NGP Parking Charge Notice

Paulpuds

Hi, I parked in a retail park in cardiff for 30 mins on the 24/10/10. Today I received a penalty notice through my door for £75.

Reason

Parking on private property while not using the facilities at time of parking!

The fine will increase to £150 if not paid, they are also regulated by the BPA.

I did not see any signs explaining charges but it is possible I missed them. Is there anyway out of paying this. Martins site explains that these private company's are like cowboys.

Please HELP

dizzybuff

Did you buy a ticket , go into any of the shops ?

If so ignore it , load of old toff.

But if you had bought a ticket you would have seen a sign

however I still say ignore it .

lucylucky

Was it even possible to buy a ticket for the car park?

Anyway - just ignore.

Paulpuds

There is no ticket to be bought. They list you must use either pizza hut future ect to park here. I did not use these I used a restaurant at the other side of the car park

Paulpuds

There are signs up as ive just called pizza hut and the confirmed it, thing is ive seens signs for charges in my local asda, surely this is not on.

sarahg1969

Have a look on the parking board. This should put your mind at rest. Just file the notice away and wait for some more begging letters.

Paulpuds

Just found this maybe helpful for anyone else in my situation too.

Anyway im not paying it

1. Know your rights. If you simply have a paper ticket and you’re sure it isn’t from the police or council but from a private company, you should know that private tickets do not come under criminal law but under contract law with the private landowner and the driver of the vehicle. Any info you give to them to confirm that you’re the driver can be used against you in court, but unless your car was clamped or towed, it is unlikely that they will go to the trouble and expense of going to court.

2. Don’t pay. Paying up is pretty much the same as admitting guilt, and your chances of getting the money back become very slight. Most private parking firms make their money from the people who pay up because they think it is a real parking ticket, or those they harass or scare into paying it. If you ignore them, you may get a couple of template follow up letters threatening legal action. Worst case scenario you’ll get a couple of heavies sent your way (pretending to be baliffs when they are not), but you are under no legal obligation to follow up nor respond to these dirty scare tactics.

3. Forget appeals. According to Which?, the general consensus among legal experts and people is that you should not engage the private company at any time. The grounds for appeals, as summarized here on This Is Money, are often vague and non-applicable for many individuals. How likely is it that your car was stolen, or the Traffic Regulation Order was invalid? Of course, appealing is often one of the only routes if you had already paid, whether if your car was clamped or not. But the key is to avoid all that in the first place but not handing your wallet over.

4. Be willing to call their bluff. There are very few, if any cases of the companies taking court action when there has been no contact made with the private parking company. If you don’t engage them at all, they are faced with the added task of hunting you down so they can pursue the matter. Once they’ve got you on the hook, they’ll ratchet up the pressure to settle. If they threaten to take you to court, know that they are usually not successful, so calling their bluff (or just ignoring them) may be a worthwhile option.

5. Don’t get scared. If you don’t know whether a ticket you got is from the police or council or from a private parking company, know that police or council tickets will say so. Some sneaky private companies will design the sign to appear in the likeness of authority, but it doesn’t matter how many police shields the parking company prints on the ticket, it’s still not a police ticket unless it says so.

lucylucky

"The fine will increase" - always remember, it is not a fine.