Aylesbury Shopping Park / UKPC

LincolnshireYokel

NogginScratcher wrote: »

Hi there - apologies for dusting an old thread down! I realise the advice here is emphatically to ignore UKPC's threats but having fallen into their trap today at the same Aylesbury carpark I am wondering, is there any sense at all in putting my case forward and asking them to repeal the charge? I feel I have a pretty good case but I obviously don't want to give them my address if they never repeal charges...

Either way, I am not going to pay it but I don't fancy several weeks/months of threatening letters.

You dont have a good case. They arent interested in what you have to say. There is no appeals process, only in name. They know they have no ability to make you pay, so they rely on you falling for the scam.

If you write, you've fell for the scam, and signaled they have a mug taken the bait., They will then try a bit harder with you to scare you into paying.

You owe them nothing. They have no legal ability to make you pay a penny in any case. The best plan, proven in thousands of cases, is to ignore them totally. After a while of sending you various postal rubbish, they will get the hint and give up.

give_them_FA

The alternative, which I believe works well in stopping the letters, is to take anything they send you; write "clear Off" (expurgated version) across it; and send it back to them in an envelope with no stamp. They soon get the message....

but the absolute WORST thing you can do is to try their phoney appeal system. It is non-existent and purely gives them an opportunity to pressure you; plus they think that you are taking their FAKE ticket seriously...

NogginScratcher

Thanks so much for your advice folks, very encouraging. In fact, I've gone from dreading several weeks of threatening letters to actually looking forward to them!

I've read around the forum a bit more since posting and now appreciate how many similar posts there are! Hats off to you all for your patience and persistence in advising people like me who've never encountered encountered a system like this. :T

I really feel for the people who pay up.

ManxRed

NogginScratcher wrote: »

I really feel for the people who pay up.

So do we!!

Spread the word, tell everyone you know about this. Education is the way to beat these scammers.

Wisperer

Kite2010 wrote: »

I hope that is one shopping park which has lost at least one customer for employing a protection racket to "manage" their free car-park.

At least 2 people. I got stung in March at the same place! I haven't paid and I haven't returned. A little note to Aylesbury Shopping Park..... I took my business elsewhere (amounting to several thousand pounds!!), enjoy the recession.

Wisperer

NogginScratcher wrote: »

Hi there - apologies for dusting an old thread down! I realise the advice here is emphatically to ignore UKPC's threats but having fallen into their trap today at the same Aylesbury carpark I am wondering, is there any sense at all in putting my case forward and asking them to repeal the charge? I feel I have a pretty good case but I obviously don't want to give them my address if they never repeal charges...

Either way, I am not going to pay it but I don't fancy several weeks/months of threatening letters.

NogginScratcher, boycott the place and take your money elsewhere The management of the park will get the message eventually, and get rid of UKPC.

Stephen_Leak

You should write to the car park owner, advising them that they’re "jointly and severally liable" for the actions of their agents and that any further actions by the private ticketing company would be regarded as harassment under the terms of The Protection from Harassment Act 1997. This might make the car park owner call off the private ticketing company and, maybe, also realise the potential cost of doing business with one.

There’s no point appealling to the private ticketing company. They usually reject them. What’s in it for them to let anyone off?

Just ignore everything you get from them. Eventually, they’ll run out of empty threats and stop throwing good money after bad.

NogginScratcher

Sorry, just catching up with this thread.

It was my first visit to Aylesbury Shopping Park - I've never been back and never plan to. I've avoided Wickes since, too - I know it's not directly their fault but I consider them complicit in this scam and won't shop there again.

I've had five letters to date, from three different companies - the later ones offering me a discount - presumably out of desperation to get me to give them something/anything. They're not getting a penny and if their threatening tones continue I'd be interested to know what I might be able to do to formally complain.

Extraordinary to think that my only 'crime' was to park in a free car park without displaying a free scraps of paper in my windscreen. If their pestering wasn't making me so angry, it'd be quite funny!

Coupon-mad

You are doing the right thing. Just play snap with the letters as they will match the pictures in our third from top thread 'PPC letter chains'. Soon they will all fizzle out.

But I would just complain to the retailer otherwise they will not know about your boycott and may think the parking situation is hunky-dory. It is only a number of complaints to the onsite companies - and a realisation about how this scam affects custom - that are likely to get PPCs kicked out of car parks.

Jimbuoy

I had a ticket from these idiots last year...

I can confirm that you just ignore their letters and they will go away.

This weekend my son got a ticket from them whilst waiting inline to get a ticket.... he'll be ignoring too.


Jim