Parking eye invoice

fivegoldstars

I have just received my first invoice from a private parking company - Parkingeye - for the sum of £50. This was for parking in a retail park car park for 50 minutes. The retail park in question had - to my mind - always been free parking. In all my visits, I've never paid. After contacting the store at which I shopped, they informed me that the carpark was now in fact pay and display(although the first 1/2 hour may be free), and the fee is £1.
The general consensus seems to be to ignore the invoices and any further correspondence as it is unenforcable etc, but I am concerned by one thing - does this still cover me if I didn't buy a ticket at all? I can understand that overstaying a paid-for period might be classed as an unfair penalty, and as such be unenforcable, but what about failing to pay at all - is that a different matter?
Replies appreciated.

peter_the_piper

Do you have to pay £1.00 after the 30mins or must you pay the £1.00 up front even if you are only there 29 mins. My curiosity, does not affect the normal ignore stance.

fivegoldstars

Not sure. I didn't notice any signage at the time or else I would have paid. I'm not suggesting it wasn't there - it's just that when you're used to something being a certain way, you just kind of carry on. The shop seemed to suggest that it was free parking for half an hour, then £1 thereafter.

give_them_FA

The last time Parking Eye took someone to court for failing to buy a pay and display ticket, they claimed £100's in their penalty charges, and employed four (count 'em) solicitors at a cost of £4,400.

The judge awarded the money that the driver had not paid on the two occasions (which amounted to a total of £15) and told them they could go whistle for their solicitors' costs. Manchester County Court last year.

Unsurprisingly, they haven't bothered since.

You could send them a cheque for £1 for what you didn't pay; alternatively take the point of view that, for having to deal with their demand for an unlawful penalty charge, you will call it quits and give them nothing.

If you totally ignore them, they will go away, as there is sod all they can do if no-one tells them the name of the driver. As I am sure you won't! despite the rubbish letters you will get.

bondy_lad

just ignore these clowns, do not take this so serious,as its purely and simply a SCAM,,do not contact in any way shape or form and ignore 100% all there threat o grams that they send you.

fivegoldstars

My concern is that the advice given to most people is for overstayed/misdisplayed or otherwise incorrectly paid for parking. The circumstances I find myself in are more akin to the case highlighted - i.e. no payment made at all. I'm sure it still constitutes the same kind of thing - £50 is surely a penalty, rather than damages caused by parking 50 minutes in an otherwise empty carpark - but because of the sensitive nature of my employment, I really need to avoid court action etc, even if it was a case which I may ultimately win.

vax2002

The decision in court above was incorrect in LAW and an error that would have been easily overturned on appeal.
Principle of Law is you can not sue for what you have not first asked.
If the parking firm ask you for a pound, by all means send them one.
But what they have asked for so far is an unlawful penalty, not what you owe.
So until they do ask for what you owe
IGNORE THEM

vax2002

fivegoldstars wrote: »

but because of the sensitive nature of my employment, I really need to avoid court action etc, even if it was a case which I may ultimately win.

In that case : By reading this you have entered in to a forum reading charge notice of £500, failure to pay this charge MAY result in court proceedings.

Now I AM legally within my rights to issue court proceedings against you for the above, just as entitled with the exact same case a parking company has, not one bit more or less.
Will you be sending me the £500 so you dont have to go to court ?
No of course you wont.
So why on earth would you consider the parking firm ?

wake up man !

s_b

and man up

because of the sensitive nature of my employment

fivegoldstars

Ok - so a theoretical - if the charge is £1, and I haven't paid that fee, and warnings on the sign itself say that failure to buy a ticket results in an £80 fee. So in effect, the demand is for something which I have been pre-advised of.

fivegoldstars

s_b wrote: »

and man up

Thanks for that. Much as I'd love to beat my chest and flash my balls around, it won't feed a family.