Parking Charge Notice from Topher Ltd

BenyJ

I've received a parking fine for staying too long within a Homebase carpark. I know of people that just ignored these in the past and got away with it.

But, It mentions "New Law Effective from 1st October 2012"
- The 'Protection of Freedoms Act 2012' came into force on the 1st October 2012. Schedule 4 of the act sets out changes in the legislation in England and Wales regarding parking on private land and the right and obligations of the drivers and vehicle keepers-


Help?! Should I ignore? Do I have to pay?

HappyMJ

Continue to ignore. The law changes very little. They can and always could take the driver to court now they can take the registered keeper to court. They still need too prove a breach of contract and can only charge for losses caused which are zero in a free car park.

SodG24

Ignore the Private Parking Company but I'd email the CEO of Home Retail Group ( who own Homebase ) and tell him you'll be using B&Q from now on ( and won't be using Argos either ! ).

His details are [EMAIL="terry.duddy@homeretailgroup.com"]terry.duddy@homeretailgroup.com[/EMAIL]

Send Tezza my regards and point out to him that I predicted in my email to him that he would lose customers by employing scammers !

taffy056

Topher Ltd , are they even in the AOS ? Can't look as I'm on my phone . But if they are not OP they have no means of contacting you at all so ignore them completely as the change in the law doesn't apply to them.

surfboy1

I have just checked and they are AOS members.

taffy056

Okay managed to look them up and they are there, they must be new as I have never seen these scammers before

taffy056

surfboy1 wrote: »

I have just checked and they are AOS members.

So have I

HO87

They have been AOS members since at least September 2009. Have figured here periodically but not for some while. Registered office is in Farnham but are actually run out of offices in Fleet, Hants. There has been the occasional suggestion that the company was part of Gary Wayne's stable of PPC's (IIRC because of a payment address?) but I've not come across anything that would confirm that.

grant_uk

All the change in the law means that the registered keeper of the car might be targeted for some pantomime threat letters if the actual driver doesn't come forward. The grounds on which they might base a potential court case are as dodgy as ever.

They cannot fine you, all they can do is sue for loss of earnings which, as parking is free in Home Base, amounts to precisely that amount, plus any admin costs, which won't be anything like the ridiculous fees they think you should be paying for giving your custom to these retailers.

They still go away if their letters are ignored. Just don't let the increased reliance on veiled threats about potential debt-collectors and solicitors get to you. It's standard fare and, when you read the text closely, is wrapped in the 'ifs' and 'maybes' of an organisation that is only really interested in people who are easily intimidated into paying up.

I don't mean that to be a dig at those who have paid either - these companies are good at exploiting the misplaced honesty and knee-jerk panic that emerges when these letters drop onto the mat. Thanks to forums like this one, what they do can be exposed for the scam that it is, instead of what the PPCs try to portray it as.

BenyJ

Thanks for your quick responses people!

I feel reassured now about ignoring

RENEGADE_2

If it were an attched sticker to windscreen, absolutely ignore - even if you wish to make them pay money to POPLA. Don't make it easy for them by producing a face when they are currently clueless as to whether the ticket were even on the windscreen when you got there.

But I've ignored a Topher from a retail park back in 2011 in Yeovil, they never even chased it so perhaps they won't here.