Private Parking Ticket - Advice Please?

garyf_2

On Saturday, whilst at the match, my car received a parking ticket from a private company called County Parking. It was parked on private land that is a small industrial unit, totally unoccupied on a Saturday afternoon. At the time of parking there, the driver looked for signs but didn't see any. The driver noticed that some parking bays were marked as 'private' so chose one that wasn't.

Driver returned to the car 2.5 hours later to find the ticket. It was then that the driver noticed a sign high up on a wall above the car, so high that you had to crane your neck to see it and the text was not fully legible to the driver.

I have seen snippets on here and large articles on Pepipoo.com that suggest I, as the RK shoudn't pay. I am a little nervous about just ignoring the ticket.Does anyone out there have actual experience of doing just that? Can anyone sum up for me in simple easy to read terms what procedure I should follow and back that advice with a case study?

Any help gratefully received.
Thank you

Conor_3

When you ignore it they send more letters. Eventually, you may find one coming from the county court and/or bailiffs.

sarahg1969

Conor wrote: »

Eventually, you may find one coming from the county court and/or bailiffs.

If they issue Court proceedings, and if you then ignore them, and if they then get judgment against you, and if you then fail to pay the judgment debt within the time limit.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Conor wrote: »

Eventually, you may find one coming from the county court and/or bailiffs.

Extremely unlikely, and in any case they almost certainly would not win.

bargepole

garyf wrote: »

On Saturday, whilst at the match, my car received a parking ticket from a private company called County Parking. I have seen snippets on here and large articles on Pepipoo.com that suggest I shoudn't pay. As the registered keeper, but not necessarily the driver, I am a little nervous about just ignoring the ticket.Does anyone out there have actual experience of doing just that? Can anyone sum up for me in simple easy to read terms what procedure I should follow and back that advice with a case study?

County Parking are well known scam artists, with laughable paperwork that would be thrown out of court if they ever went near one. They recently were booted out of their contract with Bognor Regis hospital after complaints about the way they operated the car parking there.

Check through the parking forums on the other site, you'll find that they send out lots of ridiculous threatening letters, but after a while they just give up.

garyf_2

Thanks to all. I am still waiting to see if anyone on here has actual experience of the situation I am in.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

You'd be better asking if anyone has ever heard of a private car parking company taking anyone to court. Nobody I've spoken to has.

bargepole

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

You'd be better asking if anyone has ever heard of a private car parking company taking anyone to court. Nobody I've spoken to has.

Excel have been to court a couple of times this year, they were spectacularly slammed by defendant Mrs Hetherington-Jakeman in Mansfield, and recently didn't even bother to turn up at Wrexham, where the Judge awarded £150 costs to the defendant.

Combined Parking Solutions have been crowing about a couple of "wins" on another forum, but there seem to be suspicions about how genuine these actually were. In one of the cases, they produced the driver's posting from the forum where he admitted to being the driver, which he apparently tried to deny in court, thus alienating the Judge.

So be careful what you write when asking for advice, PPC trolls do scan forums like this.

sjaypink

garyf wrote: »

Thanks to all. I am still waiting to see if anyone on here has actual experience of the situation I am in.

i have ignored two (not really intentionally though, so i didnt have the worry you seem to be sufferring!)... this was a couple of years back, have heard nothing this year.

my oh got a ticket earlier this year, and i asked on this forum and got a reply which said something like 'write back and ask them who the driver was at the time (and prove it), and take it up with them'.... apparently any issues on private land are between them and the driver, not the owner...

didnt do that though, and once again forgot (youve just reminded me) , heard nothing since anyway. so yeah about 3 letters seems average in my experience, although none of these were with this particular company.

if youre worried that much then just pay it. if youre not bothered then dont (but learn your lesson re illegal parking, obviously).

Wig

Bargepole has an important point, don't on a public forum, admit to getting a parking ticket , that you were the driver, (disclaimer: I'm not saying the OP has done this, just warning him and everyone else, never to do it) and be careful about naming the company that issued the ticket (they use google too).

In your case, the basic defence is never reply to any of their letters. If they ever decide to take you to court, the court will write to you to let you know. Obviously if that happens it is time to take action. And never tell them you were driving or the name of the person who was driving.

What you could/should do now, is return to the area, and take photographs of the entrance to the private land, of the route you took, and of the parking space (to show on photo that the signs are not visible) then photo the sign as it appears high up and thus showing it to be easily missed. Keep the photos for a rainy day, incase they take you to court in the next 6 years.

There is a case of Vine v Waltham forest. Which held that the driver has to see and understand the signs for there to be a contract made. So by the sounds of it you have a good chance of a win if they do take you to court. In court they would first have to prove that you were the driver (internet threads like this one can contain information to support that). Having done that they would have to show that you could not have missed the sign(s) and that the wording was clear (to you). They would then have to show that the ticket was lawful and did not amount to a penalty, and legitimately was only to cover their costs.

BTW, I heard that in order for a company to get your details from an internet post they would first have to ask the forum host for the IP address, then ask the Internet service supplier to identify you. Both of whom should refuse and demand a court order, that forces them to release the information. I heard the court order has to come from the high court. So Bargepole's story about a PCC getting an award of £150 would suggest the PCC would have lost a lot of money in the process to get that £150 award, hardly worth it.

bargepole

Wig wrote: »

... So Bargepole's story about a PCC getting an award of £150 would suggest the PCC would have lost a lot of money in the process to get that £150 award, hardly worth it.

No, you read that wrong, the £150 was awarded to the defendant against the PPC, who didn't bother to turn up for the hearing.