Help-Private parking ticket

semmy

My mum parked in a private car parking space in her local store at 19:13. She returned to her car at 22.02. This happened on the 28th April.

Yesterday (8th May) she received a Contract Parking Charge Notice in the post (not recorded delivery) dated 4th May. It included CCTV images of her entering and exiting the car park. Her offence- over staying her welcome by 17 minutes (allowed 150 minutes - she parked 167 minutes). The charge 95 pounds, reduced to 75 pounds if paid within 14 days.
I've asked her to check the signs.
The biggest shame is the store the car park pertains to closes at 20:00.
Mum doesn't have the cash to pay the fine. She really is upset- I will give her the money because she is upset. But I find this so extortionate. Also, they are trying bully boy tactics of bailiffs if she does not pay.
Should we just pay, and I make sure she is not allowed out on her own? ;p

Tilt

Ignore it. They are only entitled to recover losses or damages caused by you parking there and as the parking is free, what ,losses have they incurred? They cannot recover fines or penalties as they have no legal status or lawful authority to issue these. So basically they would have to convince a judge (if they pursued you in a civil court) that their £95 is proportionate to their losses and that the 'charge' isn't in fact a penalty.
You will continue to get the usual 'threat-o-grams' which are designed to intimidate you into paying. Do not correspond with them what so ever. In the unlikely event of you getting officially stamped court papers through your letter box, come back for further advice.

pogofish

Yup - This is a scam based on impersonation of authority. The chances of anything going further than a few scary letters is utterly miniscule - especially if you do not correspond with them!

Also be aware that the pgotos they send out are of no evidential value whatsoever, just another tool to scare the uninformed.

Lastly, you don't say the name of the firm but if you have a look in the forum sticky, you may already find their entire scam letter chain copied there - so you know what to expect next!

give_them_FA

Yes, what tilt and pogo tell you is 100% . This is a fake ticket which is designed to frighten you into paying an imaginary charge which you don't have to pay and which they can't and won't enforce.

No private company has the right to issue fines to citizens- that is the Law.

They know it; so they send you an "invoice" dressed up as a fine, together with all the imaginary things they won't do if you don't pay.

None of what they tell you is true; look for it all being couched in terms of "may be" "could be" "might be" so that they stay JUST the right side of the law.

Fear not, it is all, pure and simple, a try-on. Your mum doesn't have to pay a penny, and nothing will happen if she just totally ignores them. Don't contact, don't appeal, just IGNORE.

Edit out all details in your post- we don't need them to advise you- and then set about the task of seeing them off by doing- nothing.

All that happens is a few more letters will be sent- how many depends upon what company it is- after which, they will get fed up with paying out postage and getting no response, and will go away.

Always happens because in reality there is nothing else they can do.

Coupon-mad

semmy wrote: »

My mum parked in a private car parking space in her local store at 19:13. She returned to her car at 22.02. This happened on the 28th April.

Yesterday (8th May) she received a Contract Parking Charge Notice in the post (not recorded delivery) dated 4th May. It included CCTV images of her entering and exiting the car park. Her offence- over staying her welcome by 17 minutes (allowed 150 minutes - she parked 167 minutes). The charge 95 pounds, reduced to 75 pounds if paid within 14 days.
I've asked her to check the signs.
The biggest shame is the store the car park pertains to closes at 20:00.
Mum doesn't have the cash to pay the fine. She really is upset- I will give her the money because she is upset. But I find this so extortionate. Also, they are trying bully boy tactics of bailiffs if she does not pay.
Should we just pay, and I make sure she is not allowed out on her own? ;p

Don't even think about paying or 'appealing' a scam fake ticket.

As others have said, this isn't even a fine and she needn't have worried nor gone to check those signs!

All you need do is sit her down and watch the Watchdog clip on the sticky thread called 'PPC letters & threats', and look at the preview letters. Be ready to play a nice game of snap with each scary threatogram over the coming months, as you file them all in a drawer marked 'scam, ignore'.

Nothing happens except letters. Go to the thread I mentioned right now and put your mind at rest. See my signature as the thread index is only a click away and the one you want is second from the top of this sub-forum.