Parking fine at University

furry_tractor

hi folks, hope you can help..
I recieved a fixed penalty notice this morning for parking in my girlfriends university car park over night. I have been doing this since september with no problems, but now despite the fact that term has ended for most students and parking is not as much of a problem I have been fined for not displaying a permit. The sign at the entrance of the car park only mentions about not parking within the bays, however i have since seen other signs saying that cars in the car park should display a permit if it is there after 3 in the morning. As far as i know iter is only the university's security officer that enforces this, not a private company. the notice includes the usual spiel about contacting the dvla after 28 days for my details etc. What should I do? ignore it as mentioned in other threads? the only problem with this is the fine is £30 if paid in 14 days and £60 thereafter!
cheers

pogofish

Treat it like any other private ticket - Ignore it, don't enter into any sort of communication with them and file the increasingly threatening letters just in case as they will soon give ample evidence that make any possibility of enforcement impossible.

And it won't be the Uni themselves doing this - I have never seen an estates section that organised. They have probably allowed a contractor or are using tickets from one of those firms that will sell you a DIY parking scam online.

furry_tractor

thanks, it is just very annoying as they know we are students and are skint. if it was possible that i was some random using their car park i could understand but you need a card to get througt the barrier which i used (as i was driving my girlfriend to uni and her placement). her car does have a permit but its a sticker so is specific to the car, not the student. technically between us we were permitted to park there but im sure they wouldnt take this into account.

sarahg1969

Do they really call it a Fixed Penalty Notice? Naughty, naughty. That term is for use only by the police and local authorities.

Does the ticket have a company name on it?

I suggest you make a complaint to the Uni, and also to Trading Standards. And tell all your friends about the scam.

furry_tractor

yep, its a big yellow thing saying fixed penalty notice, and quite a few cars had been done. in all fairness there are signs saying that parking enforcement is in operation however at os nother universities that ive visited ive had nothing more than a letter sayin move it soon. as i said, it has no sign of any private company, the only details on it are where to send payment or appeals and that is to the security manager of the university.

poet123

So, are no private companies able to legally enforce parking restrictions on privately owned land?

I work at a college and we (students and staff ) pay an annual fee(different amounts) to park. We also have the fines dished out for not having the permit, and for not being "properly parked" in the designated bays.

Are both these "infringements" not legally enforcable by the college or their agents? If so, why do people pay them? as I know they have done? and why does an employer put up legally unenforcable notices? It makes them look stupid imo.

Coblcris

Send copies of the whole lot to the head of the law department at the University.

adouglasmhor

If you do not pay the fines, some universities have been known to stop you from graduating. So be careful what info you give them.

furry_tractor

i am not actually at this university, i was just visting for one night and taking my girlfriend to her placement the next day. she does pay for a permit but that is stuck to her car and we were in mine, but like i said i have been coming here since september and had no problems even when its been busy, but the car park is now half empty as most courses have finished. we had to use her card to get through the barrier so they must know we are there legitimitely. for some reason they just dont want you parking there between 3 and (i guess) 9 in the morning without a permit. so am i definitely ignoring this then? if im in the wrong i will pay it fair enough but it just seems out of order.

Coblcris

Don't pay it. Ignore it.

Coupon-mad

adouglasmhor wrote: »

If you do not pay the fines, some universities have been known to stop you from graduating. So be careful what info you give them.

Surely they couldn't do that if no-one has said who the driver was?

Ignore it OP, certainly don't admit to anyone who the driver was on the day. They can't enforce anything against the registered keeper if they cannot prove he/she was the driver - with whom they might otherwise argue they had some sort of dodgy contract.

People only pay these 'fines' because they don't know they don't have to.