Private Parking ticket - what to do now?

Fisher1

Hi,
Been through a load of posts and in need of some advice for a particular case.

I received a charge notice from a private parking contractor a while back. I had parked in what appeared to be a parking bay but the ticket said 'not parked within a marked bay'. The area in question is next to a bay ie it has a white line on one side and nothing on the other - my car was not obstructing anything and I had paid the fee. There are no yellow lines in this particular place - unlike everywhere else on the site. My defence when appealing - yes I now know that was a waste of time - was that it looks like a bay because the markings are ambiguous. If they don't want you to park there then why not paint some yellow lines - right?
Interestingly, since then I have been able to collect some photos of other cars parked in exactly the same space - I see this as valued evidence on the basis that clearly I'm not the only one confused by the lack of markings.

I am pretty damn mad about this now and really don't want to pay the £45 they are claiming - purely out of principle.

Two questions:
1) do I have a fair chance that a judge will see things my way if they take me to court? In which case I get off without any costs.
2) If they happen to win the case presumably this could amount to a lot of money ie the then increased fine of over £100 - plus court costs - plus solicitor's fees - plus their expenses?
They are already threatening to send in the debt collectors if I don't pay up but I understand they can only actually recover anything once the judge goes with their case.
Thanks.

peter_the_piper

Pity you contacted them as it only lets them know you're a "hooked" fish and will keep contacting you. Safely file the debt collectors letters, the chance of anything genuinely going to court are vanishingly small. If you are still concerned why not copy all the paperwork, both sides, and post here for others to have a look at. Use tinypic and follow the FAQ at top.

bargepole

Fisher1 wrote: »

Hi,Two questions:
1) do I have a fair chance that a judge will see things my way if they take me to court? In which case I get off without any costs.

You haven't said which PPC this is, but most of them won't go anywhere near a court with their fraudulent paperwork. In the unlikely (1 in 10,000) chance that it did go to court, your defence would be nothing to do with the ambiguity of bay markings, which have no legal standing in private car parks, it would be based on the fact that the PPC cannot claim a penalty under contract law which is greater than their liquidated losses. If you used 2 parking bays and paid for one, their losses = the parking fee for 1 bay.

Fisher1 wrote: »

2) If they happen to win the case presumably this could amount to a lot of money ie the then increased fine of over £100 - plus court costs - plus solicitor's fees - plus their expenses?
They are already threatening to send in the debt collectors if I don't pay up but I understand they can only actually recover anything once the judge goes with their case.

Yes if the PPC won, you would be hit for legal costs. There are only two known cases of this happening in 2008, both with unusual circumstances. The debt collectors have no powers without a court order, so send them a "cease and desist" letter.

Other than that, ignore everything else they send you, and if by some miracle a court claim lands on your doorstep, hop over to the pepipoo forums where you'll get proper help to file a defence.

Fisher1

bargepole wrote: »

The debt collectors have no powers without a court order, so send them a "cease and desist" letter.

Thanks - that's helpful. Being a newbie - are there any examples of cease and desist letters to debt collectors?

Neil_B

I believe it's quite straightforward - basically - debt is disputed, do not contact me further. Refer back to source

--ish -- kinda thing. - and remember, very often the so called debt collectors are only another desk in the ppc office - same people.

As for the hugely unlikely event of court costs - in the relevant small claims court they are extremely limited. Someone may correct me but I don't believe they could claim for something like solicitors fees at £150 per hour.
I think it's just limited to travel on the day, etc.
As I said, someone may correct me.

boiler_man

Did this happen at a leisure complex nr Bristol? I received a ticket in very similar circumstances. Looked like a car sized parking bay but missing a white line. Did not receive the original £45 penalty charge, they just sent out the £90 reminder!! Charges are higher now debt collectors are involved.

I've ignored letters to date and hope that I'm doing the right thing.

sarahg1969

Neil_B wrote: »

I believe it's quite straightforward - basically - debt is disputed, do not contact me further. Refer back to source

--ish -- kinda thing. - and remember, very often the so called debt collectors are only another desk in the ppc office - same people.

As for the hugely unlikely event of court costs - in the relevant small claims court they are extremely limited. Someone may correct me but I don't believe they could claim for something like solicitors fees at £150 per hour.
I think it's just limited to travel on the day, etc.
As I said, someone may correct me.

Almost, Neil. You must tell them the debt is denied. Not that it's disputed.

Fisher1

boiler_man wrote: »

Did this happen at a leisure complex nr Bristol? I received a ticket in very similar circumstances. Looked like a car sized parking bay but missing a white line. Did not receive the original £45 penalty charge, they just sent out the £90 reminder!! Charges are higher now debt collectors are involved.

I've ignored letters to date and hope that I'm doing the right thing.

No it wasn't - it was at a railway station.

Good news is they caved in and cancelled the charges after one last letter. I think they could see that I wasn't giving them any money without it going to court first. And I think it would have been seen favourably by a small claims judge - especially with photos of others parking there as well. Maybe you should get your camera out and gather some pics too?

It gets to the point where you have to make a stand - scary as it can be for those of us who don't normally deal with courts.

But all this stress and numerous emails later I can see why they get their penalties paid by most punters, who really can't be bothered to fight. I'm happy now though.:beer:
Thanks for all the advice guys!