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#Post#: 100841--------------------------------------------------
Excel Parking PCN - Failure to purchase within time allowed
DIR By: DrGazza
Date: December 3, 2025, 7:01 am
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Hi,
Parked on a piece of wasteland in Darlington operated by Excel
Parking describing itself as a carpark with ANPR a couple of
weeks ago. A week later received a PCN stating "101) failure to
purchase the parking tariff for the registration mark on the
vehicle on the site and/or within the time allowed"
Ticket machine was covered up directing to phone/ web/ app.
Phone auto-answered and directed to web or app. Web did not work
(site kept crashing when going to payment) and was forced to
download app and set up account (there was someone else at the
time having exactly the same problem). This all took over 10
minutes. 3 hours parking was paid for, but was running over and
app flashed that time was expiring, so additional hour purchased
through app (about 5 mins after first period expiry - so 4 hours
total purchased).
Checking app, only the 2nd purchase shows up in the receipts and
only the 2nd charge has been deducted from my card. However, the
app did show the first payment at the time as I had to do a
payment approval in my banking app to put it through.
Any help would be appreciated.
#Post#: 100844--------------------------------------------------
Re: Excel Parking PCN - Failure to purchase within time allowed
DIR By: jfollows
Date: December 3, 2025, 7:13 am
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We can guess, or you can provide information suggested in
HTML https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/read-this-first-private-parking-charges-forum-guide/
#Post#: 100858--------------------------------------------------
Re: Excel Parking PCN - Failure to purchase within time allowed
DIR By: DrGazza
Date: December 3, 2025, 8:03 am
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New to forum posting...
Notices:
[img]
HTML https://ibb.co/rKhXC9Nw[/img]
[img]
HTML https://ibb.co/sdyZsdxv[/img]
#Post#: 100871--------------------------------------------------
Re: Excel Parking PCN - Failure to purchase within time allowed
DIR By: DrGazza
Date: December 3, 2025, 8:37 am
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HTML https://i.ibb.co/67gkD79R/Darlington-PCN-pg-1-r.jpg
HTML https://i.ibb.co/LDysLKHZ/Darlington-PCN-pg-2-r.jpg
#Post#: 100952--------------------------------------------------
Re: Excel Parking PCN - Failure to purchase within time allowed
DIR By: DrGazza
Date: December 4, 2025, 2:40 am
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Further to this post, I have been able to establish with the
bank that the problem appears to be Excel Parking's payment
system. An approval request for £0.00 to was authorised
MirandaConnectLimited at around the time a new account on the
payment was set up. At this point 3 hours of parking was
purchased and the app showed a countdown timer. 5 minutes after
the expiry of the original period a further hour was purchased
on the app. This also required a banking approval for the
additional purchase.
This issue appears to be that the payment system for the first
purchase did not go through, even though the app was saying it
did. This could be consistent with the fact their web page was
also crashing when attempting to purchase parking. However, I
have no direct evidence of this.
#Post#: 100959--------------------------------------------------
Re: Excel Parking PCN - Failure to purchase within time allowed
DIR By: b789
Date: December 4, 2025, 5:44 am
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This strongly suggests a fault with Excel’s payment system: the
first 3-hour session appeared to be purchased and live, but the
transaction was never fully processed or logged on their
back-end system. That is entirely Excel’s failure, not the
driver’s.
In law, Excel must provide their service with reasonable care
and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If their own
systems are down or malfunctioning, it is not fair or reasonable
to penalise a motorist who did everything they could to comply,
particularly when the machine on site is disabled and the only
permitted payment methods are the broken ones.
The allegation is code 101: “failure to purchase the parking
tariff for the registration mark of the vehicle on the site
and/or within the time allowed”. The ANPR images show a stay of
about 3 hours 46 minutes. The notice was issued within 14 days
and includes the Protection of Freedoms Act wording, so Excel
are clearly trying to hold the registered keeper liable if there
driver is not identified.
The best immediate step is for the registered keeper to submit a
clear appeal that explains the system failure and does not
reveal who was driving. Once that is on record, Excel’s response
(and any later IAS or court stage) can be tackled with more
detailed argument if necessary.
You can make an initial appeal as follows but it is unlikely to
succeed. These scamming firms never accept an initial appeal,
but it puts your case on the record:
--- Quote ---
> Subject: PCN [number] – VRM [registration] – Formal appeal by
Registered Keeper
>
> I write as the Registered Keeper of the above vehicle in
respect of your Parking Charge Notice dated 20/11/2025.
>
> Liability for this charge is denied.
>
> On the material date the driver attempted in good faith to pay
for parking at Parkgate Car Park, Darlington. The only payment
machine on site was covered, directing motorists to pay by
telephone, website, or app. The telephone number auto-answered
and immediately diverted the driver to use the website or app
instead.
>
> The website repeatedly crashed at the payment stage, forcing
the driver to download the app and create an account. This
process, including repeated connection failures, took well over
ten minutes. Once the account was finally created, the app
confirmed that three hours of parking for VRM [registration] had
been purchased and displayed a live countdown timer. The
driver’s banking app also required and recorded a payment
approval at that time, in favour of “MirandaConnectLimited”.
>
> Later, as the initial period was nearing expiry, the app
warned that the session was about to end. The driver promptly
purchased a further hour through the same app. This second
transaction shows as a successful payment on the bank account.
>
> On subsequently checking the receipts within the app, only the
second transaction is recorded, and only that payment has
actually been debited. It is therefore apparent that there was a
fault within your payment platform: the first 3-hour session was
accepted and displayed to the driver as a valid session, but
your system failed to complete or record the transaction. That
failure is wholly outside the driver’s control.
>
> Your own signs will no doubt assert that a valid tariff must
be purchased promptly on arrival and that the full period of
parking must be covered. The driver did exactly what was
required, albeit after a delay caused by your own systems being
unavailable (bagged machine, non-functional website, and
insistence on using an app). The driver then acted promptly
again when time was expiring by purchasing an additional hour.
In these circumstances:
>
> Any alleged breach is the direct result of a failure of your
payment system, not any failure of the driver.
>
> Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, any services you provide
must be performed with reasonable care and skill. Requiring
motorists to rely on a malfunctioning app or website that
falsely confirms a parking session, then penalising them when
your back-end records do not match, is neither fair nor
reasonable.
>
> The Private Parking Single Code of Practice requires you to
allow both a consideration period on arrival and a grace period
at the end of parking. Time spent attempting to pay at a bagged
machine, following your instructions to use the web or app, and
contending with your system failures cannot sensibly be treated
as unpaid parking attracting a penalty.
>
> I put you to strict proof that your payment processor and app
were functioning correctly for VRM [registration] throughout the
material times, and that no payment attempt was made that failed
due to your systems.
>
> Given the above, the Parking Charge must be cancelled. Should
you refuse, please treat this as a request under the UK GDPR for
the following data:
>
> [indent]1. All ANPR images and logs relating to VRM
[registration] on 13/11/2025.
> 2. All payment-system logs for that VRM on that date,
including web and app transactions and any declined or
incomplete attempts.
> 3. Copies of all data and notes held in relation to myself as
Registered Keeper.[/indent]
>
> If you nevertheless decide to reject this appeal, you must
provide the verification details for any independent appeals
service you contend is available, together with a copy of the
contract or site agreement authorising Excel Parking Services
Ltd to issue and pursue Parking Charge Notices at this site.
--- End Quote ---
Come back when that is rejected.
#Post#: 101035--------------------------------------------------
Re: Excel Parking PCN - Failure to purchase within time allowed
DIR By: DrGazza
Date: December 4, 2025, 12:51 pm
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Thank you b789, really appreciate your help. As you indicate, I
shall probably be back!
#Post#: 101068--------------------------------------------------
Re: Excel Parking PCN - Failure to purchase within time allowed
DIR By: InterCity125
Date: December 5, 2025, 2:54 am
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Excel have A LOT of previous for this kind of thing.
There have been a number of higher profile cases in the press
regarding their refusal to take responsibility for both their
unreliable payment options and their attempts to use T&Cs to
push those responsibilities onto drivers.
HTML https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce83n7j7p6po
#Post#: 101120--------------------------------------------------
Re: Excel Parking PCN - Failure to purchase within time allowed
DIR By: ixxy
Date: December 5, 2025, 7:32 am
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Yep Excel make the rest of the industry look like saints.
#Post#: 101977--------------------------------------------------
Re: Excel Parking PCN - Failure to purchase within time allowed
DIR By: DrGazza
Date: December 11, 2025, 5:30 am
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Response received from Excel Parking - basically unless you
confirm you are the person we should be coming after we won't
process your appeal, so pay up.
HTML https://i.ibb.co/cK2B79DX/EP-appeal-reply-11-12-2025-pg1.jpg
HTML https://i.ibb.co/pjVqz423/EP-appeal-reply-11-12-2025-pg2.jpg
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