UK Parking Patrol ticket

voodoor

I got a PCN on my windshield from UK Parking Patrol Office on the 8th April. I've read the FAQ thread (the first few posts at least) and tried searching this forum for this company but I got no results - is the site search working? Having been forced to move house twice in the first few months of this year, I'm very skint and I would need to borrow money to pay the £60 they're asking for (if I pay in the first 14 days, £100 otherwise) so I'm wondering if its necessary?

If I read the FAQ right, it seems this company is a member of the IPC (I checked and they are) and so its recommended I wait a few weeks before appealing, preferably electroncally. I read through the example letter to send but I'm not confident I'd be getting a good response / outcome through doing that, it seems like they could provide good responses to all the questions and then I'd be stuck paying £100+.

The advice in the FAQ still seems to be, in general, don't pay private tickets but under what circumstances is it better not to fight, if any? I was 'legally' parked , not obstructing anyone or parked funny but the private parking sign was visible- I just didn't have any change on me or time to find another spot so I took my chances and lost. Me being skint and in a rush likely isn't going to stand up as a defense and I read that the laws regarding (private) parking tickets in the UK changed last year?

Thanks for your advice!

Coupon-mad

The forum search is brilliant if you know how to use it well. I reckon you might have been putting 'UK Parking Patrol Office' into the MSE search top right of the page? Nope.

Put UKPPO into 'search this board' just above the thread list - level with where you clicked the ''new thread'' button on the left, there's a little box on the right (not top right). Then go advanced and change the search to 'show posts' NOT SHOW THREADS.

Absolutely loads of threads about every parking firm on here.

Also, post #3 of the NEWBIES thread about court threats tells you to Google 'BMPA Insight' and the name of the parking firm to see how litigious they are, you get this result with UKPPO:

http://www.bmpa.eu/companydata/UK_Parking_Patrol_Office.html

Tiny little firm, one claim this year, none last year, hardly a threat!

The advice in the FAQ still seems to be, in general, don't pay private tickets but under what circumstances is it better not to fight, if any?

If you are asking, ''under what circs should you pay?'' the answer is NEVER unless a Judge says so. This entire industry is rotten to the core and there are no redeeming features, no decent companies we can name. They have got much greedier and their conduct far worse in the past couple of years and none deserve anyone's money. High time the worst of their conduct was criminalised like clamping was in 2012.

Your risk of a small claim is so tiny as to be non-existent and in any case, we win court defences in 99% of cases if a defence is needed. Even a lost small claim has no effect on your credit rating if then paid, typically about £150, no huge costs and the chances of this are about the same as (shudder) *Crystal Palace* winning the league.

voodoor

Thanks very much for your response Coupon-mad!

Not only can I genuinely not afford to pay this fine, I don't want to be funding a firm who make their living entirely by spreading distress through sticking bits of paper on cars demanding money.

I shall have another go with the search but I take your word over the expected outcome - you wrote the FAQ so I have to presume you know your stuff.

Huge thanks for your very generous help to UK drivers!

Umkomaas

voodoor wrote: »

Thanks very much for your response Coupon-mad!

Not only can I genuinely not afford to pay this fine, I don't want to be funding a firm who make their living entirely by spreading distress through sticking bits of paper on cars demanding money.

I shall have another go with the search but I take your word over the expected outcome - you wrote the FAQ so I have to presume you know your stuff.

Huge thanks for your very generous help to UK drivers!

Faint praise indeed!

voodoor

That wasn't meant as a slight and I don't really see how you took it that way. I am genuinely thankful for coupon's help, as you may discern from me thanking them mutiple times for their assistance.

Umkomaas

Coupon-mad is the country's foremost expert in fighting private parking tickets. You can trust any advice she (yes SHE) gives you.

She does know her stuff.

voodoor

I was treading carefully with using 'they', fully allowing for coupon to be a lady.

Coupon-mad

Haha!

Do try the search - it is very good when you know how to use it (avoid the box top of the page, it's not that).