Excessive resident parking ticket

Hesh

Last week, my pensioner father has received a parking fine from a private parking company for £150 (discount of 50% if paid in 14days). He had his car parked in his own residents bay, and has done so for the last 4months, and whilst he was in his flat, the parking control came to inspect the parking bay.
On this occasion the permit was not displayed as it had fallen on the floor and he has been given a fine. However he has displayed the paper permit since he has moved in - he's never had a ticket before!
Can anyone advise what I may do to help? My father has appealed directly to the company, and they will not cancel the ticket.
What else can we do? £150 for a fallen permit seems ludicrous. I would appreciate any advice - my father is in a state over it.
Many thanks.

peter_the_piper

Please tell him to relax, he owes precisely nothing. I presume his deeds/lease shows that he has the use of the bay so therefore they cannot frighten him into paying them. Tell him to ignore them. Others will be along soon to say the same.

isplumm

Hi,

Which private company is it - check the stickies above for letters you will be getting.

Ignore all letters - don't communicate with them in any way - they can not fine you - only the council / police can do that.

Mark

McKneff

Exactly, Tell him to ignore everything they send him, they will threaten, they will say 'we MAY take you to court, we MAY do this, we MAY do that, but eventually they will get fed up of being ignored and stop.

Hesh

Thanks very much - there is notice displayed in the car park that states all permits must be on display - perhaps I need to get all the details before ignoring as he will be nervous of "visitors" appearing asking for money. Should he continue disputing? They have written to inform him of more costs being incurred as it moves to another department (I take it, debt collection agency)

taffy056

It never ceases to amaze me that these cowboys preying on people on their own land are harassed by scammers, it's akin to coming on your driveway and giving an invoice, what damned right do these sods have to come on to someone else's property and demand payment ?

Really OP get your father on here looking at how these companies operate, just educate him into the scam of private parking companies.

McKneff

Show your dad 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.

Tell your Dad to relax and sleep well.

Hesh

Parking company is Security Solutions Wilmslow. Will this company be allowed to take him to court? Will it affect credit rating?

taffy056

Sit him down and view these videos on the thread below

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3164256

Sir_Roger_deLodger

Hesh wrote: »

They have written to inform him of more costs being incurred as it moves to another department (I take it, debt collection agency)

They don't have another department, all the letters come from the same portacabin. He will incur zero costs if he ignores them.

isplumm

Hesh wrote: »

Parking company is Security Solutions Wilmslow. Will this company be allowed to take him to court? Will it affect credit rating?

They will not be taking him to court - so his credit rating will not be affected!!!

They will I suspect threaten him with debt collectors - these are just ordinary people like you & I - they are NOT bailiffs ...

Just tell him to ignore & move on with his life ...

Mark