Parking Eye Parking Charge Notice

Priceless123

I received a Parking Charge Notice from Parking Eye today, with photos of my car entering and leaving the car park, asking for a payment of £80 - or £50 if I pay by 14th Aug. I was parked where they say I was, and I did exceed the maximum stay by a couple of hours. However, parking was free and I did make a number of purchases from the shops on the site during this time.

I was all set to email them attaching a letter (as taken from the 'private dispute' template on MSE) detailing mitigating circumstances and the fact that I can't afford to pay, then thought I'd check out any similar posts before sending...

I've now seen a number of posts from people who've received similar notices (and experienced a similar level of initial panic regarding the amount of the charge), and the responses to all of these seem to be 'IGNORE IT'! I'm posting this just to get advice on my specific case. So...

Assuming I definitely shouldn't pay up (they're also charging extra for debit/credit card payment!!), should I ignore this completely and hope nothing else happens? Or send the letter refusing to pay?

Thanks in advance for your advice!:)

taffy056

Your case is like many thousands of others on here, and the advice is the same and that is to ignore. They will not take you to court, just file all the letters away and keep the receipts to show that there was no loss to anyone there.

Coupon-mad

Typical thoughts that newbies have in error, about these fake PCNs:

They think it's a real parking fine = WRONG.

They think because the DVLA release the registered keeper's data that the PPC must have some sort of authority = WRONG.

They think that because major retailers like Supermarkets use these firms that it 'can't be a scam' = WRONG.

They think that a debt collector can/will call round = WRONG.

They believe the empty threats in the 'debt collector' letters = WRONG.

They think that it may affect their credit rating = WRONG.

Just play snap with the letters, it's EASY. I am an ordinary wife and Mum with a responsible job and clean credit record and I have ignored 2 fake PCNs. I would very happily collect more and laughed when I got both of mine.

See my signature. Click once. Look at the current forum not this thread. Read the sticky thread second from the top 'PPC letter chains'. Watch the Watchdog clip linked on there and read the other links at the top. Check out the letter-chain pics so you both know what to expect = MORE LETTERS!

It's only junk mail, nothing more. No more bothersome than deleting a series of phishing emails, honestly. The article on MSE by Martin is pretty old and he was hedging his bets in 2009. We don't hedge - we TELL people to simply IGNORE, otherwise you are just giving the PPC information and telling them that their letters are being read at that address by someone who's clearly not a barrister or anything.

Our advice is simple and it works!

Priceless123

Thanks for the advice! I appreciate that this is consistent with the other posts I'd seen, just wanted to be 100% as I really can't afford to pay the £50 never mind a higher amount! I guess I have a draft letter in case it is ever needed but hopefully I won't hear anything more!

bondy_lad

forget your draft letter, it wont make a jot of difference with parking spy,,you have a FAKE ticket/invoice, so why bother, as its a SCAM,nothing can /will happen to you, so ignore all letters on or on behalf of these clowns.relax,no need to worry.

Driver8

My next door neighbour showed me her speculative invoice from Parking Eye and that's another what is not going to be paid whatsoever.

She now as plenty of these for her family and friends;

PRIVATE PARKING TICKETS - DON'T PAY!
IT IS NOT A FINE! YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING ILLEGAL!

This is an information page for the thousands of people who receive "tickets" from private companies in the UK ever day at supermarkets, retail parks, and in any other privately-owned carpark.

We are NOT encouraging anybody to openly flout parking restrictions on private land, or to refuse to pay reasonable charges for parking. Landowners have a right to make reasonable charges for the use of their land.

For advice specific to your case, you should visit the forums at http://forums.pepipoo.com or http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/parking-traffic-offences.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=163

1. What you should know about these companies

It is important to remember that private parking companies (or PPCs as they are often called) have NO OFFICIAL POWERS - that's right, none at all! They give out their "tickets" on the basis that you have seen the signs in their car park and that you have therefore agreed to a contract obliging you to pay a certain sum of money.


2. What happens to people who don't pay?

In 99.9% of cases, absolutely NOTHING! The company pays the DVLA £2.50 to get your address, and then sends lots of threatening letters. In the main, these letters can be safely IGNORED. The only way the company can actually force you to pay is by taking you to the small claims court, which costs them even more money. And they are by no means guaranteed to win! And they practically never do.

The two main reasons for this (among others) are the following:

- Only the person DRIVING the car could ever have agreed to any such parking contract. The company can only get the Registered Keeper's address from the DVLA: you don't have to tell them who was driving.

-Many of these charges are so extortionately high that they constitute a penalty, which is unenforceable in a consumer contract.


3. Can they affect my credit rating?

NO! The only way your credit rating could be affected by ignoring private parking companies is if you were taken to court, lost, and then still refused to pay. But they will not take you to court.


IN SHORT

The vast majority of the time, you can safely IGNORE tickets from private parking companies, they are not official fines.

The vast majority of the time, you can safely IGNORE the threatening letters, including those from debt collection agencies.

You DO NOT have to pay a penny of your hard-earned money to these companies. Remember that the chances of being taken to court are very slim indeed.

DO NOT IGNORE COURT PAPERS!
If you receive real court papers from a private parking company (very rare) then you should go to http://forums.pepipoo.com or http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/parking-traffic-offences for help defending the claim. Do not be afraid to sign up and ask questions regarding any paperwork you are not sure about.

Don’t believe the above? Watch a solicitor on Watchdog advising you what to do with the scam invoices.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAIcdi9niHA

THEY ARE NOT FINES

Only the Police, Courts or Council’s can fine you. NOT a private company, please remember that.

I have dished out thousands of them and i sincerely hope it as saved someone some money somewhere.

andy06_2

hi recived a parking eye fine myself with pics of the car not me,,, and within less than a week recived another but wording slightly different,, the fine needs paying tomorrow for the lower amount or if i leave longer it will double,,, should i follow everyone else and ignore,, makes me very nervious about all this.. thanks

ManxRed

Definitely don't pay it.

I guess it can be nervous if you're new to this, but you need to understand your legal position.

The landowner (not Parking Eye) can pursue the driver (not necessarily the registered keeper) for an amount of money equal to the financial losses suffered as a result of the driver's parking.

So, in a P&D car park, where you didn't pay, the driver owes the landowner the cost of the P&D ticket (plus a few quid for his costs in chasing up the debt). In a free car park, the driver owes the landowner nowt whatsoever.

You certainly don't owe Parking Eye £60 or whatever they are demanding. It wouldn't last five minutes in court and they know it. So they'll just stick to sending you scary letters, before eventually they will give up and go away.

Coupon-mad

andy06 wrote: »

hi recived a parking eye fine myself with pics of the car not me,,, and within less than a week recived another but wording slightly different,, the fine needs paying tomorrow for the lower amount or if i leave longer it will double,,, should i follow everyone else and ignore,, makes me very nervious about all this.. thanks

No it flippin' well doesn't need paying! If you pay that tomorrow you have been had, and might I also ask for £50 for this reply as well (or I will double my demand next week!).

Did you read the posts above yours? It is NOT a fine so why call it a fine? Tell it like it is, let's be right! This is a fake PCN. A SCAM.

Did you read the second to top thread 'PPC letters/threats' with the Watchdog clip?

It's not that difficult, I have ignored two and one was last month. I laughed when I saw it, at long last a second one!! Can't wait for the letter-chain again.

Priceless123

I've now received my 3rd letter from Parking Eye. The 2nd was pretty much the same as the 1st, reminding me I only had X days to pay at the discounted amount. The latest one is a 'Final Notice' reminding me of the amounts payable. It also goes on to say that if the letter is ignored, further action will be taken which may include instructing solicitors/issuing court proceedings. Then it mentions the possibility of 'a bailiff or sheriff(?!)' attending my address to remove goods as a consequence of not paying.

I'm sticking with the advice provided and ignoring everything I receive...just hoping I don't become the exception to the experiences everyone's had to date!!

Stephen_Leak

"Bailiff or sheriff". It's nice to know that they've amended their letter for Scotland.

The final but more unpleasant threats usually include mentioning that, if the case goes to court, a county court judgement (CCJ) may be issued, that bailiffs (or sheriffs) may be appointed and that your credit rating may be ruined. For things to actually get to this stage, the car park owner would have to take you to court and win the case. Then, you would have to refuse to pay, to get a CCJ issued after 28 days. Then, you would have to still refuse to pay, to get bailiffs (or sheriffs) appointed.

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 car park owner 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.

So, how could you become an exception? The law isn't going to change just for you. Sorry.