Fined at Tesco Car Park

[Deleted User]

I received a private parking fine of £70 today for parking at Tesco car park in a disabled bay. I was with my Mum at the time and we may have forgot to display her blue badge. We are both not 100% sure. I thought I had displayed it, maybe without the clock, but as my Father recently passed away a few weeks back my head and my mum's are not fully 'functioning'.

Anyhow I panicked at first and wrote a letter out of annoyance; appealing the fine, enclosing a photocopy of the blue badge, both sides. I am wondering if this was a bad move and maybe I should have just ignored it having done some research on here. The company is called Civil Enforcement Ltd.

I have no intention of paying and have sent an email off to Tesco complaining that they risk losing our custom using such companies as we may go back to shopping elsewhere. This is a new Tesco Extra store recently opened.

I really don't want the stress at this time and esp don't want any potential future phone calls causing undue upset to my mum at this time.

Trebor16

Don't worry as they have no legal power to fine you. The blue badge scheme does not apply on private land and as your mum has a disability you had every right to park there without displaying a badge. As the car park is usually free then they have not suffered any loss because of your actions.

Your appeal will be rejected and they will write to you several times making demands for paying their "fine". Ignore them from now on.

Stephen_Leak

Here we go again ...

Firstly, the legal stuff.

The Blue Badge scheme does not apply to private car parks. Anyone, who is disabled under the terms of The Equality Act 2010 can use a disabled parking bay. If they are also Blue Badge holders, they don't need to display it. No more than they need to ring a handbell and shout, "Unclean".

The contract terms & conditions for the car park usually state that you shouldn't park in a disabled bay without displaying a badge. This contravenes The Equality Act.

Any warning signs are usually so badly positioned and worded, that they won’t have created a fair and legally binding deemed contract between the car park owner and the driver in the first place. (The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1997.)

Even if there is a contract, all the car park owner (CPO) can claim from the driver in damages for any breach of contract is what they’ve lost as a result. If this is a free car park or they paid, this is £0.00. By asking you for more, which is unreasonable, it’s become an unfair contract penalty, which is legally unenforceable. (Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd. vs. New Garage & Motor Co. Ltd., House of Lords, 1914.)

Only councils, the police and Transport for London can impose legally enforceable fines or penalties. Private companies can't.

PPCs consider that their signs create a fair and legally binding deemed contract between the car park owner and the driver, that their demands are their losses, that these are reasonable, and that they’re legally enforceable.

What do you do?

Don’t appeal. They always reject them. Why should they? What’s in it for them to let anyone off?

What’s in it for them is information. They need to know the identity of the driver of the vehicle involved at the time, because that’s who their contract was with. If they don’t know who the driver was, they have to make do with chasing the registered keeper. They sometimes say that they’ve got the right to ask for this information. They can ask, but this doesn’t mean that you’ve got to tell them.

However, even if you’ve appealed and even if you’ve inadvertently confirmed who the driver was, it doesn’t make their actions any less unlawful.

What will happen now?

They will threaten you with all sorts of legal and financial unpleasantness, in order to try and intimidate you into paying. But, they can't actually do anything, for the same reason that a blackmailer couldn't sue their victim if they didn’t pay.

Their threats usually include bailiffs, damage to you credit rating, etc. But, for things to get to this stage, they would have to take you to court (and have their actions subjected to legal scrutiny), win the case (which would happen if you didn't attend) and then you’d have to refuse to pay. Bailiffs would then be appointed by the court. This scenario is possible. But it’s also unlikely, as you have control over it at two points.

What should you do?

Ignore their empty threats. Eventually, they will run out of things to intimidate you with, and stop throwing good money after bad.

Next!

Crabman

Hi, welcome to MSE :hello:

We have Civil Enforcement Ltd on our list of PPC Letters:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2214803

What this means is that others who have received their threatening letters have uploaded what they received, so that others know what to expect.

If you have any questions just ask, we're here to help.

Half_way

You have aprked in a disabled bay, to which a pasenger in your vehicle was entitled to use, and as an extension you were/are entitled to use.
You can either ignpore the fake parkng fines that will spew forth from the PPC, you can inform the PPc that your mother is disabled, and is entitled to use the disabled bays, and these charges are a clear breach of the Equalities act, andf if you contininue to receive threatening letters you may take action against Tesco, and the Parking company under the aformentioned Act, as well as informing the parking cmopany, you should also inform Tesco as well.
If it was me i would go in person to the store, tell the customer service desk people, and hand over a letter to the manager, detialing your complaints.
alot of these supermarkets also have a comunity notice board, maybe someone could make a warning poster to go up in the supermarket along the lines of

Warning parking charge notices are fake fines and should not be paid, car parking scammers operating as ( name of ppc) opperate in this car park see moneysavingexpert.com pepipoo.com and BBC watchdog websites for advice

HappyMJ

You don't even need to be registered disabled to use a disabled spot..It's just morally that non-disabled people should avoid using them but anyone can use them without worry. Unfortunately I do need to use them as they for some stupid planning reason put them right outside the ATM and there are no other available spots. I could also double park in the middle of the road. I'll use them for just a few minutes. Sorry to all disabled people. They should have 5 minute ATM users only spots to use. Still wouldn't matter if you stayed for hours or not but morally people do tend to follow the parking guidelines.

ManxRed

Well, you've told them you had a disabled passenger. They must now cancel the ticket.

If they don't (not that I'm cynical, but a good chance they won't) then they are on thin ice with the Equalities Act, and you would do well to send both them and Tesco's a letter notifying them of this and warning that any further correspondence will be treated as harassment and further action against them AND the PPC will be contemplated.

But let's see if they do the right thing first. If they don't then take control of the situation and get the boot on the other foot.

[Deleted User]

Thankyou for all the replies and esp post #3.

Tesco have just telephoned me after I sent an email to customer complaints. They said they have no control over the car park as they do not own it but will forward my complaint to the actual store.

give_them_FA

OK, so Tesco's don't own the car park. Ask them who does and complain to them! As you have now put this parking company on notice that you were entitled by law to use the disabled bay, if they turn down your appeal then you send them a claim for £250 damages for their unlawful actions.

Your claim will stick whereas their "fine" is completely unenforceable.

If they want to learn the hard way that what they are doing is illegal then oblige them.

Coupon-mad

They don't have to own the car park to engage a PPC there. I suspect that the PPC's contract is with Tesco.

Don't get sidetracked re the 'ownership' issue, dms-audio.

Follow what ManxRed said above (among all the good replies on here).

And by the way you did exactly the right thing - your letter has told and proved to them that your passenger was disabled. Now they have to cancel it and inform their agent to leave you alone - if not then they breach the Equality Act 2010. Your Mum's remedy for such a breach is money, compensation!

The_Slithy_Tove

dms-audio wrote: »

Tesco have just telephoned me after I sent an email to customer complaints. They said they have no control over the car park as they do not own it but will forward my complaint to the actual store.

That's a blatent lie. It's almost certainly Tesco who brought in the parking company, and therefore Tesco is responsible for their actions. Don't let them get away with BS like that.