UK CPS Ltd

Stephen_Leak

Only councils, the police, train operators and Transport for London can impose legally enforceable fines or penalties. A private ticketing company (PTC) can't. All they can issue are “speculative invoices”.

Any warning signs are usually so badly positioned and worded, that they won’t have created a fair and legally binding deemed contract with a driver entering the car park in the first place. See The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1997 and Excel Parking Services vs. Cutts, Stockport, 2011.

All the car park owner (CPO) can claim from a driver in damages for any alleged breach of any alleged contract is what they’ve lost as a result. If it’s in a free car park or the driver paid, this is £0.00. Demanding more has been judged to be unreasonable and therefore an unfair contract penalty under the terms of The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1997, which is not legally enforceable. See Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd. vs. New Garage & Motor Co. Ltd., House of Lords, 1914 and countless cases since.

There are also now landmark court cases, VCS Parking Control vs. Ronald Ibbotson, S!!!!horpe, 2012, HM Revenue & Customs vs. VCS Parking Control, Lower Tax Tribunal, 2012 and VCS Parking Control vs. HM Revenue & Customs (Appeal), Upper Tax Tribunal, 2012. In these cases, the judges ruled that only the CPO can charge for parking and take alleged offenders to court. The Upper Tax Tribunal is equivalent to the High Court, and therefore its judgements set legal precedents.

We don’t condone not paying or overstaying in a pay car park. If you owe the CPO the original charge, then you ought to write to the CPO, offering this in “full and final settlement”.

In any event, you should write to the CPO, advising them that they are "jointly and severally liable" for the actions of their agents, the PTC, and that any further actions by either of them would be regarded as harassment under the terms of The Protection from Harassment Act 1997. This ought to make the CPO call off the PPC and, maybe, also realise the potential cost of doing business with a PTC.

Don’t appeal to the PTC. They always reject them. What’s in it for them to let anyone off?

If the letter to the CPO doesn’t have the desired effect, the PTC, then a debt collector and then a solicitor will send you a series of letters. The debt collector and solicitor are usually also the PTC, but using different headed paper. These letters will threaten you with every kind of financial and legal unpleasantness imaginable to try and intimidate you into paying.

Continue to ignore everything you get from the PTC and their aliases. Eventually, they will run out of empty threats and stop throwing good money after bad.

cat410

well, Ive just got back from my hols expecting letters from parking eye behind the door. To my suprise - nothing! My ticket was issues 24th July and I have never heard anything from them. Fingers crossed