Private Parking Tickets discussion

busterlbrown

Actually I do have a couple more questions. What points exactly should my sister be bringing up to show that this fine isn't right? Is it the extortionate fee, the way in which the hooked the car without towing it, the demand of cash for release or something else I have missed? Just need to know what angle to take when she writes to them!

Regards and thanks again,

Ryan

Crabman

busterlbrown wrote: »

Actually I do have a couple more questions. What points exactly should my sister be bringing up to show that this fine isn't right? Is it the extortionate fee, the way in which the hooked the car without towing it, the demand of cash for release or something else I have missed? Just need to know what angle to take when she writes to them!

Regards and thanks again,

Ryan

First you'll need to find out who the landowner of the private land is as any court action you may bring would name both the parking company and the landowner as Defendants. From anecdotal evidence it seems the parking company itself will simply dissolve and reappear with a slightly different name to avoid paying a Judgement. This is why the landowner is commonly named on court cases to reclaim money paid.

Paying by credit card is always better than cash as you then have extra protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

Take a look at the article for information on reclaiming:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/private-parking-tickets#dispute

Coupon-mad

busterlbrown wrote: »

Actually I do have a couple more questions. What points exactly should my sister be bringing up to show that this fine isn't right? Is it the extortionate fee, the way in which the hooked the car without towing it, the demand of cash for release or something else I have missed? Just need to know what angle to take when she writes to them!

Regards and thanks again,

Ryan

Well, I think pepipoo will give you the best advice of course.

They'll probably tell you to write a Notice Before Action Letter and send it to those parties you are intending to sue in the small claims court. That would be the clampers, the landowner and/or leaseholder or managing agent (depends who instructed the clampers, you need to name all parties).

That just tells them firmly that you intend to take them to Court for return of the fees and that they can avoid this by refunding you within, say, 10 days as full and final settlement and without repercussions. If you do not get reimbursed in full you will start a Small Claim without further notice, naming all parties again as jointly and severally liable, and that will include your costs.

The sort of things to list in your claim as unfair might include the signs (lack of, position of, unclear wording, small font size, not lit at night etc); also the immediate tow being unfair and not giving you the time to pay; the wording of all the paperwork you were given - pepipoo will help if you scan it in.

Also the fact that the fees are extortionate, clearly only a penalty which is not connected to any consequential loss for trespass (the clampers have made no loss at all and the landowner would have to justify the amount which is much higher than the normal permit cost of the parking space).
Also the way the clampers treated your sister - were they intimidatory, 'obtaining money with menaces' sort of thing? Judges often frown upon this sort of unfair treatment.

Don't say she was flustered and didn't see the signs. You want to show the judge that a reasonable average driver wouldn't have seen/understood them (they are rarely perfectly clear).

HTH

mah8619

Parked at a local rail station free car park to catch a train to work at aprox 10-25,as its only a small station theres not many bays,as they were all full I parked in a spot against a fence,causing no obstruction to other users,when i returned I had a ticket that stated I had parked outside marked bays and causing an unnecessery obstruction.

Ticket stated i had to pay £60 (or £30 if payed within 14 days )

I had to park outside marked bays because they were all full and I wasn't causing an obstruction, it seems to me its just a legalised way of making money for the rail company.

the ticket also stated that my car was Black-my car is grey !

Iv also taken several photos of where my car was parked.

I would be grateful for any advice -.

cheers mah8619

Coupon-mad

Ok, when a ticket is issued by what I suspect is a private parking company at a railway station, you need only to check the ticket to see what is says about how to appeal.

NOT because you should appeal (hah! it's a private company and the word appeal shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence)! But because the appeal info will tell you whether this ticket was issued under genuine Railway Byelaws or not.

Scenario 1 : The ticket says any appeal must be sent to the private parking company, usually at a P O Box address. In which case you can safely ignore it and any letters the company send you. There is no fine to pay and nothing will happen after their letters die out, believe that this is a scam, read other similar threads.

Scenario 2 : The ticket says any appeal has to go to the Magistrates' Court. If it says this then it's a proper ticket which can't be ignored. In which case treat it like a Council parking ticket and either pay it or consider appealing it if the signs & lines did not say you couldn't park outside of a designated bay.

Scenario 3 : It's possible it was issued by the Council? Was it? In which case same advice as scenario 2!

More often than not it will be scenario 1. Which have you got?

peter_the_piper

I heard on the radio this morning that the 4 big supermarkets are being investigated over their private parking arrangements. Apparently it because they do not give sufficient time for disabled persons to park and do their shopping. Love to know how they will wriggle out of this one. APNR won't detect a disabled person on a car, and not have applied for a blue badge. It would be discrimination to preclude others and only allow the BB cars.

trisontana

peter_the_piper wrote: »

I heard on the radio this morning that the 4 big supermarkets are being investigated over their private parking arrangements. Apparently it because they do not give sufficient time for disabled persons to park and do their shopping. Love to know how they will wriggle out of this one. APNR won't detect a disabled person on a car, and not have applied for a blue badge. It would be discrimination to preclude others and only allow the BB cars.

There was a feature about this in this mornings BBC Breakfast. A disabled woman who had received two tickets, together with a lawyer and a spokesman from a disability-rights group were all interviewed. They were all very critical of the supermarkets and, for once, the word "fine" was never mentioned at all in the feature. So the word is getting around about these scams.

sheers

I recieved a private parking charge notice last week and I don't know what to do. This advice on this site is not to pay and especially with the news this morning that supermarkets are being looked into. My private parking charge notice is for being in a well known supermarket over the recommended time.
you are only allowed 2hrs and I was there for 3hrs. On the letter it states that they have caught my car on camera (so they have my registration number) and the times I went in and out and if I don't pay within 14 days (ends today) then I will have to pay £90. The charge is for £40 at the moment.
Now my problem with contesting this charge is that I have no proof as to why I was over the 2hrs - I was in morrisons but haven't got the reciept to prove it, my daughter then was screaming for her bottle so I had to stop and give her her feed but like I said I don't have proof of this - what should I do - I can't afford to pay £90. The company is called parking eye.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

trisontana

sheers wrote: »

I recieved a private parking charge notice last week and I don't know what to do. This advice on this site is not to pay and especially with the news this morning that supermarkets are being looked into. My private parking charge notice is for being in a well known supermarket over the recommended time.
you are only allowed 2hrs and I was there for 3hrs. On the letter it states that they have caught my car on camera (so they have my registration number) and the times I went in and out and if I don't pay within 14 days (ends today) then I will have to pay £90. The charge is for £40 at the moment.
Now my problem with contesting this charge is that I have no proof as to why I was over the 2hrs - I was in morrisons but haven't got the reciept to prove it, my daughter then was screaming for her bottle so I had to stop and give her her feed but like I said I don't have proof of this - what should I do - I can't afford to pay £90. The company is called parking eye.


Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Relax, you have done nothing wrong and you have not broken any laws. Just ignore any correspondence from the company and do not contact them. You might receive some scary looking letters from them but that's all part of the twisted game these parking companies play. Just hold firm and eventually they will lose interest in you.

If you want any more reassurance please read the similar threads on this forum.

peter_the_piper

You don't need proof, just ignore all and everyone of their letters/invoices. Don't contact
Don't phone
Don't appeal
Don't respond
DON'T PAY
So they have the reg number of your car, good for them. All this proves is that your car was where the photo is, it does not show who the driver was.The contract, if any, is with the driver and its up to them to find out who the driver is and to contact them, you do not have to let them know.