Can I claim for harassment from Parking Eye

GeoffJames

I sold my car and the new owner incurred a ticket at a retail park a few days later.
ParkingEye queried DVLC and obtained my details and served a fine on me.

I contacted the new owner. She was entitled to free parking as she worked in the ASDA store on the retail park and the process to register her new plate takes a few days.

I informed ParkingEye that the charge was in error. A month later I get a letter with legal quotes all over it making it clear that my appeal has failed and that I need to pay-up or go to Popla (a further appeal).

At this point I am very worried and so I spend 3 hours forming a POPLA appeal.
Next day another ParkingEye letter arrives dated the day after my 1st appeal was rejected stating that they have now cancelled the parking fine.

I feel that Parking Eye have been unnecessarily aggressive and pressured me to pay a fine. They ignored my statements that this was an error and refused the appeal. They have not even apologized.

Is there a way claim compensation from them? I feel I am due financial compensation for the stress, time and costs I have suffered due to their aggressive letters and useless processes.

Regards
Geoff

Ivor_Pecheque

It's frustrating James.

I've not got the sharpest of legal brains, but I expect, if you were trying to recover your time back, then they haven't entered into a contract with them.

Think the Parking Prankster has helped a management consultant claim some recompense previously, but it was further on than your case.

Think also there are some claims at 18-19 quid an hour where they have forced a motorist to POPLA when there is some question they were vexatious. (A "double dip" in Newquay).

Completely understand your anger.

Concentrate on fighting their claim, and tell absolutely who you can about how Parking Eye and their partners hae treated you.

The_Slithy_Tove

Not a chance. You got 1 parking notice, then JUST ONE follow up in PE's normal mild tones, and finally a cancellation. Of the three letters you got, only one is a little "intimidating". That is not harrassment, especially as you had not at any point put them on notice that their behaviour was harrassing.

Many have had to put up with much more. Stop being a victim, and get on with life.

The_Deep

Many have had to put up with much more. Stop being a victim, and get on with life.


Rude and unfair. The man has done nothing to merit PE's attention, and they have wasted a small amount of his time. If he fills so inclined, let him take them to court, and waste their time, although he should not be hoping to enrich himself, but it would certainly be worth a tenner imo.

DandelionPatrol

GeoffJames wrote: »

I sold my car and the new owner incurred a ticket at a retail park a few days later.
ParkingEye queried DVLC and obtained my details and served a fine on me.

I contacted the new owner. She was entitled to free parking as she worked in the ASDA store on the retail park and the process to register her new plate takes a few days.

I informed ParkingEye that the charge was in error. A month later I get a letter with legal quotes all over it making it clear that my appeal has failed and that I need to pay-up or go to Popla (a further appeal).

At this point I am very worried and so I spend 3 hours forming a POPLA appeal.
Next day another ParkingEye letter arrives dated the day after my 1st appeal was rejected stating that they have now cancelled the parking fine.

I feel that Parking Eye have been unnecessarily aggressive and pressured me to pay a fine. They ignored my statements that this was an error and refused the appeal. They have not even apologized.

Is there a way claim compensation from them? I feel I am due financial compensation for the stress, time and costs I have suffered due to their aggressive letters and useless processes.

Regards
Geoff

Look, these people have no authority or powers other than those a court will uphold. Or that you ascribe to them. They do not have any rights to levy fines and they do not hand down judgements, so you are ascribing them powers they do not have when you write "fine" and "appeal" without quotation marks.

In your case, you started off right by telling them that the car had been sold. And that is where it should have ended. I would have left it at that and let them go to a Letter Before Action if they were so minded, at which point, I would have reminded them that the car had been sold and let it go to court, where that would have been my defence. I certainly would not have engaged with their "appeal" processes.

System

Can I claim for harassment from Parking Eye

From 1st October 2015 you can under the new Consumer regulations but there is also case law. See here

http://www.rpc.co.uk/index.php?option=com_easyblog&view=entry&id=1459&Itemid=143

The CoA have said "misuse of private information is a tort". ParkingEye have form for this. See ParkingEye v Somerfield.

60. The Regulations expressly provide that consumers have a right to damages if the consumer has suffered alarm, distress or physical inconvenience or discomfort caused by the misleading or aggressive practice.

61. The amounts awarded for distress and inconvenience should be restrained and modest, in accordance with the general law in England and Wales and Scotland. Only in exceptional circumstances would these exceed £1,000, and in most cases, a nominal award, or an amount below £1,000 would be appropriate.

62. Damages for distress are most likely to be appropriate in respect of aggressive practices.

The_Deep

Indeed. Several years ago my wife suffered a bump in a Tesco car park. She was in the store at the time, but the perp, who drove off, was seen and reported to the police.

Since that time I have been cold called many times by injury claim lawyers, asking to assist.

An Inspector in Thames Valley Police was later dismissed for selling accident data to Insurance companies, although TVP assured me that mine was not included.

If tt could be proven that, although no pecuniary loss was incurred, distress still was caused, TVP were the source of the information, they could be called to account.

Herzlos

You've got nothing to lose but the cost of a stamp and ink to send them an invoice for time wasted @ £19/hour.

They'll likely just send you some template crap to fob you off though. It's not likely to be worth pursuing to small claims court.

System

Why didn't you just tell PE that the new owner was the driver instead of faffing around?

wooder

I've often wondered - if you have a cast iron defence, as in this case, and you just sent a simple email/letter outlining this and left it at that, then, if it went all the way to court would the judge say ' hang on a minute, PE have an appeals process in place to deal with situations like this - why have you wasted mine and the courts time by not engaging it' (even though we know it would be fruitless anyway) ?

Marktheshark

If they made ANY legal threat or references to legal action that might / may / could happen in any of the demands then you can claim a litigant in person charge of £18 per hour.
By making any form of legal threat you are already engaged in litigation with that firm.
You can invoice and you can sue, they have to send a solicitor to court and their costs are capped at £90 in the unlikely event you lose.

It is certainly no less than they deserve.
See how they like it up em.

I would think 6 hours to reaseach and prepare a POPLA defence and 2 x1 hours to contact them is more than reasonable.
That is 8 x £18 which is £144