CP Plus - advice

jocroz

My husband met a colleague in a Roadchef in Chester for a business meeting. Lo and behold 3 weeks later we get a letter from CP PLus stating our vehicle was parked for more than the free 2 hours allowed. My husband checked with his business colleague to verify what times they were there and he confirms they did not stay beyond the allowed 2 hours. I wrote disputing tnhe offence and asked for the photographic evidence they said they had. This came through to me the other day - a photograph of the car supposedly entering the car park and another leaving. There is no clock attached to these photos ( as you would on a digital camera) but there was a small spreadsheet stating the time of arrival at the top of the page etc and the offence details. Surely if the photographic evidence is supposed to prove the offence then a digital clock with precise date should be shown within the photograph. I have read lots of forum complaints about CP PLus which generally all say to ignore them but at the same time I do not want to end up with a ccj, also as the car is a lease car the lease company is charging £30 as the "offence" was sent through to them and they had to write to us to pass it on. Serious advise please - is this a scam???, can i really ignore it and not pay???

AlexisV

[TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM].
No you do not have to pay.
The charge is unenforceable.
You will not be taken to court.
You will not get a CCJ.

You need to dig out the exact wording of your lease agreement. You need to fight your lease company as they are the ones ripping you off. CP Plus are just parasites to be disregarded.

peter_the_piper

There are lots of posts for cpplus if you do a search, all have the same advice as above.

Coupon-mad

Do as Alexis says and read those t&cs from the car hire company.

Chances are they did NOT have to pass your details on to a third party except regarding a real penalty charge/fine from the Police or a Local Authority (Council).

They have passed your details on to a random third party private company just because said scammers have sent them a spurious, unenforceable invoice - you need to get tough with the hire company! Once you are sure their t&cs don't cover private charges (which are NOT fines) I would be complaining, pointing out it's against their t&cs and it is also a Data Proctection Act breach that they have released your details to an unauthorised third party.

Don't let the hire company hide behind t&cs that relate ONLY to real fines/penalties. A parking charge notice is not a fine nor a penalty. If you are unsure please post up the wording of your hire contract where you/they think it allows them to take this £30. I would be amazed if their t&cs allow them to take it for anything except a real penalty from the Council or Police.

Read this Fleet News link below. The hire company's Fleet Manager should be aware of this sort of [TEXT DELETED BY FORUM TEAM]. Use a printout of the Fleet news link to support your complaint and point out the error of the hire company's ways:

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

This has been posted about before several times here, a search gives these other threads:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/search.php?searchid=88046035

Finally, make it clear to the hire company that you will not be paying the [TEXT DELETED]. Insist that the hire co. return your money and over the coming months insist that they either bin or pass on to you any other letters received on the matter. Obviously just ignore any threatograms sent direct to you.