Please help UKPC ticket I'm unsure !?

buder

Hello and thanks for looking at this post.

I am after some newbie advice please.

I've read some interesting threads in which the advise mainly has been to ignore these people but in my case I'm not sure that would be appropriate.

My wife parked at car park today and returned to a UKPC ticket for not parking within the marked bay correctly. I've seen the picture online it's plan as day and she was badly over the marked lines of the bay. Her excuse is it was empty she was running in and out, which I think is no excuse what so ever and rather pathetic.

Basically although I understand they are unscrupulous in their business practises etc in my mind I morally and legally should be paying this.

What do people think ?? I have no grounds to appeal if they do go further with it as she was clearly in the wrong, it could cost me much more which i may struggle to pay.

Thanks

The_Slithy_Tove

If you've read the other threads as you said, then you'll know the answer already.

The PPCs aren't moral in any way whatsoever, so don't believe for a moment you need to act morally towards them. And as for legally, the threads in this forum show that (a) they have no legal standing and (b) the PPCs are right on the edge of legality anyway.

Don't fret, ignore the threats, and carry on.

angel_islington

I usually try to give first time posters the benefit of the doubt but something about this

in my mind I morally and legally should be paying this

and this

she was clearly in the wrong, it could cost me much more which i may struggle to pay

does make me wonder if we are dealing with another PPC infiltrator.

buder

angel_islington wrote: »

I usually try to give first time posters the benefit of the doubt but something about this



and this



does make me wonder if we are dealing with another PPC infiltrator.

Let me assure you I am not a PPC infiltrator.

So let me get this right, she is not in the wrong despite the pic online and I am to ignore all communications.

I'm just dubious about the ignore it method maybe I need reassuring as everything I've always been told is to not ignore things like this.

angel_islington

She is not in the wrong.

Yes, ideally one would try to park inside the bay but on occasion that is not possible. By law, the landowner can only claim costs attributed to your wife's actions. Do you agree that parking outside the lines has cost the landowner the amount on the ticket?

fb1969

You and your wife's situation is no different to anyone else's when it comes to dealing with Private Parking Companies. I have no idea what you mean about being told not to ignore these things, so I am blatantly copying vax2002's post on the NCP thread in the hope it clarifies things for you:

You have not been given a parking ticket or a fine:
From a legal prospective what you have been given is an "invitation to pay a private invoice".
You are legally within your rights to reject the invitation and keep your money:
What will happen is they will buy your private data from DVLA and send a series of menacing letters threatening to take you to court and then more letters from fake debt collectors and fake solicitors again all threatening to take you to court.
They will not take you to court as legally they have no power to fine you or charge you a penalty.
In short it is a scam of impersonation of officialdom and empty threats.
HOW TO DEAL:
IGNORE everything, ignore all letters, ignore all fake solicitors letters and ignore all fake debt collectors.
They will get fed up and move on to another victim.
IGNORE Means exactly that IGNORE, you do not appeal, there is no appeal it is part of the scam, you do not bite back, do not write or do anything to correspond and they will go away, if they call your telephone, do not confirm any information place the handset down and leave it of the hook for ten minutes .
BE WARNED evidence on these and other forums clearly describes how people who do pay these hoping they go away receive further demands for more money, often several hundreds of pounds.

pogofish

Buder wrote: »

So let me get this right, she is not in the wrong despite the pic online and I am to ignore all communications.

So what makes you think an utterly meaningless pic online has any bearing on this matter at all?

Photo evidence ain't all its cracked up to be at the best of times and in the case of legit parking enforcement, it sits squarely at the bottom of the evidential chain. However in private parking, it is nowhere!

buder

Thank you everyone for the replies I feel a little more confident now in taking this advice.

Im sorry if I've upset anyone with my posts, when I saw the pic my first thoughts were I had to pay she is over the line but the post above about the land owner and costs associated with her being over the line hit the nail on the head For me.

I suppose what concerned me was the picture in my mind amounted to proof for which i don't have an answer to. However as people have clarified above I will ignore all correspondence.

Many thanks for the quick replies

Coupon-mad

Good, another newbie who has lost those rose-tinted spectacles that first of all made you think this was a real PCN from a 'normal' company providing a service of sorts. Now I hope you see that theirs is a scam 'industry' which has zero to do with parking management and the interests of the landowner/occupier, and everything to do with making easy money.

By their own admission, PPCs copy real PCNs and also copy the charges that Councils are allowed to make - and people fall for it. All in all it works very well for them because people every day think 'oh no, I have got a parking ticket, must appeal or pay quickly before the 'fine' goes up.'

There is no fine. This is not a parking ticket. They are pathetic, not your wife's parking skills!

Have a read of some other threads about private parking companies (PPCs); this board is so busy dealing with this scam that we get a whole new page of posts every single day, and tell everyone the same thing. You will notice a pattern to the replies on any PPC thread:

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

If you haven't read the sticky threads at the top yet, look at 2 of them. You need to see 'PPC letters, what to expect' for a preview of UKPC's scare tactics (idle threats, ignore). And you need to read 'welcome, please read before posting' and make sure you click on the Watchdog link. Once you have seen that you will be certain that this is just a scam - make sure your wife sees it too and the letter-chain preview so you are both ready to just play snap with each 'extortion attempt' scary letter.

Nothing happens except letters, this is just like a series of phishing emails only played out by post. Then after a few months of rubbish, the debt collectors give up and move on to a victim who actually writes to them and sets themselves up as a hooked fish. Do not be a victim.

Oh yes, and here's what UKPC are like. See the link below for a very recent case where they were taken to Court by Trading Standards for their business methods - a very admirable attempt but the jury didn't seem to 'get it' and only found them guilty on one count (still good to read though, to fully understand who you are dealing with):

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=63597

HTH

esmerobbo

If the car park was full it was inconsiderate at best. However was her horrendous crime of parking over two bays really morally worth a £50 penalty?

Sirdan

OP just ignore this.

As has been said they have no more right to fine you than I do.

Suppose I live at the end of a tight road where my drive is useful for people to turn their cars around.

So I put up a sign "No turning in my drive -charge £50"

Oh, and a video camera to film you ..then I pay DVLA £2.50 for your vehicle keeper details and send you an invoice for £50 for "turning in my drive" which has caused me no loss or damage whatsoever ?

Would you pay that ??? of course you would not.

Private Parking Companies are just like private individuals they have no legal statutory powers whatsoever.

IGNORE them or send me a PM and I'll have the £50.

O didn't you see the sign "If the OP reads this post they agree contractually to pay me £50".

See you in court !!! NOT :-):rotfl: