MSE News: 'Don't pay unfair private parking tickets'

Former_MSE_Helen

"MoneySavingExpert.com is shouting louder than ever about your right to dispute unfair private parking charges"...

Read the full story:

'Don't pay unfair private parking tickets''



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Stroma

Hello Helen

There are a number of mistakes in the guide you have produced, check the numbers of people appealing at Popla, think it should read 10-20 times what you have put there.

List of shame

Why are firms threatening MoneySavingExpert.com with legal action?
Over the last 14 months, a group of nine private car parking firms – CP Plus Limited, Debt Recovery Plus Limited, Eurocarparks, Excel Parking Services Limited, Parking Control, ParkingEye Limited, PCN Parking Services, Ranger Services Limited UK and Roxburghe – have threatened us with legal action unless we change the content of our guide to challenging unfair private parking tickets.

The firms accuse us of defaming them because our guide:

• Informs people that private parking firms operate in an "unstructured system that puts unnecessary power into potentially unscrupulous hands".
• Refers to private parking companies as "cowboys".
• Refers to the sector as "Wild West".

Umkomaas

Hi Stroma - welcome back, was starting to get concerned re your whereabouts. I'm sure you're back with a vengeance now!

Stroma

Been busy mate, lots of things happening with work, holiday and family. Thanks for the welcome anyway

bazster

Another poor article from MSE. Take the last paragraph for instance:

Anyone that's blocked the car park's exit, or left their car there for a month without paying has no sympathy. Even if they follow our guide to fighting unfair private parking tickets, they have little chance of success.

Correct about the lack of sympathy, but nonetheless there is still every chance of success.

MSE's guide talks about appealing to PoPLA, but says nothing about how to appeal to PoPLA or about the legal points that win. MSE basically gives the impression that it's a lottery with roughly 50:50 odds.

ColliesCarer

Umkomaas wrote: »

Hi Stroma - welcome back, was starting to get concerned re your whereabouts. I'm sure you're back with a vengeance now!

^^^^^^ seconded ^^^^^^

spikyone

Apart from the very good point by Bazster that the guide doesn't tell you how to win at PoPLA - and in a way, related - is that it doesn't matter whether or not the ticket is unfair. Say it loud - these companies have no right, ever, to charge extortionate sums resembling council/police-issued penalties. Everyone should appeal them, regardless of fairness (which is, after all, subjective).

To anyone that has received a private parking ticket - read the stickies in the parking forum, learn the winning appeal points, and use the law rather than fairness to beat the cowboys.

Nodding_Donkey

This ^^

Appealing to POPLA about how unfair it was will guarantee you lose. Only appeal on legal grounds.

Gryphon005

Good to see that Moneysavingexpert.com has finally endorsed the efforts of this sub-board, no doubt gaining confidence from the righteous indignation of "Middle England" whipped up by the Daily Mail about these Private Parking Companies.

Interesting to see that Citizens Advice seems to have changed its policy towards the PPCs too:
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/press_20140802
In many cases they had been advising the "victim" to pay-up, even though they must have known that the PPC's tickets were unenforceable.

The MSE article has a few issues for sure, and could be improved just by pointing readers at the "Newbies" thread by Coupon Mad, at the head of this sub-board forum.

The PPCs are on the floor at the moment.....We just have to keep on kicking them whilst they are down :j :rotfl: :beer:

Herbalus

It's important not to understate that, in the first instance, you are not "appealing" to the parking companies, as if they might consider an apology and an excuse as reason enough to waive the charge, which makes the charge appear legitimate. Trusting in the good nature of these companies sadly isn't going to work.

When writing to parking companies you want to reject the invoice, deny the existence of a contract, and refute their claim that you have pay. Afterwards, you can appeal to PoPLA that the invoice doesn't have legitimate basis.

I too think it would be a good idea if MSE investigated these PoPLA stats - do we know how many of these cases were from people who hadn't read a good guide (hint hint MSE ) on what legal points to include in a PoPLA appeal?

ezerscrooge

For some strange reason no one seems willing to publish a winning POPLA appeal - just a basic one will do covering the key points (I know there can be lost of different permutations).

I would have thought the Daily Mail would have one or two included in their campaign - other than these firms being totally outlawed by Pickles (yeh right), I can't see any other way of getting rid of them but lots and lots of successful POPLA appeals will surely bankrupt them.