The document provides guidelines for the process of making an appeal.

POLICY STATEMENT

A motorist has the right to contest a Parking Charge that has been issued either to the vehicle or via the post, within 28 days of the issue date.

Britannia Parking will review all appeals in line with our internal appeals process, to ensure that each appeal is investigated fairly and equally. It is Britannia Parking's policy to receive appeals and consider the validity of the Parking Charge, in line with the Terms & Conditions of the Parking Contract for that location, any mitigating circumstances, and evidence provided to support the appeal.

We will notify the appellant of the outcome of their appeal in writing, within 28 days from the date of the appeal submission. The outcome letter will detail why the appeal has been approved or declined.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that appeals are handled appropriately and that all appeals are considered and reviewed in the same manner. Britannia Parking expects staff at all levels to be committed to a fair, effective, and efficient appeals process.

PURPOSE

This policy is intended to ensure that Britannia Parking handles appeals fairly, efficiently, and effectively. The company's objective is to ensure that its appeals procedure is properly and effectively implemented, and that appellants feel confident that their appeal is considered and reviewed equitably, and within the required time frames.

   Our appeal process aims to:

• Allow us to respond to appeals in a timely and cost-effective manner.
• Increase customer confidence in a fair, unbiased review of each appeal.
• To ensure that we responded to all points raised, and educate motorists regarding their responsibilities and ours, regarding legislation for private car park companies.
• To consider room for continuous improvement, whether that is at a car park or in our processes.

This policy provides guidance to our staff and to individuals who wish to file an appeal about the key principles and concepts of our appeals process.

SCOPE

This policy applies to all staff handling appeals and anyone wishing to gain an understanding of our appeals process.

HOW TO MAKE AN APPEAL

Via our website: www.britpark.com/pcn This is the most efficient and quickest way to appeal and put the notice on hold automatically.

By writing to the below address.
Postal appeals will be put on hold from the date we receive the appeal.

Parking Charges Department
Britannia Parking
7th Floor
County Gates House
300 Poole Road
Poole
Dorset
BH12 1AZ

By Email: We do not advise motorists to appeal via email, as this method does not automatically put the Parking Charge on hold, and due to our 14 days turnaround time on this inbox, it is possible that the Notice may escalate or further letters may be sent, before we action the appellant’s email.

If the appellant has received an emailed asking for additional information or evidence, it is ok to response to the email address.

Via telephone: Appeals cannot be made via the telephone, due to compliance requirements.

WHAT IS AN APPEAL?

An appeal is to be considered as any written correspondence in relation to a Parking Charge. All correspondence will be treated as an appeal unless explicitly stipulated otherwise.

An appeal can be submitted online via our appeals portal on our website, or by post.

CAN THE NOTICE BE PAID AND ALSO APPEALLED?

Should a motorist wish to make an appeal they must not make any payments.
We do not have to consider an appeal if the notice has been paid.

APPEALS PROCESS

• When an appeal is received, it must be logged as an appeal on our enforcement management system and will be put on hold until the appeal has been considered.
• An acknowledgment letter of the appeal must be sent within 14 days.
• If necessary, further clarification or evidence must be obtained from the appellant, if we are unable to complete a full investigation from the information provided in the appeal.
• An investigation will be completed, we will write to the appellant detailing our findings and the outcome of the appeal, within 28 days.
• If the appellant has supplied an e-mail address, the appellant will be notified as to the outcome of their appeal by e-mail. Therefore, the appellant must ensure that their e-mail address is serviceable. An appellant must check their Junk e-mail folder in case a response to their appeal has been delivered there instead of their general Inbox.
• If the appellant has not heard from us within 35 days, they must not assume that their Parking Charge has been cancelled, they can contact us to check the status- https://www.britannia-parking.co.uk/Content/contactUs
• An appellant can check the status of their notice via the chatbot function on our website: https://www.britannia-parking.co.uk Click the speech bubble in the bottom right corner.

WHO CAN SUBMIT AN APPEAL?

• The driver
• Hirer
• The registered keeper

A representative may appeal of behalf of the driver/keeper if they:

• have died
• cannot make a complaint themselves, or
• give consent, preferably in writing, in advance from the driver/keeper, to act on their behalf.

If a motorist is not happy about making an appeal themselves and they do not know someone who can appeal on their behalf, we recommend seeking assistance from Citizens Advice.

TIME FRAME TO SUMBIT AN APPEAL

If a motorist should wish to appeal their Parking Charge; this must be done within 28 days from the issue date on the notice. Once we receive an appeal the Parking Charge will be put on hold.

If the appellant believes they have exceptional circumstances as to why they were unable to appeal within the required timeframe, they must send an email to customer services (customerservices@britpark.com) detailing their ‘’exceptional circumstances’’ and provide evidence. We will review their reason and respond to confirm within 14 days if we will accept an appeal outside of the time frame or not.

“Exceptional circumstances” include the recipient being away or abroad when the notice was delivered, hospitalised as an in-patient, or delivered to the wrong address through no fault of the motorist (Wrong address does not include being posted to the wrong address because the keeper has not updated their V5 registration document).

OPTIONS IF AN APPEAL IS DECLINED

If an appellant has submitted an appeal within the discounted period, they will be given a further 14 days to pay the notice at the discount rate.

If an appellant has submitted an appeal outside of the discounted time frame an additional discounted period will not be offered.

Once we have dealt with an appeal, the appellant will have several options from which to choose:

a. Independent Appeal Ombudsman Service

If we decline an appeal, the appellant will be provided with details of how further appeal to the Independent Appeals ombudsman Service, along with a unique reference number.

If the appellant opts to pay the Parking Charge, they will be unable to appeal to the ombudsman service.

The Independent Appeal Ombudsman Service will not accept an appeal if an appeal has not been made to Britannia Parking in the first instance.

Please note that if a motorist wishes to make an appeal to the Ombudsman Service, they will lose the right to pay the Parking Charge at the discounted rate.

If the motorist appeals the notice in the first instance, and then at any point pays the Parking Charge before their case has been assessed and an outcome provided, their appeal will be closed and not considered for assessment.

Should their decision not go in the motorists favour they will be required to pay the full amount of the Parking Charge within 28 days.

The motorist must submit an appeal to the ombudsman service within 28 days from the date of their appeal outcome letter. Information on how to appeal will be detailed on the outcome letter.

By law we are also required to inform the motorist that Ombudsman Services (www.ombudsman-services.org/) provide an alternative dispute resolution service that would be competent to deal with an appeal. However, we have not chosen to participate in their alternative dispute resolution service. As such should a motorist wish to appeal then they must do so as explained above.

b. Pay the Parking Charge

How to Pay:

Internet: Visit www.britpark.com and follow the onscreen instructions. The motorist must have their Parking Charge number and payment card details ready.

By Phone: Call 0345 5 555888 option 2.

c. If a motorist chooses to do nothing

We will seek to recover the monies owed to us via our debt recovery procedures and may proceed with Court action.

BRITISH PARKING ASSOCIATION (BPA)

A motorist can contact the BPA:

Postal enquiries and complaints can be sent to:

British Parking Association
Chelsea House
8-14 The Broadway
Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH16 3AH

Online complaints form: https://www.britishparking.co.uk/Contact-Us-Public

Website: www.britishparking.co.uk