Commercial Vehicle Parking Not Allowed

billyboy11

Hi,

We live in a fairly new area, some areas still under construction. Our road is adopted and now the management company are saying that they are no longer allowing any type of commercial vehicle parking in the area. Even on allocated spaces outside own garages or in car spaces. And a parking firm has been employed to enforce this. Signs will be going up in the next two weeks, with fines of £100 reducing to £60 if paid within 14 days. Is this legal? Apparently there is a covenant in everyone's deeds (freehold and leasehold) to support this rule? If it is an adopted road, can they ticket vans? do they have to be paid?

Any help/advice appreciated.

Many Thanks

maninthestreet

A private firm cannot fine anyone.

nigelbb

It is possible that there is a covenant but you should check anyway as these firms have a habit of lying. However if the road is adopted there is sod all they can do about a van or lorry parked on a public highway

Coupon-mad

Check the wording of the covenant so you know what it actually covers - where, when and what sort of vehicles exactly. Surely your solicitor should have drawn that covenant to your attention when you bought the place because that seems very restrictive indeed.

How are you supposed to ever get anything delivered by van, or get any postal packets?

Certainly never pay a private fake PCN. COMPLAIN and keep all the letters & info the management company or the scumbag PPC send out. What's the betting they shoot themselves in the foot by calling it a fine or penalty?!

billyboy11

maninthestreet wrote: »

A private firm cannot fine anyone.

Thanks for reply, Parking Control Management (UK) Ltd (PCM) have been appointed to enforce the parking, if they do fine, and reading about them on a few articles they will, do i just ignore? And if i do i assume costs will go up, what happens after that, do they write it off or will it end up in clamping, bailiffs, court etc?

Coupon-mad

billyboy11 wrote: »

Thanks for reply, Parking Control Management (UK) Ltd (PCM) have been appointed to enforce the parking, if they do fine, and reading about them on a few articles they will, do i just ignore? And if i do i assume costs will go up, what happens after that, do they write it off or will it end up in clamping, bailiffs, court etc?

Don't be daft, they can't just send the boys round. It isn't a fine and private clamping is now illegal, a criminal offence since October 2012!

Just answered the same sort of Q on this thread about PCM (not about the grace period but about how to do a POPLA appeal):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4530755

and here's another reply I did about it not affecting credit rating, links galore including Watchdog about this sort of scam:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/60385835#Comment_60385835

Happy reading! Now dig out and read that covenant!! Quite possibly it doesn't allow a third party ex-clamper firm onto YOUR LAND at all!

HTH

billyboy11

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Check the wording of the covenant so you know what it actually covers - where, when and what sort of vehicles exactly. Surely your solicitor should have drawn that covenant to your attention when you bought the place because that seems very restrictive indeed.

How are you supposed to ever get anything delivered by van, or get any postal packets?

Certainly never pay a private fake PCN. COMPLAIN.

I don't remember them saying about vans etc, but that's not to say they didn't, as i i don't remember a lot about what they said, as was just pleased to move at the time..

Trying to find details now about the covenant, but apparently if you are having work carried out on your house you need to ring Parking Control Management to get an authorisation code to allow vehicle to be parked.

Coupon-mad

billyboy11 wrote: »

I don't remember them saying about vans etc, but that's not to say they didn't, as i i don't remember a lot about what they said, as was just pleased to move at the time..

Trying to find details now about the covenant, but apparently if you are having work carried out on your house you need to ring Parking Control Management to get an authorisation code to allow vehicle to be parked.

So demand to know how exactly the Post Office or takeaway delivery vans, furniture etc. is to be delivered without hassle - particularly with ad hoc deliveries you can't predict such as a parcel in a PO van?

Your solciitor has let you down and not earned their money if they did not specifically talk to you about this covenant as it's soooo restrictive it could affect future re-sale value of your property unless you can knock it on the head by complaining and reading the covenant now.

But you need to read the covenant, you are partly guessing and partly believing what the management company has said (keep their letters, keep it all in a file). Can you show us the covenant wording please?

PCM are ex-clampers and not to be trusted further than you could throw them...COMPLAIN to the agents for allowing them on YOUR LAND.

billyboy11

Coupon-mad wrote: »

So demand to know how exactly the Post Office or takeaway delivery vans, furniture etc. is to be delivered without hassle - particularly with ad hoc deliveries you can't predict such as a parcel in a PO van?

Your solciitor has let you down and not earned their money if they did not specifically talk to you about this covenant as it's soooo restrictive it could affect future re-sale value of your property unless you can knock it on the head by complaining and reading the covenant now.

But you need to read the covenant, you are partly guessing and partly believing what the management company has said (keep their letters, keep it all in a file). Can you show us the covenant wording please?

PCM are ex-clampers and not to be trusted further than you could throw them...COMPLAIN to the agents for allowing them on YOUR LAND.

I can't see anything in covenant details except for -

(e) Not to leave or park or permit to be left or parked any caravan boat motor cycle or other vehicle on any part of the unbuilt portion of the land hereby transferred except for one private motor car or motor cycle on such part of the unbuilt portion of the land hereby transferred (if any) as is specifically constructed for that purpose.

This is from the official copy of register of title which i have just found. It also includes covenants regarding dustbins, and sky dishes etc, so i assume it would be on here if i had agreed to it?

Coupon-mad

That's good because it's fairly vague. It looks like you cannot have two cars parked there though which is restricitive when you want visitors.

So copy & paste that into a letter or email to the managing agents (I presume they are the ones who wrote to you?) and ask them to point out where this covenant exists that they are citing because it's not worded the way they claim it is. And ask how exactly are PO vans supposed to deliver parcels, how are any delivery vans supposed to park when they can hardly get 'prior permission!' especially at weekends and evenings... Ask them what 'permitting a vehicle to be left' means in terms of time/grace period to allow deliveries (get it in writing now).

Tell them nothing you can find expressly stops 'any commercial vehicles' being parked and in any case you consider that to allow a disreputable ex-clamper firm on your land (outside your garage) would be harassment and trespass. Add something like 'take formal notice that I will sue all parties for monetary damages if PCM touch my vehicle or any vehicle parked on my land without lawful excuse. A recent County Court case 'Davey -v- UKPC' may be worth PCM looking at before you let that notorious firm loose on residents' vans and visitors, seeing as you remain liable for the actions of your agent'.

Guys_Dad

It looks like the management company have added something of their own into the mix.

1. Do you live in a freehold house or a leasehold flat? (If the former, then the management company will be temporary till the site is complete. If the latter, then they are the albatross round your neck permanently)

2. It is worth talking to the management company to seek out what they are trying to achieve and what they have instructed the PPC to do. For example, parking a Ford Transit van is a wholly different thing to someone parking a Eddie Stobart sized artic blocking the site from the builder's traffic. So, find out why they have a PPC there and ask for a copy of their rules of battle.

It's far better to try to reach an agreement with what the management company are seeking to achieve - they should be acting in your interests - and they are the ones who should be able to write a contract for the benefit of all.

Personally, I believe that there should be a covenant about heavy goods vehicles being banned from overnight parking in any residential area for all sort of good reasons.