CMS UK Ltd - parking fine for parking at the sparking space allocated to my apartment

dragonlady82

Hi, I'm renting a flat from the estate agency and in my rental agreement is clearly stated that I have an allocated parking space. All parking spaces have asigned numbers so people that are living in this block of flats know where to park. When we were receive the keys to this apartment the estate agency newer said anything about parking permits to park at the property car park. Couple days after I moved in to the apartment I received first parking ticket form CMS UK Ltd. I have 3 all together and today I received a Reminder Notice from CMS UK Ltd for one ticket and it is saying that I need to pay £90, if I dont pay the penalty will rise to £140.
Do you know if it safe to ignore them?
Thanks in advance

spacey2012

What do signs affixed clearly where you can read them say ?
Not that it changes much, but are there any signs clearly displayed informing you of any condition's.

dragonlady82

There are signs on the building but to be honest I didnt see them after I got the tickets. I have checked with my estate agency and they havent even been aware about parking permit requirements. We finally got the parking permint after a month when my fiance went to the estate agent and spoke to the manager. Since that time we didnt get the tickets. The strange thing is that our parking is gated and nobody have an access to it withourt the special fob. We haave received this fob form agency on the day when we got the keys. The girl in the agency only said to us that we need to park at our parking lot number but she never mentioned anything about the parking permit. This agency has few apartment in my building but we were first to have this kind of experience with parking company and parking tickets.

Half_way

a few options:
ignore them, and keep on collecting the useless junk mail from cms.

check the lease agreement ( you may need to enquire abou this with the landlord) if this mentions parking and nothing about permits then:
Find out who lets CMs into this car park, and tell them to stop their agents affixing stickers to your car/sending you money/harrasing you, also tell CMS to stop as you consider it to be harrasment.
if they dont then their is an option for caliming damages for harrasment,

If they are putting stickers on your vehicle you could invoice them for genuine damages/costs caused by their trespass, you could try such things as rubber gloves, cleaning solution ( to remove adhesive from car window) Costs to obtain materials above - you could include the parkng charge at the local council shopping area car park+fuel.
the costs you could claim should be reasonable and as low as possible, even if its less than £5 its still a loss.

Coupon-mad

dragonlady82 wrote: »

There are signs on the building but to be honest I didnt see them after I got the tickets. I have checked with my estate agency and they havent even been aware about parking permit requirements. We finally got the parking permint after a month when my fiance went to the estate agent and spoke to the manager. Since that time we didnt get the tickets.

The strange thing is that our parking is gated and nobody have an access to it withourt the special fob. We have received this fob form agency on the day when we got the keys. The girl in the agency only said to us that we need to park at our parking lot number but she never mentioned anything about the parking permit.

This agency has few apartment in my building but we were first to have this kind of experience with parking company and parking tickets.

You are certainly not the first to experience this scam on here through!

'LetmeGooglethatforyou' MSE specific result (let it load and read the auto results).

Complain in writing (not on the phone) to those responsible for this farce and say this 'fake PCN scam' - followed by debt collector letters which are designed to intimidate people - is harassment which is a criminal offence. So that would be a two-pronged complaint, to those who should have told you there is this daft permit scheme in a secure car park (what a stupid idea), and those responsible for allowing the scumbags to infest that site.

Then another paragraph in the complaint saying that you hereby opt out of the ridiculous, unneeded permit scheme, did not consent to it in the first place and will not reply to any correspondence about this scam. Say that any parking agent or staff member touching a car in your space will be trespassing and you reserve the right to take legal action over it - and it will not just be at the Private Parking firm.

And if you can check your lease (or your landlord's lease if you are renting and they don't mind you checking) then cite any part of it that says you are entitled to park a vehicle in a bay, entitled to peaceful enjoyment, etc. And point out if there is NOTHING about any permit scheme. Your lease trumps any little scheme the agent thought was a good idea at the time. If it's a landlords lease and he supports you opting out of the scheme then say so, because the rights in his lease are passed on to you if renting and so you do have the power to refuse this permit con.

Then if there's a residents' meeting some time this year (or just a communal noticeboard) then spread the word about this scam so no neighbours ever pay one. And put the feelers out to see if everyone is up for forcing the agent to dispense with the useless PPC, they have fallen for a scheme they do not need (maybe because the agent may be getting a cut of any fake PCNs any deluded victims actually pay).

No-one needs a parking parasite in a car park with key fobs. If they were brought in because stupid neighbours may have had a moan about someone being in the wrong bay a couple of times then those neighbours are idiots and should have been careful what they wished for. Now look what they have in your car park - a protection racket whose only victims will be you residents and your visitors. That is not good enough, stamp it out.

Guys_Dad

I agree with that. My friend lives in a block that has a problem with the PPC that was brought in by the "director" of the management company set up by the residents when they brought the freehold.

Nothing in the lease or covenant with the management company that mentions PPCs , but the weasel catch all paragraphs that give the management board a free hand to implement any operational changes are his wriggle-room.

But apathy with the other owners and no one else prepared to stand as a director means this little Hitler gets away with his various diktats.

The_Slithy_Tove

I'm 100% with what Coupon Mad said here. Next to the PPCs harassing and intimidating disabled people who forget to show their badges, and hire/lease companies who should know better passing on these non-fines + an admin fee to their clients, this kind of event probably makes me the most angry.

As your rental agreement talks about a specific parking space, it's pretty certain that your landlord's lease does, too. If you can't get to see that lease, try asking an owner-occupier neighbour. All the leases will be much the same.

Forget the agent you rent through. They are just that - an agent. The people you need to go for are the management company who will be the people who brought in these parasites (and probably get a kick-back from them for tickets issued/paid). Find out who that is. If you have to pay the management company for their fees directly, easy; if it's part of the rent, you'll need to find out who it is from the agent/landlord/a neighbour.

Then go for the jugular. Remind them in whose interests they are meant to be working (the owners/residents). Inform them that any parking scammers they bring in are meant to "manage" (I use that term in the broadest possible sense) the common areas, as the numbered parking spaces are private property of the various flats, and nothing to do with them. Put them on notice as already advised and formally opt out of any permit scheme.

As a tenant, lobbying to get the PPC removed may not be easy, but if owner-occupier neighbours have been frustrated by their antics, they may have more clout/incentive to do so.