Help Me PLEASE

Bosstunez

Hi
I recieve a parking fine through the door this morning from Highview. I phoned them up straight away as I was panicked incase I was in trouble. after reading bits on here I want some advice as to what i do next....i sent them the below email and am now !!!!!!!! it incase I have t pay...

Hi

Today i have recieved a parking fine through the post. I have contacted yourselfs via telephone and have been advised that i was 24 Mins late leaving the car park. After getting incontact with the local citens advice that have advised me to contact yourselfs with and appeal and explanation as to why i was late.

I parked in the car park to goto the shops with my partner and child and i DID return back to my car on time and before the 3 hour limit. When trying to leave my car would not start as the battery was flat. I had to ask a member of the public that was passing by assist me in pushing my car to bump start it. I have had that many problems with the car i have no got rid of it (2 days after this) and have a new one. I have never broken the law before and i was under the impression i was ok as i had got to the car park before the 3 hours. I think it is very unfair that i am getting charged £75 for the sake of 24 mins and even more unfair as my extended stay was no my fault. The car park was not busy and i was not stopping anybody parking and causing the shops in the car park a loss of any business. I am aware that there are signs in the car park warning me of the fines etc but again i would like to stress that i was there on time, just had problems starting my car.

I took the car to a local garage (who i ended up selling the car to) and he has said that he is willing to confirm that i went there with regards to the starting problem on that day.

I am even more fustrated at the fact that i get paid the day after the £50 cut off (29th march) and am going to have to pay another £25 due to 1 day.

PLEASE can you advise me what to do? I am willing to get proof that my car needed a new battery and this caused my car not to start, i have NEVER broken the law with my car(s) and would like you to reconsider the fine. I feel the charges are VERY UNFAIR as it works out at £3.12 a min.

Please can you confirm reciept of this email ASAP and also confirmation as to what i do next.

Thankyou




What do I do now??? Please PLEASE help!

Kite2010

Highview parking, ignore it

You were 29 minutes late leaving the car-park, if it was a free car-park then you owe them nothing, if it was a pay & display car-park than you owe them whatever 29 minutes is on the displayed P&D tariff (ie 1 hour = 60p, you owe 29p).

You will probably get an email back saying "sorry, appeal rejected".

So ignore Highview and ignore the shops which are silly enough to employ them to "mismanage" their car-park.

pogofish

1 - This is not a fine.

2 - You have not broken any law.

3 - Stop taking these jokers seriously!

4 - You do not need witnesses or any kind of supporting evidence.

5 - And most importantly of all, just ignore completely, the less contact you have with them, the sooner the scam will end.

6 - Check the letter chain sticky at the top of ths board to see what to expect from them next - It is one of the more pathetic letter chains out there.

Lastly, tell everyone you know about this scam and see they know that they can cheerfully ignore it.

give_them_FA

Mate- you have mistaken this bunch of con artists for people who you should be worried about!

They are NOT the Police! They are NOT the Council! They are NOBODY and they do not have any right to try to fine you!

As Pogofish says, DO NOT TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY!

They really think they have hooked a sucker with you- prove them wrong, do not EVER speak to them, e mail them, or write to them again!

You don't have to pay them one penny, so DON'T!!

Just ignore all their bullsh*t from here on and you will be fine.

They will send you a few letters, then realise you weren't a sucker after all, and WILL go away.

Guaranteed!

McKneff

Read the above, take it all in,

Breathe and relax......................

Sleep well, they cant do a thing, keep coming back on here for reassurance if you want to but please, just ignore these jokers.

give_them_FA

And just to point out you had a lucky escape. The way I read your post, had they left it at £50 you would have paid it? Luckily they were greedy enough to try for £75 so you came here.....

Now give them FA!

(That's NOTHING in case you didn't know.....)

McKneff

or eff all lol

Driver8

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/forum/parking-traffic-offences.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.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/forum/parking-traffic-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.

give_them_FA

The only issue I would point out with your otherwise excellent analysis, Driver, is that it isn't necessary to migrate elswhere if you get real Court papers. Certainly I would not be recommending CAG on that score, the standards of advice in dealing with Court claims can be very variable. And that isn't any sour grapes because I do still visit there; but unfortunately there are a few woolly thinkers over there, and they tend to dominate.

Coupon-mad

You actually phoned them up in case you were in trouble??!! :eek:

See, that's how come these scams work. Wise up.

Citizens Advice don't realise that you cannot 'appeal' to a scam. Their advice on this issue is shocking and I would complain about it. They have basically told you to give some information to a scammer!

Bosstunez

I didn't see the cab. I put it in there to show I was seeking advice. I will ignore them from now on as I now know they can do jack