Please help!! 20+ parking tickets

lyndsay1989

Hi, I have checked the newbie board and can't see anyone with a similar problem to me so I really hope someone can help me. In May of this year, the apartment building I live in started to display signs stating that anyone parking there without a permit would be fined. Each apartment receives one car parking permit. Unfortunately, there are 2 cars in my household, meaning I don't get a permit. I began to receive parking tickets from Parking Ticketing Ltd which I was advised to ignore, thinking they were not enforceable. On the 1st September, I received a notice of intended court action letter from Dept Recovey Plus, stating that if I did not pay £120.00 by the 15th September they will reccomend to the creditor to commence court proceedings. This is the first one I have received dating back to 29th May, so I anticipate receiving many more. From what I have read on here, I believe it is quite rare for a company to take you to court as their fees will outweigh the fine. However, as I have received approximately 20 of these, they could stand to make £2500 from me!!

Do I have to pay these, and if so is there any way I could arrange a payment plan as I cannot afford to pay off a £2500 debt in one lump sum! Any help is greatly appreciated!!

Captain_Krunch

First, take a deep breath and read the newbie section https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822. What does it say about debt recovery plus and their intentions to recomend or intend anything. Do you rent or own the property? What does it say in your lease if rented about parking spaces?

Half_way

No no no no, dont even think about paying.

n May of this year, the apartment building I live in started to display signs stating that anyone parking there without a permit would be fined

do the signs realy say fines? if so take a photo NOW

Secondly and most importantly what do your lease/rental/freehold agreements/documents say about car parking this information is important as it will let us and you know where you stand and the advice can be tailored to suit
You appear to say you have been parking two cars with no issue, have you been pakring two cars ( and using two spaces) for some time?
Again is there any mention of this in any lease/rental or any other documents?

As for getting 20+ tickets, well done, you shouldn't pay any of them. just challenge each one. I would be tempted to tell the management company to shove their permits where the sun doesn't shine and see just how many tickets you can gather. theres the potential for some fun here if you want to tell the parking company to FRO you could potentially cause them some headaches

as a bonus if it goes to popla/ias and you lose you still don't have to pay a penny.

Again what does your lease say? how long have you been parking two vehicles for? if your lease/rental says nothing then it wouldnt be unreasonable to assume you have implied permission to park, imposing a permit scheme is a variation of your lease for which you may not wish to agree to.

Quentin

Read up the newbies FAQ thread near the top of the forum on what to do if they do now take court action.

You can ignore debt collectors letters.

You look too late to do anything else but wait and see if you get any proper letters before action/county court claims.

If you do end up losing in court you can propose paying on the drip but if you do then any CCJs will be on your credit record for 6 years.

The_Deep

Is this in England or Wales? Are you a tenant or a lease holder?, What does your lease/AST say about parking? Does you lease/AST use the words "quiet enjoyment"? Where are you parking your second car?

In most cases, there is no contract between the parking company and the parker, and because the lease overrides all else these case rarely get to court.

BTW, there are plenty of examples here of people in your situation, did you read od Daniel San's problems?

Half_way

I would advice getting a successful popla challenge under you belt, if you have mutliple tickets for the same thing a popla win may help should they chose the court route.
im assuming its this lot http://www.parkingticketing.co.uk/
My only run in with these is when one of their silver vans cut me up on the A38 somewhere in the midlands ( and then proceed to cut others up as well )

While there may be talk of court actions theres nothing to worry about, however it is important to know what if anything any lease agreement/rental agreement and so on says about parking, also do you lease/rent/own the flat??
without this information any subsequent replies can only be if's and buts and not of much use.
Until the OP replies with the answers to this anything else is a waste of time

lyndsay1989

My partner lived in the building for several months before me and was issued a parking permit upon moving in. The lease states that each apartment is allocated one parking space and one permit. We rent the property but unfortunately, we have been attempting to contact the landlord in regards to having my name added to the least but have received no response. I don't think I really have a leg to stand on if it should go to court. Since I cannot get in touch with the landlord to have my name put on the lease, I have no legal right to be parking there and since I wrongly ignored the tickets since May, I am too late to appeal.

Any advice on what I can do, if anything?

ampersand

''I don't think I really have a leg to stand on if it should go to court.''
#
Now come along, Lyndsay - ancient lady speaking here: ^^That ^^is NONSENSE.

PTT is probably close to the mark with 'The landlord no doubt, has become difficult to contact because he's fed up of people complaining about parking tickets.'

Take a deep breath, then answer each ? that has been put here. Space your text out for ease of reading and reply. There are all sorts of hidden weapons for you in terms of Lease, contract law, advance notice of significant change to terms etc.etc. That is why each point written so far in all the replies needs an answer.

Only those full answers can help us to specfically help you.
#
Small search later and there's this Thread, from Nov 14, indicating that we hear little about this lot. Could be they're upping the ante a.k.a.unenforceable invoice/income stream
bm1957

The_Deep

I don't think I really have a leg to stand on if it should go to court.

What about contract, signs, losses, business rates, Housing Acts, AST?

As a landlord myself, I get very cross with tenants parking their second and third cars in other peoples' spaces, but I also get cross with PPC hassling my tenants. Please tell me you are not trespassing in others' spaces or pernabebtly occupying a space intended the occupants; visitors.

lyndsay1989

I don't have dates the tickets were issued. I stupidly disposed of them all. Since the parking restrictions were put in place, I have taken to parking on the street outside during the week as there are no parking restrictions between the hours of 6pm and 8am which coincides with the time I arrive home from work and leave for work. However, on the weekends, penalty charges are issued if cars are parked on the street outside, so usually I have no other option to park in the car park on weekends. Since the parking restrictions, the car park is almost empty, which leads me to believe that many tenants were letting friends or family park in the garage, which is probably why the landlord began issuing the permits. I have regularly posted notices around the building asking to rent a space from someone but these keep being removed (I can only assume by the landlord). So yes, unfortunately, on occasion I have to park in a space reserved for someone else to avoid paying a £70 fine from the council.

The rent and all bills are paid through my boyfriends account. My partner lived there from May 2014 and I moved in April 2015. Any contact to the landlord has been made through my partner, not me.

My partner tells me that shortly before the signs were displayed he was sent a letter from the landlord stating that parking restricitions were going to be put into place and was sent a new permit in case he had misplaced the old one. I am not home at the moment, but I have asked him to send photos of the lease and the parking signs.

ampersand

lyndsay1989 wrote: »

I don't have dates the tickets were issued.

I stupidly disposed of them all.

Since the parking restrictions were put in place, I have taken to parking on the street outside during the week as there are no parking restrictions between the hours of 6pm and 8am which coincides with the time I arrive home from work and leave for work.

However, on the weekends, penalty charges are issued if cars are parked on the street outside, so usually I have no other option to park in the car park on weekends.

Since the parking restrictions, the car park is almost empty, which leads me to believe that many tenants were letting friends or family park in the garage, which is probably why the landlord began issuing the permits.

I have regularly posted notices around the building asking to rent a space from someone but these keep being removed (I can only assume by the landlord).

So yes, unfortunately, on occasion I have to park in a space reserved for someone else to avoid paying a £70 fine from the council.

The rent and all bills are paid through my boyfriends account. My partner lived there from May 2014 and I moved in April 2015. Any contact to the landlord has been made through my partner, not me.

My partner tells me that shortly before the signs were displayed he was sent a letter from the landlord stating that parking restricitions were going to be put into place and was sent a new permit in case he had misplaced the old one.

I am not home at the moment, but I have asked him to send photos of the lease and the parking signs.