Help! Parking Charge Notice Received whilst out of country

Herbiesmate

Hi there,

I am looking for some advice as my mum and dad have received a PCN from TPS on behalf of UK Car Parks (or something like that).

My parents were away in Canada when they received this and have only just returned to threat letters etc. My understanding is that they need not worry but I want to outline the situation so that I can rest assured. The car was parked in a car park and a ticket purchased for 2 hours parking, without realising this time limit was exceeded. The letter states there is photographic evidence that the car was parked for 2hr 41min and is therefore liable for a charge which was £90 and is now £110 due to non reply from my parents.

How the heck could they reply? they were out of the country for starters and I would have advised them not to anyway!

Can anyone help me out with what I/we should do next please?

Many thanks

peter_the_piper

Absolutely nothing, don't contact, appeal, reply etc.

Herbiesmate

Really? I would if it were me without a doubt and wouldn't think twice about it! As this is my parents I want to make doubly sure if I can as they would be very upset if everything were to turn out ugly....

peter_the_piper

Search a few of the posts on here to see this is exactly the same advice given to all private car parks.

McKneff

Show your parents this. I have to point out it is cut and pasted from another thread.

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.

Herbiesmate

Thanks very much for that, I have just sat down and told them over the phone. It transpires that there is also another one (from the same town, different car park) and dad in his wisdom has emaled the debt collection agency asking if they would revert to the original figure and it is his understanding that he would pay that then claim it back through the small claims court!!!! Is the course of action to cease any correspondence even if they reply to this or has the meere facthe has entered into dialogue....

Sorry have just been iterrupted by a phone call from my dad, who tells me he has just heard back from them. He actually told them he wanted to appeal the charge (from looking at other threads and forums this is a mistake as it admits liability?) and they have replied stating that the appeal was unsuccessful as they asked him to produce receipts from the shops my mother went into. He had actually written a reply to that but thankfully hadn't sent it before he went to Canada!

So I guess I just need to know if he should reply to them (I am of the thinking that he shouldn't) or if he should just ignore anything further and not enter into any more discussion with this firm?

It just keeps getting better!!

Many thanks

Coupon-mad

Just ignore the letters completely. Look at all the links already provided to you, read up on the scam.

Read the sticky info threads by Crabman (top of this forum).

Show Mum & Dad the Watchdog clip and the letter chains thread. It's easy to understand what this is if you read the info we have here and show Mum & Dad what you find (Watchdog clip is key).

Tell them to stop taking the bait, stop replying.

esmerobbo

If your Dad wants to challenge them in court let them do the work and take him, then he can win and claim expenses. However there is one small glitch apart from a few letters nothing else will happen. Your Dad wont get his day in court.:o It will go the same way as many thousands, lots of threats and intimidation,then zilch!!

Herbiesmate

Thanks very much for all your help guys, it has confirmed what I suspected all along and has given my parents the reassurance that I know what I am talking about! Safe to say the will no longer be entering into any conversations with these idiots!