parking 'fine' from private company

bazzer204

Q
I received a “fine/penalty” notice for £100 in a supermarket car park for parking 2 inches over the marked bay.What should I do?
Q
I received a “fine/penalty” notice for £100 in a supermarket car park for overstaying.What should I do?


A
Very simple thing and hope many people will read this or know it already!!!
The law does not recognise contractual penalty unless reasonable, so the parking charge of £100 is void!!! End of it. He does not need to do anything, he should not pay it and the Contractor cannot enforce it in a court.
The matter is a private civil matter, so do not confuse it with parking tickets for stopping at yellow lines, etc. enforced by the Council.
The contractor relies on an 'agreement' to pay £100 if in contravention. This contract is rubbish and will not stand in court. If the penalty was, say £3-4 to cover the actual loss of revenue by using another parking space, then yes, it would have been enforceable, because under contract one owes compensation for the loss. Penalties cannot be contractually agreed, but compensations can be contractual, so for a 'penalty' clause to be enforced, it has to reflect the amount of loss that is sought to be compensated.
For the sceptics - I have done it myself and did not pay. I received a photo of my car leaving a supermarket longer than the allowed 1 hour free, I queried the basis of them seeking to enforce the penalty and the immediate reply via email was that they had cancelled my penalty.

Nodding_Donkey

Factually incorrect I'm afraid. Private parking companies are getting judgements in court for these invoices on a daily basis where people think "He does not need to do anything"

What you should do is read the newbies thread and then appeal, first to the PPC who will probably turn it down and then to POPLA or the IPC who will overturn the ticket if you follow the guides in the newbies thread.

Umkomaas

Welcome to the forum. Some partially informed advice. But some PPCs are litigious and will put the unwary/unsuspecting through the wringer - and have 'won' at court.

Ignoring private PCNs is one way to deal with things, with the proviso that you know what you are doing and are aware of the potential risks.

The other way is to appeal - a 2-stage process, with most of the work already done for you in the NEWBIES thread. You can get shot of your PCN for good (with nothing 'hanging over your head') within about 6 weeks. This is standard forum advice now to deal effectively with a private PCN.

If ignored and the PPC doesn't initially undertake pursuit of the PCN, it still has up to 6 years to initiate a small claim.

You said your PPC cancelled the charge after one letter?

I queried the basis of them seeking to enforce the penalty and the immediate reply via email was that they had cancelled my penalty.

I bet it wasn't ParkingEye