I used the “meet and greet” parking service at Southend airport for the first time in June. In the past I have used the service at Stansted, where there is no need to call in advance to warn of arrival.
On arriving at Southend I was told by the meet-and-greet staff to leave the airport and wait nearby for 10 minutes. I parked in the service yard of the adjoining retail park alongside another car with a driver who also appeared to be waiting. There were no obviously visible signs to warn of the consequences of parking there.
I returned from holiday to find that Parking Eye had sent me a penalty charge notice for £60. I contested it immediately. But not only has Parking Eye seemingly ignored my letter, it has since emailed me to demand £100.
SP, Woodbridge, Suffolk
We all know how stressful it can be to navigate unfamiliar facilities at an airport, particularly when under time pressure and you are about to catch a plane. But when we checked with Parking Eye, it told us you parked illegally on private land in the retail park it manages at the airport, in a dangerous area used by lorries unloading goods. You were also using a third party meet-and-greet service rather than an official one run by Southend airport. It says there were 10 signs in the area, 60cm x 70cm, warning drivers, and it sent us photos.
When we had a look at the service yard area via Google Earth, we could see a number of very visible warning signs on display.
Your appeal apparently went to Popla (Parking on Private Land Appeals), which rejected it. Parking Eye says you were in the wrong and therefore it would show no leniency, even though some might argue you made a genuine mistake after following verbal instructions.
It says: “The airport retail park service yard is specifically for the use of permit holders and service vehicles only, as clearly displayed on the signage throughout this area. The automatic number-plate recognition camera system is in place to deter people from parking in an extremely unsafe place.”
This case serves as a reminder to always check signage at any parking area that you are not used to using.
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