APCOA and Graham White Solicitors

Bluediamond

I am a Residential Permit holder for a First Great Western Car Park operated by APCOA
Had the permit years, lived there (opposite station) for over 25 years
I had a ticket on my car two months ago, wrote to APCOA as my car had been in for MOT and I had removed the permit from the windscreen and put it in the glove box, and they said I couldnt appeal!
Fine of £80 then came about as I refused to pay the original £50
They are now having a go at my husband who parks his car in a lay by (not on FGW Land) and Graham White Solicitors are writing with Court Summons!
I even sent APCOA 21 photos of other cars parked at the station with no permit or ticket displayed and they are still talking about court action!
They are bullies and Apoca are rubbish at "Customer" service so much so that I have wound myself up in knots over this and its not worth it!
Can they have a go if I am already a paid up permit holder who "Forgot" to display it after my car was delivered back from the garage? Idiots!!
Any advice would be gratefully received

spiro

If the car park requires permit holders to display the permit then they are entitle to penalise those who don't display a permit. How enforceable it is I don't know.

Why did you remove the permit when you had the car MOT'ed?

Premier_2

Bluediamond wrote: »

I am a Residential Permit holder for a First Great Western Car Park operated by APCOA
Had the permit years, lived there (opposite station) for over 25 years
I had a ticket on my car two months ago, wrote to APCOA as my car had been in for MOT and I had removed the permit from the windscreen and put it in the glove box, and they said I couldnt appeal!
Fine of £80 then came about as I refused to pay the original £50
They are now having a go at my husband who parks his car in a lay by (not on FGW Land) and Graham White Solicitors are writing with Court Summons!
I even sent APCOA 21 photos of other cars parked at the station with no permit or ticket displayed and they are still talking about court action!
They are bullies and Apoca are rubbish at "Customer" service so much so that I have wound myself up in knots over this and its not worth it!
Can they have a go if I am already a paid up permit holder who "Forgot" to display it after my car was delivered back from the garage? Idiots!!
Any advice would be gratefully received

Advice?

Don't park there again, or if you do ensure the valid permit is displayed in the windscreen not hidden in the glove box

Simples! :cool:

Obukit

Your mistake was trying to reason with them so far. Graham White are well known for sending out tons of letters threatening legal action, but never following through. They work on the basis that a small percentage will get scared and pay, and they've only wasted £1.50 in postage on the rest.

File the letters away. Don't reply. Don't worry. Nothing will come of it, in the vanishingly unlikely event they ever take it to court they will lose or get a token amount in compensation.

Bluediamond

Obukit, thanks for your CONSTRUCTIVE post. I had heard that Graham White were nasty people but couldnt find any recent posts on this.
Premier and Spiro, I am not thick so please dont patronise!

Joe_Horner

spiro wrote: »

Why did you remove the permit when you had the car MOT'ed?

Possibly because the permit obstructed vision according to the "one size fits all" MOT windscreen damage / stickers regs?

spiro

Bluediamond wrote: »

Premier and Spiro, I am not thick so please dont patronise!

Thick - maybe not, stupid - possibly, forgetful - definitely yes otherwise why would you fail to display your permit like you have done for years.

I still dont understand why you would remove it in the first place just for an MOT, having the windscreen replaced I could understand.

worried_jim

Just ignore all there letters, there is nothing they can do and they are all empty threats- do not engage in anymore contact from these clowns. By the way there is no Graham White solicitors (well there is, but not working here and he is suing them over the use of his name) it is just another letterhead from the debt collection agency.

Crabman

I've moved this thread over to the Parking board

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com"]forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

ManxRed

OK, you're on the right forum now.

Firstly, ignore spiro and Premier, who for some reason seem to want to antagonise you rather than offer constructive advice.

The truth is that Graham White is a trading name for Michael Sobell, a retired solicitor who used to work for one of the London Councils. In reality, his solicitor status is used by a company called Roxburghe's, a firm of Debt Collectors, to send scary letters to people trying to make them pay money they do not legally owe to anyone.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority have a fat file on Mr Sobell, wondering why he sends out (actually Roxburghe's send them, with his permission) threatening letters to thousands of people every year with no intention whatsoever of taking any actual court action against them. No, I lie. He tried ONCE, and failed to fill the paperwork out correctly and the claim was stayed (postponed indefinitely). He has NEVER appeared in court on a private parking issue to anyone's knowledge (and I've been on forums like this for a few years now).

The truth is that under contract law, the amount anyone can claim for breach of contract is actual losses suffered. You had a permit (albeit not on display), and you have presumably told them this. Their losses are zero, and that's all they can legally chase you for. If they continue to pursue you for anything other than zero, then this could be interpreted as harassment and you could even bring a claim against them.

The easiest thing to do however, is simply ignore them. The odds of them actually issuing court papers are greater than winning the lottery.

worried_jim

ManxRed wrote: »

OK, you're on the right forum now.

Firstly, ignore spiro and Premier, who for some reason seem to want to antagonise you rather than offer constructive advice.

The truth is that Graham White is a trading name for Michael Sobell, a retired solicitor who used to work for one of the London Councils. In reality, his solicitor status is used by a company called Roxburghe's, a firm of Debt Collectors, to send scary letters to people trying to make them pay money they do not legally owe to anyone.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority have a fat file on Mr Sobell, wondering why he sends out (actually Roxburghe's send them, with his permission) threatening letters to thousands of people every year with no intention whatsoever of taking any actual court action against them. No, I lie. He tried ONCE, and failed to fill the paperwork out correctly and the claim was stayed (postponed indefinitely). He has NEVER appeared in court on a private parking issue to anyone's knowledge (and I've been on forums like this for a few years now).

The truth is that under contract law, the amount anyone can claim for breach of contract is actual losses suffered. You had a permit (albeit not on display), and you have presumably told them this. Their losses are zero, and that's all they can legally chase you for. If they continue to pursue you for anything other than zero, then this could be interpreted as harassment and you could even bring a claim against them.

The easiest thing to do however, is simply ignore them. The odds of them actually issuing court papers are greater than winning the lottery.

Absolutely perfect.