Private Parking Ticket

ellroy

Hi,

I've been looking through the other posts in this section but can't find one quite like mine.

My wife and I parked in a carpark in the centre of Newcastle a few weeks ago and purchased a ticket from the machine which she stuck in clear view on her windscreen. Needless to say by the time we returned it had fallen face down on the dashboard and we had an £80 'Parking Charge Notice' from 'Vehicle Control Services Ltd'.

I wrote to appeal including photos of our valid pay and display ticket and a copy of the PCN and this week received a letter saying that they would not accept our appeal including a photo of our car showing no ticket in the window but from an angle that does not show the ticket, face down as it was, on the dash.

They have said that if we don't pay the fine by 27th it will go up to £120 and they may issue court proceedings if we don't pay!

I don't see any justice in this and the research I've done so far suggests I shouldn't pay and they won't follow it up. Needless to say my wife won't be attempting to stick tickets to the windscreen in future!

Any thoughts from those in the know would be much appreciated.

Merry Christmas!!

Alan

malc_b

Do you have legal insurance on your car insurance (or home?). Some have a legal helpline that may be able to answer this question and tell you your rights. Trading standards etc. may also be able to give advice.

bargepole

ellroy wrote: »

Hi,
I wrote to appeal including photos of our valid pay and display ticket and a copy of the PCN and this week received a letter saying that they would not accept our appeal including a photo of our car showing no ticket in the window but from an angle that does not show the ticket, face down as it was, on the dash.

All of which shows what a waste of time it is appealing to PPCs. Don't contact them, don't pay, ignore all their rubbish letters.

boombap

I stayed at a Travelodge in the outskirts of Manchester earlier this month and I was quite peed that I had to pay to park in THEIR car park (I stayed there last year and parking was free then).

I paid up as I didn't want any trouble but If I hadn't could I have just ignored any fees issued? It was 'Britannia Parking Services' who were in chareg of it and it was a pay & display arrangement.

Thanks in advance,

S.

lcharm

i'm not sure what they can do to you but you should speak with the citizens advice bureau because if you have a picture of the car with the ticket and the ticket itself that is sufficient evidence.

Just found these sites for you

http://www.ticketbusters.co.uk/

http://www.roadsidelawyer.co.uk/questions/ticketed-by-uk-parking-control-for-delivering-furniture-to-a-house-on-a-private-estate
There needs to be an ombudsman service to regulate them!

peter_the_piper

From the stickies.
1) PPC tickets are NOT fines or fixed penalties, they are invoices based on a presumed contract with the driver.

2) When posting, don't mention your vehicle or exact location and most importantly do NOT say who was driving, as PPC trolls do read these boards and may try to use this information against you.

3) PPC charges have been shown to be generally unenforceable in Court, and they hardly ever issue proceedings, despite the threats in their intimidatory letters.

4) Do NOT write to the PPC to 'appeal' the ticket - the appeals process is a complete sham, they just want your money and thus will reject the 'appeal'.

5) If you don't take action on the ticket, the PPC will get the registered keeper's details from the DVLA, for a fee of £2.50. The registered keeper has no liability, since the presumed contract was formed with the driver. And, if you don't tell the PPC who was driving, they don't have a case.

6) Opinions vary on this point, but generally the best advice is to ignore all correspondence they send you, and they will give up after 5 or 6 scary looking letters.

Generally good advice, continue to ignore. Do not say who the driver is to them as they cannot claim from Registered Keeper.

bobalob

Hi there,

I can emphasise with your situation. About "nasty letters", if you do get any, you could contact Trading Standards about this - it could be seen as agressive practices, prohibited under section 7 of the the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1277), where you were likely to pay the fine when you would not have done otherwise:
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold][FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold][/FONT][/FONT]

7. - (1) A commercial practice is aggressive if, in its factual context, taking account of all of its features and circumstances -

(a) it significantly impairs or is likely significantly to impair the average consumer’s freedom of choice or conduct in relation to the product concerned through the use of harassment, coercion or undue influence; and
(b) it thereby causes or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise.

bargepole

lcharm wrote: »

i'm not sure what they can do to you but you should speak with the citizens advice bureau ...

Wouldn't bother speaking to CAB, most of them are quite clueless on private parking tickets. Just ignore anything they send you.

steve012345

I followed Peter The Piper's advice above.

I thought that I would advise readers of the chronology of my run-in with Britannia Parking so that they will know what to expect.

Day 1. I parked in a poorly lit car park one evening when visiting a restaurant. I actually thought it was waste ground used as a parking area. I saw no notices about fee payment. If I had seen them I would gladly have paid.

Day 2. The following morning at home I noticed a "Parking Charge Notice" attached to my windscreen saying that I had parked without displaying a ticket, my car had been photographed and they would waive the £80 PCN if I paid £40 within 14 days.
After reading various posts on this and other sites I decided to ignore all correspondence.

Day 30. I receive a letter at home saying I must now pay £80 immediately if I was the driver. It said, if I was not the driver, then I should forward the letter to the driver or advise them of the driver's details. Failure to pay £80 will incur a £15 late payment charge. I ignored the letter.

Day 60. I receive a "Final Notice" saying I now owe £95 and if this is not received within 14 days then they will proceed with court action and add Administrative fees of £120. An appeal form was enclosed which I ignored as it was merely a way of Britannia gathering evidence of the driver. I ignored this latest threatening letter.

Day 80. I receive an almost identical letter headed "Final Reminder To Commencement of Court Action" telling me that £95 is due and that legal action will commence in 7 days time. Guess what? I ignored this.

I eagerly awaited the arrival of the postman each morning but 4 months later I still have not heard from Britannia or the courts!

I hope that this is read by many people whom Britannia Parking I trying to extort money from. I have no objection to paying reasonable parking fees when it is clear that they are payable. However, I object to companies threatening the public with unenforceable fines. Do not pay these people.