did the NTK provide photographic evidence? Answer: It was Parking Charge Notice to the Driver.

 

3 Did the NTK mention Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) [Y/N?] 

Answer:  It was a parking charge notice and there wasn't any mention of Schedule 4 of the protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

 

4 If you appealed after receiving the NTK, 

did the parking company give you any information regarding the further appeals process?

[it is well known that parking companies will reject any appeal whatever the circumstances]

Answer: I haven't appealed yet.

 

5 Who is the parking company?

Answer: MET Parking Services Ltd.

 

6. where exactly [Carpark name and town] did you park?

South Ruislip ASDA, (840) Arla old dairy 

.............................

 

Can any expert help me in this case please?

 

I need to either appeal with in 27 days or pay discounted amount otherwise I will have to pay the full amount.

[dx100uk]

no you dont

 

go back and read post 3 link again

 

dx

 

[rocky_sharma]

Sorry if I have not understand but I have gone back to post 3 and all I see is list of questions which I have answered in the post after.

 

Do you mean that I do not need to pay any charge?

 

I guess mine was notice to keeper without photographic evidence and without the mention of Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 

 

The notice also states that I should not ignore it or else they can contact dvla to pursue payment.

 

[dx100uk]

no it says get your cars  keeper details from the DVLA...payment is nowt to do with the DVLA

its a speculative invoice...

 

 

if you read that link post 3 it gives you a timeframe when the notice to keeper should arrive

that's you next step ...WAIT for it.

 

there are 1000's of threads here to read

you'll soon get the idea

use our search top right  

 

MET PCN

[ericsbrother]

you dont have to appeal at all, if you appeal within the time then you lose the protection of the POFA and identify yourself as the driver and save them a fiver on the next letter.

 

You keep your mouth shut for the moment and see if they send you a NTK within the allowed times which are between 29 and 56 days after the date of the event. that letter must contain key phrases and information or it isnt valid.

 

MET get it wrong stop panicking and ignore what they say and take note of the advice given here.

 

No such thing as disabled spaces on private land other than in  the council planning dept mind.

there is no paintwork or sign that is prescribed and the BB scheme doesnt apply to private land EXCEPT in Scotland, where it can be enforced by the council with the landowners permission.

 

[rocky_sharma]

Thanks dx and ericsborther that give me some piece of mind so I will wait until I get NTK within the allowed times.

[rocky_sharma]

I am back as I today have got Notice to registered keeper showing parking charge amount due now is £100.

 

What shall I do now? ignore or appeal?

 

Please see below my answers now that I have received NTK.

 

1 The date of infringement?

Answer: 18th June 2019

 

2 Have you yet appealed to the parking company yet? [Y/N?] 

Answer:  I haven't appealed yet.

 If you haven't appealed yet - ,.........

 

have you received a Notice To Keeper? (NTK) [must be received by you between 29-56 days]

what date is on it

Answer: couldn't find the date however I received it today (22nd July 2019)

Did the NTK provide photographic evidence? 

Answer: Yes, although it only shows the number plate of my car.

 

3 Did the NTK mention Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) [Y/N?] 

Answer:  No.  

 

4 If you appealed after receiving the NTK, 

did the parking company give you any information regarding the further appeals process?

[it is well known that parking companies will reject any appeal whatever the circumstances]

Answer: I haven't appealed yet.

 

5 Who is the parking company?

Answer: MET Parking Services Ltd.

 

6. where exactly [Carpark name and town] did you park?

South Ruislip ASDA, (840) Arla old dairy 

 

Please also see the attached copy of the NTK that I have received.

 

Scan 22 Jul 2019.pdf

[dx100uk]

safe wait now

if you go that way again

get full CLEAR pix of ALL the signs and the tiny print

where they are situated and from the perspective of if you can see a sign before you enter the private property

get pix of the 'disabled' bay you used its signs there and the tarmac graffiti.

 

just remember , there is NO such thing as disabled parking on private land

and a blue badge even if you had one, again means nothing on private land

 

dx

 

[rocky_sharma]

Please see attached file showing all the signs and markings,  sixth image where you can see the car and sign in front with "P" and "Disabled Badge" is where I parked my car on the day when the even occurred.

 

 

 

Scan_28_Jul_2019.pdf

[ericsbrother]

the photographic evidence they offer failes to satisfy the POFA as it could never indicate the supposed breach as blue badges arent affixed to the number plate and if they ahev other images of the breach then they should have provided them in the NTK.

 

theoretically that is enough to make them fail to create a liability but i know of no case where that has been tested.

 

the big sign says see other signs, terms and conditions apply blah blah.

that menas the first thing you see is an invitation to treat so you are invited to park and consider the other offers but are not obliged to accept them.

 

Nothing to say iof you dont accpet the actual contract you have to leave within 10 minutes for example ( till not binding but al least intention is clearer).

 

So parking in a bay that has no legal status whilst you go and read the signs and then decide you dont want to be bound by its eronerous terms so you moved to another place but got ticketed whilst you were studying the signs would also kill their claim.

 

What to do?

 

You could appeal and state that your vehicle was only there whist the driver got out to read the signs and then returned within 5 minutes, moved the car elsewhere within the grace period so no breach exists.

probably get rejected but will waste their time and money.

 

Appeal in writing and send it to the actual registered business address rather than the PO Box number they want you to use

 

[lookinforinfo]

And of course if you did stop your car to read the signs that would not be classified as parking.

There was a case recently when a Judge tried to define what parking was and wasn't.

I think it was about a woman unloading something from her car to take into her flat.

 

I have just found the case-

http://nebula.wsimg.com/f6d657adf7df70d27e1dd285688b5701?AccessKeyId=4CB8F2392A09CF228A46&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

[brassnecked]

The original case according to that Appeal Judgment  was decided "On The papers", so it shows that defending in every case is only way not to be fleeced.

 

Certainly helps clarify Unloading and Parking so should be persuasive in similar circumstances.

[ericsbrother]

that wasnt a case I was thinking about and it also misses the requiremnt of the parking co to give a minimum of 10 minutes grace period, which is the point being made in this instance.

 

The case found by lookingforinfo defines what is within the parking contract given to a company by the landowner( though they never saw it as the managing agents trousered the cash in exchange for the job) and the appeal judge decided that this wasnt in their remit.

 

being an appeal it carries more clout so if the push comes to the shove you should take note.

 

Have a good trawl through the Parking pranksters blog and I'm sure you will find  a coupls of relevnt cases where the grace period and acceptance of contractual terms are examined

 

so, appeal using the argument that you werent parked up for more than the grace period whilst reading the signage and then went elsewhere (within the car park) or say nothing and see what they do next.

 

As said, the only advantage to the appeal is to waste their time and money as you wont be using the same argument if it gets to court

[rocky_sharma]

 

Thanks to all of you for providing all the suggestions and information so far.   

Now if I want to appeal is there a format that I should be using. 

 

Below are the two ways I found from NTK to appeal which one I shall use.

 

1) The NTK stats that there is online appeal service at www.appealmetparking.com

2) As suggested above send written appeal to the head office (not the one with P.O. Box).

 

There is also mention of using POPLA (Independent Appeals Services) but this only happens after making appeal directly to MET first.

 

After reading all the suggestion and by trying to be more proactive (While thinking about end result)

what are the chances of successfully getting rid to this charge. 

Is there a chance of failing in this case and will that cost me a huge amount?

 

@ericsborther I will probably use the last suggestion you gave for appeal as it is more aligned to my situation.

 

[dx100uk]

very good chance of appeal 

no it wont cost you anything more 

though ofcourse they will claim it is.

 

very best idea is to read lots of pcn threads here 

[rocky_sharma]

I have also logged in to the website provided on the NTK to see what photographic evidence they have and attached is what I found.   Is providing only one photo in NTK with no clear evidence of parking at disable badge still against POFA?

 

While searching for similar issue I found case which closely resembles mine (with title "Excel Parking operator pictures PCN Disabled Parking at Peel Centre Stockport") however I can see that this case has been there since May still going on after 2 and half months so looks like there is a high chance of getting this letters for a long time before it goes to court.

 

 

Scan 29 Jul 2019-edited.pdf

[ericsbrother]

they dont want to do court becasue it costs them time and money and they will lose a well defended case.

 

if you want to solve this quickly then you cant fight it BUT send the flippant appeal suggested and see what happens,

they will have to respond

( usually with a cut and paste letter that fails to meet the requirements of the law)

and then you can appeal to POPLA and waste their money

 

( they pay £27 for the appeal so if everyone appealed every ticket and then didnt pay up even if POPLA says the ioperator is right they would soon go bust)

and that result still isnt binding on you.

 

It can take a couple of years for these things to sort themselves out

so dont be afraid of the ticking clock,

they rely on your desire to conclude this to pressure you into paying up.

[rocky_sharma]

@Ericsbrother can you please also let me know which way I should use from the ones I mentioned in my previous response for the appeal?

 

Online seems to be quicker but I need your suggestion.

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by rocky_sharma

[ericsbrother]

use first sentence of post 13.

 

You could appeal and state that your vehicle was only there whist the driver got out to read the signs and then returned within 5 minutes, moved the car elsewhere within the grace period so no breach exists.

 

Nothing more at this stage, you are only writing to MET and they arent going to take any notice of your appeal whatsoever

 

You also need to pay very careful attention to what is written both here and in the shower of letters you will receive from the parking cowboys and their pet gorillas as the devil is in the detail.

 

i would WRITE the appeal and send it to their registered company address rather than use the online form or their PO box address. You can clobber them later for procedural matters and use that to rubbish anything else they then say.

[rocky_sharma]

@ericsbrother,  I have prepared the attached letter for the appeal.  Let me know if you think it requires any amendments.

 

[My address]

[Parking company address]


Dear Sir/ Madam,

Reference: [Parking Charge Notice number:
Date of issue:
Vehicle registration:]

I am writing to formally challenge the above Parking Charge Notice.

On [date] my vehicle was issued with a Parking Charge Notice for the reason of No Disabled Badge.

My challenge is on the basis that my car was not parked up for more than the grace period whilst reading the signage.  

For this reason, I look forward to receiving notification within 28 days that the Parking Charge Notice has been cancelled.

Yours faithfully,

[My name and signature]

 

[dx100uk]

don't post docx all your pers details are in file properties

 

[ericsbrother]

you add to this after "grace period" as prescribed in the BPA code of practice and referred to in the BEAVIS decision  and after " whilst reading the signage" so is binding upon you.

 

You dont give them 28 days to respond you say  "I now expect you to cancel this improperly issued charge forthwith" instead.

 

they will say that parking in a disabled bay isnt covered but it is, it is one fo the terms on the signs so has to be covered or there is no contract.