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PCN and hire care

Good morning.
Whilst hiring a car I was issued with a PCN from ParkingEye in Aldi, Pocklington car park. I have been away on holiday and the first I knew of this was discovering a letter from the hire company telling me of the offence and stating that they have passed my details on to Parking Eye. The so called offence happened on 30th May, the letter from the hire company is dated the 14th June. It is now 7th July and as yet I have not heard from ParkingEye. Do they still have the legal right to issue me direct with the PCN so long after the offence? I am concerned as I am going away again next week and might miss any deadlines for payment.

Comments

  • Umkomaas
    Umkomaas Posts: 41,284 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Photogenic
    edited 7 July 2017 at 8:55AM
    Don't even think about paying anything. That's very premature. There's much more to be done to avoid paying them a bean.

    PE have to collect some paperwork from the hire company (like a copy of the hire agreement you signed at the time of hire) in order for them to have any hope of pinning this charge on the hirer. So that may be a possibility for the delay (my conjecture).

    You can only deal with this if and when you get paperwork addressed to you. I can't give you any strategy for dealing with it if you're away, other than getting someone to check any mail that looks a possible NtK and contact you via email. Whenever the paperwork is received, you have 28 days from the date of issue to deal with it.

    If the worst comes to the worst and you miss everything, the 'comfort' is that, to date, PE have not proceeded in the courts against any Aldi customer. Given their trigger-happy approach to suing people (25,000 per year) with not ever seeing one Aldi case, we draw the conclusion that Aldi refuse to let PE sue their customers.

    A further strategy for dealing with this if a NtK is served is to contact the parking department at Aldi HQ and ask they get involved in cancelling the charge. Receipts, bank/cc statement proving patronage on the day are useful in persuading them to intervene.

    If, once paperwork is received, in your initial appeal to PE you attach a receipt for more than £30 on the day, they will cancel.
    Please note, we are not a legal advice forum. I personally don't get involved in critiquing court case Defences/Witness Statements, so unable to help on that front. Please don't ask. .

    I provide only my personal opinion, it is not a legal opinion, it is simply a personal one. I am not a lawyer.

    Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

    Private Parking Firms - Killing the High Street
  • DoaM
    DoaM Posts: 11,863 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    Be thankful that the hire company approached this correctly and passed your details on to PE. Many others would have simply paid the PCN then charged YOU for it (plus an admin fee).
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