Safe to ignore Tesco parking fine? (Highview Parking)

lonewolf123

Hi the Tesco near me only allows 2 hour free parking in their car park and anything over that is a £70 fine. The way they do it is that they set up cameras that take photos of your car when you come in and when you go out with the time as well.

I over ran slightly to 2 hour and 5 minutes and I received a parking fine by a company called Highview Parking and I tried to argue with Tesco and they said they don't own the car park so they can't do anything about it and I should resolve this with Highview Parking instead.

No way am I going to get out of this as they have my photos and time etc but I find it slightly unfair that having bought over £100 of groceries that day and finding out I have been slapped with a parking fine is just nasty.

If I ignore it, will it turn to something horrible? What do I need to expect if I ignore it? Can they enforce it?

Also I will go back to this Tesco as its within close distance to me and it pretty much got everything I need. Will it cause trouble for me to appear on their camera and in their car park again if I didn't pay this time?

Thanks

kirkbyinfurnesslad_2

It is not a fine

You can quite safely ignore Highview, nothing will happen

rew37

The Tesco staff are lying. They almost certainly own the land, and as Highview are their agents, they are responsible for their actions. I would go back with your receipt, demand to see a manager and insist he gets the ticket cancelled immediately otherwise you will hold Tesco's jointly responsible for any harassment from their agents. Tell them in no uncertain terms that their lies will be put in front of a judge should you take action over the harassment, which of course won't happen if they cancel the ticket..

The_Slithy_Tove

Tesco are likely lying when they say they don't own the car park. This is a favourite ASDA trick, to deny all responsibility. If it's a big Tesco with its own car park, and no other immediately adjacent shops, then it's likely they do own (or at least lease) the car park. You should challenge them on that - talk to the proper manager, not the "duty" spotty teenage manager. Remind them how much you regularly spend there, and that you will be spending that money at <name nearby rival> from now on.

Next, you won't have to pay this come what may. You need to note that it is not a fine and not enforceable. Forget the photos. They don't prove you were PARKED for over 2 hours. And anyway, they have to allow a grace period for your non-parking activities, i.e. finding a space and leaving the car park. They have not done this.

Forget also any thoughts of being recognised as a delinquent (i.e. non-payer of fake charge). The system isn't that sophisticated.

If you get nowhere with Tesco, you can appeal to Highview, mentioning their non-compliance to the BPA Code of Practice (the notice you have probably contains other non-compliant elements). They will reject, at which point to you can appeal to POPLA with a strong appeal (come back here for help with that).

Whatever the outcome of that, even if you lose, you still don't have to pay. They can't make you, and you don't owe them anything.

BTW, there's also a good change the planning permission for the car park allows longer than 2 hours anyway. Worth checking with the local planning department. Most councils' planning applications are available online.

lonewolf123

rew37 wrote: »

The Tesco staff are lying. They almost certainly own the land, and as Highview are their agents, they are responsible for their actions. I would go back with your receipt, demand to see a manager and insist he gets the ticket cancelled immediately otherwise you will hold Tesco's jointly responsible for any harassment from their agents. Tell them in no uncertain terms that their lies will be put in front of a judge should you take action over the harassment, which of course won't happen if they cancel the ticket..

Don't get me started with arguing with Tesco's. I was there for about an hour trying to get them to cancel it but they just won't have it. I even brought all my previous receipts that amounted to thousands of pounds over months and say that I won't be their customer any more but nothing came of it. They keep going round in circles saying they don't own the car park etc and so nothing can be done. I obviously can't prove that they are lying despite I know so what can I do?

If not paying doesn't lead to anything serious then I rather leave it at that then...

rew37

lonewolf123 wrote: »

Don't get me started with arguing with Tesco's. I was there for about an hour trying to get them to cancel it but they just won't have it. I even brought all my previous receipts that amounted to thousands of pounds over months and say that I won't be their customer any more but nothing came of it. They keep going round in circles saying they don't own the car park etc and so nothing can be done. I obviously can't prove that they are lying despite I know so what can I do?

If not paying doesn't lead to anything serious then I rather leave it at that then...

Yes you can, it's easy to find out who owns the land - give your local council planning team a call or contact the land registry direct. The council planning team will also be able to tell you what the parking conditions in Tesco's planning application was so could hit them with a double whammy.

lonewolf123

The_Slithy_Tove wrote: »

If you get nowhere with Tesco, you can appeal to Highview, mentioning their non-compliance to the BPA Code of Practice (the notice you have probably contains other non-compliant elements). They will reject, at which point to you can appeal to POPLA with a strong appeal (come back here for help with that).

Whatever the outcome of that, even if you lose, you still don't have to pay. They can't make you, and you don't owe them anything.

Thanks for this.

When you say whatever the outcome they can't make me pay anyway, then do I really have to appeal to them? Seems like a hassle and waste of time and I rather be getting on with life instead...

rew37

Ignoring is a good option but there is a very small risk of small claims court action, although that is easily defendable. If you appeal and get a POPLA code, I suspect you'll win because Highview and Tesco's will not want to show their contract which I strongly suspect (but obviously don't know for certain) doesn't allow Highview to actually pursue court action.

Coupon-mad

No need to do any digging about who owns that car park. We know Tesco use Highview.

Why don't you just write a very STRONG letter of complaint to Tesco Head Office (why not even address it to the CEO himself) and give them your clubcard number so they can see the extent of your regular custom?

Complain that the local branch were wholly unhelpful and you cannot believe that Tesco don't own or have a legal interest in that car park since it is a well-known fact that Highview act in a 'fake PCN threats capacity' for Tesco! How else can Highview have been there?! You feel that the local branch are at best misinformed and at worst, lying to you about the car park - and either way, they are seriously lacking in the basics of customer service and you hope that the Head Office staff are more approachable about cancelling this farce of a ticket. Say how angry and intimidated this has made you feel - and all for the sake of 5 minutes taken to drive in and out (which is in fact perfectly acceptable under the PPC's own industry Code of Practice regarding Grace Periods, which Highview have clearly ignored).

And/or slap a complaint on Tesco's facebook page - worked with another Supermarket recently - Waitrose I think it was, didn't want a complaint on their fb comments!

Anyway I never advise to ignore a fake PCN now, instead you can appeal this and win at Highview's expense. Like cabbyman's thread on pepipoo explains:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=78520

He's now at the second stage appeal (England/Wales only) = POPLA which you will find loads about on this forum and on pepipoo. You can get more help here by bumping your thread if it gets to that stage, which IMHO is quite fun to word in a way that Highview will lose. Pretty sure there's at least one Highview POPLA loss shown on the POPLA decisions sticky thread (near the top of the forum, have a look!).

If this were me I'd do the complaint to Tesco Head Office at the same time as sending a challenge to Highview. The latter would be simply stating that in a 2 hour car park they CANNOT fairly enforce a person driving in and out just a few minutes 'over' the time, as this is sharp practice, shows no evidence of actual parking time and shows a total disregard for the need for a Grace Period (as required in the BPA Code of Practice). In addition, the driver (write it in the third person = 'the driver' & 'the car', not 'I') was a customer who has shown their receipt at the CS desk at Tesco (enclose a copy) and should not be intimidated like this by a third party like Highview.

Say to Highview in your written challenge that, as the registered keeper of this car, you will require the fake PCN to be cancelled or a POPLA code provided to you, so you can get it cancelled at their expense at POPLA instead. Their choice how this ends but you won't be paying them a penny - and by the way you've complained in writing to Tesco Head Office as well.

Stroma

Go on their Facebook and twitter presence and demand that they cancel this. Embarrass the hell out of them, they hate negative press, and talking of that go to your local newspaper with this, they love things like this.

Question to the regulars though, do the supermarkets post on here as official posters? If so perhaps that would be another avenue to get these scam invoices cancelled

ginnersinner

I totally ignored a Tesco/Highview letter last year and haven't heard a thing - not even a second threatogram - am a bit disappointed really!!