Sorry, help re MET parking ticket.

[Jenzo123]

Hi there
I'm so sorry if this information is already on here but I can't find it so would somebody mind sending me the link or answering the question ?
I got a parking ticket for over staying at Stansted BP garage in November. I went in to wait for my son's flight and decided to clean my car whilst I was there but there was a queue and I was in there over an hour, ( apparently you can only stay for 60 minutes)
A local police woman had directed me to the garage as a good place to wait as she said you have two hours but apparently it's only one and I didn't look for or notice any signs regarding parking.
I bought lunch in the garage and ate it in my car also. Is it a basis for arguing the charge that I was using the services and it was busy or do I need to try a different tack?
I did appeal this by email stating what I've just said but apparently they didn't receive my appeal! I've just received a letter stating the full amount of 100 pounds is now due and I have emailed them to say that I sent the appeal they said they didn't get it and have given me another seven days.
Any advice would be really welcome, thank you

[des8]

Could you please post up a redacted copy of the parking notice and letters you have received?
Remove identifying details, but leave in all dates and times.

Your main problem is going to be the fact you have identified the driver, but what was the exact wording of your last email (I have emailed them to say that I sent the appeal).You might be in luck if they truly haven't received your appeal.

[Jenzo123]

Hi there
I'm sorry I'm not sure if that message sent basically I was saying that I no longer have the emails as I messaged the website directly
I am caring full-time for my very sick husband and dealing with chronic migraines and I'm not as up together as I should be with everything.
I'm presuming that as they say they didn't receive my initial appeal they can't then quote me on anything I said in it?

I replied to them by email today to the payment now due letter by saying only that I had appealed and hadn't heard back from them they then sent this later today

Thank you for your correspondence in respect of the above charge. We confirm that no such appeal has been received. Please resubmit your appeal at www.appealmetparking.com. We have placed your charge on hold for a further 7 days to allow you to So. If we do receive nformation by the end of the 7 days the charge will continue to progress.
Yours sincerely

Thanks so much for your help

[des8]

So please post up a copy of the parking notice

[Jenzo123]

Here it is ...

[des8]

So now write to them:

Dear Sirs,
I have received your Notice to Keeper xxxxx for vehicle VRM xxxx

You have failed to comply with the requirements of Schedule 4 of The Protection Of Freedoms Act 2012 namely, but not limited to, failing to advise me as the keeper that you have the right to recover from me ‘so much of that amount as remains unpaid’ if not settled within 28 days . You cannot, therefore, transfer liability for the alleged charge from the driver at the time to me, the keeper.

There is no legal requirement to name the driver at the time and I will not be doing so.

I do not expect to hear from you again, or your debt collectors, except to confirm that no further action will be taken on this matter and my personal details have been removed from your records.
Yours etc


They probably won't accept your appeal (after all accepting appeals doesn't give them an income!), but you have another ground for disputing the transfer of liability to you as keeper as the land is airport land and is subject to statutory control and so outside the remit of PoFA2012.
All this of course only applies if they forget you have identified the driver
You will have to wait and see

[Jenzo123]

Thank you very much DES8 I will try this. Really appreciate your help.

[Jenzo123]

Hi there,
I had the reply today. Any idea what I should send now? Should I mention that the driver had to wait to clean the car as it was busy ?
Thanks for your support

[des8]

So I would write to them pointing out they have not addressed your statement regarding their non compliance with the requirements of PoFA2012, and that
as they have provided a POPLA code you will be continuing your appeal.

You can have a look at POPLA guide here https://www.popla.co.uk/appeal-guide and there's a lot on the internet elsewhere.
If you want to continue the fight we can help
Your choice

[Jenzo123]

That's great thanks again. I'll keep you posted

[Jenzo123]

Hi there,
I received this reply from POPLA today with this information from MET parking ...


Operator Case Summary
In the appeal to POPLA Mrs ... states that she was a customer of the premises at the time and was unaware of the time limit. The terms and conditions apply to all users of the site, including paying customers, and time constraints have been put in place to maximise the spaces available. Should a motorist find they need more time, they should approach a manager during their visit and seek authorisation. We confirm we have had no correspondence from our client regarding this vehicle or this parking charge. We are confident that there are sufficient signs in place in this car park and that the signs are prominently displayed and clearly state the terms and conditions. In Section E of our evidence pack we have included images of the signs in place and a site plan of the location. It remains the driver’s responsibility to check the signs where they park and comply with the stated terms and conditions. We are confident that our signage complies with all relevant legislation and regulations. The terms and conditions of parking are clearly stated on the signs prominently displayed at the entrance to and around this service station. These include that parking is for BP customers while they are on the premises only, that there is a maximum permitted stay of 30 minutes and no return is permitted within 4 hours. As the photographic evidence provided in Section E of our evidence pack demonstrates and the driver acknowledges, the vehicle remained in the car park for longer than the maximum permitted stay. It remains the driver’s responsibility to check the signs where they park and comply with the stated terms and conditions. Therefore, we believe the charge notice was issued correctly and the appeal should be refused.

I emailed them on 27/12/23, 29/12/23 and 3/01/24. I didn't state that I was driving the vehicle in the appeal.

In the POPLA appeal i said the driver didn't see signs re time allowed to park. I said that the driver used the car cleaning facilities and bought lunch and as the garage was busy this is how long it took. I'm not sure what to put in reply to this so any advice would be great please. .

[des8]

Wish you'd shown us your POPLA appeal before sending it!

If I am reading this properly MET are trying to make It look as if you identified yourself as the driver in your appeal to POPLA as they are stating "In the appeal to POPLA Mrs ... states that she was a customer of..."

If you did not identify the driver you should respond by confirming to POPLA that you did not identify the driver and MET are prevaricating by stating "In the appeal to POPLA Mrs ... states that she was a customer of..."
Point out that POPLA lead adjudicator and barrister Henry Michael Greenslade, clarified that with regard to keeper liability; “There is no reasonable presumption in law that the registered keeper of a vehicle is the driver and operators should never suggest anything of the sort.” (POPLA report 2015).

MET might be claiming you said you were the driver because I believe the online form you completed refers to "the keeper and driver". I haven't seen the form myself but recall this being mentioned on another site. If that is correct you will need to tell POPLA their form is misleading!

You can then reiterate that they cannot transfer liability from the driver to the keeper because they failed to comply with POFA Sch 4 sec9 (5) in that the Notice to Keeper was issued and delivered more than 14days after the alleged incident, and also that the land in question, being part of an airport is covered by statutory byelaws and so is specifically excluded from 'keeper liability' under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

[Jenzo123]

OK many thanks once again