Private Parking Tickets discussion

poet123

The driver of the car in our case was actually sitting in the car with the engine running whilst I dropped off an item in a local shop. The parking operative simply walked up to the car an dslapped the ticket on and walked away. I thought that even a traffic warden/council op could not ticket when the driver was in the car unless they refused to move. Does anyone know if this is correct?

Just a point re the post above,if you respond and deny being/knowing the driver how can you then address signage isssues? by doing so are you not negating the point that you were not the driver/do not know anything about the parking "offence"?

peter_the_piper

poet123 wrote: »

The driver of the car in our case was actually sitting in the car with the engine running whilst I dropped off an item in a local shop. The parking operative simply walked up to the car an dslapped the ticket on and walked away. I thought that even a traffic warden/council op could not ticket when the driver was in the car unless they refused to move. Does anyone know if this is correct?

Just a point re the post above,if you respond and deny being/knowing the driver how can you then address signage isssues? by doing so are you not negating the point that you were not the driver/do not know anything about the parking "offence"?

If its incorrectly parked the council ceo can give you a ticket at any time or send it to you if you are parked where he considers it dangerous to hand it to you.
Saying you don't know who the driver was will simply not wash with the council, the laws are quite different to the made up rules the ppc's say you infringe.

peter_the_piper

James_N wrote: »

I have followed Martin's advice. I have (correctly) denied being the drivers and have also made points for response about signage, readability, changes of "regulations" and reasonableness of charges - their response only addresses the driver issue and falsely claims I should know exactly where my car is at any time. The other points were not responded to.

I'm now on their fourth letter. If they carry on I will issue an harrassment warning and file letters with the local trading standards.

I feel I have a watertight case should they choose to hassle or attempt court action.

Next you'll probably get a final warning before prosecution, then you'll get a final, final warning, the the final, final, final one. After that its the pseudo solicitors and debt collectors. Then you know their nearly at the end.

trisontana

Walking past a stack of newspapers today I noticed that the Daily Mail (wash my mouth out with soap and water) have started a "campaign" to go after cowboy clamping companies. I suppose any port in a storm etc, but will this intuitive by the Mail do any good or not? Knowing how this paper keeps changing tack I reckon next week they will be running a story along the lines of "Illegal Parking Damages House Prices".

poet123

peter_the_piper wrote: »

If its incorrectly parked the council ceo can give you a ticket at any time or send it to you if you are parked where he considers it dangerous to hand it to you.
Saying you don't know who the driver was will simply not wash with the council, the laws are quite different to the made up rules the ppc's say you infringe.

I wasn't saying the ticket was given by a warden (it was a ppc) but that even a warden cannot ticket if the driver is in the driving seat and willing to move if asked......that is what I understand from the wardens who patrol the permit zone where I live.

peter_the_piper

There's one thing I've learned from reading posts on a parking forum is :-
How do you know when a warden is telling lies? He speaks.
You may well have an unusual ppc in that they are sensible but they are a rarity. It not unknown for a ppc to clamp a car when the driver is sitting in it.

poet123

peter_the_piper wrote: »

There's one thing I've learned from reading posts on a parking forum is :-
How do you know when a warden is telling lies? He speaks.
You may well have an unusual ppc in that they are sensible but they are a rarity. It not unknown for a ppc to clamp a car when the driver is sitting in it.

Sorry, I think we are at cross purposes, the warden I referred to was a council employee. My point was that not even that type of warden can ticket a motorist if they are in the car without asking them to move, so surely a PPC has even less right to do so?

peter_the_piper

Yep, I think we are lol.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1916129
What the average council warden should do is as you say and ask them to move on, however what often happens is they note time, day and reg number , walk down the road , run off the ticket and throw away the bit the driver should get. The first they know about it is when the nto arrives.
As there is no real legislation regarding ppc's they tend to make it up as they go along, note your number and send the invoice later. A sufficient percentage just pay up to make it worth while. If they don't get enough to cough up they go out of business.

Coupon-mad

Can I just say I DON'T read the NOTW (honestly!).

But my OH brought home a free copy of a couple of papers today (he works on the trains and people leave them around, I can understand why). Anyhoo, in the NOTW Martin Lewis has started to spread the word to the masses about not paying private parking tickets:

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/columnists/martin_lewis/498681/How-to-shoot-down-unfair-parking-fines-amp-penalty-charges.html

Just thought some here would be interested in the article, and also I want to say hello and welcome to anyone who finds themselves here because of the article. Don't pay a private ticket, it's a scam!!

mark_howard

Last weekend I parked at the local sports centre & the signs said that I must register at reception to avoid getting a ticket. Unfortunately due to a large number of people at the reception, by the time I came to pay I had forgotten to give them my car registration.
When I came out there was no parking ticket on the windscreen. 3 days later I received a letter saying that I had to pay £75.00 within 14 days or the fee would increase to £150.00
I called the sports centre & they said there was nothing they could do & that I had to contact the people issuing the fine. The receptionist did mention they have had a number of complaints & were trying to get out of the contract with them. She also mentioned they were entitled to "4 cancellations per month" but unfortunately these had already been used up. I need to know if I should contact them to dispute the fine & say i'm not paying or will ignoring it then get a letter saying I now have to pay £150. Really, really angry about this. Can anyone shed some light/expertise on what to do next ?