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 number plates, reference numbers and QR codes (which may reveal vehicle information when scanned).
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Parking Ticket Appeals successes and failures

Options
1161719212258

Comments

  • LynnJC
    LynnJC Posts: 14 Forumite
    Call me over-optimistic (probably still on a high since winning yesterday!) but Newline are pretty well established and I don't think this relatively small amount will make them consider going into liquidation and reappearing as a company with a slightly different name. I will report back when/if their cheque has cleared.
  • peter_the_piper
    peter_the_piper Posts: 30,269 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Be glad to here that. Congrats on the win by the way.
    I'd rather be an Optimist and be proved wrong than a Pessimist and be proved right.
  • kubunio
    kubunio Posts: 1 Newbie
    jetl3on wrote: »
    Thanks to information I found on this thread about appealing the Code 27 Footpath infringement, my PCN was cancelled at the first appeal by Westminister Council and I quote:

    "due to an error in processing the PCN"

    So thank you. :beer:
    hi,
    i found myself in a similar position - got a code 27 pcn in westminster
    it would help me if you could post your letter of appeal
    thanks, kubunio
  • peter_the_piper
    peter_the_piper Posts: 30,269 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    kubunio wrote: »
    hi,
    i found myself in a similar position - got a code 27 pcn in westminster
    it would help me if you could post your letter of appeal
    thanks, kubunio
    You have a PM.
    I'd rather be an Optimist and be proved wrong than a Pessimist and be proved right.
  • LynnJC
    LynnJC Posts: 14 Forumite
    Just an update - I got the cheque from Newline (later than the 14 days they were allowed to pay, of course) and have paid it into the bank. I haven't heard anything from the bank so presumably it cleared. I was actually getting quite excited at the prospect of involving bailiffs as the days ticked by and the payment became overdue but I guess I should be thankful they paid rather than disappointed I couldn't take the next step. :)
    Thank you again to everyone here for all the advice and encouragement. :A
  • PvtPyle
    PvtPyle Posts: 33 Forumite
    edited 17 May 2010 at 4:36PM
    New poster here. I successfully challenged a Private Parking Company (PPC) in September 2009. I have detailed my research and experiences below in case it helps another member here in a similar situation.

    As I mentioned, my problem started in Sept 2009 when I parked in a Morrissons car park in Reigate town centre for approx. 4 hours on a Sundayafternoon. When I arrived, it was shortly after 3pm. The signs state that there is a 2 hour max. stay in force. I misread the sign and thought this rule ceases at 3 pm; it doesn't, it stops at 4pm.

    A few days later, none the wiser as to my error, I received a Parking Charge Notice from a company called ParkingEye. They seemed to think I owed them £70 for parking for longer than the time permitted. They have some kind of photographic evidence captured on CCTV, and they obtained my details from the DVLA. The PCN looked very official, with black and white chequered edging similar to what you might get on a speeding ticket or other formal notice from the Police.

    Initially, I was furious. Then I got online and did some research. I encourage you all to do the same should you ever receive any kind of parking infringement notice from ANYONE who is not either the Police, or the County Council or Borough Council for your area.

    PPCs and the law:

    Tickets from Traffic Wardens working for the police or local authorities or tickets issued by police officers are backed by criminal law. There are provisions for them in the Road Traffic Act 1991 and these provisions allow sanctions that the issuing authority can take.

    Tickets issued by PPCs (Private Parking Companies) are NOT backed by any such aspect of criminal law. Private parking firms operate under contract law (or tort). To say that their legal position is spurious is a gross overstatement. The activity of these companies is bordering on illegal. Often, they are quite absolutely illegal.

    Essentially when a driver of a vehicle drives into a car park and parks his (or her) car he (or she) is implied to accept the offer for parking on the terms of the offeror (the parking company or land owner). A contract is formed and therefore the contract can be broken (or breached).

    How to challenge a PPC:

    The first approach, advocated by many experienced members of the Consumer Action Group forum, is to DO NOTHING. Do not reply to any of the letters from the PPC, the debt collectors, the solicitors, NOTHING. They assume that because there is no legal grounding, they could never actually take you to court to recover the "fine" and therefore you can simply ignore them.

    The second approach, which is advocated in the template letters (linked below) is to deal with the PPC but in a very careful and strategic manner. Full details are available from the link, but effectively it involves denying any knowledge of the incident!

    In my case, ParkingEye Ltd have limited access to the DVLA database by way of being a member of the British Parking Association (BPA) thus they identified my car based on the make, model and registration. They then wrote to me and claimed that as the Registered Keeper of the vehicle, I am responsible. The "fine" they have issued is NOT a fine at all, it is an INVOICE. Moreover, the RK of the car is not responsible, it is the driver who has entered into this supposed contract, the terms of which have been breached. I was under no obligation whatsoever to identify who was driving the car at the time.

    Hence, I sent the PPC this letter:
    Dear Sir/Madam,

    Re: Your letter dated ddmmyyyy with reference [#######]

    I acknowledge receipt of your captioned letter. It seems that you have obtained my details from the DVLA and I confirm I am the registered keeper of the vehicle in question. You need to take this matter up with the driver concerned.

    In the meantime I absolutely deny your claim that the amount claimed, or any amount at all, is due to you from me.

    Regards

    ParkingEye responded and as I had anticipated, they falesly claimed that unless I disclose the identity of the driver, that as the RK I would be eligible for the "fine". They also included verbiage suggesting that failure to pay the fine could result in further penalty costs and/or the engagement of a debt collection agency.

    At this point, my advice to anyone dealing with a PPC is to STOP REPLYING to their letters. Keep them all filed, it is good practice. However, you have done NOTHING WRONG and you are under NO OBLIGATION legally or otherwise to co-operate with these companies. This is what I did - I'll admit I was quite nervous at first. I am sure other members might be too. What if they me to court, what if I get a CCJ, what if this affects my credit rating...?

    The truth is that none of these things will happen - at least not if you are being harrassed by ParkingEye. What will happen is that they will send you a couple more menacing letters. Then, they will inform you that they are handing the case over to a debt collection agency for the recovery of outstanding monies owed to them. The debt collectors will write you a letter - by now the sum outstanding is probably around the £150 mark. The registered address of the debt collector, which I checked on the Companies House website, is the same as that of Parking Eye. Very odd that... :)

    Something else to note is the format of the PCN letter that the PPC send you. Examine Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 and you'll discover that the characteristics which give these "fines" (invoices) their official bearing and the suggestion made by the PPC that their removal is an offence are themselves illegal.

    Section 40 of the act provides that a person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed from the other as a debt due under contract, he or she:

    (d) utters a document falsely represented by him to have some official character or purporting to have some official character which he knows it has not.

    Eventually, in the vast majority of cases, the PPCs will simply stop writing to you. In my case, I received my last letter in early Feb 2010. Since then, I haven't received anything. There is nothing on my credit record. Actually I have borrowed since then without any problems :)

    In some cases, people have received letters from solicitors (just as bogus as the debt collectors) so it can take some nerve seeing through the strategy of doing nothing. If you are at all unsure, I strongly urge MSE members to read the following information on the Consumer Action Group forums. If, and it is a huge if, anyone was ever challenged in court by one of these companies, then there is good advice in here that would help the defendant to mount an effective legal defence against the claimant. This information was partially written/compiled by a solicitor:

    PPCs: Guide to an Effective Legal Defence
    Apparently I can't post links... Feel free to PM me for them!

    PPCs: Fighting Back
    Apparently I can't post links... Feel free to PM me for them!

    Consumer Action Group: Template Letters for responding to PPCs
    Apparently I can't post links... Feel free to PM me for them!

    Summary:

    What annoyed me about my experience of PPCs is that their business model is utterly contemptible. It is based on bullying tactics and scaremongering to misleadingly and unfairly recover money from innocent people. They use all the language and rhetoric of an official organisation who we, the public, should obey. We shouldn't. We should absolutely challenge all of these companies, and we should write to our local MPs to demand a change in the law. I wrote to mine in March 2010 and received a letter back advising me that the Transport Secretary was looking into the behaviour and practices of PPCs.

    Finally... Good luck!
  • Recently received a PCN from roads service NI, Contravention code 26 "Vehicle not parked close to the kerb and not within a designated parking space".
    As my car was parked close to the kerb and within a ticket zone, displaying a valid ticket I was understandably annoyed. Would have been less hassle just to pay the £30 fine, however I was so annoyed that I wrote a letter of appeal and took photos on my phone at the time and got them printed out to send to the roads service. Success!! They cancelled the PCN - was worth fighting for after all!
  • I was shopping in Aldi and was parked on their free car park.There was a sign clearly visable warning of a 1 hr 30 min time limit.
    After paying for my goods in the store I decided to "nip" to the local shops for some bargains.I took much longer than I intended but I thought, "I`ve been in the store," the car park wasn`t busy, so"It`ll be ok."
    I returned to my car and drove away with my "bargains.":T
    14 days later,I recieved a parking notice through the post for £70.(or £40 if you pay promptly.)I was completely horrified because I had no idea there were cameras in use.(I thought tickets were only issued by the dreaded traffic wardens.):eek::eek::eek:
    Parking Eye Management have really caught me out.
    I am now nervously waiting for further fines in the post as I think I may have over stayed my welcome for the last two weeks.(my "bargains" were so good that I went back for more.):(
    To pay or not to pay? Any advice welcome.(are these tickets valid.) SHOPPERS BEWARE!!!
  • sarahg1969
    sarahg1969 Posts: 6,694 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    To pay or not to pay? Any advice welcome.(are these tickets valid.) SHOPPERS BEWARE!!!

    Have you read the hundreds of other threads on this board? If so, you'll know exactly what to do. And there's no need to get so mad.
  • peter_the_piper
    peter_the_piper Posts: 30,269 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    ""(I thought tickets were only issued by the dreaded traffic wardens.):eek::eek::eek:""
    they are!!! only they are now mostly called CEO's
    All you get from Parking eye are begging letters, they have no more legality than if I sent you a letter asking you to give me £40.00 (feel free to do so if you want)
    I'd rather be an Optimist and be proved wrong than a Pessimist and be proved right.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 244.2K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 599.3K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177K Life & Family
  • 257.6K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.