Apoca parking fine Luton Airport info needed please

Sirdan

neilkc wrote: »

Hi
after having received a parking enforcement for dropping off a passenger in a non designated spot. I appealed to APCOA parking and said that i was the driver and signed the letter from myself. As I have now admitted being the driver should I pay the £80 or can I still ignore the letters as advised in this forum.

many thanks for any advice.

IGNORE.
APCOA don't do court ..I have ignored three of these ..last letter was six months ago
..they just move on to those who will pay..enough do to keep them in a tidy profit.:(

neilkc

Thats great advice, but I have admitted to being the driver of the car so do they have a case against me.

cheers

Sirdan

neilkc wrote: »

Thats great advice, but I have admitted to being the driver of the car so do they have a case against me.

cheers

Makes no difference, they don't actually have a case at all.

They can claim reasonable losses or damages only that is the law of Contract.

£80 in no way reflects their loss and they know it.

It is a penalty. Private companies can not levy penalties. Penalties are not allowed in consumer contracts.

The airports website and current signage even state there is a penalty of £80.

They can not win in court (and they know it).

That is why their whole business model relies on writing intimitading and misleading letter using a Debt Collection Agency..this convinces the unwary to pay ..official figures given to parliament for the industry state that in excess of 60% pay ..so why waste time and considerable cost with court cases they can not win ?

IGNORE.

Come back here for more advice if you find the wording of the letters you will receive unnerving.

Finally my last letter was over six months ago .fair to say they won't be taking me to court ..or they would have done so by now.

ninjasax

I have received one of these letters this morning. I went to Luton Airport to pick up my Mother-in-Law. I was aware that there was a charge for picking up and was willing to pay it but when I got to the airport, I could only see signs for the "drop off point". As I was picking up, I didn't want the "drop off point" as at other airports the arrivals and departures are in different places.

I then saw a big sign with "ARRIVALS" on the side of the building. I noticed there was a woman in uniform stood nearby so drove up to her and asked her where to go. She told me that the drop off and pick up was the same place but because I had entered the bus/coach area, I might get a fine in the post. I left within seconds of stopping and went round and picked up my Mother-in-Law, paid my pound and left. I did however notice that I had inadvertantly driven through an "Authorised Parking Only" sign but as I hadn't parked, I didn't see a problem.

The letter says the alleged contravention is "Entry into a restricted area". Should I also ignore these very low quality letters? They are no longer called "penalties" but now referred to as "charges".

Thanks

trisontana

Yes, just keep ignoring these clowns. If that woman did you the word "fine", then she was very wrong. Private companies can't impose fines.

Gordo82

I have the same problem having stopped for 10 seconds. My problem though is compounded the car is from a lease company and they have written:

I have received the enclosed notice from Apcoa Parking - Po Box 1010 as you will see, the above vehicle has incurred a fine. This notice has been sent to Lombard Vehicle Management, as we are the registered keepers of the vehicle. However, from the date on which the fine was incurred; it is apparent that the vehicle was in your possession.

Under the terms of your agreement, you are liable for any fine and you must pay any charges incurred by a vehicle whilst it is in your possession. Therefore, we have disclosed your details to the above-mentioned authority: l anticipate that they will now contact you in due course.

lf you contest the fine, l suggest that you contact the above-mentioned authority immediately- and inform them of this fact.

Please note: if you do not deal with the matter and Lombard receives further communications in relation to this fine; we may - at our discretion - pay the charge on your behalf. We reserve the right to recharge this sum plus an administration charge in accordance with the terms of your agreement.
lt you require any further information, please contact us on 0870 850 0057.

Yours faithfully,

What do I do? If they pay it and fine me they can collect the money from me by DD or they can affect my credit rating can't they??

To compound it - the delay in them getting the letter and sending it to me means that I am already outside of the 14 days to pay a reduced fee despite only receiving it this morning!!

Any advice please.

esmerobbo

I would write to Lombard agreeing with them that "FINES" are a legitimate charge that they can make on your behalf. However a breach of contract is a civil matter and they have no authority to pay it.

I would also be asking them why they passed your details to APCOA which has no authority to ask! Without asking you first.

As they have passed on your details to APCOA then they should contact you.

Of course APCOA will send the notice to hire/lease companies as they know sometimes they will just pay and charge the customer.

trisontana

And, of course, Apcoa Parking are not an "authority" , they are tin-pot private parking company with no more powers than you or I to demand money off people.

Gordo82

Thanks for the responses guys.

Quick question - if they refer it to a debt collector are they likely to be able to clamp the car and demand payment?

trisontana

Gordo82 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses guys.

Quick question - if they refer it to a debt collector are they likely to be able to clamp the car and demand payment?

Debt collectors (who are just private citizens with no special powers) cannot clamp a vehicle for an alleged debt. The only people who can do that are proper court bailiffs. Even then, they would only do that if the case goes to court (very unlikely) you lose (very, very unlikely) and then you refuse to pay whatever the judge orders with 28 days. This is such a remote possibility that it's not worth bothering about.

I am afraid that many people confuse debt-collectors with bailiffs, and private parking companies trade on that lack of knowledge to try and frighten people into paying up.