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In June I booked a hotel on Airbnb, which stated on the site that there was 'free parking'. Upon arrival, our car was hit by another driver, so as soon as we had pulled off the road we had to swap details with the other driver, check the car for damage and ensure we were ok. We then drove around to the rear of the hotel and parked the car. We got out of the car, found reception, which was locked, and called the mobile number indicated to gain access to our room. The hotel manager phoned us back a few minutes later and gave us the code to the room (never mentioned anything about the parking situation). When we got into the room it was awful, the door had clearly been kicked in multiple time and didn't close properly. So having already unpacked the car and taken the dog for a leg stretch, we decided we would not be staying and repacked the car. We attempted to contact the manager of the hotel again, and then left.
Shortly afterwards, we received a PCN from Civil Enforcement. We appealed, which they rejected, then we went through the POPLA appeal, which was also rejected. POPLA stipulated that the signage was clear enough and although it was an unfortunate situation, we were liable to pay the parking charge. The issue has come about because we in the car park for 25 minutes, and the company only allows 15 minutes as a grace period. I feel that in these exceptional circumstances 25 minutes is not an unreasonable amount of time, and we genuinely didn't see the signage.
CE have now issued a letter stating that the charge has gone up to £140 (to cover additional costs) and if it remains unpaid they will be forced to pas it over to debt collectors. This is not a Letter Before Claim, but I am worried about it going to court and ending up having to pay even more in court costs.
So my question is... do I contact them and propose a payment (of £60 for example) to prevent this going to court, do I ignore the letter sent as debt collectors can't enter the property without a court judgment, or do I just pay it as I have been deemed in the wrong by POPLA?
Thanks in advance.
Shortly afterwards, we received a PCN from Civil Enforcement. We appealed, which they rejected, then we went through the POPLA appeal, which was also rejected. POPLA stipulated that the signage was clear enough and although it was an unfortunate situation, we were liable to pay the parking charge. The issue has come about because we in the car park for 25 minutes, and the company only allows 15 minutes as a grace period. I feel that in these exceptional circumstances 25 minutes is not an unreasonable amount of time, and we genuinely didn't see the signage.
CE have now issued a letter stating that the charge has gone up to £140 (to cover additional costs) and if it remains unpaid they will be forced to pas it over to debt collectors. This is not a Letter Before Claim, but I am worried about it going to court and ending up having to pay even more in court costs.
So my question is... do I contact them and propose a payment (of £60 for example) to prevent this going to court, do I ignore the letter sent as debt collectors can't enter the property without a court judgment, or do I just pay it as I have been deemed in the wrong by POPLA?
Thanks in advance.
