fine paid by 3rd party - any redress?

stuartc_2

I have just been presented with an invoice by my employer which is to be deducted from my next salary.

My employer has paid on my behalf an invoice from the leasing company which owns my company car. The invoice was for £73.50 which is made up of a £50 parking fine plus £20 admin fee plus £3.50 VAT on the admin fee. The £50 charge is for a Parking Charge Notice incurred at MOTO Services at Wetherby.

Does anyone know if I can challenge this fait accompli?

Quentin

Is there anything in your contract allowing your employer to do this?

If you are in a union, talk to them. Otherwise you need to decide whether souring relations is worth the fight. If you aren't bothered about relations, then you might get somewhere raising a grievance.

Coupon-mad

Yep, check the wording of your contract terms, post it up here if unsure. And ask your employer exactly where in those terms and/or their lease agreement does it allow the lease hire firm to pay a spurious invoice from a private company? For it IS NOT a real penalty charge notice.

If it says they can deduct 'parking fines/penalties' then that does NOT cover them to deduct a private charge from a private company. Show your employer and the lease company this link, maybe they'll believe a Fleet News article. Print it off to show them that the charge was a scam invoice:

http://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/2009/5/28/question-private-parking-fines-fleets-urged/30698/

There have been a couple of other threads like this recently. In both cases the lease terms did NOT allow the firm supplying the car to pay a private parking company charge (only real fines/penalties from Local Authorities or the Police). In both cases the posters are taking the matter up with the lease companies (as they had hired the vehicles direct) and can take them to Court if need be.

Do not take this lying down. Put it in writing to the HR Manager that you dispute and deny that this is even an enforceable charge (it's not, it's a scam in fact) and dispute that they can deduct a fake/private invoice charge from your salary. Look very carefully at the wording in any reply they give, what do they call the 'parking penalties' that they THINK they can deduct from your salary?

And it was never up to the lease co. to pay it. Any alleged private parking 'contract' is the responsibility of the driver (and because it's a scam you would never have paid it would you?).

Coblcris

The exact (relevant) terms of the lease for the vehicle are critical. Please post them here.

ttlowton

just google this, not quite the same but may give you some tip's,
"Tasneem Patel’s victory in Preston County Court"
good luck,
T.

Coupon-mad

ttlowton wrote: »

just google this, not quite the same but may give you some tip's,
"Tasneem Patel’s victory in Preston County Court"
good luck,
T.

Oh yes, I was looking for that case the other week and couldn't find it. Thanks, it is relevant to the OP as it was a car from a lease company who paid the charge without bothering to check it out. It was a strange one, as I would have thought it would have been easier to take the lease co. to Court under the circumstances...or both.

Full link:

http://www.lep.co.uk/news/trainee_solicitor_wins_parking_ticket_case_for_brother_1_777088

QUOTE
'Riyaz had no idea he had been ticketed until the company from which he had leased his Honda Civic wrote him a letter, asking him to reimburse them as they had paid his fine*.'
QUOTE



*Of course, as we know it's not a 'fine' but reporters never seem to know that.

stuartc_2

Thanks everyone for your input. I will check my contract of employment but I dont have access to the leasing agreement. My initial thoughts are to do as coupon-mad suggests and write to HR, but I will give it some thought over the weekend.