What is the actual problem?

ManxRed

Its not just because they make a profit. Its the manner in which they do it. Telling people (which includes pensioners and the like) that unless they pay up then bailiffs will call and their credit rating will be ruined and a CCJ will be registered against their name, is not the action of a company with moral standards.

Landowners are entitled to recover their losses in the event of errant parking. If that was the charge on the tickets then we wouldn't have an issue.

Do you think ASDA's lose £70 every time someone parks slightly over a white line or visits the store twice in one day?

trisontana

Technically there should never be any "profit" from any parking charge notices. By law they should only compensate the landowner for their actual losses. The only profits a PPC can legitimately make are takings from parking-ticket machines and any fees paid to them by whoever hires them.

So really, the PPC "business model" (if done properly) will never make any money.

Stroma

PompeiiMaster wrote: »

So by the sounds of peoples comments people hate PPC's because they make a profit... Anyone likely to start a not-for-profit PPC that reinvests proceeds from charges back into the local community and would that get better compliance? Doesnt sound like a bad idea to me, but would you still say £70 was extortionate in that scenario?

A company needs to make a profit to exist, so lets get to the crux of it then, how do these companies make money then ? Because they are only allowed to claim for losses, so the reality is they are not only claiming for a loss they are making a profit out of each ticket paid, that profit is a penalty it's that simple.

surfboy1

I live in a buisy tourist town, the Morrisons store by me is allways buisy during the season, (even out of season), they have never had a PPC operate on them and ,funnily enough, there is no widespread parking problems!
It is my oppinion that these "Parking Problems" are not as widespread as PPCs make out.
Look at all the parking anarchy that was predicted by some PPCs in the run up to the clamping ban!
Are all car parks a war zone now?

trisontana

Any so-called losses are those that have been suffered by the landowner and not the PPC. So any money thus collected should be paid over to the landowner by the PPC. Otherwise the landowner would still be out of pocket.

Stroma

trisontana wrote: »

Any so-called losses are those that have been suffered by the landowner and not the PPC. So any money thus collected should be paid over to the landowner by the PPC. Otherwise the landowner would still be out of pocket.

Is it Trev with the signs saying that the motorist has caused them to breach their contract so the landowner is charging them for that ?

trisontana

Stroma wrote: »

Is it Trev with the signs saying that the motorist has caused them to breach their contract so the landowner is charging them for that ?

That's the one. According to his signs, every time a motorist breaks the "rules", poor old Trev has to pay the landowner £100. This from the same man who threatened to sue the government for "loss of revenue" when the clamping ban came in.

ManxRed

He pays the landowner £100 per ticket, and the motorist coughs up £50 for early payment.

Its a cracking business model.

Stroma

I wonder if the landowner knows about that £100 ? Wouldn't it be unfortunate to let them know, oh and the local council and hmrc as well lol

maninahat

IF (and it's a big IF) PPCs acted with full regard to the law then they would probably be seen in a much more positive light. Their entire business model as it stands works on scaring the uninitiated in to handing over cash with unsubstantiated threats of court action for such heinous crimes as being deemed to have walked out of a shop's free car park after spending £xxx in said shop.

If landowners want to control parking on their land then there are plenty of legal, easy to administer options to that effect. For example pay on exit barriers or similar. Of course, it's much cheaper to get a PPC in with fake sticky bags to present invoices.

Even the PPCs know they can't defend these penalties in court (hence why they hardly take any cases to court).