IMPORTANT: Please make sure your posts do not contain any personally identifiable information (both your own and that of others). When uploading images, please take care that you have redacted all personal information including QR codes, number plates and reference numbers.

Parking Ticket Appeals successes and failures

18911131457

Comments

  • munster39
    munster39 Posts: 9 Forumite
    edited 17 November 2009 at 8:53PM
    A parking notice was recently issued to my wife's car.

    Had it been issued to mine I would have ignored the notice, but she was keen to avoid any letters being sent to work, so I needed to employ a different tactic.

    I sent a cheque with a covering letter, the letter stipulated that the cheque could be cashed if the company was in posession of evidence as to who was responsible for the contravention, and such evidence was supplied to myself. If this was not the case then the cheque was to be reurturned uncashed. I also stipulated a £50 penalty for contravening the terms.

    Needless to say the cheque was cashed without the required evidence, I wrote again, then issued in the small claims court.

    Today I recieved a cheque for £125 - £30 refund £50 penalty £20 admin and £25 court fees.

    A method which may be of use to others ?
  • Pretty risky but it worked for you so great.
    I'd rather be an Optimist and be proved wrong than a Pessimist and be proved right.
  • Minimal risk, and if they had the evidence they could have the cash.
  • I think ignoring them is a lot easier and cheaper. There's always the risk the ppc will just ignore the win and then its more expense for a bailiff with no guarantee there's anything to collect. One chap on pepipoo has been sending in the bailiffs to collect from a council and still can't get them to cough up.
    I'd rather be an Optimist and be proved wrong than a Pessimist and be proved right.
  • Crabman
    Crabman Posts: 9,943
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker Intrepid Forum Explorer
    Forumite
    munster39 wrote: »
    Minimal risk, and if they had the evidence they could have the cash.
    Was that a court order or did they settle with you directly? One defence against PPC tickets is that they can't levy a penalty under contract law so I'm not sure how you managed that? Did they not defend the court claim?

    Interesting tactic nevertheless. Of course it depends on the PPC having assets to seize should they not pay up.
  • They settled following issuing, there was no court case.

    My claim against them was completely seperate to any issues regarding the validity of the parking charge, it was simply a matter of a breach of contract per the agreement they entered into by cashing the cheque...Tables turned !

    With regards to contact law not being applicable to private car parks, I'm afraid that's pure myth, providing the signs are adequate. The main issue with regards to private parking tickets is proof of who is party to that contract.

    The parking company was one of the "legitimate" ones and the there was never any doubt that I would win the case.

    I've used a similar method before against Town and Country ( if memory serves ) and won that too.
  • Crabman
    Crabman Posts: 9,943
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker Intrepid Forum Explorer
    Forumite
    What if they'd defended, citing the Unfair Terms in Contract Regulations with regard to the £50 penalty? Or ignoring your terms, saying by issuing the cheque you'd accepted liability? It would most likely have gone to a contested hearing (with a further hearing fee), would you still have gone ahead?

    Don't feel I'm being negative, it's just something that if as simple as it sounds, could be a nice tactic to use against the established PPCs with assets to be seized.
  • Unfair contract terms ? Admitting liability by default ?

    I'm certain that they considered their reasonable chances of winning before settling.

    If they'd had been dumb enough to cite either as a defence then they'd have had to send a member of staff 150 miles to attend a hearing at my local County Court.

    They did not pay me the money out of charity, they paid up because they'd been spanked.

    Feel free to use or ignore this method as you wish, it is a simple tactic with little risk.

    I'll simply repeat that it worked for me and might be useful to others.

    :beer:
  • Coblcris
    Coblcris Posts: 1,862 Forumite
    Conditional acceptance upon proof of claim. Possibly a simple counter offer depending on wording.
    It would be more normal to withhold payment when doing that.
  • Perhaps, the fact is payment was witheld...the cheque coud only be bashed with express conditions, which were not adheared to.

    I'm not talking here about " what if's " and " I thinks ".

    This is an actual case which worked, witholding payment pending proof of their claim would have closed the avenue to recovering andmin and penalty fees from them.....think tactically.

    Feel free to think about the possible implications of conditional acceptance all you like, use it yourself or don't.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards