£80 for 2 hours' 'Free' Parking!!!

mrZul

On 1/12/2012 I parked my car at the Orchard Centre in Didcot to take my excited daughter to do her Christmas shopping. The car park offers 2 hours free parking, and you have to display one of their "free" tickets. In the excitement I forgot to get the ticket. When I came back to my car about an hour and 40 minutes later, I had a fee for £80 stuck to my windscreen. To say I was cross is an understatement, as there is no way to redress a simple mistake.

I was then sent various demands from "Parking Collection Services" on behalf of "Senator Security", who apparently run the car park. I followed advice on this and other sites and ignored these bottom feeders until I got a letter from "Debt Recovery Plus Ltd" back in April, threatening me with litigation et al. In the past I have successfuly ignored such tosh, but this time, I used the pro-forma letter from this site to send them a letter on 1/5/2012 stating the following:

"According to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations, parking charges on private land must not exceed the cost to the landowner during the period the motorist is parked there. In my case, the £80 charge you are asking for, plus the further £30 for not immediately entertaining your extortionate penalty, far exceeds the cost to the landowner of £0 for two hours' parking! In order to justify ANY charge at all, I would have needed to have been there for over two hours, which I was not! To justify an £80 charge, I would have had to have been there for a period of days!
"

I received no reply to this letter, and today I telephoned them to ask whether they had received it. I was told that there was no appeal I could now make as I had waited past the appeal window. I said that I wanted a breakdown of the costs they had incurred by my parking for under two hours in a 2 hour free parking, albeit without a ticket. I was told that they would not answer my letter, and advised me that they had received many County Court Judgements against people disputing that the charge was fair, and claiming that it was disroportionate. In effect their tactic is to threaten you with a CCJ and further costs.

I have a couple of days left before they (claim they will) sue me in the County Court. I really feel that this is ridiculous. If you make a simple mistake, you get charged £80 for your "free" parking?? This is just a way to fleece honest people!

I would dearly like to fight this and have a judge tell them to push off. BUT, I have no experience in this regard, a lawyer will cost a bomb, and it would appear that they routinely fleece people who make a stand similar to mine anyway. So am I just making undue hassle for myself and inviting them to ruin my credit rating as well as charge me nearly triple the original ticket?

Can ANYONE advise me on either their experience in similar circumstances, or what they have heard, or been advised themselves? Or does anyone have any idea whether this is a lost cause and I should just pay up for daring to forget to get a "free" parking ticket?

Many thanks.

The_Slithy_Tove

mrZul wrote: »

I have a couple of days left before they sue me in the County Court.

Really? How do you know this? Have they said they WILL, or have they merely threatened with lots of 'may's and 'might's?

Only if you receive real, stamped court papers should you take any further action. Until that day arrives (which will probably be after hell freezes over), sit back and forget about it. If you do receive such papers, then come back here, and you'll get the assistance required.

peter_the_piper

First I've heard of them, they seem new to car parks. Any court cases they have won are likely to be for other things than parking, if they have won any which I doubt. Continue to ignore, you won't get a CCj unless they take you to county court, you lose and then you fail to pay what a judge orders. All of which is vanishingly small.

mrZul

Thanks, Slithy Tove - I was trying to get some idea whether I should hold my nerve or chicken out before the date by which they say I have to pay to avoid litigation. They do indeed use a lot of "may"s.

Guys_Dad

mrZul wrote: »

Thanks, Slithy Tove - I was trying to get some idea whether I should hold my nerve or chicken out before the date by which they say I have to pay to avoid litigation. They do indeed use a lot of "may"s.

Here is the position.

The PPC claims to offer a contract to drivers based upon their right so to do, the signs that indicate the terms of the contract and its consequences if you fail to make the relevant payment, display ticket or park beyond the free period.

To get money from you, they would have to prove this in court. Statistically, very, very few PPCs go that far. Read a bit on here on stats for 2011 and 2012.

Now you have given them one great boost with your actions. You have confirmed in writing that you did park, and then you gave them the bonus of ringing them, which is akin to a fisherman getting a bite.

They most certainly could take you to court and, if you don't know what you are doing, they could win as their experience will almost certainly be greater than yours. The fact that you admit to being in a rush and forgetting to buy a ticket isn't a great help either.

You need to undermine their case, if possible. You need to check their signage against the BPA recommended signs on the BPA code of practice section of the BPA web site.

Did they stick to the timescales required by the Protection of Freedom Act, section 40?

As already said, wait and see if you get an official communication from the Northampton court.

Lastly, for future reference on matters other than just parking, use Google to see how courts work, when bailiffs can be appointed, when ccj's kick in etc. This should set your mind at rest a bit.

Forensic

Hi Mr Zul.

All you need to know is that legislation is on your side. No court can possibly force you to hand over payment to a private enterprise for parking at a free car park!!!!

They've stuffed themselves anyhow by going straight to debt collection agencies for what is an unregistered debt. Of course, if they take you to court, it won't be the parking ticket fee they will be seeking but the inflated "bill" due to the intervention of third parties, and how are they going to satisfy a judge that you owe this when a) you already know about the losses situation, and b) had you really been in "debt", they wouldn't have had to go to Debt Recovery Plus, they could have taken it straight to adjudication then.

I sense hot air coming from your enemy here, just continue ignoring and it will perish.

kirkbyinfurnesslad_2

Senator are not a company that do court so you can sleep safely

bondy_lad

mr zul,you have a PARKING charge notice=fake/con/scam or in other words LOO PAPER,,,ok, stil with me,,the real one which you DO NOT have is called a PENALTY charge notice=genuine/real/must be paid/can appeal etc,,,so do not be concerned about ,,holding your nerve,,as thats what these scumbags rely on,either a) you belive its real and pay up or b)cave in and pay up,,eiher way KEEP YOUR MONEY,nothing will become of this,,your honour we want £80-00 off mr zul for parking extra in a free car park,,,,,your honours reply,,,Foxtrot Oscar,jobs a belter then,now relax.

Coupon-mad

mrZul wrote: »

Thanks, Slithy Tove - I was trying to get some idea whether I should hold my nerve or chicken out before the date by which they say I have to pay to avoid litigation. They do indeed use a lot of "may"s.

Not sure why you wanted to send a letter to, or ring up, debt collectors at a call centre who are NOT going to start a Court claim in a million years! You could have been expecting this whole letter chain if you'd just looked at the sticky 'PPC letter chains' at the top of this forum (there's a similar one on pepipoo as well). This is NOTHING.

Like pretty much every tenth post on this forum (and more commonly on pepipoo) you have got one of the computerised standard letters that everyone gets from Debt Recovery Plus then Zenith (same company)!

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=76182

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=78495

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=78438

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=74154

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=78129

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=78032

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=78057

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=78095

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=78109

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=78035

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=77939

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=77754

...enough already?!

Guys_Dad

Forensic wrote: »

Hi Mr Zul.

All you need to know is that legislation is on your side. No court can possibly force you to hand over payment to a private enterprise for parking at a free car park!!!!

They've stuffed themselves anyhow by going straight to debt collection agencies for what is an unregistered debt. Of course, if they take you to court, it won't be the parking ticket fee they will be seeking but the inflated "bill" due to the intervention of third parties, and how are they going to satisfy a judge that you owe this when a) you already know about the losses situation, and b) had you really been in "debt", they wouldn't have had to go to Debt Recovery Plus, they could have taken it straight to adjudication then.

I sense hot air coming from your enemy here, just continue ignoring and it will perish.

Whereas I am with you completely in the message you are trying to get over, don't include inaccurate statements. Regrettably, some courts do hand out fines on rare occasions. If you read this forum or pepipoo you will see that it does arise.
But the chances of that arising are historically minimal, although the possibility does exist, however remote.

trisontana

The small Claims Court does not "hand out fines".