Parking charges --- Resolved Page 3 DON'T PAY

[Tay]

It's a private company. They can't enforce the fine so you're safe to just ignore it. They will write to you a few times then give up. I've had a fine from a private company before and just plain ignored it.

 

Private company may not be able to enforce but a debt collection agency who owns the ticket because they've bought it off the private company can

 

I could be wrong but I'm not sure they can sell it on to a debt collection agency. I haven't heard of an instance (except on this forum) where it has happened. The process that I'm aware of through experience is.

 

1. They send the parking fine and make it look official in an attempt to scare you into making a payment to them that they can't enforce. (The reason they can't enforce it is due to it being a breech of contract between you and the landowner who has set some terms and conditions. Under the terms they give you reasons for the fine but look for a reason why it doesn't apply. In this instance the driver was in the car. If they wanted him to move they could just wake him to ask)

 

2. They will send an invoice demanding payment. At this point i called the company and simply said "I'm not paying so don't send me any more letters" the conversation with the **** on the other end of the phone wasn't nice but I'm more than happy to tell people to go and do one. They tell you that you have to and try to sound official but they can't actually do anything. I ended the call with "i'm just letting you know that i'm not paying so that you don't waste your time, if you want to take it further then fine, goodbye".

 

3. They then sent another invoice to demand payment and the wording was stronger. I then wrote to them to tell them that i'm not paying and am willing to take it to court.

 

this was over 6 years ago and i haven't heard from them since. I have some friends who have ignored the invoices demanding payment and after about 3 or 4 letters they stop. It is a little concerning when you receive the letter, I know i thought oh shite but fight it cause you're in the right. I'm pretty sure that they they won't pursue this...

 

 

Also forget about waiting or letting them know that we're going to park for 1hr 59mins lets go and do it cause it sounds like a laugh.

[Zugara]

Contact watchdog with your story... Although they did this on Mc Donalds parking fines( no return within 2 hours) and a lawyer actually said that these fines are NOT enforcable by Law.

[Vik54]

It's a private company. They can't enforce the fine so you're safe to just ignore it. They will write to you a few times then give up. I've had a fine from a private company before and just plain ignored it.

 

Private company may not be able to enforce but a debt collection agency who owns the ticket because they've bought it off the private company can

 

I could be wrong but I'm not sure they can sell it on to a debt collection agency.

 

You are wrong - they can sell it to whoever they want to and once a collection agency own it they add whatever they want on as costs incurred.

[dyla350z]

Chuck it in the bin. Don't respond, don't do anything apart from bin it.

DONT DO THIS! been down the same route,£50 fine turned into £455!!!! bailiffs banging on the door,had lots of hassle but got it down to £100,that was a private firm too, appeal it in writing but if you lose just pay it,it aint worth the hassle even if your in the right,my princables nearly cost me £455 and caused me a headache.

[Husky]

Chuck it in the bin. Don't respond, don't do anything apart from bin it.

DONT DO THIS! been down the same route,£50 fine turned into £455!!!! bailiffs banging on the door,had lots of hassle but got it down to £100,that was a private firm too, appeal it in writing but if you lose just pay it,it aint worth the hassle even if your in the right,my princables nearly cost me £455 and caused me a headache.

im just going to pay the 50 quid. sigh. if i phone them it costs enough i will be even more out of pocket, if i pay for a stamp im out of pocket, no matter which way i look aty it im more out of pocket and its a bucket load of stress worrying about it. so sod the bastards they can have their crappy money but i intend this money angrily, infact im going to send them it in cash and draw angry faces on the notes (a real crime that one) or if i have to send them the money in any way i can add a comment i will add to "the thieving nobbers". what do you think they will do if i only pay 49.99?

[Husky]

thats a brilliant idea!!!!

 

im only paying them 49.99 so they can chase me for 1p

[dyla350z]

Pay them in 5000 dirty old pennie's bag them all up in money bags,seal the bags with selo and make sure each bag has differing amounts in.

[Husky]

we will find a way to rebel, they can have my pennies but they will never have my soul

[Gball1973]

Pay them in 5000 dirty old pennie's

 

+1

but wrap them up like fruit pastiles using gaffa tape. You know you want to

[Ekona]

Chuck it in the bin. Don't respond, don't do anything apart from bin it.

DONT DO THIS! been down the same route,£50 fine turned into £455!!!! bailiffs banging on the door,had lots of hassle but got it down to £100,that was a private firm too, appeal it in writing but if you lose just pay it,it aint worth the hassle even if your in the right,my princables nearly cost me £455 and caused me a headache.

Must have been a council ticket then, as a judge won't write out a court order for bailiffs given that they have no idea who the driver was. They've sent the letter to the registered keeper who is in no way legally bound to disclose who the driver was, and as such they have no one to claim against.

 

Husky, seriously mate, don't pay. And you can't pay in 5000 pennies either, as they don't have to accept it.

[dyla350z]

Chuck it in the bin. Don't respond, don't do anything apart from bin it.

DONT DO THIS! been down the same route,£50 fine turned into £455!!!! bailiffs banging on the door,had lots of hassle but got it down to £100,that was a private firm too, appeal it in writing but if you lose just pay it,it aint worth the hassle even if your in the right,my princables nearly cost me £455 and caused me a headache.

Must have been a council ticket then, as a judge won't write out a court order for bailiffs given that they have no idea who the driver was. They've sent the letter to the registered keeper who is in no way legally bound to disclose who the driver was, and as such they have no one to claim against.

 

Husky, seriously mate, don't pay. And you can't pay in 5000 pennies either, as they don't have to accept it.

Mcdons i got my ticket,the point is take advice,appeal it & if you have no luck just pay it,its just not worth the hassle,the bailiff was a joke and has very few rights but for £50 it just werent worth the hassle,think they do have to except pennies but they have to be bagged up properly.

[Ekona]

No bailiff would be able to take the case due to the reasons stated above. Whoever came to your door wasn't a proper bailiff, and you still shouldn't have paid regardless.

[Husky]

im more confused now i think doing nothing is possibly bad but paying sucks, maybe the answer is to phone them and say there are multiple people insured on the car (which there are) and I don't know who it was what do you think the response will be?

[Tay]

im more confused now i think doing nothing is possibly bad but paying sucks, maybe the answer is to phone them and say there are multiple people insured on the car (which there are) and I don't know who it was what do you think the response will be?

 

 

I guess that they'll ask who the owner is and then say it's the owners responsibility.

[mattbowey]

you should ring them and ask for the photos, if it was the automated system, which i assume it was else you would have been woken up, then just explain that you were sleeping. and werent car sharing, they have your address so it is pretty clear its not a convenient location for you to car share.

[Husky]

Right, final decision is....

 

dum dum dum dah!!!

 

im just ignoring it, done a fair bit of reading now, links from people on this thread and others i have found:

 

http://forums.pepipoo.com/lofiversion/i ... 51770.html

http://gutt.co.uk/2010/05/06/don%E2%80% ... r-tickets/

http://forums.pepipoo.com/lofiversion/i ... 52108.html

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=46975

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/sho ... ?t=2214803

 

Here is the quick rundown of why i'm ignoring it

 

 

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Group: Root Admin

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Joined: 30 Mar 2003

From: Wokingham, UK

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When dealing with "tickets" from private parking companies (PPCs) our advice is ignore them. For the following reasons, you should not enter into any correspondence with private parking companies.

 

This link will take you to a You Tube video of a BBC Watchdog piece on PPCs.

 

There is a great deal of doubt about the legal enforceability of private parking invoices that are issued to motorists. Unlike parking tickets issued by local authorities, which are backed by statute, the enforcement of private parking is essentially a matter of contract law. A private parking company needs to overcome many significant legal hurdles in order to be successful, which include:

 

* Establishing that any claim is under the law of contract, rather than the tort of trespass (see case of Excel Parking Services v Alan Matthews, Wrexham County Court, May 2009 where the parking company lost on this ground);

* Establishing that all of the elements of a contract (offer, acceptance, consideration) are present;

* Establishing who the driver was on the relevant occasion, as any contract can only be enforced against the driver, who may or may not be the registered keeper of the vehicle;

* Establishing the prominence and adequacy of any warning signage, and that the driver actually saw and understood the signage (Waltham Forest v Vine [CCRTF 98/1290/B2]);

* Establishing that the amount claimed is not an unlawful “penaltyâ€, including that there was no attempt to “frighten and intimidate†the driver (see well reported case of Excel Parking Services v Hetherington-Jakeman, Mansfield County Court, March 2008 where the parking company lost on this ground);

* Establishing that any contract does not fail foul of the Unfair Contract Terms Act and associated regulations.

 

How do you know if your ticket is a PPC ticket or not? Well, legitimate council tickets will be called a "Penalty Charge Notice" or "Excess Charge Notice" and will have the council's address on them. A police ticket will be called a "Fixed Penalty Notice" and have either a police or HM Courts Service address on it. If it's not called one of the above and it's got a private address on it then the chances are that it's a PPC "ticket", and ought to be ignored.

 

 

Cheers for the input guys hopefully this helps people when one of these mickey mouse tickets arrive in the future. It's no more valid than the 1billion pound win scratch card that comes through your door with the rest of the junk mail

I'll update you from prison in a months time

 

yes a big pat on the back to all those who said ignore it

 

EDIT: and im not ringing them, anything i say can be used against me and apparently this just puts me on a priority list as they think im an easy mark.

[Husky]

What was the final outcome with that parking ticket you got a few months ago at the services?

 

thought it would be worth an update as lexx was asking.

 

 

in total i recieved:

 

1st letter, 2 pages, small sum asked for

 

2nd letter, 1 page, large sum asked for

 

3rd letter, 1 paragraph, short repeat of 2nd letter

 

END

 

 

[mc]

Good stuff, looks like they just gave up and lost interest.

 

Honest John in the Telegraph Motoring section usually advises to pay £5 or so, stating that you consider it to be adequate compensation for a minor breach of contract. From your experience, it looks like you don't even need to pay anything!

 

Although I'd have thought that by parking there it implies that you agree to the parking t's and c's? Its just that the fines are extortionate!

[Husky]

like i said, from everything i read its best not to open the lines of communication at all. If you do, you open the floodgates for them to get money out of you.

[charlotte-sparkles]

I got one of these from Clacket Lane, was there meeting some Punto friends, was there for 4 hours and got the letter, was tempted to pay it, but learned from a friends dad who deals with traffic law, that really those companys just have contracts that hold little to no official legality.

 

Really the only time you pay a parkin charge is if its issued by the Council or the Police.

[andlid]

not your lucky month is it? what the heck where you doing sleeping for 4 hours! LOL

 

Weirdest thing to do when your actually in the car! i'd write and object, get some proof from them too.

 

re speeding fine u got... ask them for proof also. and ask when the camera was last calibrated.

[Husky]

anders, read the date, and then read the whole thread.

[spursmaddave]

anders, read the date, and then read the whole thread.

I just read the whole of this and the thread it was linked from while sitting at Medway Services, it has taken some time so now i expect i will get a letter in the post too...

[Husky]

anders, read the date, and then read the whole thread.

I just read the whole of this and the thread it was linked from while sitting at Medway Services, it has taken some time so now i expect i will get a letter in the post too...

tit :lol:

[spursmaddave]

anders, read the date, and then read the whole thread.

I just read the whole of this and the thread it was linked from while sitting at Medway Services, it has taken some time so now i expect i will get a letter in the post too...

tit :lol:

I would respond with some witty rebuke but i really should move just in case