Private Car Park Fines may only be worth £4!

MasonJ

I have just read this and I think is important info for everyone:

"Additionally, you may be able to reduce any fine issued by a private company. Under contract law, they can only claim for any loss they have suffered because of your offence. They may try to claim a penalty of, say, £100, but in law they may only be entitled to any revenue they had lost. So, if you pay £2 to park for one hour, but stay for three hours, they can only claim for two hours of lost revenue, which is £4."

robredz

That is about it, but by demanding an unlawful penalty on an invoice for £100 or whatever, they have forfeited any right to the £4 imho so that is why the advice is to ignore. the law does not consider trifles, so any court action to recover £4 would be viewed as vexatious, this along with the unlawful penalty is why a PPC does't usually do court. Instead they rely on a letter chain of threats and intimidatory notices increasing the "debt" (it doesn't exist except in their tiny minds) Their notices are full of "may" "might" "could" and any number of ifs buts and maybes, but it is all part of the scam to part someone from their mobey. There are more who pay than those who don't so when someone ignores them several letters later they go on to the next prospect. A bit like door knocking bottom feeder DCAs who have bought Statute barred or other largely uncollectable debt and chance their arm to try to collect

RENEGADE_2

The information you present is correct. It sounds to me though that you would consider offering this sum to them. Why? Pay nothing and get away with it!

If the truth be told, they can claim for slightly more: envelopes, stamps and DVLA request. But this cannot lump it up too much. As for free car parks - they are just wasting their time.

The sad thing is, we are dealing with rogues whose only interest is to rob any unsuspecting and vulnerable person that they can. They've been compared to cold callers but they are closer to these cowboy workmen who harass old people to the point of death threats - they start by telling them that their roofing is illegal, you must go with them because they are cheapest and it's pointless looking elsewhere; when you tell them you'll consider it, they start getting peevish and eventually resort to threats of violent retribution. Would these idiots at PPCs be much different given the chance? Let's face it, they knock on people's doors and phone them.

MasonJ

And furthermore on the consumer forums:

"For a private company to take your freind to court, they first have a few hurdles to overcome. Another hurdle is that they would have to convince the court that this is not a fine or penalty. They can however, recover any losses or damages which they have 'suffered' from your friend parking in their car park. Now I would guess that the 'charge' they are attempting to recover is between £70 and £150. I think any judge would consider that this would be disproportinate to any losses incurred and would consider it to be a fine and as such makes it non-recoverable under current English law".

AlexisV

Yep, but remove the word 'offence' from your first post.

fb1969

No disrespect to the OP but you are only posting what is already known and/or what has been posted here or elsewhere in the past.

You first post appears to have been lifted from this page http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-1708393/How-fight-parking-ticket.html (without acknowledgement of the source) and your second post is a reduced version on one from here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?306230-CPS-legal-proceedings-threatened

MasonJ

As you will see what I posted is in quotes, indicating these are not my original lines. I did try to post the links with my posts but the forum would not permit it because I am a newbie! I have not "lifted" these quotes as one of you has unkindly suggested. Its the forum's fault for stopping me from acknowledging the source!

fb1969

The areas you have posted about have been covered on here before and there is a lot of "cross posting" between here and the CAG forums when items of interest have come up.

It is a free forum and it was not my intention to cause any offence, which is why I stated "no disrespect".