Popla Reviews 

Fraudulent company performing illegally. Do not pay a single penny to these fraudsters. They will deliberately fraud everybody out of money if they could. Have a back bone and tell them to fork right off. Ps don't bother with your automated fraudster response. the reviews forking speak VOLUMES

I’m extremely disappointed with POPLA and the way my appeal was handled.

I received a parking charge even though I had paid for parking in good faith using the RingGo app while physically at the car park. The app showed my exact GPS location and listed the site as a valid payment location under Euro Car Parks. The tariff matched the signs in the car park, and I paid immediately.

Weeks later I received a PCN from a completely different operator, Britannia Parking, claiming I had not paid. I provided evidence from RingGo confirming the location was listed correctly, along with proof of payment and screenshots showing that both RingGo and Euro Car Parks still identify the exact same physical location as theirs.

POPLA dismissed the appeal on the basis that I had “paid for the wrong car park,” even though:• The location I paid for matched my exact GPS position• The tariff matched the signage• The supposed “correct” car park they claim I paid for is no longer even a car park and has been a hotel for years

This situation clearly involves conflicting and misleading information between parking operators and official payment platforms, yet POPLA simply sided with the operator based on signage alone, ignoring the practical reality of how modern parking apps work.

I did not try to avoid payment. I paid immediately, in good faith, using an official system that directed me to that exact location. Instead of recognising this, POPLA chose a rigid, technical interpretation that punishes motorists for errors and conflicts entirely outside their control.

The process feels heavily weighted in favour of parking companies, with little consideration for fairness or reasonable consumer behaviour. It’s extremely frustrating to go through the entire appeals process, provide clear evidence, and still be told you must pay despite having already paid for parking.

A deeply disappointing and stressful experience. They can catch me in court because I ain’t paying it

I went to fill up at the Costco petrol station , after filling up my car would not start. I called for the recovery service who took over 3 hours to attend . Days later I recieved a penalty notice for overstaying at the car park. I appealed through Popla sent them all evidence of recovery report, they rejected my appeal. My car broke down I was unable to drive out of petrol station what was I to do . Seems very unfair I have to pay a fine for something out of my control.

Had I visited this site before I submitted my appeal to POPLA, I would probably have thought I had wasted my time. But I didn't. I received a PCN for an alleged infringement on a hospital car park. My appeal to the PCN issuer was unsuccessful, but I felt they had failed to address the points in my appeal and so the next stage was to take the appeal to POPLA. Whilst I found the process appeared to be somewhat stacked towards the PCN issuer, in that they suggest they cannot consider evidence outside that which had previously been submitted, it felt that the PCN issuer was able to do just that when they submitted their evidence in support of their PCN to POPLA. The evidence the PCN issuer submitted to combat my PCN appeal WAS flawed.
In your submission to POPLA, you should avoid being emotive. You have to stick to cold facts, be clear and concise. Above all ensure you supply enough evidence with the initial submission. If I could offer one suggestion to POPLA ... Allow all the information that has been considered in the appeal to be visible throughout the process. It was only because I had copied everything down, I was able to refer back to it when the PCN issuer contested my appeal. It was not available otherwise.
Yes my appeal was successful.

I consider contacting this organisation a waste of time, as there seems to be no genuine attention to the issues raised. It appears that their main interest is collecting money rather than resolving cases properly. There are also concerns about possible collaboration with parking operators who engage in abusive practices

I've appealed to POPLA over a dozen times with decisions that have both Successful and Unsuccessful, so my review is not based on one decision, and I am not merely a disgruntled customer.

In almost every outcome I have had, both successful and unsuccessful, the reasonings have been complete nonsense.

Some assessors make up their own rules and completely ignore the Private Parking Single Sector Code of Practice and the law including the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, and general Contract and Consumer Law. They ignore established decisions in case law.

They are unfit for purpose, and unable to do the job required. They cannot even uphold their own rules!

A few of many examples:
- POFA 2012 Requires a stated Period of Parking on the Notice to Keeper.
- POPLA assessor decides the manually taken pictures on the online portal with timestamps showing an elapsed time of 1 minute and 3 seconds, is acceptable.

- PPSSCoP Requires a minimum 5 minute consideration period to be exceeded before issuing a PCN.
- POPLA assesor decides the vehicle is not parked in accordance with the terms and conditions so no consideration period applies. HOW CAN YOU READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS WITHOUT STOPPING AND GETTING OUT TO READ THEM? THAT IS THE ENTIRE POINT OF THE CONSIDERATION PERIOD!

- POFA 2012 Requires the Creditor to be identified. The legal entity the debt is owed too.
- POPLA - IDENTIFIES THE CREDITOR INCORRECTLY proving my point about it being ambiguous. They identify the creditor as the tradename of the true creditor. The tradename is also an unrelated registered company. Therefore, POPLA has identified a legal entity that is not the true Creditor, as the Creditor.

- Contract Law: Under basic contract law principles, acceptance of payment forms part of the contractual agreement. In a recent case the overnight HGV parking tariff of £33 was accepted while the vehicle was already on site, yet no valid parking space was available. The operator therefore accepted payment for a service it did not provide.
- POPLA: Instead of considering whether the operator had breached the contract by failing to supply the paid-for service, POPLA’s decision focuses exclusively on the alleged breach by the driver. This ignores the fundamental legal position that both parties have contractual obligations.
A contract cannot reasonably be enforced against one party where the other party has failed to perform its own primary obligation.

I now may have to pay an additional £100 to the £33 already paid for a parking space the parking operator never provided, and somehow POPLA genuinely believes that is acceptable. Very concerning!

- Objective Evidence: In the same recent case the operator provided photographic evidence which shows the vehicle stopped at the side of a widened section of the car park next to the HGV parking area, one picture shows a vehicle driving past without obstruction.
- POPLA: "The photos clearly show the vehicle causing an obstruction."

THEY OBJECTIVELY DID NOT!

Some assessors are okay and do apply the Code of Practice well, but most are so blatantly biased towards the Parking Operator it's laughable. They go to the extent of ignoring rules, or actually making rules up.

POPLA supports all of their assessors decisions, as long as they can give a reason. The reason doesn't have to be logical or comply with the law or their own code of practice, or make any sense whatsoever, but as long as a reason is given POPLA is cool with it. I'd assume they would atleast draw a line at prejudice or discriminatory reasons. But nothing would surprise me with them.

They call themselves independent. But objectively, they are not. It's pathetic and they need to be shut down, the sooner the better!

Edit: In response to POPLA's response - POPLA cannot call themselves consistent. The only thing POPLA is consistent with is being inconsistent. For example, I have previously had 6 cases with identical facts, 3 were accepted and 3 were rejected. The assessors gave conflicting decisions and reasons. It is literally a Kangaroo court. You could train apes to do a better AND MORE CONSISTENT job than the POPLA assessors.

Despite having photo showing I had paid because parking company said they had no record I lost appeal this has taken me to brink of despair I paid for my stay had evidence and now had to pay £100 for something I had already paid for I wish I had read reviews about this company before appealing.if you have a photo showing you have paid and this is not enough I don't know what is they obviously just side with parking company as I was in the right and had paid I thought I couldn't lose how wrong was I thinking that innocent people win .I paid a £1 for my parking ticket but then ended up with a £100 fine how can that be right

as you can see from all other comments, this is not a mediation service but rather a complice to the ripping off firm of APCOA, that together, steal money from people
they are not independent whatsoever,
I am surprised no one does anything about it, its illegal and immoral

An alarming number of motorists ( 94% ) report that appeals to POPLA are routinely rejected, even where evidence appears credible and reasonable. Many people enter the appeals process with a genuine expectation of fairness, only to receive decisions that overwhelmingly favour private parking companies.

POPLA was established to provide independent scrutiny. When outcomes are so consistently one sided, public confidence is inevitably undermined. An appeals body that appears structurally aligned with the very industry it is meant to oversee cannot credibly claim independence.

This is not a trivial consumer inconvenience. These decisions result in financial penalties, distress, and a sense of injustice, particularly for vulnerable individuals and those unfamiliar with complex parking regulations.

The British Government and the Department for Transport must take this issue seriously. There should be a transparent investigation into POPLA’s decision making process, its governance, its funding model, and whether appellants are genuinely being given a fair hearing.

Accountability and transparency are not optional in a system that claims to deliver justice. Without reform and oversight, POPLA risks being perceived not as an independent adjudicator, but as a procedural rubber stamp for private parking operators.

This situation demands scrutiny,

POPLA IS COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME! APOCOA IS A FRADUALENT PARKING COMPANY AND POPLA ALLOWS THEM GET AWAY WITH IT! I PAID MY PARKING BUT APCOA SYSTEM CHANGED THE REGISTRATION OF THE CAR, I ALREADY PAID BEFORE I REALISED, THIS HAPPENED TWICE ON DIFFERENT OCCASSIONS SO I COMPLAINED AND POPLA STILL SAID IT WAS UNSUCESSFUL! APCOA RIDE ON WITH YOUR FULL CHEST OF FRAUD, YOUR BEEN SUPPORTED FULLY BY POPLA

If I could give 0 stars I would. Been fined for entering a car park and leaving 11 minutes later WITHOUT parking due to having no suitable bays available to park in with my 8 month old baby. The car was never parked!! Been given a detailed outcome by assessor Michael And honestly it is an absolute joke. Michael finds 11 minutes unacceptable even though the car park was very busy, nose to tail in traffic and is a LARGE outdoor ONE WAY single road carpark. He stated only 5 minutes was allowed , even though he had the information about the layout, busyness and my baby being in the car. You could be waiting a good 3 or 4 of those minutes waiting on the car in front of you parking due to how terrible and narrow the car park road is. Never mind there being a good 10 cars in front of us when we first entered. Absolutely no evidence at all of the car parking because it never was and still managed to be fined £100. I provided pictures of the signage showing that none of the rules were broken. Absolutely shocking, I would advise against using this company, it will only make your situation worse and there is no way to appeal POPLAS decision. **EDIT. Poplas answer to this is unsatisfactory as I uploaded evidence showing that the rules were never broken as the rules do not state that you will be charged for entering the car park only for parking, which was never done. CCTV all over the place will clearly show this, but because the car park hasn’t sent this for obvious reasons, POPLA have decided that’s satisfactory but adequate time frames and evidence aren’t.

Popla is NOT an independent appeal service, DON’T waste your time.
Proof of payment at McDonalds was provided where I stayed with my family, yet they still unlawfully fined me - an absolute joke and disrespect to the public for using catering facilities and EV chargers on site.

Don’t waste your time lol. Provided 3 pieces of evidence to show i paid my parking and they sided with the parking company saying ‘there is no evidence’😂absolute joke

Incorrectly fined even though proof of payment was provided. POPLA sided with the enforcement agency.

Happening all over the country. Complete scammers!!!

I can't believe that POPLA is allowed to operate. They are NOT an independent company, as they are primarily funded by the BPA, who's members are private parking companies, and with only 40/42% of appeals being successful, this proves without a doubt that they are in favour of the parking companies and not the general public. I highly recommend that people contact Trading Standards and report their misconduct.

I received a PCN on the grounds that I did not pay for my stay. I provided the issuer with a bank statement receipt that shows payment at the car park location and on the day in question.

I was in total disbelief when their reply was pictures showing their parking conditions at the location I parked, backed by their statement that I did not pay for my stay, totally disregarding the evidence that I provided them which clearly shows that I did pay for my stay.

I obviously appealed their descion with POPLA, in belief that common sense will provale and that the PCN would be cancelled. How wrong I was!!!! They upheld the PCN on the same grounds as the issuer, stating that I did not pay for my parking, even though my bank statement receipt shows I did, at that location and on the day the PCN was issued!!!! What makes matters worse, POPLA stated that the issuer had acted favourably by reducing the PCN amount, and that they highly recommend me taking up their offer of a reduced PCN payment rather than paying the full charge.

How can a bank statement receipt be dismissed as none payment? For the transaction to be acknowledged and payed for by my bank, I would have to input my registration for payment to go through to complete the process.

This clearly shows that POPLA is not a genuine appeals service, and that I urge that the general public to lodge their complaints with Trading Standards, as POPLA should not be allowed to operate under the illusion of being an independent appeals service.

Dont waste your time. These are sudsidised by the very companys that your'e appealing against. You stand zero chance of a fair hearing. I struggle to understand how this is allowed inn a modern day society. As a father of a disabled daughter (displayed) this mattered nothing to the company that issued the ticket. This is nnothing more than a syndicate!!!

This company it’s absolutely ridiculous they admit they are sponsored by parking companies who they issue penalties so they clearly take their side and in fact they looking for every excuse to turn your appeal down worse than parking companies themselves.

So they are waste of time and I have not seen or heard anyone they have or had a successful appeal through them and look at all their reviews are bad.

In my opinion this company should be closed down and not waste people time and money.

They will pretty much side with the parking company no matter what. They will not apply common sense or use discretion. If a car park sign says you must purchase valid a ticket and stand on one leg, if you do not stand on one leg then you will be fined and Popla will agree with the fine. Despite providing proof that a ticket was purchased for the duration of the stay, they still upheld the fine. To add insult to injury the minute you apply to Popla for appeal, your parking fine will revert back to the maximum fine. As much as it pains me to say this, just pay the reduced fine and don't bother appealing to these robots as I'm afraid "computer says no"....

Post Review note - Generic response from Popla which is used numerous times but fails to address the issues motorists face when using their service.

I have recently received an unsuccessful appeal from popla which in summation, didn't address the issues and conditions of the fine.

I used a payment app to pay for parking, which displayed £0 payment (free parking). I booked parking, but received a fine for not having a valid ticket. In the evidence, I shared the ticket information, clearly showing a ticket purchase, although at £0.

The appeal response was, the parking company is not responsible for app errors, even though signage states otherwise and that I should have paid at ticket machine, even though I had a valid ticket purchased.

So the expectation set by the judgement is a parking company can disregard app parking tickets as a 3rd party and issue £100 fines, their defence and upheld by Popla is payment apps aren't binding and if they decide, they can fine for not purchasing tickets at machines even though they market them as options.

Absolute disgraceful company. After appealing a parking fine that I provided full evidence of paying they sided with the other company.