APCOA Civil Parking Notice - Reading Train Station

rugbee

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum and just after a little bit of reassurance/advice after reading many of the great threads on the site.

Last week I was foolish enough to assume that by following 3 foot road markings saying FREE PARKING/Pick up & drop off meant what it suggested. I parked in the station and saw the sign that said free for 30 minutes or £4 for up to an hour so then made my way to the platform to pick up my girlfriend who was waiting for me. I then came back to find a ticket on my windscreen.

The notice is for: no valid payment (full ticket info below). I then noticed that on a seperate part of the sign there is a part saying all vehicles are to display a ticket.

What annoys me even more than this is the fact that the attendant watched me get out of the car and walk past him to the lift. So I'm of no doubt that this is just a money making scam for APCOA and no doubt the attendant gets a commision otherwise he could have quite easily pointed it out to me. He was nowhere to be seen when I returned.

The url: locus-online.co.uk/parking.jpg has a picture of the sign in the carpark. It seems quite obvious now but when your in a rush and somewhere new then it's easy to miss something that is seperate to the free part

I want to ignore this but don't want to end up with a big bill.... any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This is the contents of the notice:

CIVIL PARKING NOTICE

Notice Number: ######
Date of Issue: #####
Time of issue: 16:18
Time first seen: 16:17

Vehicle Reg: #####
Make: ##### Colour: WRONG!!

Was seen at location:
Reading Main CP Short Stay
On: ##### Time first seen: 16:17

By Parking Attendant: COMPLETE PLUM
Signature: I AM A PLUM

Who had reasonable cause to believe that the following parking contravention had occurred:

01 - No valid Payment

YOU ARE THEREFORE REQUIRED TO PAY A ENFORCEMENT CHARGE OF £80.00 WITHIN 30 DAYS BEGINING WITH THE DATE OF THE NOTICE. (SEE IMPORTANT NOTE ON THE REVERSE OF THIS NOTICE FOR ACTION THAT MAY BE TAKEN IF NO PAYMENT IS RECEIVED.)

A DISCOUNTED ENFORCEMENT CHARGE OF £50 WILL BE ACCEPTED IN SETTLEMENT OF THE ENFORCEMENT CHARGE IS PAYMENT IS MADE WITHIN 14 DAYS BEGINING WITH THE DATE OF NOTICE

The reverse simply gives payment details and the 'Important Note' is:

SHOULD PAYMENT NOT BE RECEIVED WITHIN THE SPECIFIED TIMES, A SUMMONS WILL BE ISSUED IN THE COUNTY COURT WHERE JUDGEMENT MAY BE SOUGHT FOR DEBT TO INCLUDE ANY AND ALL COSTS INCURRED IN RECOVERY :mad:


Thanks!

peter_the_piper

Had this been a ticket under the rail bylaws then the next stage would be magistrates court, any tickets warning about county court are private and can safely be ignored.

AlexisV

Ignore away. It's junkmail.

APCOA are well known scammers.

rose28454

My daughter got a parking ticket from Apcoa at Castle Cary station and it eventually was £175.00 and she got letters from Graham White solicitors. thanks to this site she ignored and it went away. They can only legally charge you what the ticket price was. Just ignore away.

Chloe_in_Henley

I have a similar problem. I assume the advice is the same but I am looking for reassurance. I ALWAYS pay things on time so this feels a bit odd. But I am very annoyed.

I paid my normal fee to park in Henley station earlier this week. I parked in the space left between two parked cars. The area is gravelled so no lines are painted.

Over the summer , small "corner" lines were painted on the tarmac just in front of the gravel. I had assumed these were guide marks.

So I was very surprised/cross to be given a ticket for "parking over two bays" when I did not even realised they were proper bays.

It is a Civil Parking Notice and they are threatening me with County Court.

I assume the advice is to do nothing and wait for the two letters from Martin White solicitors.

Advice/encouragement please.

Many thanks

peter_the_piper

Just a speculative invoice to see if you pay. It would never stand up in court as the saying goes. Ignore them and they go away quicker.