Parking fine in McDonalds

SpendlessKaren

I have been sent a parking fine from a company called UKPC with pics of my car entering and leaving McDonalds.

The fine is £50 but I am beginning to wonder if I should pay this ?

thanks

HappyMJ

I wonder.... What were you doing there for so long? Was the food really that good you went back for more. maybe a mcflurry as well. read the paper for a while used the free internet and lost track of time..

don't pay it.

SpendlessKaren

It was actually left there while I car shared with a colleague to go to a meeting ...

It says if I don't pay in 14 days I will have to pay £100 and they got my details from DVLA

Browntoa

spend the £50 on more mcdonalds

you are the registered owner , hence the letter but they cannot enforce the "fine"

Sir_Roger_deLodger

SpendlessKaren wrote: »

I have been sent a parking fine from a company called UKPC with pics of my car entering and leaving McDonalds.

The fine is £50 but I am beginning to wonder if I should pay this ?

thanks

Its not a fine, just a request for money which you do not owe. Ignore UKPC but complain most strongly to McDonalds.

SpendlessKaren

Thank you I will ignore it

McKneff

Have a look at this.
Cut and pasted from another thread.
PRIVATE PARKING TICKETS - DON'T PAY!
IT IS NOT A FINE! YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING ILLEGAL!

This is an information page for the thousands of people who receive "tickets" from private companies in the UK ever day at supermarkets, retail parks, and in any other privately-owned carpark.

We are NOT encouraging anybody to openly flout parking restrictions on private land, or to refuse to pay reasonable charges for parking. Landowners have a right to make reasonable charges for the use of their land.

For advice specific to your case, you should visit the forums at http://forums.pepipoo.com or http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...affic-offences.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...play.php?f=163

1. What you should know about these companies

It is important to remember that private parking companies (or PPCs as they are often called) have NO OFFICIAL POWERS - that's right, none at all! They give out their "tickets" on the basis that you have seen the signs in their car park and that you have therefore agreed to a contract obliging you to pay a certain sum of money.


2. What happens to people who don't pay?

In 99.9% of cases, absolutely NOTHING! The company pays the DVLA £2.50 to get your address, and then sends lots of threatening letters. In the main, these letters can be safely IGNORED. The only way the company can actually force you to pay is by taking you to the small claims court, which costs them even more money. And they are by no means guaranteed to win! And they practically never do.

The two main reasons for this (among others) are the following:

- Only the person DRIVING the car could ever have agreed to any such parking contract. The company can only get the Registered Keeper's address from the DVLA: you don't have to tell them who was driving.

-Many of these charges are so extortionately high that they constitute a penalty, which is unenforceable in a consumer contract.


3. Can they affect my credit rating?

NO! The only way your credit rating could be affected by ignoring private parking companies is if you were taken to court, lost, and then still refused to pay. But they will not take you to court.


IN SHORT

The vast majority of the time, you can safely IGNORE tickets from private parking companies, they are not official fines.

The vast majority of the time, you can safely IGNORE the threatening letters, including those from debt collection agencies.

You DO NOT have to pay a penny of your hard-earned money to these companies. Remember that the chances of being taken to court are very slim indeed.

DO NOT IGNORE COURT PAPERS!
If you receive real court papers from a private parking company (very rare) then you should go to http://forums.pepipoo.com or http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...affic-offences for help defending the claim. Do not be afraid to sign up and ask questions regarding any paperwork you are not sure about.



Don’t believe the above? Watch a solicitor on Watchdog advising you what to do with the scam invoices.

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

THEY ARE NOT FINES

Only the Police, Courts or Council’s can fine you. NOT a private company, please remember that.

Sir_Roger_deLodger

The letters you will be ignoring can be seen in this thread.

SodG24

SpendlessKaren wrote: »

It was actually left there while I car shared with a colleague to go to a meeting ...

It says if I don't pay in 14 days I will have to pay £100 and they got my details from DVLA

Ignore and complain to the CEO :
[EMAIL="jill.mcdonald@uk.mcd.com"]jill.mcdonald@uk.mcd.com[/EMAIL]

SpendlessKaren

I'm not sure what I would say when complaining, apart from not being happy that they got my details from DVLA and took pictures of my car going in and out of the car park

kwaks

well dont mention that you left the car in their premises whilst you went to a meeting

Just point out that you are shocked that McD is party to these illegal harrassement letters which have no basis in law. Point out that Burger King sell similar products without feeling the need to threaten their customers!