Paid once but two? I'm not having it.

sapphira

Hi there, I need an advise regarding another parking charge. Last week I parked my car in a residential car park in the parking bay allocated for the flat I was visiting and which belongs to the flat owner. Each flat has a "resident permit" and "visitor permit" to be put on the dash board. I didn't display the permit and and got the ticket which I had appealed but unsuccessfully. I paid the charge as it clearly say display permit at all times and I didn't so my fault.
Few days later I parked there again and this time I made sure I had the visitor permit displayed. To my surprise, I found another ticket this time for not parking in the visitor bay. I wasn't aware of the visitor bay being there as non of the signs there said anything about visitors and where to park if you are one. Also, the actual visitor bay is only marked by faded V painted on the floor, which I only noticed when I looked for it after finding the ticket. The resident being a person with learning disabilities wasn't aware of the rules in the car park and I had their permission to park in their parking bay. The car park is managed by UK CPM.
My question is: should I send a letter stating refusing of any payment on the base that the parking rules were unclear or just ignore it. They already have my details from the previous ticket correspondence and I think they might keep it in some kind of database and easily mach it with the number plate.
I would like to hear your thoughts on that. Thanks

ManxRed

What you need to know is that yes, it was your fault that you didn't display a permit the first time, however you have made the leap that this company can just arbitrarily charge you £XX for doing it. They most certainly cannot 'fine' anyone, they have no statutory powers at all, its just any old private company.

Legally you owe the landowner the cost of the financial losses they incurred as a result of you failing to display the permit.

Which is zero.

Yes, legally, you owe the LANDOWNER (not the parking company) zero. £0.00. Zilch.

Their demands for any sum above this amount are a legally unenforceable penalty which should be ignored completely, along with the scary (but legally baseless) follow up threats about court action and debt collectors. No one will take you to court. They will eventually give up.

Just ignore them.

muckybutt

You dont owe them a penny !

Its a residential car park so i'm taking it that it is free for visitors to park there ? that being the case the LANDOWNER is the only one that can pursue you for their actual loss which in a free car park is a big fat £0.00

Rest assured theres not much chance of anything coming about from this, you will however get several threatening letters from the parking company and their associated thugs ( debt collectors ) all of which you can ignore.

The ONLY time you need to respond is if they actually try and take you to court, this you will know because they will send out STAMPED court papers. Then and only then do you need to get in touch, but I suggest you come here first for further advice and a defence.

Coupon-mad

sapphira wrote: »

Hi there, I need an advise regarding another parking charge. Last week I parked my car in a residential car park in the parking bay allocated for the flat I was visiting and which belongs to the flat owner. Each flat has a "resident permit" and "visitor permit" to be put on the dash board. I didn't display the permit and and got the ticket which I had appealed but unsuccessfully.

I paid the charge as it clearly say display permit at all times and I didn't so my fault.

OMG you paid one! :eek: I despair, why oh why oh why? It's a scam, a fake PCN. They have no authority to fine anyone:

http://www.justanswer.com/uk-law/5isk3-hi-overstayed-berkley-precinct-car-park-ecclesall-rd.html

To quote the barrister in the answer:
''This is a private land fine. They are unenforceable. This is not a parking fine however it may look. These companies are private firms that have no more right to punish you for the manner of your parking than your neighbour does.''

And this MSE parking forum is full of cases of people getting these fake PCNs and realising they are a con, and IGNORING them. There is no appeal, of course it was unsuccessful, think about it, this is a private firm out to extort money in car parks with no reason at all to cancel any of their pretend tickets! The permit scheme is dreamed up by them, the signs are made up by them, the whole system is just a protection racket dressed up to impersonate a car parking scheme. But they are not a Council and these are NOT parking tickets, not fines at all.

Do you also send money to phishing emailers the first time around? I am so sorry you got scammed but please don't repeat it and don't contact them at all. There is NO appeal.

You realise you have marked yourself out as a victim who actually pays these things now, do you? They will be looking for your car every time now.

Stephen_Leak

You paid that one, but ignore this one. If they demand more this time than you paid last time, you're in profit.

taffy056

Gutted that you paid the scammers, now listen to the advice above and ignore this piece of rubbish that you've had.

sapphira

Thanks for all your comments. Yes I did pay the first ticket not knowing all that stuff and I guess that's why they still operate and make money out of innocent people. There's no way I'll be paying again and I'm going to spread the word about this scam. Thanks again.