Guys,
I have just had my parking fine appeal refused by POPLA.
I believe I am in the right with this and was prepared to take it to the next level if Armtrac (the car park operator) wish to do so.
The questions I was looking to get some response to are:
1) “should I lose the case,
how much more expenses than the £100 fine could there be
e.g. with legal costs etc of Armtrac, cost of hearing etc???
In a similar vein if I win the case can I claim against Armtrac?
I am retired but work just a few days a year as a consultant for which my fees are substantial
– if successful II would seek to claim on this basis (and donate to a pet/animal charity).
2) What would be my chances of winning based on the information below
I picked up the parking fine in March at Sennen Beach Cafe (sadly while waiting for a dog to be cremated),
I had bought a parking ticket but Armtrac say that it was “not clearly displayed”.
I used the car park in order to have a coffee at the Sennen Beach Cafe who own the car park and have contacted the owner
- but he is not going to help.
This is was the basis of the appeal sent to POPLA:
Grounds for Appeal
1) The Information Required was Clearly Visible.
The requirements given by Armtrac (see Document 1 attached to EMAIL) are that
“For a pay and display ticket to be valid it must be displayed face up clearly showing the date and expiry time on the dashboard of the vehicle”.
The photograph provided by the patrol officer of a ticket displayed has been taken at an angle from which this information is obscured.
When placed in the same position on the dashboard the required information is clearly visible from an elevated perspective
i.e. normal head height (see photographs in Document 2) which show the two perspectives.
The Reconstruction of photographs were witnessed (see EMAIL Witness Statements 1)
2) Incorrect times.
There are serious inconsistencies with the Parking Charge Ticket issued and the photographs sent by Armtrac and included in Document
1. The Parking Charge Ticket was issued at 13.09 (see Document 3).
At this time I had only just arrived in the car park and was queuing at the machine to obtain my parking ticket (which was issued at 13.12).
The person in front of me* was having some problems operating the machine and it probably took about five minutes or more to get my ticket and return to the car.
It appears that the time settings on the camera used by the operative were incorrect (14.10 - 14.11)
– one photograph even shows the passenger door window wide open which is not something that I would do when leaving the car unattended (as I then did) to visit the restaurant and later walk on the beach.
*- Lesley B who kindly gave me her ticket when leaving the car park as evidence.
I arrived in the car park at the same time as she did and she has agreed to act as a witness (see EMAIL Witness Statements 2)
Any thoughts gratefully received!