Private car park 'fines'

Charnold

Hello,
I really need some advice please! I am a student at the university of York. Since about January 2014 I have received about 5 parking fines from parking in the university's car park, I believe these were unfair as I paid for parking but due to lectures over running I got a ticket. The parking notice's state that I did not pay for and display a valid parking ticket! I had seen the information regarding not paying unfair private land parking fines so I ignored them. I also spoke to my student representative and the student union president who both told me to ignore them as the company could not trace my address and no action would be taken. I followed this advice but a few months later I received a letter for each parking ticket to my parents house (my driving licence & university home address is registered here even though I was living away from home). Each letter stated I needed to pay £140 per ticket or I would be taken to court & it will affect my credit rating. Obviously this is worrying me!! I cannot afford this at all and I am just about to finish uni so things about my credit rating are now of importance to me. I have not contacted the company at all as I have no idea what my rights are, how to proceed and what to even say to the company! The debt collection company that have been pestering me are called debt recovery plus. I now realise I should have contested the charges earlier, however, I went on the advice of my union president. HELP!

iolanthe07

You received very bad advice from your student union. You cannot ignore even private parking charges these days. For up to date advice go to the parking sub-forum of this section.

AdrianC

Charnold wrote: »

I really need some advice please! I am a student at the university of York. Since about January 2014 I have received about 5 parking fines from parking in the university's car park, I believe these were unfair as I paid for parking but due to lectures over running I got a ticket. The parking notice's state that I did not pay for and display a valid parking ticket!

One simple question... Did you actually have a parking ticket displayed, valid for the time in which you were seen parked there?

The reasons why you may or may not have overstayed your paid parking are not particularly relevant to whether the ticket is valid or not.

The way in which the parking management company have traced you is even simpler than your driving licence or Uni ID - if you have a look at the front and back of your car, there's a large slab of plastic (white on the front, yellow on the back) bearing a unique identifier for your car. That can be easily traced to the address of the person legally responsible for the car.

pogofish

You are posting in the wrong forum Charnold - Get yourself int the Parking Tickets sub forum and read the Newbies Sticky carefully - that should outline your position and what you need to do now. If this one isn't moved soon, your own thread in that forum for further help.

wiogs

Charnold wrote: »

Hello,
I really need some advice please! I am a student at the university of York. Since about January 2014 I have received about 5 parking fines from parking in the university's car park, I believe these were unfair as I paid for parking but due to lectures over running I got a ticket. The parking notice's state that I did not pay for and display a valid parking ticket! I had seen the information regarding not paying unfair private land parking fines so I ignored them. I also spoke to my student representative and the student union president who both told me to ignore them as the company could not trace my address and no action would be taken. I followed this advice but a few months later I received a letter for each parking ticket to my parents house (my driving licence & university home address is registered here even though I was living away from home). Each letter stated I needed to pay £140 per ticket or I would be taken to court & it will affect my credit rating. Obviously this is worrying me!! I cannot afford this at all and I am just about to finish uni so things about my credit rating are now of importance to me. I have not contacted the company at all as I have no idea what my rights are, how to proceed and what to even say to the company! The debt collection company that have been pestering me are called debt recovery plus. I now realise I should have contested the charges earlier, however, I went on the advice of my union president. HELP!

Once you have sorted this all out, which you will with help from people on here, I would have a word with the union president and ask him why he is giving out useless information that could potentially damage the future of students.

agrinnall

wiogs wrote: »

Once you have sorted this all out, which you will with help from people on here,

I wouldn't be quite so confident that it will be sorted out. It might, if it was any old car park, but as it's the University car park there may well be something in the Regulations preventing graduation with unpaid bills - whether parking would fall under that we don't know, but it could potentially make it more difficult to do anything other than pay up.

pogofish

agrinnall wrote: »

I wouldn't be quite so confident that it will be sorted out. It might, if it was any old car park, but as it's the University car park there may well be something in the Regulations preventing graduation with unpaid bills - whether parking would fall under that we don't know, but it could potentially make it more difficult to do anything other than pay up.

The OFT issued a warning about this to all UK Universities in February - Refusing graduation for unpaid debt to the institution is apparently illegal.

Also, York Uni has been caught-out quite recently for failing to meet the requirements of the BPA COP and POFA 2012 and illegally claiming they have the power to issue "fines" of up to £250 to students for various things. All covered on previous threads in the correct forum!