Asda and Smart Parking Ltd

NotTheMessiah

Hi,

I've just received and paid a Parking Charge Notice from Smart Parking Ltd for overstaying in an Asda car park in Dorset.

Since paying it, I've been informed that I don't have to pay and done a bit of reading around it that pretty much confirms this.

I'm not interested in winning my money back and will just chalk it up to experience, but I know for a fact that, a few days after the infraction I've paid for, I overstayed again due to something I was doing overrunning.

Am I safe to simply ignore the letter when it inevitably arrives?

I only ask because I'm aware that new guidelines have come into force in recent months and there doesn't seem to be any concrete advice around them.

Cheers!

Edit: I, of course, don't mean recent months. My bleary-eyed late night brain decided that October 2012 meant October 2013.

pogofish

NotTheMessiah wrote: »

Am I safe to simply ignore the letter when it inevitably arrives?

I only ask because I'm aware that new guidelines have come into force in recent months and there doesn't seem to be any concrete advice around them.

No, don't ignore it.

No, there have been no "new guidelines" in recent months. In England and Wales, the law changed in Oct 2012.

So you seem to be seriously misinformed and actually there is a huge amount of absolutely current and concrete advice in this very forum.

So how about taking a few minutes to read it before digging your hole any deeper? Start here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822

NotTheMessiah

Well this is kind of exactly the problem. Most of the advice I've read, indeed including within this forum, suggests that simply ignoring it is a perfectly valid course of action.

Apologies on the "recent months" point, my bleary-eyed post midnight state of mind read it as October 2013.

pogofish

NotTheMessiah wrote: »

Well this is kind of exactly the problem. Most of the advice I've read, indeed including within this forum, suggests that simply ignoring it is a perfectly valid course of action.

Do show us a current thread advocating this then, or indeed even one from the last 8-10 months that suggests ignoring as the best option for England and Wales.

I won't wait-up!

No, there is no problem - Your inability to follow the basic advice you agreed to having read and understood as part of your signup is maybe really the problem.

Stop looking for an easy way out, or are you maybe deliberately trying to confuse people?

NotTheMessiah

pogofish wrote: »

Stop looking for an easy way out, or are you maybe deliberately trying to confuse people?

And why on earth would I be trying to confuse people?

What I am absolutely doing is looking for the easiest legal way out, yes. That's why I'm on a consumer advice forum.

I am in fact simply someone who is unfamiliar with this sort of thing looking for advice. Am I an authority on the subject? No, and that's exactly why I'm here.

I may not know my stuff, but it's irritating and pointless to receive immediate hostility when I'm merely posing a question.

Guys_Dad

Your question is valid. Your point about any current advice to ignore on forums is not.

That was old advice prior to POFA 2012. If you read the link provided and follow the advice there you will be properly informed of what to do.

pogofish

NotTheMessiah wrote: »

And why on earth would I be trying to confuse people?

I am in fact simply someone who is unfamiliar with this sort of thing looking for advice. Am I an authority on the subject? No, and that's exactly why I'm here.

I may not know my stuff, but it's irritating and pointless to receive immediate hostility when I'm merely posing a question.

We are not unused to trolls and stooges for the PPCs turning-up and trying to derail/mislead or otherwise stir-up this forum. The "new guidelines" thing, somehow magiked-in over the actual law is a pretty common tactic.

Most people are - however you are not that unfamiliar as you agreed to having read and understood the basics of forum use and navigation - which will take you straight to the best current advice, without having to dwell on old/outdated threads, so your question is wholly irrelevant.

Dublindel

I got an invoice from smart parking on Saturday, I won't be ignoring, I'll be following standard advice as given on this forum. I have already won the case as I know what I'm going to say, that's confidence. Suggest you gave another read and do the same as me.

NotTheMessiah

pogofish wrote: »

We are not unused to trolls and stooges for the PPCs turning-up and trying to derail/mislead or otherwise stir-up this forum. The "new guidelines" thing, somehow magiked-in over the actual law is a pretty common tactic.

Most people are - however you are not that unfamiliar as you agreed to having read and understood the basics of forum use and navigation - which will take you straight to the best current advice, without having to dwell on old/outdated threads, so your question is wholly irrelevant.

It's nice to know that the immediate reaction to someone who seems a bit misinformed asking for advice is to assume they're a stooge.

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Your question is valid. Your point about any current advice to ignore on forums is not.

That was old advice prior to POFA 2012. If you read the link provided and follow the advice there you will be properly informed of what to do.

Dublindel wrote: »

I got an invoice from smart parking on Saturday, I won't be ignoring, I'll be following standard advice as given on this forum. I have already won the case as I know what I'm going to say, that's confidence. Suggest you gave another read and do the same as me.

Thank you for the considerably less confrontational responses. I'll go and have a full read of the guidelines again and deal with the invoice accordingly.

Edit 1: Having read the guidelines, my one concern is that I haven't kept my shopping receipt for that day. Is it still worth having a go with the store manager and Head Office, or should I go straight to contacting the PPC?

Edit 2: I've just been reading a few old threads (but crucially after October 2012) that seem to suggest ignoring it is a valid course of action with Smart Parking Ltd. Quoted below. Thoughts?

SodG24 wrote: »

Yes, just ignore them. Smart Parking don't do court and Asda wouldn't like the publicity. You'll get a few snotty letters but then they'll give up.

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Please tell your gf's mother to please (how can I put this in the nicest possible way?) wise up and learn to spot a scam when it lands as junk mail on the doormat! IGNORE IT AND LAUGH AT THE WHOLE LETTER CHAIN. There is no effect on credit rating and no-one can send the boys round! Debt collector firms are not court bailiffs, they are minimum wage part-time students in a call centre.

...

Not saying that private parking companies (we call them PPCs) never try a small claim - because a few of them do - but they are defendable. For that reason do keep all this junk mail in a file marked 'scam' just in case they ever tried to take it further (you would win). And if ever you get a new fake PCN you can beat it with a forum-written strong POPLA appeal if you respond in time (not in this case as you are past that stage).

But Smart Parking do not do Court, wouldn't have a clue, and if they ever tried it the letter would be obviously from Northampton Court and not from 'DebtCollectorsRUs'!

I also saw a post over on Pepipoo saying that Smart Parking have never bothered with court, and that was only posted about two weeks ago.

Coupon-mad

I would just appeal to the PPC as per the Newbies thread, and win at POPLA as per post #3 in the Newbies thread. Easy.

Astonished you paid one - you could complain to the Retailer and get them to refund it (has happened several times).


Even more astonished you thought you had read current advice to ignore these...we find such comments confrontational as they are so wrong, that's why everyone was wound up by you dismissing our hard work in one fell swoop! We have NOT advised to ignore these since this time last year and I wrote the two sticky threads (the Newbies one and the Complaints one) so newbies could quickly read what to do. It's frustrating to say the least to read about someone who has actually PAID one and then comes here and STILL thinks they can ignore them. That's why you got the replies you did, at first, when you had been given a link to the right advice but seemingly hadn't read it!

NotTheMessiah

Coupon-mad wrote: »

I would just appeal to the PPC as per the Newbies thread, and win at POPLA as per post #3 in the Newbies thread. Easy.

Astonished you paid one - you could complain to the Retailer and get them to refund it (has happened several times).


Even more astonished you thought you had read current advice to ignore these...we find such comments confrontational as they are so wrong, that's why everyone was wound up by you dismissing our hard work in one fell swoop! We have NOT advised to ignore these since this time last year and I wrote the two sticky threads (the Newbies one and the Complaints one) so newbies could quickly read what to do. It's frustrating to say the least to read about someone who has actually PAID one and then comes here and STILL thinks they can ignore them. That's why you got the replies you did, at first, when you had been given a link to the right advice but seemingly hadn't read it!

Ah, I will do exactly that.

I can only blame my own naivete for the first payment. I've not been driving that long, so I just saw an official looking fine and paid without thinking. It was only when I mentioned it to a friend that I found out that they were a scam.

Well I was a little confused because, although the stickied guidelines do mention the appeals process, I had seen very recent posts (as quoted in my previous message) that suggested Smart Parking were nothing more than an irritant that would soon go away.