Misleading BBC Story-PPC Tickets

trisontana

Take a look at this , and see how many mistakes about private parking tickets you can find. There is a follow up feature about this at 9 o'clock this morning on BBC Breakfast.Get your emails in new to try and get the truth across.

xbox_99

I've been watching this on the bbc this morning.

Very interesting and confusing...

trisontana

What the reporter should have said was that these tickets are unenforceable and can be ignored. End of story!

Sir_Roger_deLodger

Email sent.
Not that I expect the BBC to take any notice!

agrinnall

I also sent an email and suggested that they direct people to MSE or even better get Martin on to explain what they clearly couldn't be bothered to find out.

trisontana

agrinnall wrote: »

I also sent an email and suggested that they direct people to MSE or even better get Martin on to explain what they clearly couldn't be bothered to find out.

Or even take a look at the Watchdog paper aeroplane clip.

Tigsteroonie

Hey, they just read out my text verbatim - "privately issued tickets are invoices not fines, and can simply be ignored". (They didn't read out the bit mentioning Pepipoo or MSE for information)

Of course the man from the AA disagreed and said that by parking where there is a sign, you entered into a contract and should pay a reasonable amount.

agrinnall

Unbelieveable, Edmund King clearly has little idea what he's talking about and has made things even more confusing than they were before he came on. You'd think the head of the AA might have a bit more knowledge of the subject. I suggest doing what I intend to, which is making a complaint to Newswatch via the BBC website.

peter_the_piper

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

Of course the man from the AA disagreed and said that by parking where there is a sign, you entered into a contract and should pay a reasonable amount.

To a certain point he is correct, you would be happy to pay a "reasonable" amount. Its just that the amount charged by ppc's is not reasonable and is in reality a penalty and not allowable.

ps. I did email as well with all the usual points.

agrinnall

I've just sent the message below to Newswatch, if more MSE fans do the same maybe they will get Martin to give a sensible view.

Today's items on Breakfast (and now the BBC News website) about private parking tickets was one of the shoddiest pieces of TV reporting I've seen for a long time. The report made it seem that private companies can issue fines on motorists who park contrary to their rules - this is totally incorrect. Only a court, local authority or the police can issue a parking fine, private companies can only request that you pay a parking charge. This can only be enforced if they take you to court and the court agrees that the charge was reasonable. Five minutes research would have shown that companies NEVER take it as far as court, their solicitors issue threatening letters but if these are ignored they eventually drop it. I did email BBC Breakfast to tell them to look at the Money Saving Expert website or as Martin Lewis for an opinion but instead they brought in Edmund King who clearly didn't have a good grasp of the subject and just muddied the waters further. I suggest you get the news editor and Martin Lewis together to give the public some real information rather than half truths and irrelevant nonsense.

sarahg1969

agrinnall wrote: »

Only a court, local authority or the police can issue a parking fine, private companies can only request that you pay a parking charge.

Maybe I'm being pedantic, but...

In fact, only a court can issue a fine. Local and other authorities and the police can issue penalty notices, which can be challenged in court. If the penalty is upheld by the court, the court would issue a fine.