Parking Eye - Parking Charge

StephKeohane

Hi all!

Some advice needed please. Me & three friends visited Newquay on the weekend of 23rd May and on this day we parked in an outside car park (on Tower Road) that was by the entrance to Fistral Beach, if anyone knows the area.

We went shopping for a couple of hours and paid for this duration and when we returned to the car we decided to go to the beach for a little while. We didn't have much cash but there was no ability to ring and pay over the phone for the parking, so I paid what we had and I believe this was an hour/two hours worth.

As far as I can remember we returned to the car before our time was up, went on our way, no problem. A couple of weeks later I received a letter in the post from Parking Eye saying I owed money as I had breached the parking requirements. Unfortunately I think I have lost the original letter so cannot remember what details it had in there, however I ignored it because I had read that Parking Charges were just invoices etc. When we paid for the parking you had to enter your number plate and so did not receive a receipt, therefore I have no 'evidence' that I paid or was within time limits.

Since then I have received one letter on the 7th July saying the fine has gone up to £100 and to pay within 14 days to avoid further action, and another on the 22nd July headed 'Letter Before County Court Claim'. This one talks about a breach of contract and Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedom's Act. They have said if I do not pay within 14 days court proceedings will be issued and I will face further costs. Obviously that 14 days expires tomorrow. I should have asked for advice sooner but have buried my head in the sand and am now worried these guys are genuine.

What do I do? Is it legally enforceable and therefore I pay? Or are they a scam and so I should make an appeal and fight it? Or what? Help & advice would be very much appreciated as soon as possible!

Many thanks

Steph

pogofish

Parking Eye can be seen-off effectively by following the steps outlined in the Newbies Sticky at the top of this forum. Start by having a good read of that and similar recent Fistral Beach threads.

king312

A number of things you can do

1. Like me, re-read the newbie sticky (it really helped me with a Parkingeye appeal today)
2. Write to the landowners -it is worth doing, it really is!!!!
3. State there was no receipt provided, unfortunately remote sites like this the paper in the machine runs out
4. Ask for the audit of the the machine and state this in any POPLA appeal
5. Use the templates on the newbie thread, that way they can't start piling on the charges
6. Go back or ask a friend or google maps and get pictures of the area, signage, markings, etc not sure about ANPR warning signs but they are notoriously unreliable
7. Have a cup of tea, life is too short to worry about things in life that are really not worth it

Fruitcake

king312 wrote: »

A number of things you can do

1. Like me, re-read the newbie sticky (it really helped me with a Parkingeye appeal today)
2. Write to the landowners -it is worth doing, it really is!!!!
3. State there was no receipt provided, unfortunately remote sites like this the paper in the machine runs out
[STRIKE]4. Ask for the audit of the the machine and state this in any POPLA appeal[/STRIKE]
5. Use the templates on the newbie thread, that way they can't start piling on the charges
6. Go back or ask a friend or google maps and get pictures of the area, signage, markings, etc not sure about ANPR warning signs but they are notoriously unreliable
7. Have a cup of tea, life is too short to worry about things in life that are really not worth it

The OP didn't appeal so it never went to PoPLA. They are now at court stage unfortunately.

OP, read the Bargeploe court guide linked from post 1 of the NEWBIES thread as already advised. Purchase the very cheap Parking-Prankster court guide from his blog website.

Acknowledge the court papers when they arrive as per the above guides, and start working on your defence.

DO NOT PAY.

Coupon-mad

on the 22nd July headed 'Letter Before County Court Claim'. This one talks about a breach of contract and Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedom's Act. They have said if I do not pay within 14 days court proceedings will be issued and I will face further costs. Obviously that 14 days expires tomorrow. I should have asked for advice sooner but have buried my head in the sand and am now worried these guys are genuine.

You are not at court stage then! So URGENTLY email the Enforcement section at Parking Eye:

enforcement@parkingeye.co.uk

You have ignored a PCN from the MOST litigious firm in the UK as regards private parking tickets. not a good plan! You should have researched this and appealed, so get emailing NOW, TODAY, and just say you are the registered keeper, have receive the LBCCC and wish to raise a dispute with this because you believe that the occupants of the car paid and displayed and would have left within an allowed grace period after paid-for time. And that two separate payments were made during the duration, so you need them to provide you with:

(a) Clear information about the allegation. Are the saying the second payment made was insufficient or the car overstayed? If so, you need them to state by how many minutes. How many minutes were recorded at the start before paying, how many minutes if any between the two paid-for times and how many minutes at the end? And how does this not fall within BPA Grace periods?

(b) Ask for a picture of the contract on the sign.

Come back and show us their answer. DO THIS NOW. Never mind that it's past 14 days. Do this by email now, even if you've 'posted a letter' already (not recommended - PPCs conveniently lose them then sue).