T&Cs

Canary21

Hi there,


I'm helping a friend with a parking charge notice. I've done a few of these before, and I always use the threads here, but I've got a specific query about this particular case.


The £100 charge will be reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. But the paperwork also states that if an appeal is lodged, that automatically forfeits the early-payment discount.


I know that's sharp practice - but is it legal?


Dealing with other cowboys in the past, I'm sure the clock has been put on hold while an appeal is considered.


Thanks in advance.

Coupon-mad

I know that's sharp practice - but is it legal?

Yes. Not illegal. But don't even look at the deadline or bribe!

Is is NPE, given your location suggested by the username and I think you've posted before?

Half_way

Private parking is unregulated, why not get your friend too register and post on here?

Canary21

Hi both,


No - it's for a computer-illiterate friend in the south-west.


It happened in a car park some way away from his home, so he can't go back to check the scene, and he admits he didn't look properly at the signs.


Also, unlike many of these cowboys, this is a firm that has recently taken some cases to court and won.


He's talking about paying up for a quiet life - I've convinced him not to for now, but he's getting nervous.


Given that this is a firm that might take him to court based on its recent track record, I've thought of composing a letter of appeal that states the charge is disproportionate. (I know about the Beavis case, but the judges in that case also stated that charges must be proportionate. Contrary to what the cowboys say, Beavis did NOT give them carte blanche to charge anything they like.)


If my friend says the driver believes that a fair charge is £15 to cover the overstay and the admin, I suspect the parking company will say no - but it also realise that if it takes the driver to court, the court might consider that the driver had made a reasonable effort to settle the case.

Canary21

To add to my previous post, if it was me, I would appeal and go through the usual process. But given that I fear that my friend might fold, I'm slightly wary of encouraging him to fight this at the start, then see him give up and pay the higher amount.

Quentin

He doesn't need to be computer literate for you to show him this forum and how to read about the successes.


If you search for the ppc involved then hopefully you/he will see how they have been beaten!

Canary21

Hi Quentin,


He does - he's 350 miles away from me and doesn't have a computer!


And I know about how to take these people on - it's simply that if he folds halfway through the process, he might as well fold now.


(PS: I also haven't found any examples of this PPC being beaten yet - and they won a bunch of court cases a few days ago.)

Fruitcake

It would help if we knew the name of the PPC. You won't be giving anything away by telling us, and the experts here will be able to give you some ideas of how an appeal might pan out.

However, more info would be needed to help with the appeal itself but hundreds of people do that every day so again you won't be giving anything away as long as you are careful how you post.

Canary21

Thanks.


It's A S Parking, and it was a car park in Cornwall. It belongs to a pub, apparently, and my friend has already called the pub and asked them to intervene. He hasn't had a reply yet, but he isn't hopeful.


He wasn't the driver, so when I speak about "the driver", I'm not speaking in code!


The driver has no recollection of any signs or charges, so although s/he's not admitting s/he parked wrongly, s/he can't prove it at the moment.


S/he's got another seven days until the £60 jumps up to £100.

Fruitcake

So send the IPC template from the NEWBIES thread, and add that the keeper was NOT the driver so please cancel the ticket or contact the driver. There is no legal or lawful requirement to name the driver and the driver's identity cannot be assumed. For the absence of doubt, I, the registered keeper, was not driving.

Canary21

Hi - just two more quick questions...


As per the Newbies thread, am I right in thinking he should wait until 26 days before appealing, and that the 14-day cut-off point for the discount rate is a red herring?


Also, the back of the PCN has an address for an online form for "contesting" the notice, and a separate email address for "complaining about the validity of the charge". Which is the best one to use for the IPC letter to be sent to?


Thanks.