Euro Car Parks - £50 parking fine

blizeH

Hi,

I've got a £50 parking fine from Euro Car Parks. There was a limit of 2 hours maxium stay which I knew about, but (stupidly) chose to ignore since it was a Sunday and the car park was really rather quiet.

Since I was in the wrong, should I just pay it and be done with it? I notice there are a lot of cases on here and the concencus is always without a doubt to ignore them, but since I actually was in the wrong, and knew I was, I don't have a leg to stand on right?

Cheers

Kite2010

1 - It's not a fine, just a mere invoice
2 - Ignore the invoice and any resulting letters

Was it a free car-park?
In that case the total damages the landowner can seek for you trespassing is zero as they haven't suffered any damages.

So ignore, ignore and oh yeah ignore some more.

Coupon-mad

blizeH wrote: »

Hi,

I've got a £50 parking fine from Euro Car Parks. There was a limit of 2 hours maximum stay which I knew about, but (stupidly) chose to ignore since it was a Sunday and the car park was really rather quiet.

Since I was in the wrong, should I just pay it and be done with it? I notice there are a lot of cases on here and the consensus is always without a doubt to ignore them, but since I actually was in the wrong, and knew I was, I don't have a leg to stand on right?

Cheers

Wrong!

What makes you think a private firm who do not own the land can issue a fine? They cannot.

Two years ago I got a ECP bogus parking ticket when my car was parked for 3 hours in a 2 hour limit car park. Did I pay them, did I heck as like! I still park there weekly and often stay for 4 or 5 hours when sale shopping this time of year. I haven't been lucky enough to get another one of their rubbish fake PCNs though...shame...I do try...!

Just because you may be the registered keeper of a car and will receive a few letters from Control Account does NOT mean that ECP can enforce the 'charge'. They cannot enforce this so-called ticket, it is not a real one and they know it.

Did you know that ECP never, ever do Court? They rely on some mugs paying up. Don't be a mug, this is a cowboy industry, Martin Lewis said so himself (see my new signature).

IGNORE IT AND THE 3 LETTERS THAT WILL FOLLOW. NOTHING HAPPENS, NO CCJ, NO EFFECT ON YOUR CREDIT RATING, NO CLAMPING OF YOUR CAR, NO COURT, NO BAILIFF, ZILCH.

peter_the_piper

If you feel at all guilty and want to spend the money then send it to your favourite charity. you know that the money will at least do some good there.

blizeH

Thank you all so much, especially like the suggestion above ^

JSAH

My mums friend has received a letter saying she has to pay £50 for parking in a disabled bay in Sainsbury's car park without displaying a disabled badge. Unfortunately my mum, who is the disabled person with the badge, forgot to put her badge in her friends car windscreen. My mum feels obliged to pay the £50 so her friend can rest easy but now I have seen all this information do you think we should appeal the letter and not pay up?:mad:

trisontana

JSAH wrote: »

My mums friend has received a letter saying she has to pay £50 for parking in a disabled bay in Sainsbury's car park without displaying a disabled badge. Unfortunately my mum, who is the disabled person with the badge, forgot to put her badge in her friends car windscreen. My mum feels obliged to pay the £50 so her friend can rest easy but now I have seen all this information do you think we should appeal the letter and not pay up?:mad:

She should just ignore. The blue-badge scheme does not apply to private car-parks. In fact the supermarket and their parking company are probably in breach of the DDA for discriminating against a disabled person.

She has done nothing wrong and does not owe anyone a penny. The so-called "appeals" process is a sham, because it's not independent (it's done in-house). The only letter that should be written is one to the supermarket complaining about its treatment of a disabled customer.

esmerobbo

Do as advised write to the Supermarket, but don't appeal it will only encourage them.

Coupon-mad

JSAH wrote: »

My mums friend has received a letter saying she has to pay £50 for parking in a disabled bay in Sainsbury's car park without displaying a disabled badge. Unfortunately my mum, who is the disabled person with the badge, forgot to put her badge in her friends car windscreen. My mum feels obliged to pay the £50 so her friend can rest easy but now I have seen all this information do you think we should appeal the letter and not pay up?:mad:

If your Mum pays this charge (not a fine) she has been had.

If her friend pays the charge she has been had.

I know it goes against the grain but they must just ignore Euro and the 3 letters her friend will be sent by Control Account. I'm just an ordinary Mum of 4 kids but have my copies of those letters here in my handbag right now, from 2 years ago. I show them to friends & colleagues occasionally to convince them that it's all just a cowboy industry and no-one should pay these.

You can see the exact Euro Letter chain on our sticky thread at the top of the board (see my signature, just click on the blue link above to see the whole board). Print off the pictures of each letter and hand them personally to your Mum's friend so she can just play snap with them (she must NOT read them and get scared by the threats of litigation). Nothing happens in the end.

Your Mum's friend was NOT fined, show them both this Watchdog advice:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAIcdi9niHA

BUT - you and/or they should write a complaint letter to the Sainsburys Store Manager, they should get ANGRY about this level of harassment to paying, genuinely disabled customers! It is unacceptable, a disabled passenger has the LEGAL RIGHT to have the car parked in that bay, under the 'reasonable adjustments' section of the DDA.

The law does NOT say that a disabled person has to show any sort of permit to make use of a retailer's DDA adjustments. Indeed the info Blue Badge Holders get clearly tells them that these Badges do not apply on private land! Euro Car Parks are making it up as they go along just to make it easy for them to prey on people (disabled or not).

Sainsburys also reckon they can 'fine' people (their word on their leaflet) for parking in a parent and child bay without a child. Hmmmm...how exactly can they tell which car arrived with a child, or is maybe PICKING up a shopper with a child, or even guess who qualifies as a child when they reckon their age limit is twelve? No child car seats would be in the car for 12 year olds, nor for babies using the car seat in the trolley or buggy, so how can the PPC tell?

They cannot so they just guess and issue fake PCNs anyway, as they have with your Mum's friend.

I really hope that your Mum and her firned fully understand, after looking at the info, letters, Watchdog & all, that PPC bogus tickets are not real fines, just part of a widespread generic scam. If they pay they are mugs, victims, lining the pockets of fat cats running a cowboy industry.

There is no risk in ignoring Euro Car Parks, tell them that categorically. Euro NEVER do Court.

cloud_9

blizeH wrote: »

Since I was in the wrong, should I just pay it and be done with it? I notice there are a lot of cases on here and the concencus is always without a doubt to ignore them, but since I actually was in the wrong, and knew I was, I don't have a leg to stand on right?

In a similar situation to the above, I went to a local cinema the other week that is located on a retail park, but the car park was very busy and there were no other spaces available other than disabled bays at the time we entered, so we took a bit of a gamble and chose to park in a disabled bay...needless to say, when we came out of the cinema, we found the parking charge notice, issued by Euro Car Parks, attached to the windscreen.

Again, because I am actually in the wrong, should I still ignore the charge and any subsequent letters from them?

trisontana

cloud_9 wrote: »

In a similar situation to the above, I went to a local cinema the other week, but the car park was very busy and there were no other spaces available other than disabled bays at the time we entered, so we took a bit of a risk and chose to park in a disabled bay...needless to say, when we came out of the cinema, we found the parking charge notice attached to the windscreen.

Again, because I am actually in the wrong, and knew I was, should I still ignore the charge and any letters from them?

Just ignore. Though you may have morally "in the wrong" by parking in that space, don't forget that the blue-badge scheme does not apply to private land. This is a private parking company, and the only money they can claim off you under civil law is the actual material loss suffered by the land-owner. Anything else would be considered an unfair penalty and would be illegal.