Smart Parking Ltd fine: appeal it free
POPLA allowed 40.5% of 6,077 Smart Parking appeals last year. That figure is in POPLA's own annual report. Nobody else puts it next to the appeal route, so here is the route, your two dates, and the three grounds that did the winning.
Your two dates
- Day 14: the discounted rate closes. Appealing inside this window keeps the discount; paying first closes off appealing.
- Day 28: your free appeal to Smart Parking. Write as the registered keeper and do not name the driver.
- Then 28 days: if Smart Parking rejects you, the free independent appeal to IAS, counted from the rejection code, not from the notice.
The three grounds that win
- Signage. Terms must be readable where you parked, including at night. Photograph every sign now. Code of Practice v1.1 §5.2:
A grace period as set out at Annex B to this Code must be allowed by the parking operator in addition to the parking period. A parking charge must not be issued during a Grace Period.
- Grace periods. Time to read the signs on arrival and time to leave after your stay. Code of Practice v1.1 §5.2:
A grace period as set out at Annex B to this Code must be allowed by the parking operator in addition to the parking period. A parking charge must not be issued during a Grace Period.
- Keeper liability. To pursue the keeper rather than the driver the notice must meet Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Many do not.
Where the appeal goes
Smart Parking is a IPC member, so a rejected appeal goes to IAS, free, within 28 days of the rejection. A Smart Parking charge is an invoice for an alleged breach of contract; only a court can make you pay it.
Want the appeal written for you? Build your Smart Parking appeal letter free, on screen and as a download, with no payment and no email address. The full record for this operator, with every clause and the questions people ask, is at the long page.
Sources named above: POPLA Annual Report - Appendix (Parking on Private Land Appeals)