Parking Ticket from Totalcarparks.com

ultimatedingbat

Greetings

First to edit the title it is totalcarparks.co.uk not .com!


I parked myself in a Totalcarpark in Manchester on Tuesday. I was parking from Tuesday through till tomorrow (sunday).
Tuesday and Wednesday I paid at the machine (£2 per day). Thursday I found I had no money so I paid for Thursday-Saturday, intending t move the car today. FOrgot all about it till this evening so paid for tomorrow.

On Thursdays I paid £5 for Thurs-Sat, today I've paid a further £1 for tomorrow.

When I went back to my car on Friday evening I had a ticket stuck to the window, claiming no permit or ticket shown. There was no ticket as I paid online.

When I have checked I think I know why. THere are two car parks owned by the same company on the same street. I think I may have selected the wrong one online (82 instead of 87).

The carpark has no street number outside, and my invoice only references the road.

I have appealed the fine (£30 if paid in 7 days, £60 if paid in 14, £80 if paid in 28).

What are my chances of having my appeal accepted. I really can not afford to pay the fine. I am also worried I will recieve another ticket for today as although I paid for my parking I beleive it expired at 5pm even though the price you pay is for the day.

If they do decide I have to pay the fine, what are my chances of being able to pay the £30 instead of the £60.

Edit:
I wanted to add that it says Parking Ticket at the top of the ticket. However it then lists it as a notice no, issued on the 22/02/2013 at 9:54, with no time entered in the first seen at.

Second edit:
I got a second ticket from them at 11:54 on the 23/02/2013 for the same violation.

Third:
The ticket doesnt mention penalty charge notice. It says Parking ticket. The website takes me to a section to pay my PTC. It is called Pay penalty on the website. Confused...I am assuming PTC stands for either penalty ticket charge or parking ticket charge. Note the acronym is not on the ticket.

Link to website where it says to pay https://www.totalcarparks.co.uk/ptc

Coupon-mad

A private parking firm? A Parking Charge Notice not a PENALTY CHARGE NOTICE?

If so then it's not even a real one, not a fine at all. You are taking it far too seriously.

Is it Total Car Parks.co.uk in fact? I can only find them listed as that on the AOS scheme members list:

http://www.britishparking.co.uk/AOS-Members

There is no Totalcarparks.com listed as an AOS member. If you have a ticket from a NON-AOS member then ignore it. If you have a ticket from an AOS member in England/Wales then either ignore it or appeal it to the second stage which is POPLA.

The whole scam of private parking tickets is advised about here every day dozens of times - here's one I answered earlier this week:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...php?p=59521125

'Tis nowt but a scam - whichever company isued it and under whatever circumstances.

Only take seriously a 'Penalty Charge' not a 'Parking charge' Notice.

HTH

ultimatedingbat

https://www.totalcarparks.co.uk/

This is the company I paid for parking with. APologies it was co.uk not com.

No where on it does it say Penalty Charge notice. It says Parking Ticket.

However if you follow the link to their website where it says to pay it calls it a PTC and asks you to pay the penalty.

I am taking it seriously as it has me worried.

According to that website it says no across the board except the ticketing.

Coupon-mad

This is indeed a scam and is NOT a fine. Stop taking it seriously!!

You may think it is a 'fine' because it impersonates a parking ticket. You will just get the usual letters just as other posters do.

Your choices are to ignore it or (if this was in England or Wales only) as you have already appealed, when they reject it (which they will) you can insist on a POPLA appeal, where you can then ignore it if you don't win the appeal. Explained here by pepipoo forum:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=46975

and here's a thread about POPLA:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=4263959

and a thread discussing a successful appeal to POPLA which involved Parking Eye:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=4447137

But basically, like all the other posters on this board, you have a fake PCN, a misleading invoice.

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

This is not a penalty at all. It's rubbish, there are no bailiffs letters, just debt collector standard template threatograms (all hot air, we can tell you this for certain).

Tick off the threatening letters as you get them, here.

Watchdog clip with expert Solicitor's opinion here.

Barrister's opinion on a legal Q&A website here.

Thread about the Protection of Freedoms Act - and parking tickets still being as unenforceable as ever - here.

The letters are actually quite funny when they arrive at the address of someone who knows it's all hogwash and not a real parking ticket at all.

My 18 year old niece has EIGHT fake PCNs so far - and laughs & texts me every time she gets one. She is just a new driver, a teenager, and she knows this is all a con like a series of phishing emails. Boy does she get a lot of junk mail!

I would happily collect more fake PCNs than the 2 that I already have. Plus I have a nice collection of amusing/alarmist debt collector letters which I carry in my handbag to show friends & colleagues if the subject crops up!

PLease now take a deep breath, see this scam for what it is and stop worrying about it.

ultimatedingbat

My main concern is that they are registered on that website listed above. I have appealed through their appeals process. Will keep an eye out and see if they reject it. It makes me nervous parking there again! However its the only place to park near my partners.

I'm only 23 and have only ever had 1 parking ticket before this (a proper one which I appealed and won on the grounds of the guy was too lazy to look for my ticket!) so obviously just concnered about this affecting my creidt rating. I can't afford £80 though!

Coupon-mad

ultimatedingbat wrote: »

My main concern is that they are registered on that website listed above. I have appealed through their appeals process. Will keep an eye out and see if they reject it. It makes me nervous parking there again! However its the only place to park near my partners.

I'm only 23 and have only ever had 1 parking ticket before this (a proper one which I appealed and won on the grounds of the guy was too lazy to look for my ticket!) so obviously just concerned about this affecting my credit rating. I can't afford £80 though!

Oh stop it! Even ex-clampers have jumped on the AOS members bandwagon, it doesn't make their operation legit! The BPA is just a members club and the firms PAY to join so they can be allowed to have the registered keeper's data from the DVLA so they can send you some junk mail pretending you owe the money.

THIS CANNOT AFFECT YOUR CREDIT RATING!!

Of course they will reject it - there is NO APPEAL. THEY LIE.

Did you read the links I gave you, including lots of info and preview pics of the letters these scammers tend to send (look under other PPCs because I don't think anyone has taken 'Total' seriously enough to bother to upload their letters - they will be the same as all the rest though, Roxburghe or Debt Recovery Plus letters).

You have still only ever had ONE parking ticket. This is NOT ONE.

ultimatedingbat

In honesty not yet I will read them with a clearer head in the morning. In theory (clearly theory) they shouldnt' reject it as my invoice clearly stated paid for parking on r****** road and doesnt say a place number.

Coupon-mad

That's being naive. But you'll see what I mean when you read the links. These are scammers, all the names on that website are scammers that rely on people's ignorance that the 'parking tickets' are fake.

ultimatedingbat

That's the reason i said in theory. I am not naive enough to beleive it will happen, only slightly hopeful. had a scan through the links, i beleive my grounds for appeal would be the first one that the vehicle was not improperly parked, and therefore the charge is invalid. I had paid for a ticket for r******* road carpark and that was where I parked.

Coupon-mad

ultimatedingbat wrote: »

That's the reason i said in theory. I am not naive enough to beleive it will happen, only slightly hopeful. had a scan through the links, i beleive my grounds for appeal would be the first one that the vehicle was not improperly parked, and therefore the charge is invalid. I had paid for a ticket for r******* road carpark and that was where I parked.

Yep but you are focussing on the POPLA appeal links - which is an option for you WHEN the PPC reject. That's the next stage.

What you need to do for now, first is understand that this is a scam. These links are the ones to read and understand right now:

Tick off the threatening letters as you get them, here. Total is NOT specifically shown but the usual debt collector threatograms (LOL!) are used by all the scammers.

Watchdog clip with expert Solicitor's opinion here.

Barrister's opinion on a legal Q&A website here.

Thread about the Protection of Freedoms Act - and parking tickets still being as unenforceable as ever - here.


HTH

ultimatedingbat

Thanks for all your help. The panic stage is over. The other panic linked is that the car is not in my name so it wontb e me that get all the threatening letters and I'm sure daddio won't be too happy. I have warned him though.

I did read through the links from the first post, will look closer at the rest in the morning.