Another Parking Charge question

Guys_Dad

Rex - nothing like knowing you are not alone. Just Google "ANPR athena" and sit back and read all those who have successfully ignored that lot without any court action following up.

Merry Christmas !

The_Slithy_Tove

Rex wrote: »

always obey those who appear to have authority!

There you hit the nail on the head. PPCs succeed by giving the appearance of having some authority, whereas in fact, they have none. A letter with yellow and black border and lots of pseudo-legalese does not make it authoratative or legitimate.

Rex wrote: »

Yes, I was shopping but the store, when I approached them, told me there was zilch they could do

They are lying. The PPC are their agents, or at least agents of their landlord, giving them quite a bit of leverage considering the rent they pay.

Coupon-mad

Rex wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. She would like to pay because she is Japanese and one does not rock the boat; always obey those who appear to have authority! Yes, I was shopping but the store, when I approached them, told me there was zilch they could do. However, I was back shopping again this afternoon and noted the displayed sign. It says (amongst other things) that after 1.5hrs of free parking, the customer agrees to the additional fee. It also says that any profit will be donated to charity, but I assume that is the charity that makes the managers of Athena wealthy individuals. Given that I presumably agreed to the terms by overstaying, is non-communication still the best option?

Your wife also sends money to Nigerian phishing emailers then?

Not joking, the scam is the same - only by snail mail mail. You can even see all the letter chain to look forward to, if you click on one of the links I give below.

You are also misunderstanding the 'profits to charity' statement, which is actually stated by LIDL and relates only to their tiny % rake-off. Athena keep all their profits from idiots who are daft enough to pay them. DO NOT LET YOUR WIFE FALL VICTIM TO THIS WELL-KNOWN SCAM, COVERED BY WATCHDOG SEVERAL TIMES OVER!

It's an unsolicited invoice. Ignore it and ignore the letters.

When dealing with "tickets" from private parking companies (PPCs) our advice is to ignore them as long as the registered keeper is you or a relative (company/hire/lease cars need a different approach). The letters are easy to ignore when they are received by someone who knows it's all hogwash and not a real parking ticket at all. The whole scam of fake PCNs relies firstly on people's ignorance of the fact that a random private company can't fine anyone, and secondly on their natural fear of parking tickets and the escalating costs/bailiff scenario (which doesn't apply, there is NO DEBT).

Quite simply, PPCs copy the look of a real parking ticket and - hey presto! - the cash rolls in from victims who know no better.

Tick off the threatening letters here.

Watchdog clip with expert Solicitor's opinion here.

Barrister's opinion here.

Do you and your lady wife believe us now? Companies which pretend to have authority are rife, wise up please!

HTH