Parking eye letter before action

Eva44

Hi all,

Sorry I haven't got time to read many previous posts on this issue (typing this as quickly as poss while my baby is having a v short nap!) but I would really appreciate some advice. Basically we overstayed in a service station car park by 40 minutes. We had actually broken down on the motorway and made it to the service station where we waited for the AA (I was also nine months pregnant at the time so breaking down and the subsequent threatening letters was something I could have done without. Thanks parking eye!). The AA arrived, fixed our car and we left. The first letter we received shows photos of the car and should shown the AA van arrive too had parking eye cared to check. We received a pcn which we laughed at and ignored. Several letters later we have received a letter before action. We are very happy to go to court but my question is whats the best and quickest way to stop all this? Bearing in mind I'm pretty busy at the moment and could do without the hassle! Should we write to them now stating that we had broken down or can we just ignore all correspondence?

Many thanks!

Guys_Dad

Quickest way to avoid any further hassle? PAY THE CHARGE !

Don't like that? Well you might, just might, have to find some time to write a suitable appeal.

Ignoring the letters is the "Ostrich" strategy that with certain PPCs is a sure way to get court papers.


So try banging off an appeal letter, complete with picture of baby, AA report, if you have it and anything else that you think might touch the heart strings of the PPC. Got to say the heart is a pretty small target.

If that fails, wait for the Northampton Court papers, get a baby sitter and come back on here where we can help you knock up a defence. Note I said "help", not do it for you. If you want it all done for you, then you need a solicitor.

Coupon-mad

Definitely do a strong reply if you have a Letter Before Action. You want to make your case so well argued that they won't want to pursue it.

Also try complaining to the Motorway Service Area (MSA) Manager even now.

And look at the information I posted on Muffin the Mule's thread (first example linked below, see post #7) which is SPECIFICALLY designed to make a ticket from a 'MSA' such a hard one for PE to take on that they might drop it.

I think there is even a rule about not charging a broken down vehicle in a MSA, have a look at the DFT link I gave to Muffin the Mule!

Also as a nine-months pregnant lady you had an element of protection as part of the maternity provisions of the Equality Act 2010 so read that and cite it as well, tell PE to drop it now!

You could indeed send a picture of the baby as proof and try to appeal to the clerk's nicer side as there must be a human receiving these letters!



PE are now trying some small claims; just read current threads on the forum:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=4691063

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=4689751

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=4692217

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4693781

REMEMBER YOUR RESPONSE IS NOT AN APPEAL, NOT EXCUSES, IT'S A COMPLAINT, A STRONG CHALLENGE TO GET PE TO DROP IT FAST SO PUT EVERYTHING IN RIGHT DOWN TO THE REQUIREMENT FOR MSA SIGNAGE TO COMPLY WITH THE TSRGD 2002 (AS PER LINKED THREADS, PE SIGNS DO NOT)!

Custard_Pie

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Definitely do a strong reply if you have a Letter Before Action. You want to make your case so well argued that they won't want to pursue it.

Also try complaining to the Motorway Service Area (MSA) Manager even now.

And look at the information I posted on Muffin the Mule's thread (first example linked below, see post #7) which is SPECIFICALLY designed to make a ticket from a 'MSA' such a hard one for PE to take on that they might drop it.

I think there is even a rule about not charging a broken down vehicle in a MSA, have a look at the DFT link I gave to Muffin the Mule!

Also as a nine-months pregnant lady you had an element of protection as part of the maternity provisions of the Equality Act 2010 so read that and cite it as well, tell PE to drop it now!

You could indeed send a picture of the baby as proof and try to appeal to the clerk's nicer side as there must be a human receiving these letters!



PE are now trying some small claims; just read current threads on the forum:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=4691063

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=4689751

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=4692217

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4693781

REMEMBER YOUR RESPONSE IS NOT AN APPEAL, NOT EXCUSES, IT'S A COMPLAINT, A STRONG CHALLENGE TO GET PE TO DROP IT FAST SO PUT EVERYTHING IN RIGHT DOWN TO THE REQUIREMENT FOR MSA SIGNAGE TO COMPLY WITH THE TSRGD 2002 (AS PER LINKED THREADS, PE SIGNS DO NOT)!

I can see more PPC trying potentially "easy" small claims in court. Their reputations and coffers are taking a hammering as more people wise up to the scam and take their claims to POPLA and win.

Even if the appeal if refused, these are taking about 2-3 Months to be heard and even then they may not get their money.

In addition PPC have been proved to be gutless bullies, threatening via the post box (at small costs) without going to Court.

What better way to resolve this then to put on the front page of your web site references to cases that have gone to Court and won...

Eva44

Coupon-mad - thank you so much for your helpful reply, very much appreciated. I'll get a complaint together. My main point would be that we were unable to leave due to being broken down but I hadn't thought to include anything about being heavily pregnant so thanks!

Guys dad - the advice on this forum at the time we received the letters was 'ignore them.' I do not expect anyone else to put together a defence for us.

Guys_Dad

Eva44 wrote: »

Guys dad - the advice on this forum at the time we received the letters was 'ignore them.' I do not expect anyone else to put together a defence for us.

The point is that even just looking at the latest page, there is a wealth of advice collectively given that you could use.

Even if you get a couple of contributors on your thread, there will be other regulars who have maybe posted really useful stuff on other threads as well.

What I would say is this. Follow c-m's advice but don't send your letter off without either private messaging her or posting it on here. And do look at the links she has provided.

Maybe your initial post came over not as you intended, but it did suggest that you were not prepared to look at other previous posts and that would have been a big mistake.

Eva44

Please see below our intended reply;

Good afternoon,

I writing to you to make an official complaint to both ParkingEye and Welcome Break about the unacceptable threatening letters that we have received from ParkingEye regarding a fictitious parking event.

I am in receipt of a letter from Parking Eye regarding a so-called ‘parking event’ which occurred at XXXXXXXXXXX

They are currently threatening court proceedings unless I pay £100 for this so called parking charge. In evidence they have provided photographs my car arriving and leaving the service station and claim from this that it was parked there. I find it completely unacceptable that ParkingEye believes it has the right to threaten Welcome Break customers based on such flimsy evidence. Simply checking the CCTV of the time the vehicle was at XXXXX will show that for the entire duration, we were broken down and waiting for the AA – this does not constitute parking. My wife (who was 9 months pregnant at the time) and I broke down on the motorway on the day in question and managed to limp to your service station, whereupon I immediately called the AA. One of us stayed with the car at all times as we were waiting for the AA to arrive and we even purchased refreshments from your shops.

As stated in the letter received from Parking Eye, “The signage, which is clearly displayed at the entrance to and throughout the car park, states that this is private land, the car park is managed by ParkingEye Ltd, and those parking may park for 2 hours 0 minutes for free and then they must pay the applicable parking tariffs to park for longer or a Parking Charge will be incurred, along with other terms and conditions of the car park by which those who park in the car park agree to be bound”.

As it clearly states that those parking may park for 2 hours and 0 minutes, there is no requirement for those who have broken down and are awaiting recovery to pay any parking tariffs. It therefore is unacceptable for ParkingEye to issue such threatening letters without carrying out any investigation to confirm that those concerned were actually parked there.

Furthermore, it is unacceptable to deem that a contract has been entered into when the alternative is life threatening - had we stopped at the side of the motorway we would have been obliged to wait outside the vehicle; clearly an unacceptable risk for a heavily pregnant woman in freezing weather, especially on one of the busiest days for traffic – following Christmas; the AA initially said the wait time was 6 hours.

Please find attached a copy of the AA incidence report and birth certificate of our son who was born shortly after this incident.

I trust that we will not receive any further harassment regarding this matter.

Kind regards

Coupon-mad

That is written as an appeal. Far too polite for a response to a Letter before Action (they are about to take you to court so get angry!).

- Unfair treatment of a pregnant lady = breach of Equality Act 2010.

- Traffic signs in MSAs have to comply with TSRGD 2002 (see Muffin the Mule's thread already linked). Parking Eye signs do not comply so are a nullity in a MSA.

- There is something about 'broken down vehicles' in the Dept for Transport or Highways Agency links here so read them and find it (I saw it ages ago, point being it's written by a Government Authority):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/61500601#Comment_61500601

You need to make your case one that they do not want to take to Court. Make your response MUCH stronger - you are in one of the strongest positions you could be in but have simply politely 'appealed' missing all the strong points you need to fight this with.

Eva44

Thanks for your reply. We did have reasons for not including the above points but if you think it's necessary we will add them in.

Stroma

Please add everything, and don't ask for things, demand that they sort this out. They are in breach of the Equality Act 2010, this is statute law and is above any T&Cs in any car park in the uk

Get annoyed with them for having to send out a complaint, you could be spending time with your little one instead of this letter writing.

Eva44

@stroma my sentiments exactly!