PPS parking charge

ooops

Hi
I parked in a PPS car park and stayed 5 minutes over the time I had paid for and got a ticket for £75. I didn't pay the £75 charge, then I got a letter saying it had gone up to £100, so I ignored that. Then they sent me a letter demanding £127.50. I read advice from this forum and decided I wouldn't communicate with the company as I believed the charge was disproportionate and excessive. I went to the Citizens Advice Bureau, and they said I needed to write to the company to appeal/dispute the charge. I was just about to write to PPS and enclose £1 which would more than pay for the excessive 5 minutes, but I felt I was doing what everyone on the forum said not to do. I don't know what to do now. It's making me a bit worried about what is going to happen either way.

What do you think I should do? Thanks in advance!!

notts_phil

Never listen to CAB when it comes to ppc's. They haven't got a clue and their advise comes from the BPA.

ManxRed

The guy who advises the CAB on this is the managing director of a PPC. A bit of a conflict of interest there. He actually helps keep the PPC costs down, because by advising you to appeal, they don't even need to spend £2.50 on the RK's details.

The advice on here is perfectly correct.

HO87

By PPS do you mean Premier Parking Services/Solutions?

ooops

yes PPS is Premier Parking Solutions

Half_way

So you were 5 minutes over on your paid parking time, If you were to visit that car park for 5 minutes and pay for the shortest time period ( ie up to 1/2 hour and that costs 50p ) that is the most that you owe them.
you can continue to ignore, but technicaly you do owe them the amount mentioned above, and not a penny more - as this is a penalty charge, and they ( a private company ) can not issue penalty charges.

You could offer to pay them the amount owed for a breif visit to the car park as a full and final settlement, followed a reminder of the protection form harrasment act something like..

Please find enclosed a cheque to the value of 50 pence (or whatever the standard rate is) for up to 30 minutes car parking at your carpark as a full and final settlement.
Please note that any other reply from you, other than an apology for the oversight in the previous letter demanding the ridiculous sum £127.50 ( which, as im sure that you are aware) is an unlawful penalty, together with a receipt for the cheque will be taken as harrasment under the protection form harrasment act, and legal procedings may follow, against both yourselves, and the landowner who contracted you.

Lots of love, all the best etc etc, Ooops

and a similar letter to the landowner informing them of what this parking company is upto as well as warning them that this car parking company may cause the landowners financial problems via the courts - as the parking company are agents acting on the behalf of the landowners , and they are jointly liable for thei actions of their agents.

The_Slithy_Tove

Half_way wrote: »

So you were 5 minutes over on your paid parking time, If you were to visit that car park for 5 minutes and pay for the shortest time period ( ie up to 1/2 hour and that costs 50p ) that is the most that you owe them.
you can continue to ignore, but technicaly you do owe them the amount mentioned above, and not a penny more.

One could argue that since they haven't asked for what they are actually eligible for - 50p or £1 or whatever - but instead go straight for £75, they have waived their right to the actual amount owed, and therefore they should simply be treated with contempt and ignored. [This is not legal advice, just a point of view.]

give_them_FA

Good job you checked in here instead of taking the CAB advice, which is totally shocking. Largely because they made the mistake of getting it from the British Parking Association which they mistook for an independent body. It's actually run by the parking companies themselves for their own benefit. Hence the advice to "contact them and appeal".

Don't bother, I will tell you the answer now, standard rejection letter followed by "now pay us".

If you want to cover yourself, yes by all means send a cheque for whatever the difference was between what you paid for and how long you stayed. You indisputably owe them that- but that is all! The rest is "in their dreams". Don't admit who was driving, just send a cheque "in full and final settlement of all liability" in a letter saying you are the registered keeper and were handed the charge notice by the driver. (You don't have to say who was driving!)

That's the fully legal method; alternatively, you can ignore everything they send until they get fed up with wasting postage and getting no reply, whereupon they give up.

Over to you.

Lone_Ranger_2

In my case I sent the PPC a cheque for 5p to cover costs, which they of course regected. However I didn't put a stamp on and as I had addressed it starting with "Payment for Parking charge" they obviously thought they were gonna get their £60 and payed the postage . then they sent me the cheque back (more postage) . I reckon I'm winning so far. :rotfl:

ooops

Thanks very much guys. I will send them a letter as outlined above and cheque for £1 and will post the reply when I get it! Thank you

Half_way

Thanks very much guys. I will send them a letter as outlined above and cheque for £1 and will post the reply when I get it! Thank you

Nice to see that your being honest, reasonable, and doing the right thing, likewise the parking company should also be honest, and do the right thing, as im asuming they are a reputable honest company which means if you hear from them again, it should be a letter thanking you for your honesty, and apologising or any upset/distress that their administration error of stating that you owe £127.50 may have caused, thank you for using PPS car parks.
that is if they are honest etc etc.