Challenging ANPR-based parking charges at supermarket car parks. We exploit system flaws, grace period violations, and evidential failures.
Supermarket overstay charges rely almost entirely on Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to record your entry and exit times. These systems are frequently inaccurate: misreads of number plates, timestamp errors, failure to record exits, and camera malfunctions are all common. Appeal Specialists subjects every ANPR-based charge to rigorous evidential scrutiny.
We demand disclosure of the raw ANPR data - entry and exit images, timestamps, and camera logs. Partial plate reads, single-camera captures (entry but no exit), and timestamp discrepancies are grounds for challenging the evidential basis of the charge.
The BPA Code of Practice mandates a minimum grace period (typically 10 minutes) before a charge can be issued for overstaying. If the operator failed to apply the required grace period, or if the grace period was inadequately signposted, the charge is vulnerable at tribunal.
Were the maximum stay terms clearly displayed at the car park entrance and within the car park? Were the ANPR cameras and their monitoring purpose clearly disclosed? Inadequate signage undermines the formation of a valid parking contract.
We verify that the Notice to Keeper was served within the strict timescales required by Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Late service - even by a single day - invalidates the keeper liability mechanism entirely.