F1rst parking university parking fine

Maysep1

Hi I received a parking charge notice from first parking last year which I appealed. I was parking in a disabled bay but did not have a permit. I appealed this charge as I had a disabled parking permit for the university car park for the academic year before and got my permit renewed 7 days after I received the fine. My appeal unfortunately got rejected as I did not have a permit at the time. I recently received a claim form letter that court action will be taken if I do not pay the sum of £185 by next week. I rang them and I have stupidly accepted liabailty when I put the appeal through. They said they would be happy with £100 and will not take me to court if I pay that amount. Do you think I should pay the £100 or do you guys think I won't be taken to court?.

Thank you 😊

waamo

F1rst have never taken anyone to court. Why do you think you will be the first for F1rst?

Maysep1

Have they never didn't know that! They just sent me a warning. Do they not take anyone to court?

pappa_golf

Maysep1 wrote: »

Have they never didn't know that! They just sent me a warning. Do they not take anyone to court?

https://bmpa.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203753761-First-Parking-LLP

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

Coupon-mad

F1rst have one claim in hand on this forum, already defended. Never seen any others. But never assume, you need to knock this on the head now and get assertive about it.

You need to write a formal complaint to the University, and to F1rst, putting them on notice that the parking agents have failed to comply with the Equality Act 2010 whereby they must make 'reasonable adjustments' by law.

In this case, that would involve having a reasonable policy of immediately waiving any 'parking charge' where the driver can show that they are disabled and were merely temporarily between Uni parking permits. After all, the disability need does not disappear in the few days between and it is disingenuous and profiteering, as well as discriminatory, to continue to demand money in these circumstances. Alternatively, another policy that would be reasonable would be for renewed permits to be issued automatically and immediately for disabled drivers known to still have a continuous need to use the site, only expiring when they have actually left as a student or staff member. Not expiring annually and placing disabled drivers in this position and discriminating against them to the tune of £100.

A third suggestion would be that the VRN is retained on a permanent white list so that disabled drivers who have an established and known need are never ticketed, even if (for example) their permit slips out of site on a windy day, or a minor issue like this one occurs. State that clearly the disability need is the issue, not so much the paper permit which is just one indicator of need which helps F1rst, but does not help people in your position who are the ones the permit scheme is meant to protect.

State that you are certain both parties are in agreement that there is no question that you had a right to park there, given your needs, and to fine you is unconscionable. Tell them that you are making these suggestions in the interests of resolving the dispute and improving the experience for other disabled drivers at the University, who should never have to suffer such harassment, which in itself is illegal under the Equality Act.

Be very assertive, this goes in writing, not written as an appeal. Headed up:

Formal complaint re: disability discrimination and harassment under the Equality Act 2010

End it by saying what you expect to happen, and by when. Be very clear - ''cancel it''. No ''please'' and not written like a begging appeal. It's not an appeal.

Show us your draft complaint first, if you wish. The Uni one should be addressed to the person responsible for disability and equality (find out) or the section which issues those permits.

Maysep1

Thank you for your help guys! I'll draft out the letter tomorrow and I'll post it here ��

Coupon-mad

Similar case here as well:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5682553

HTH

Maysep1

Hi guys f1rst parking is taking it to court. Ive just got a letter in the post from the county court business centre for £160 and £25 court fees. What do I do, will this go on my credit file?

Umkomaas

What do I do

All the information you need is in the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #2. Read it thoroughly as it will be your future guide through all this from here on.

will this go on my credit file?

Only if it goes to court, you lose, the judge awards costs against you and you fail/refuse to pay by the due date. You are largely in control of whether anything gets on your credit file.

If you move address at any time while this potential court case is unfinished you must inform F1rst Parking of the new address.

Umkomaas

Just looking back over your thread - how did the University respond to this, advised by Coupon-mad?

You need to write a formal complaint to the University, and to F1rst, putting them on notice that the parking agents have failed to comply with the Equality Act 2010 whereby they must make 'reasonable adjustments' by law.

nosferatu1001

Indeed

First steps - acknowledge the claim. NOW. Do it online, as per the instrucitons in the newbies thread
Then read all of the small claims section on there, and read it again
THEN tell us how you got on with the university, who even now can tell FIRST to back off.