Parking ticket - not heard a thing - are they all backing down?

PaulJM

Hello -
Hope this is the right place to put this, feel free to move it into another thread.
After 2 tickets from Excel on the Peel Centre, and ignoring them successfully, I received a third - quite deliberate and expected ( I've decided they're not even getting my parking ticket £1 now)

I went over to the attendant, and quite politely asked if if he had a facility to recycle the yellow plastic ticket adorning my car - pressing it into his hand. He accepted it gracefully. When he said it was mine, I told him I was happy for him to keep it, as I did not intend to be using it.

Thing is, I've heard nothing, and that was over 4 weeks ago - not like them to miss a an opportunity to bully people.
I wondered first if they'd given up on me, as I've always ignored them.
But then I read here - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4086825, that there seems to be speculation about them giving up sending cr*p out for a while.
What does everyone think?

HO87

We'll see. We are still in the silly season with people on leave.

There is a chance that the scales have now fallen from the collective eyes of PPC's and they have come to the realisation that the Protection of Freedoms Act may not quite be the golden goose they'd fondly imagined. Besides having to pay £27 for each invoice that is appealed to POPLA - whose adjudication they are obliged to accept - they are going to have to prove their procedures. Some of the larger companies may be in a position to do so. Other, smaller companies - some of which are clearly shoeboxes - are unlikely to be able to do so, so easily and will flounder.

This combined with recent judgments - the most telling of which, IMHO, was VCS v HMRC - may have made for an uncomfortable summer for some.

If I was to speculate at all about the immediate future of PPC World I'd suggest that we will see the inexorable rise of the multi-nationals such as APCOA and Vinci as they the sort of lean infrastructure to make a PPC operation really pay. Foreign money has already identified the PPC market as one that is ripe to be exploited and we are likely to see an increase in offshore interests - there are already Spanish and Australian interests in the market and some that are obviously offshore but otherwise unidentifiable.

The unregulated, wild west-type of pioneering typical of new and emerging markets is probably coming to an end and the influx of foreign investment (well, all it's doing is opening the door to take the money, and them some, back out again) signals the maturing of the sector.

As I said, we'll see.

Coupon-mad

I suspect those that are trying to stay on the AOS list are all working on new documents, signs and letters for 1st October which will make out that they are somehow 'authorised' under the Protection of Freedoms Act. And banging on about being 'legally allowed' to claim against the registered keeper from October onwards, if the driver is not named.

And I suspect some of the PPCs are saving up cases now, issuing no letters, then might well send out their new style letters even for fake PCNs issued in Aug/Sept.

I hope they do...

JagDriver

I got one from there in March never heard a thing. Mind you they were still licking their wounds after getting a good spanking at Stockport Mags.

BTW they signs are still as they were so I suspect that Excel now just take the 65% 'pay up sheeple', they wouldn't want a judge asking why they had not acted on the Judges recommendations, preferring instead to agree with their own trade body that their signs are 'adequate'.

Anyone know if the signs mention RK liability?

andy13

You should not abuse the the carpark. Please pay the £1 charge that is asked for. If you continue to trespass, the landowner may take action against you.

JagDriver

The HMRC vs VCS case says they cannot charge you the parking fee either, only the land owner can. If you don't pay, the landowner could attempt to take you to court for trespass. But quite what the judge would think about that has never been tested, and would look mighty odd as they are offering a space for you to park in.

PaulJM

andy13 wrote: »

You should not abuse the the carpark. Please pay the £1 charge that is asked for. If you continue to trespass, the landowner may take action against you.

Good. Bout time they tried it.
I'd like to rent a place across the road and get a big banner telling everyone not to cough up.
Paying to shop? The big chains there should say something about it.

Stephen_Leak

andy13 wrote: »

You should not abuse the the carpark. Please pay the £1 charge that is asked for. If you continue to trespass, the landowner may take action against you.

If the land owner offers car parking and invites people onto his land to do so, he can't then sue them for trespass.

We have to be very careful not to condone non-payment or overstaying in a pay car park. The car park owner is owed the parking charge. £1 is a reasonable amount.

Not paying the charge also gives Excel a reason to continue their "infestation" of the car park.

The car park owner would be within their rights to issue a county court claim for any unpaid charges. Whether it would be cost effective to do so, or whether they have the will to do so, considering that they use a private ticketing company to do their dirty work for them, are other matters.

PaulJM

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

If the land owner offers car parking and invites people onto his land to do so, he can't then sue them for trespass.

We have to be very careful not to condone non-payment or overstaying in a pay car park. The car park owner is owed the parking charge. £1 is a reasonable amount.

Not paying the charge also gives Excel a reason to continue their "infestation" of the car park.

The car park owner would be within their rights to issue a county court claim for any unpaid charges. Whether it would be cost effective to do so, or whether they have the will to do so, considering that they use a private ticketing company to do their dirty work for them, are other matters.

You're quite right, I do think the £1 is reasonable for upkeep, and I would normally pay.
Because I've had notices twice for tickets that have come off the dashboard, and because they are so aggressive and unhelpful, I feel resentful and obnoxious towards the ppc, which is why on occasion, not paying them feels satisfying, no matter how immature.
I think if it was more like 'oi idiot, you didn't pay, stick the payment in the box or wel'll charge you a tenner' then I wouldn't feel this way so much.

PaulJM

I know this is an old thread, but it's my old thread, and I have an update
I heard nothing about this until Feb this year, when I received a couple of letters from the rip-off merchants themselves, Excel.

Since then, I've had 4 letters, with the same format as last time - 2 from the Debt Collectors Roxburge, and 2 from Graham White, telling me to contact Roxburge (so what's the point of them - nothing)

I notice this time it's phrased more carefully than last, and they don't make out that they can set a CCJ on you, like they used to.
They also set out the possible fees, which ironically are less than they want me to send them, if they take me to small claims court.

Interesting that they didn't bother with me for so long.
I keep sending back without a stamp on, saying "Not known at this address" so at least they'll have to stump up for that.

:T

PaulJM

Oh, one more thing.
It now tells you on the letters that the "internet" has "stories" about whether or not to pay these...they suggest you take legal advice first