PPC Letter Chains & Court Papers (discussion & comments)

Oopsadaisy

Tell ECP to go f*** [fine] themselves.

Cornishman1

Hi can anyone help. About 6 months ago I parked in a private car park in cornwall,I had purchased a ticket and put it on my dashboard. When I came back to my car I had a PCN (Parking Charge Notice) attached. I got in my car to notice my ticket had fallen into the footwell. I saw the attendant and told him that I had a ticket which had fallen off and showed it to him. He said I needed to write to the company involved enclosing the ticket and explain the circumstances and everything should be fine. So thats what I did. Having not heard anything for about 6 months I thought it had gone away and been sorted. Six months after the ticket I receive a letter from a collection company saying I owe £95 if I dont it will go to court with the outcome of a possible CCJ. Please can you advise thanks.

give_them_FA

Just totally ignore it. This is a common scam. The "agent" tells you it will be sorted (maybe he's dim enough to even believe it) but it never is.

It will NOT go to court, there will NOT be a CCJ because the charge is not founded upon any valid principle of law. It is no more than a try-on. It relies on the fact people think it is kosher; but it isn't.

You will get more mail, don't respond to any of it, never contact them again, just sit tight until they get fed up wasting postage flogging a dead horse, and clear off.

Which bunch of crooks is this one, anyway?

Cornishman1

give_them_FA wrote: »

Just totally ignore it. This is a common scam. The "agent" tells you it will be sorted (maybe he's dim enough to even believe it) but it never is.

It will NOT go to court, there will NOT be a CCJ because the charge is not founded upon any valid principle of law. It is no more than a try-on. It relies on the fact people think it is kosher; but it isn't.

You will get more mail, don't respond to any of it, never contact them again, just sit tight until they get fed up wasting postage flogging a dead horse, and clear off.

Which bunch of crooks is this one, anyway?

Its a company called searchlight they have been mentioned on watchdog.

give_them_FA

And the mention was not complimentary, I take it? Don't give your money to con artists, and don't forget to tell all your friends too...

Cornishman1

You would be right it wasn't a good mention. It has now been passed onto another company Parking Collection Services.

give_them_FA

Or, in your case, Parking Non-Collection Services - I trust?

Dontshopatsainsburys

Wife went shopping in Salisbury's Torquay with our 2 year old Son, All the Mother and Baby spaces where taken so wife used Disabled space as she notice four of the Children's bays where used by Disabled drivers when there was clearly disabled spaces free.
When she came out she got a £30 fine from Euro Car parks, she went back into Salisbury,s and told them they should stop disabled people using the children's bays and they cant just manage one lot of spaces without the other but Salisbury's would not back down, Can anyone give us advice on weather we should pay this fine or give them FA
We spend on average of £400 a month at Sainsburys so we are taking a shopping holiday and going to asda for six months even though Sainsburys will not care it makes us feel better

Half_way

the general consensus, and advice on here is to ignore.
from what ive read on here, and elsewhere disabled bays, parent child bays etc, mean absolutly nothing in a private car park.

you may get some pretty nasty and threatening letters, if i was you i would ignore them and keep hold of them, then continue to shop at sainsburys, keeping your recepits, and all contacts with the parking company.

then I would go back to the customer service desk, with receipts form previous big spends and raise bloody hell with them for allowing one of their employees to harrass and threaten you.

Coupon-mad

Dontshopatsainsburys wrote: »

Wife went shopping in Salisbury's Torquay with our 2 year old Son, All the Mother and Baby spaces where taken so wife used Disabled space as she notice four of the Children's bays where used by Disabled drivers when there was clearly disabled spaces free.
When she came out she got a £30 fine from Euro Car parks, she went back into Salisbury,s and told them they should stop disabled people using the children's bays and they cant just manage one lot of spaces without the other but Salisbury's would not back down, Can anyone give us advice on weather we should pay this fine or give them FA
We spend on average of £400 a month at Sainsburys so we are taking a shopping holiday and going to asda for six months even though Sainsburys will not care it makes us feel better

It's not a fine!

Complain harder to Sainsburys but wait until quite a few of the threatograms arrive, and send photocopies of them with your complaint. Sainsburys will not have a clue about the threatograms (see top thread for your preview).

Write to the CEO (Google for these details if not obvious on their website and mark your letter or email for the CEO by name). Don't 'appeal' about this fake ticket as it's a nullity - you could tell them you know that it's a piece of rubbish, not a real PCN, but the principle is wrong. They are allowing a third party agent to pretend that they can fine people when they cannot - and many unsuspecting people would believe it and elderly or vulnerable people would be very very upset. Not to mention people struggling for money, thinking they've got a hefty fine and worrying about how to pay it when it's all just rubbish.

Effectively the whole thing is harassment which is a criminal offence.

TELL Sainsbury's HO that they are allowing their agent to upset and annoy paying customers and in your case you have decided to vote with your feet, tell friends and family to boycott the store AND you have posted on a public forum about Sainsburys allowing their good name to be tarnished by a very dogy industry indeed. If the harassment and avalanche of letters continues you will consider suing for damages and will include Sainsburys as this is not on, and you were particularly upset that the CS staff didn't take your complaint seriously in store and actually thought it was a real fine.

BTW, suing for harassment is a real possibility if you are the registered keeper and the letters are coming to you - because the only person they can aim this 'breach of contract' rubbish at is the DRIVER. And you, as the keeper/owner, do not have to tell a private firm who was driving your car. If this is the case and it's you who receive the letters then consider replying (without naming the driver) and just saying 'I have received your letter as I am the owner of car reg xxxxxx. Be formally advised that I was not driving therefore I am not responsible. Your contact is unsolicited and I will not be paying your invoice, nor entering into any further correspondence, nor will I divulge to a private company who may have been driving the car on that occasion. Indeed any more letters to myself will constitute harassment and I reserve the right to sue you for damages if you continue to contact me at all about this matter.'

There's a nice 'legalese' blog example linked here if you fancy tying the PPC in knots (read the 'very useful' paragraph and click on the blog):

http://thelawwestofealingbroadway.blogspot.com/2012/03/very-useful.html




P.S. Having said all that, I honestly hope your wife doesn't try that again! Families do NOT need to park in disabled bays (yes I have 4 children myself and also disability rights experience, professionally and personally). Disabled bays are a legal right, but P&C bays are just a pathetic PR exercise.

If there is no P&C bay empty than park in a normal one like everyone used to before these big stores thought of this gimmick! My 4 kids are close in age and I struggled with car seats, prams, etc plus toddlers at the same time and you don't actually need a P&C bay...certainly NOT a disabled bay.