Parking Ticket Advice
Discussion
Hi All,
I am posting here asking for advice. I have just received a "parking charge notice" from Euro Car Parks. I had my motability car, parked in a disabled space, with badges up, on the 31st July. I'm fairly sure the free parking period is 2 hours (I will check this). I entered at 11:23:32 and left at 13:38:18. So including my grace period of 10 mins, i was 5 mins over.
Now considering i have cerebral palsy, a physical disability which makes walking difficult at the best of times, i do feel that this is a little unfair (especially the £90 charge, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days!). After a quick google, i see that a parking charge notice is effectively a request for payment? (i might be wrong on that!) but assuming that is correct, would i be within my rights to send them a letter offering a reasonable payment for 5 minute overstay? or does it not work like that?
I want to put an appeal in, but not sure of the ways and means of doing it, so any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
James
I am posting here asking for advice. I have just received a "parking charge notice" from Euro Car Parks. I had my motability car, parked in a disabled space, with badges up, on the 31st July. I'm fairly sure the free parking period is 2 hours (I will check this). I entered at 11:23:32 and left at 13:38:18. So including my grace period of 10 mins, i was 5 mins over.
Now considering i have cerebral palsy, a physical disability which makes walking difficult at the best of times, i do feel that this is a little unfair (especially the £90 charge, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days!). After a quick google, i see that a parking charge notice is effectively a request for payment? (i might be wrong on that!) but assuming that is correct, would i be within my rights to send them a letter offering a reasonable payment for 5 minute overstay? or does it not work like that?
I want to put an appeal in, but not sure of the ways and means of doing it, so any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
James
It is a tough one as I am sure they have a case according to their rules and also as you say, they are not as authoritative as others regarding your duty to pay.
But it seems these people can take you to court if necessary and that they sometimes do - so depends on if you can take the stress of waiting to find out their position on this (and no doubt many months of threatening to lynch you).
If it was at a shopping centre or a large supermarket such as ASDA, then I would ask the shop/centre if they could have the fine removed for you - something they may be much more inclined to help with if you bought something at the store.
But it seems these people can take you to court if necessary and that they sometimes do - so depends on if you can take the stress of waiting to find out their position on this (and no doubt many months of threatening to lynch you).
If it was at a shopping centre or a large supermarket such as ASDA, then I would ask the shop/centre if they could have the fine removed for you - something they may be much more inclined to help with if you bought something at the store.
Initforthemoney said:
Where does it state the grace period?
On the sign?
It doesn't. This is the sign:On the sign?
I'm happy for them to take me to court, as i don't believe a £90 fine is acceptable for an overstay of 15 mins (excluding whatever grace period is applicable!)
I appreciate i overstayed and am happy to pay an acceptable amount, but considering the car park is HUGE, and i was in a disabled space (which not everyone else can use unless they have a badge anyway), i don't see that they have suffered a £90 loss for me being there for 15 mins extra!
They do indeed say the time starts from when you enter the car park and ends when you pass the exit barrier. Bit sneaky, I am sure many of us feel listening to the car radio a bit before leaving is not counting towards the time.
Others will advise more on the actual law but I would try to talk to the retail park management.
I hear what has started to happen a bit is if you ask the ticket issuers for leniency, they will tell you they are lovely and understanding, have cancelled the ticket .....but need 25 quid to cover admin!
Others will advise more on the actual law but I would try to talk to the retail park management.
I hear what has started to happen a bit is if you ask the ticket issuers for leniency, they will tell you they are lovely and understanding, have cancelled the ticket .....but need 25 quid to cover admin!
I don’t think you will be able to use the ‘they have not suffered £90 loss’ argument. That has been tried and rejected by the courts.
https://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/fighting-beavis-a...
Prior to that case I offered Parking Eye what I thought was a reasonable amount (twice the council rate) and they accepted my cheque for £12. With the Beavis v Parking Eye Supreme Court case that route is not viable. See.
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2015/402.h...
https://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/fighting-beavis-a...
Prior to that case I offered Parking Eye what I thought was a reasonable amount (twice the council rate) and they accepted my cheque for £12. With the Beavis v Parking Eye Supreme Court case that route is not viable. See.
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2015/402.h...
Equality Act 2010 will over rule anything on a poorly written sign.
First and usually easiest option is to speak to the landowner or management to seek cancellations, especially as they are obligated to make reasonable adjustments for your disabilities, add their agents have failed to do so.
If they claim they can't get involved, put a very simple appeal to ECP that the vehicle as dissipating a blue badge at the time of parking and you believe the charge was issued incorrectly. Don't identify the driver though.
It will be rejected, then you can go to POPLA - There's a few people on the MSE parking boards that are very adept at EA2010 based appeals that will pot the fear of food into the parking companies - breaches of EA2010 are taken very seriously, and the parking companies withdraw very quickly
First and usually easiest option is to speak to the landowner or management to seek cancellations, especially as they are obligated to make reasonable adjustments for your disabilities, add their agents have failed to do so.
If they claim they can't get involved, put a very simple appeal to ECP that the vehicle as dissipating a blue badge at the time of parking and you believe the charge was issued incorrectly. Don't identify the driver though.
It will be rejected, then you can go to POPLA - There's a few people on the MSE parking boards that are very adept at EA2010 based appeals that will pot the fear of food into the parking companies - breaches of EA2010 are taken very seriously, and the parking companies withdraw very quickly
James_N said:
Initforthemoney said:
Where does it state the grace period?
On the sign?
It doesn't. This is the sign:On the sign?
I'm happy for them to take me to court, as i don't believe a £90 fine is acceptable for an overstay of 15 mins (excluding whatever grace period is applicable!)
I appreciate i overstayed and am happy to pay an acceptable amount, but considering the car park is HUGE, and i was in a disabled space (which not everyone else can use unless they have a badge anyway), i don't see that they have suffered a £90 loss for me being there for 15 mins extra!
Ask your questions on the Pepipoo website they may help more than here.
Its worth asking the retailer you were visiting to see if they can get the charge dropped.
There maybe an argument that charging from the time you and the to the time you leave is unreasonable, eg what if you are blocked into your space when you are trying to leave by a queue of traffic? If you can demonstrate the actual time you were parked for was under the limit then you may have get somewhere.
What ever you do, do not ignore the invoice and do not admit to being the driver.
When I had a similar dispute (a car park changed company and the signs looked all but identical) I contacted the owner of the land, explained what had gone on and they got it resolved for me. A few emails back & forth but money saved. I won't name them in case I break any rules but they're a popular provider of service stations mostly found on motorways.
sortedcossie said:
I'm not sure there is any form of grace period, as said above it's entry and exit times at the barrier. Many years ago I got clamped, I was 90 seconds late back - the clamp was already on when I got to the car.
Indeed. The removal of the ‘clamping’ regime was in return for access to the DVLA registered keeper details.
S11Steve said:
Equality Act 2010 will over rule anything on a poorly written sign.
First and usually easiest option is to speak to the landowner or management to seek cancellations, especially as they are obligated to make reasonable adjustments for your disabilities, add their agents have failed to do so.
If they claim they can't get involved, put a very simple appeal to ECP that the vehicle as dissipating a blue badge at the time of parking and you believe the charge was issued incorrectly. Don't identify the driver though.
It will be rejected, then you can go to POPLA - There's a few people on the MSE parking boards that are very adept at EA2010 based appeals that will pot the fear of food into the parking companies - breaches of EA2010 are taken very seriously, and the parking companies withdraw very quickly
Interested in this point, would you think it's for the car park user to allow time for their disability when using the facilities or for the car park to offer a grace period? How long should that period be? How would that apply to things that work on a time table for example? First and usually easiest option is to speak to the landowner or management to seek cancellations, especially as they are obligated to make reasonable adjustments for your disabilities, add their agents have failed to do so.
If they claim they can't get involved, put a very simple appeal to ECP that the vehicle as dissipating a blue badge at the time of parking and you believe the charge was issued incorrectly. Don't identify the driver though.
It will be rejected, then you can go to POPLA - There's a few people on the MSE parking boards that are very adept at EA2010 based appeals that will pot the fear of food into the parking companies - breaches of EA2010 are taken very seriously, and the parking companies withdraw very quickly
The grace period is in the BPA (and IPC) code of practice, 10 minutes is deemed enough time to enter, park, read and accept the conditions of the parking contract.
If a user is physically disabled, is it reasonable or unreasonable to expect that it may take them twice as long to do something that it takes an able bodied person to do?
If a user is physically disabled, is it reasonable or unreasonable to expect that it may take them twice as long to do something that it takes an able bodied person to do?
Pica-Pica said:
Ed/L152 said:
A 10 minute grace period applies to council parking, and as far as I can tell, not automatically to privately run car-parks.
That is my understanding, it applies especially to a traffic warden.The code of practice from both the BPA and IPC both suggest a 10 minute grace period.
Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff