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#Post#: 42384--------------------------------------------------
Euro car parks- Mayfield leisure centre
DIR By: Hashim
Date: October 25, 2024, 12:54 pm
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HTML https://imgur.com/a/jeFxXRt
Dear Team
I was put on a GP rehabilitation program at Mayfield Leisure
centre approximately 7 months ago for 1 month. I use to attend
the centre twice a week parking my vehicle in the designated
bays displaying my blue badge each time for an hour each time.
I received a call last week from the centre to invite me for a 6
month follow up. I parked my car as usual displaying my blue
disabled badge. I subsequently received this parking notice for
the duration of time as stated from Euro Car parks. I phoned the
centre to find out why i received the ticket and they informed
me that 2 months ago they changed the policy and now each time a
car enters it automatically takes your number and you have to
submit your details inside the centre in order to validate it.
I asked why they don't inform their clients and I was told that
they did for the first week and after that they don't have to.
How do I take this forward?
HTML https://imgur.com/a/jeFxXRt
Regards
Hashim
#Post#: 42425--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro car parks- Mayfield leisure centre
DIR By: b789
Date: October 26, 2024, 4:41 am
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No one who comes here pays ECP a penny. What signs are there in
place at the location informing drivers that there is a material
change from the previous parking controls?
Can you go back and take some photos of the signs at the
location? We need to see any entrance sign, terms signs within
the car park and the view of any signs from a drivers
perspective when parked in a disabled bay.
When did they introduce the new ANPR system? If it was within
the last 4 months...
The new Single Code of Practice (SCoP) states at section 3.4:
--- Quote ---
> 3.4. Material changes – notices
>
> Where there is any material change to any pre-existing terms
and conditions that would not be immediately apparent to a
driver entering controlled land that is or has been open for
public parking, the parking operator must place additional
(temporary) notices at the site entrance for a period of not
less than 4 months from the date of the change making it clear
that new terms and conditions/charges apply, such that regular
visitors who might be familiar with the old terms do not
inadvertently incur parking charges.
>
> NOTE: Examples of material changes can include introduction of
parking enforcement where none has previously applied,
introduction of time-limited free parking, or reductions in the
time limit within which free parking is available. Given the
need to avoid confusion and clutter at entrances the test is
whether the fact that a change has been made is clearly
signalled to drivers on entering the land and the nature of the
change is clearly displayed thereafter – it may also be
necessary to install repeater notices depending on the scale of
the premises.
--- End Quote ---
So, unless there is obvious signage that informs the driver on
entry to and, in the case of a vehicle parked in a blue badge
bay, obvious notice on the signs visible from within the
vehicle, ECP are in breach of their SCoP.
The reason I have suggested that you take photos of the signs,
especially as seen from within the vehicle when parked in a blue
badge bay, is that section 4.1 of the SCoP states:
--- Quote ---
> 4.1. The parking operator must ensure that at least one sign
containing the terms and conditions for parking can be viewed
without the driver needing to leave the vehicle, in order for
drivers with a disability to be able to make an informed
decision on whether to park at the premises.
--- End Quote ---
If you can provide photographic evidence that the signs do not
conform to the requirements of the SCoP, you have another arrow
in your quiver for a POPLA appeal.
Phoning the Leisure Centre to ask for the PCN to be cancelled is
not the recommended method. You need to contact someone as high
as possible up the management food chain. You will also need to
put them on notice that they are jointly and severally liable
for the actions of their agents.
Iain Varah is the CEO of "Vision, Redbridge Culture and Leisure"
who operate the Leisure Centre. A complaint to him is the best
place to start and it should be emailed to him at
iain.varah@visionrcl.org.uk and copy in this general enquiries
email: mayfield@vision-rcl.org.uk.
I suggest the following should be sent to Iain Varah together
with a copy of the Notice to Keeper (NtK):
--- Quote ---
> Formal Complaint Regarding Parking Policy and Euro Car Parks'
Handling of Blue Badge Holders
>
>
> Dear Mr Varah,
>
> I am writing to formally raise concerns regarding the actions
of your appointed parking management company, Euro Car Parks
(ECP), and to request your intervention to cancel an unfair
Parking Charge Notice (PCN) that I recently received while
attending your facility.
>
> Approximately 7 months ago, I participated in a GP
rehabilitation programme at Mayfield Leisure Centre, during
which I regularly parked my vehicle in the designated bays,
always displaying my blue badge as required. Recently, I was
invited to attend a 6-month follow-up session and parked in the
same manner, displaying my blue badge. However, I was surprised
to later receive a PCN for that visit. A copy of the PCN is
attached.
>
> Upon contacting the leisure centre, I was informed that the
parking policy had changed two months ago, and that visitors are
now required to submit their vehicle details inside the centre
to validate parking. I was not informed of this change at the
time of my visit, nor was there any visible signage alerting me
to this new requirement. When I asked why clients were not
informed, I was told that this information was communicated for
the first week after the change, but after that, no further
notification was deemed necessary. I find this response
dismissive and unacceptable, particularly given the clear
failure to properly inform regular visitors of material changes.
>
> The new BPA/IPC Single Code of Practice, section 3.4,
explicitly requires that when there are material changes to any
pre-existing parking terms and conditions, additional temporary
notices must be placed at the site entrance for a period of not
less than 4 months. This is to ensure that regular visitors,
familiar with the old terms, are not unfairly penalised. It is
clear that this requirement was not followed, and I was unfairly
issued with a PCN as a result.
>
> Moreover, section 4.1 of the same Code of Practice mandates
that parking operators ensure at least one sign containing the
terms and conditions for parking can be viewed without the
driver needing to leave the vehicle. This is particularly
important for drivers with disabilities, so they can make an
informed decision on whether to park. I did not see any such
signage in the blue badge bays, and as a disabled user, I was
not given a fair opportunity to be informed of the new parking
requirements. The lack of accessible signage constitutes a
breach of the obligations set out in the Code.
>
> I believe that your failure to adequately inform disabled
users of the new policy, in addition to not ensuring that signs
are visible to those parking in blue badge bays, is
discriminatory and in violation of the Equality Act 2010, which
requires reasonable adjustments to be made for disabled
individuals.
>
> I am therefore requesting that you liaise with Euro Car Parks
to have this PCN cancelled. The failure to notify me of the
change in parking validation requirements is a clear violation
of sections 3.4 and 4.1 of the BPA/IPC Single Code of Practice.
I also expect a response explaining what steps will be taken to
ensure that disabled visitors are properly informed of such
changes in the future, so that no one else faces a similar
issue.
>
> I trust that this matter will be resolved swiftly, and I look
forward to your response within the next 14 days.
>
> Yours sincerely,
>
> [Your Name]
> [Your Contact Information]
--- End Quote ---
#Post#: 43819--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro car parks- Mayfield leisure centre
DIR By: Hashim
Date: November 4, 2024, 12:34 am
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Thank you b789
I emailed as you suggested on the 27th Oct and there is no
reply. I know that we gave him 14 days to respond but I'm sure
he isn't obliged to respond.
Should I now send an official appeal to ECP as i am wary of the
14 days.
Thanks
Hashim
#Post#: 43823--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro car parks- Mayfield leisure centre
DIR By: b789
Date: November 4, 2024, 1:44 am
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They have another week to respond. What are you “wary” of? Are
you talking about the “mugs discount”?
I already advised you that no one pays ECP if they are receiving
advice on here. In your case, you have been invoiced unfairly as
ECP have breached their Approved Operator Scheme (AOS) Single
Code of Practice (SCoP).
Any appeal to ECP is never going to succeed. They will only
cancel if instructed to do so by whoever contracted them or if
they are unsuccessful at POPLA.
Even if a POPLA appeal were unsuccessful, you are under no
obligation to pay. It would move on to the ultimate dispute
resolution service, the small claims track of the county court.
There is no way they would let his get as far as an actual
hearing because they know they would receive a spanking from the
judge. They are simply hoping you are low-hanging fruit on the
gullible tree and will capitulate once litigation is initiated.
From years of experience, I can safely say that as long as a
claim is defended, they will discontinue before they have to pay
the trial fee and move on in search of lower-hanging fruit. I
challenge anyone to bet against that outcome with odds of 100:1.
In the meantime, give Plan A a chance. You need to go through
the motions of Plan B in order to receive the POPLA code to
initiate Plan C. Should Plan C be unsuccessful, Plan D will
eventually work. We go through these steps in order to get this
alleged debt resolved as quickly as possible.
So, please ignore the “mugs discount”. The Leisure Centre have
until next Monday to respond. Of course they’re not “obliged” to
respond but it is in their interest to do so in order to avoid
their risk of unlawfully discriminating under the Equality Act.
If they have not had the PCN cancelled by then, you still have
until Tuesday 19th November to submit a Plan B appeal. This is
tried and tested advice which means that, ultimately, no one
pays a penny to ECP.
#Post#: 43824--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro car parks- Mayfield leisure centre
DIR By: Hashim
Date: November 4, 2024, 1:51 am
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Thank you for putting me at ease....
#Post#: 43828--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro car parks- Mayfield leisure centre
DIR By: DWMB2
Date: November 4, 2024, 2:46 am
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We cannot offer you any guarantees, as unfortunately none of us
have yet developed the ability to see into the future, but if
you want some interesting reading as to how ECP's law firm of
choice have been operating for the past couple of years, take a
look here: DCB LEGAL RECORD OF PRIVATE PARKING COURT CLAIM
DISCONTINUATIONS
HTML https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations
#Post#: 47414--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro car parks- Mayfield leisure centre
DIR By: Hashim
Date: November 28, 2024, 5:23 am
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I was on holiday and forgot the 19th Nov deadline for Plan B.
Still not heard anything from Plan A.
What next.....
Thanks
Hashim
#Post#: 47419--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro car parks- Mayfield leisure centre
DIR By: b789
Date: November 28, 2024, 5:42 am
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In which case there is no Plan C and you are now waiting for
Plan D. You are going to receive reminders and debt collection
letters. You can safely ignore these and we certainly don't need
to know about them.
If/when you receive a Letter of Claim (LoC) let us know.
#Post#: 47446--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro car parks- Mayfield leisure centre
DIR By: Hashim
Date: November 28, 2024, 8:24 am
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Ok
Thanks
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