Parking ticket paid for - Penalty

sargan

July last year I parked in one of the car parks run by Excel Parking ... it was a horrendous day weather wise, and I got soaked walking to 3 separate pay & display machines as first 2 were out of use.

Struggling with wind, rain, umbrella & car door - bought a ticket but by accident put it on my dashboard upside down (face down) ... returned well before expiration times to find big yellow sticker on window ... for parking violation.
Along with a 'Parking Charge Notice" for £70

I took my pay & display ticket to the 'operator' he advised it was I had not displayed a valid ticket, but agreed I had a ticket and recommended an appeal.

The ticket said I had 7 days to appeal .... I sent off proof of ticket, and that it was only the awful weather that had caused me to put it on dash upside down.
Explained the fee had been correctly paid and I could prove that - with the copy of ticket sent to them.

They responded ... "we expect to let you have our decision by 02 Sept 2016"

No response .. so Mid Sept emailed again .. I have proof they received it as auto acknowledgement received - no response at end of Sept., I wrote advising if I heard nothing within 7 days I consider the matter closed.

Today 196 days after the parking notice issued they responded advising the appeal had been rejected, I can however cancel the charge if I pay £10, otherwise it increases to £100 in 7 days.


My view is, I paid correct fee, parked correctly, returned within allotted time, therefore they have suffered no material loss & I have made no financial gain.
Fair & equitable position.


What is the advice - hold or pay.

twhitehousescat

when you appealed to them did you give them your full name AND address , or was it by email?

the note today was it by royal mail or email?

Redx

the question is , if they go to court are you willing to stand your ground and let a judge decide ?

if you are then do not pay , but ensure you have the evidence and bottle to go to small claims court

its not a penalty , its an invoice , nothing more , but as with any invoice they can (and do) issue court cases , just like if it was a dispute between a plumber and you over a boiler repair

EXCEL have 6 years to issue an MCOL

sargan

twhitehousescat wrote: »

when you appealed to them did you give them your full name AND address , or was it by email?

the note today was it by royal mail or email?

I replied to them by email giving name & adress.
Their response yesterday was letter in the post.

sargan

Redx wrote: »

its not a penalty , its an invoice , nothing more

Isn't an Invoice for products or services provided.
The offer was to park there for the rates displayed.

I paid, parked and returned within time.... so no material loss to them.

Redx

material loss went out of the window with the BEAVIS decision 15 months ago

its an invoice for allegedly failing to follow the rules of the car park

they are all banned from calling it a penalty , or a fine !

it is a speculative invoice , that is all it is , and all it ever can be , which is why they can take it to the small claims court

penalties are dealt with by the authorities , especially magistrates

if you wish to argue the point , please do so in front of a judge and let that judge decide

the issue here is that the ticket was upside down , which is what they are invoicing you for , not invoicing you for non-payment , because you paid

it could just as easily be for not parking within the lines of the bay , any trumped up reason

sargan

it does nor mention anywhere it is an 'invoice,
'

twhitehousescat

sargan wrote: »

Isn't an Invoice for products or services provided.
The offer was to park there for the rates displayed.

I paid, parked and returned within time.... so no material loss to them.

and to display a ticket with the date/time clearly on show

fisherjim

sargan wrote: »

it does nor mention anywhere it is an 'invoice,
'

Of course it doesn't, they dress it up to look like a fine to fool gullible victims.

Redx

it might not say COFFEE on the wifes mug , but if it looks like coffee , smells like coffee , and tastes like coffee , guess what ??

yep , its coffee , and if she paid for it she would have received an invoice , even if its says bill , billet , la factura , or whatever

trust me , its an invoice that was received in the post from the parking company

Umkomaas

You've got to decide whether you're prepared to take the chance of 'who blinks first' over a tenner.

Yes, it sticks in the craw, yes it's not fair, yes we wish we could 'magic' it away for you (abracadabra and all that), but you have to make a pragmatic decision. Pay £10 and get this out of your hair, seethe, but put it down to experience, or take the risk that at any time in the next 6 years (yep SIX YEARS) you will be issued with court papers, claiming not only for £100 initial charge, but a number of add-ons, taking this to around £250.

Then it's a pile of research and intellectual effort to produce a robust defence (with a variety of stages and hoops to jump through), then an appearance at the county court to present your case to a judge, who may (or, 50:50, may not) agree with you. But it's a total lottery where seemingly 'cast iron' cases in the past have (gobsmackingly) hit the dirt.

Your call.