Bridgnorth civil enforcment car park fines march

Hadeon

HO87 wrote: »

Does the ticket make any mention of the Traffic Management Act 2004?

(I have reason to believe that CEL have branched out and are now acting as CEO's for local councils)

I don't believe that is the case here HO87.

Under the TMA 2004 Shropshire Council is responsible for the enforcement of parking regulations on the highways and 'off street' car-parks owned & regulated by the council (including those at Bridgnorth).

Enforcement is carried out by uniformed Civil Enforcement Officers from the councils Shropshire Parking Service, and of course any appeals are made directly to them in the first instance.

Bridgnorth Town Council appear to have gone 'maverick' in contracting Creative Car Parking/CEL to 'manage' (sic) vehicular access & parking at a council owned public recreational facility where parking provision is ancillary to the facility itself & not covered under the TMA 2004.

give_them_FA

It is symptomatic of the general problem that because they put up a glossy, plausible front, these companies can project an image of respectability that they do not have. They con not only the motorist but anyone who brings them in.

They have, unfortunately, also managed to con the government, though possibly it is a case of one glossy plausible fraud recognising a kindred spirit in that case.

esmerobbo

Hadeon wrote: »

Agreed!
Not sure about GW's charms tho'

May have been enhanced by a free week in his Spanish villa? Do councillors accept gifts??????????:cool:

dIXI_2

In response to dizzydiver70 - we were also parked at the said site on the 25th March 2012 approx. 12.50. when we went to buy our ticket there was a very long queue at the one station so we purchased our ticket at the one nearest the entrance and displayed in our car.

We received the fine, we wrote to them and explained what had happened but to no avail.

I will be visiting Bridgnorth Council on Tuesday to find out why this company are still be used when forums like this highlight this outfit's tactics.

dizzydiver70 wrote: »

Out of interest are there many people out there that have had parking contravention enforcement notice from Civil Enforecement Ltd, particularly Mill street car park sunday 25 March 2012, and dont know why. The car park was heaving that day and i am convinced the parking meter wasnt working correctly , it wasnt registering the first letter of the reg no correctly - hence the fine. ( i only got that information when i complained to the town council) I have been assured that there is nothing wrong with the meter but its bit of coincedence that both me and my mum got fined for same thing, same day.

taffy056

Its not just this company though, they are not just a bad egg amongst good ones, they are all the same, appeals automatically turned down, threats of CCJs and bailiffs at the door with attachments to your wages. Its all a scam and it starts with the DVLA who releases driver information to convicted criminals through the BPA who are in bed with the DVLA, through to the parking companies who actually run the BPA. Its all a nice little earner for all concerned, the victim of course are the innocent motorists who are just going about their everyday lives in shopping centres up and down the country.

peteruk65

KEEP YOUR TICKET. KEEP YOUR TICKET!!
I have had two ticket fines now, the first was cancelled as I sent them the ticket which clearly showed that I'd paid. The second is ongoing, again I have a ticket to prove I paid for the whole day. I have now reported this to the West Mercia police and will be calling trading standards on Monday for advice. I have received a second letter threatening summons, court action and bailiffs. I'm going to send a RECORDED letter back to them stating I have a ticket to prove I have paid and let them decide what to do.
My Advice: report it to the police and trading standards, forget the loons at Bridgenorth CC, KEEP YOUR TICKET.
My best course of action in protest is NOT TO GO TO BRIDGENORTH again until this farce is sorted out. Let the town suffer for the council's inept actions of having these parking companies dictate to them. KEEP YOUR TICKET.

LincolnshireYokel

Hadeon wrote: »

Bridgnorth Town Council appear to have gone 'maverick' in contracting Creative Car Parking/CEL to 'manage' (sic) vehicular access & parking at a council owned public recreational facility where parking provision is ancillary to the facility itself & not covered under the TMA 2004.

If this is the case, then does not VCS vs HMRC make it impossible for the PPC to collect 'fines' on the basis they have no proprietory interest inb the land

Hadeon

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

If this is the case, then does not VCS vs HMRC make it impossible for the PPC to collect 'fines' on the basis they have no proprietory interest inb the land

I originally posted two weeks or so prior to that decision.
Nonetheless, I most certainly do not disagree with you on the point you make.

This matter would do well to be raised by a member of the public during an open-session of a Bridgnorth TC meeting, and be reflected in the minutes.

screwbiedooo

It wasn't a fine. It's never a fine.
You have highlighted an interesting scenario about the whole parking game.

Whilst it is common to distinguish between private enforcement and public enforcement (by local authority under the Traffic Management Act 2004) the line between the two can be very blurred.

You point to SC employing an agent to operate one of its car parks. It is not at all uncommon for councils to outsource their parking operations, it is in fact more the norm than the exception.

To give an example, Westminster Council (and 60 other councils) employs NSL (Intelligent Outsourcing) to operate on-street enforcement by providing Civil enforcement officers (who wear a uniform that says Westminster on it). NSL is a private company. Once 'in the system', debt claims are in the hands of Vertex Data Science, another outsourcer who issue NtOs (under council letterhead), charge certificates, and even Orders for Recovery (under authority of TEC), which is a case of collusion in itself, and process payments, from their base in Dingwall, Scotland.

The council is not actually involved at all, except for taking a cut in the proceeds at the end. London Congestion Charge too is similarly operated entirely by IBM UK in Portsmouth.

Looked at from this angle, the only difference between private parking enforcement and public is that in the latter case a council will get a cut, but in fact the whole operation of it is no different. It is still private companies operating for profit. That is of course the source of many of our problems. It may gall you to know that NSL has been revealed to offer incentives to its CEOs to issue more tickets. At least a publicly employed enforcement officer has no incentive other than public service (one hopes), but they are a dying breed.

It is claimed by some that the Traffic Management Act 2004 lends legitimacy to the 'public' enforcement model. But you may consider that actually the roadsides and car parks they enforce upon belong to who? - you and me. So what the **** business has a private firm got profiting from them, something which seems far more defensible when they do it off their own land.

Coupon-mad

peteruk65 wrote: »

KEEP YOUR TICKET. KEEP YOUR TICKET!!
I have had two ticket fines now, the first was cancelled as I sent them the ticket which clearly showed that I'd paid. The second is ongoing, again I have a ticket to prove I paid for the whole day. I have now reported this to the West Mercia police and will be calling trading standards on Monday for advice. I have received a second letter threatening summons, court action and bailiffs. I'm going to send a RECORDED letter back to them stating I have a ticket to prove I have paid and let them decide what to do.
My Advice: report it to the police and trading standards, forget the loons at Bridgenorth CC, KEEP YOUR TICKET.
My best course of action in protest is NOT TO GO TO BRIDGENORTH again until this farce is sorted out. Let the town suffer for the council's inept actions of having these parking companies dictate to them. KEEP YOUR TICKET.

Why waste a recorded delivery cost?

If this is a private company for Gawd's sake do what we all do and just IGNORE IT. That's what the sticky thread is for - the one called 'PPC letters & threats' currently third from the top of the forum.

All you have to do is play a nice game of snap with each predictable threatogram. You don't have to actually reply to the idiots!