Pool Car in a private car park

Haddylass

I have a small business with 8 of us working for it.

One of our employees (it could be one of five!) parked a pool car in a shopping centre car park and received a ticket for leaving the site for 12 minutes!

I do not know who was using the car at the time so cannot fairly pass the fine to an individual even if I wanted to!

The company in question is threatening a civil court proceeding to make an order to disclose who the driver was with resulting costs against.

Does the parking firm have rights to make me disclose who the driver was and what happens when I don't know?

ManxRed

When did this take place? (i.e. the parking incident)

bargepole

Haddylass wrote: »

I have a small business with 8 of us working for it.

One of our employees (it could be one of five!) parked a pool car in a shopping centre car park and received a ticket for leaving the site for 12 minutes!

I do not know who was using the car at the time so cannot fairly pass the fine to an individual even if I wanted to!

The company in question is threatening a civil court proceeding to make an order to disclose who the driver was with resulting costs against.

Does the parking firm have rights to make me disclose who the driver was and what happens when I don't know?

The parking firm has no rights to force you to disclose the name of the driver.

If they succeeded in getting a Judge to make that order, you would have to comply.

You should, as a business, keep a log of who is using which car at any given time. If a speeding NIP came through in the post, saying that it could be any of five possible drivers would get you into a bit of trouble.

The_Slithy_Tove

Haddylass wrote: »

I have a small business with 8 of us working for it.

One of our employees (it could be one of five!) parked a pool car in a shopping centre car park and received a ticket for leaving the site for 12 minutes!

I do not know who was using the car at the time so cannot fairly pass the fine to an individual even if I wanted to!

The company in question is threatening a civil court proceeding to make an order to disclose who the driver was with resulting costs against.

Does the parking firm have rights to make me disclose who the driver was and what happens when I don't know?

No, the parking firm have no powers to make you do anything. If they are threatening a Norwich Pharmacal Order for you to disclose, then it's a bluff, as the costs are on THEM (not you), and it's quite costly - they won't. If they are quoting Civil Procedures Act, or some such, that's also baloney, as it is not relevant to the small claims track, where this would be heard if they were daft enough to go to court.

Your company has no liability whatsoever to the parking company, and cannot be taken to court. Any contract, if it exists, lies with the driver.

This is a bogus ticket on bogus grounds. They are trying it on. Just ignore it all.

Kite2010

Just claim its against data protection laws to disclose the drivers details.

The best pool car event is in a carpark with no returns within 2 hours, driver 1 visited in the morning, handed the keys to the car back, an hour or so later driver 2 takes the car to the same place and gets a ticket for returning to site, very funny day in the transport office

Haddylass

ManxRed wrote: »

When did this take place? (i.e. the parking incident)

August apparantly, prior to the new appeals process being set up from the 1st October.

Haddylass

bargepole wrote: »

The parking firm has no rights to force you to disclose the name of the driver.

If they succeeded in getting a Judge to make that order, you would have to comply.

You should, as a business, keep a log of who is using which car at any given time. If a speeding NIP came through in the post, saying that it could be any of five possible drivers would get you into a bit of trouble.

Thanks for your comment. We do keep a Mileage log for our three cars but rather suspiciously that day has been left blank by the staff members who could have been using the car. I suppose I object to the actions of the parking firm and my own research and understanding of Contract Law would suggest that the implied parking Contract is between the firm and the driver. I would obviously prefer it if one of our guys stuck up their hand and said that they were driving but we are having to go through a round of redundancies at the moment and I fear they are keeping quiet thinking it would affect their ongoing position with the firm

Haddylass

The_Slithy_Tove wrote: »

No, the parking firm have no powers to make you do anything. If they are threatening a Norwich Pharmacal Order for you to disclose, then it's a bluff, as the costs are on THEM (not you), and it's quite costly - they won't. If they are quoting Civil Procedures Act, or some such, that's also baloney, as it is not relevant to the small claims track, where this would be heard if they were daft enough to go to court.

Your company has no liability whatsoever to the parking company, and cannot be taken to court. Any contract, if it exists, lies with the driver.

This is a bogus ticket on bogus grounds. They are trying it on. Just ignore it all.

REPLY of THANKS
Thanks for the couple of pointers it is appreciated and your comment about where the implied parking contract lies is also my understanding of such parking contracts on private land.

ManxRed

Haddylass wrote: »

August apparantly, prior to the new appeals process being set up from the 1st October.

In that case you don't have to name the driver and the PPC has no case as they could not possibly make a third party like your company liable for a breach of contract that you weren't party to.

The NPO costs must be fully met by the PPC and 'I don't honestly know' IS a valid reply to an NPO. They'd be pouring hundreds of pounds down the drain.

Haddylass

Kite2010 wrote: »

Just claim its against data protection laws to disclose the drivers details.

The best pool car event is in a carpark with no returns within 2 hours, driver 1 visited in the morning, handed the keys to the car back, an hour or so later driver 2 takes the car to the same place and gets a ticket for returning to site, very funny day in the transport office

NOTE OF THANKS

Thanks for the suggestion of the reference of Data Protection Laws to disclose the driver's name. We unfortunately cannot use the passing of the key claim as the notice was for leaving the shopping area for 12 minutes! rather than returning in a specified time.

RENEGADE_2

Hi Haddylass. At what stage are you? Were you merely quoting the rubbish on the document attached to the vehicle? Or have you so far ignored only to be alerted about an invoice through the post?

You'll be pleased to know that the demand is unenforceable and therefore a court case by the landowner will result in his certain defeat, hence the reason he won't try court.