Forgot to Display Pay and Display ticket

Mike338

As the title says. I might be getting a bit ahead of myself here.

I payed the 50p in the Sainsburys carpark(eurocarparks run) today but forgot to display the ticket on the dashboard. Went to a local shop to get a few items then came back to my van to realise what I'd done :idea:
Two men in a focus drove off nearby with high vis vests on as I put the items in my van. (am I being paranoid or do the parking inspectors stay on the car park?).

Also do the ticket inspectors stick a ticket on your windscreen in these carparks or do you get a letter through the post? As I didn't have anything stuck on my windscreen (which I expected) .

Thanks,

Mike.

ManxRed

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the sad underbelly of the world of private parking companies. You'd exepct them to behave like legitimate companies, with parking management at the head of their list of concerns, however the reality is sadly much seedier.

They are just after money.

So, any number of scenarios could play out here. They should have stuck a ticket on your car, however they may choose to post you a ticket (far less confrontational) soon, by applying to the DVLA for the registered keeper details (sadly they are allowed to do this). They may then send the registered keeper a letter demanding some money. This might be for the discounted amount, it might be for the full amount, who knows? With the second, they stand a chance of making MORE money than the former. They like money. They like it a lot.

HOWEVER, and this is all you rally need to know, the LANDOWNER (not Euro Car Parks) is entitled to the losses they have incurred as a result of your indiscretion. Which is nowt.

You owe the landowner £0.00

You owe Euro even less.

The key thing is, are you the registered keeper of the van, because that's who they'll send all the letters to.

If you are, then just sit back, and ignore all their useless threats, safe in the knowledge, that despite all they'll claim in their letters, they WON'T take you to court, and they will actually just go away.

If you're NOT the registered keeper, let us know and we'll advise accordingly.

Mike338

Thanks Manx. Your reply has given me a boost!
I wasn't to sure how it would play out as a lot threads I've read on google relate to camera operated carpark sites.

I am the registered keep of the van so we'll see if anything happens ! I still have the 50p display ticket if that makes any difference.

ManxRed

Keep it handy, you never know (you might want to bait them at some point!), but if you do get a ticket, it'll be followed by a couple of letters, possibly from a pretend powerless Debt Collector, and sometimes a pretend solicitor, and then after all that.....


...nothing happens. They give up and go away! They know that if they did take you to court, they'd lose (they haven't got a legal leg to stand on), and they would then risk adverse publicity that means even more people would suss out that this is actually a big scam.

Coupon-mad

Mike338 wrote: »

Thanks Manx. Your reply has given me a boost!
I wasn't to sure how it would play out as a lot threads I've read on google relate to camera operated carpark sites.

I am the registered keep of the van so we'll see if anything happens ! I still have the 50p display ticket if that makes any difference.

I got a Euro Car Parks PCN on my windscreen in a Supermarket car park. It was the first fake PCN I got and I laughed at it and ignored the letters. That was 5 years ago and I have collected another fake PCN this year.

If they do write to you then nothing happens except junk mail. File any letters safely with the 50p display ticket in a drawer marked 'scam'.

andrew-the-cat

Don't worry about it. It's a privately run car park and the company (ECP) have no legal power to make you pay anything at all.

If you do get a letter through, just ignore it. Don't try to appeal, the appeals process is run by the company themselves so it's in their interest to reject your appeal (which I can promise you will happen).

So don't respond to it, don't do anything, and they will eventually leave you alone.

Despite all the threats of court action, debt collectors, bad credit ratings etc they put on their notice boards, I believe ECP have only ever been to court once and they lost. On that occasion they were chasing someone for over £2500 and they were laughed out of court and were not only embarrassed but also had to pay costs to the defendant for wasting his time.

taffy056

There was an interview in the Sunday Times a while ago where Euro admitted that they have never taken anyone to court, and have no intension of doing so in the future due to the fact that their fake tickets have no legal merit. You can read the article below

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=56311

andrew-the-cat

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=73765