pcn parking fine st helens

diane70

Hello,
Im a single mum and took my daugter to the cinema wednesday, the orange wed ticket cause funds are limited....anyway we parked up at the car park i presumed was for the leisure complex, cine world, running horses and pizza hut, ive always parked there etc......we left the car at 00.00 ran in and bought a ticket at 00.00, watched the movie, sneaked some sweets in as popcorn costs £8 lol.....only to come out to fine a parking ticket, they got me at 00.00, so they must of waited for me to walk away the swines....anyway i asked a few people about and they knew nothing about having to pay, there are no pay and dispalys, anyway I had a walk round and there are signs up high saying this is a private car park and that you need a permit???? since found out its free after 4pm
I have been told by friends to ignore it but the worrier I am , im now stressing, I dont have £50 to pay.......what should or can I do
thanks Diane x edited times x

Umkomaas

Who issued the ticket?

Stroma

before you answer that, can you just confirm its not a council only, as you are supplying the parking company employees who lurks on here with to much information.. Please edit out all times in your first post as its not relevant

dibuzz

Part of that car park is for the college but its very badly set out.
Some new signs appeared recently about needing a permit for the college which said cars without a permit will be clamped if left in the college parking area but it's very unclear which bit is for what.
I can't remember who runs the car park but it's definitely not the council.

Stroma

Clamping on private land without legal authority is now illegal

dibuzz

That's what I thought when I saw the signs but they look new and I only noticed them about a month ago.

diane70

hi it said private car park PCN (NW) limited member of bpa the companys in blackpool?

diane70

i presumed the smaller car park was collage and the large one for pizza hut cinema etc........ive been parking there for many years along with everyone else x

Guys_Dad

OK, here is where you stand.

You appear to have contravened the Parking Company's "rules" and they will claim that you have entered into a contract with them and, having breached their terms, you now owe them money.

On here, we say they can take a hike, it's not a fine, only a speculative invoice.

They could take you to court to try to get money from you. One of the regulars on here will hopefully put up the stats that show this is very, very unlikely.

There are a number of requirements that PPCs have to follow in order for them to win a court case or even a POPLA appeal. The regulations are quite complicated and it would be great if you had someone local who had a copy of the BPA requirements, was knowledgeable and who could check out their signage for a starter should you need to mount an appeal.

However, it may very well be better for you to ignore, although you will get a number of threatening letters from solicitors and "debt collectors" and you need to file them away. If you did get one from Northampton Court, then that becomes official and you need to come back on here for help.

diane70

HI Thanks for that, who would have the bpa requirements? do i file a appeal online? then they have my address, which they will get from dvla anyway?? x

Guys_Dad

diane70 wrote: »

HI Thanks for that, who would have the bpa requirements? do i file a appeal online? then they have my address, which they will get from dvla anyway?? x

In my opinion, if your appeal was based on your opening post, it would fail. It is a private car park and you parked outside the designated hours. No need for a Pay and Display because either it is free or at other times you need a permit. In effect, you were trespassing.

So you need to prove that they either had no right to make a charge as their contract with the landowner didn't provide for that or that in some way they have failed in adhering to the BPA guidelines.

The BPA guidelines are here http://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/BPA_CodeofPractice_2013_v1.pdf

You would need to show that they had failed to follow these. Other procedures would apply to any POPLA appeal but more of that later if needed

But you don't need to do anything till you get a letter from them. So wait till then and come back on.