Parking fine letters

time2deliver

My son has received several parking fine letters through the post for exceeding, by several minutes, his ticket's time limit. The car park is on private land but no parking charge notice was applied to his car to make him aware of this at the time of the transgression. The enforcement outfit obtained his identity through the DVLA and began sending payment demands to his postal address ie my address;which he didn't open for several weeks as he works away a lot. The original demand has ballooned to several hundred pounds now and he's adamant he won't pay due to not being made aware at the time he had offended. The parking enforcement crew[toe rag in tranny van with pit bull] I believe are registered to the relevant parking bodies enabling them to trace through the DVLA but have done so within 28 days which my son tells me is in contravention of the law. He's confident their position wouldn't stand up in court given the absence of a parking charge ticket in the first instance; is he right to be?

KeithP

No he isn't right to be that confident - far from it.

Tell him to get his head out of the sand and read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread to better understand the game he is now playing.

time2deliver

Umm interesting;does seem an extroadinary state of affairs if they can lawfully demand money for an offence when they haven't raised a ticket in the first place! Thanks for your rapid reply in any case;I'll be interested to see what the consensus is

KeithP

Consensus?
Why not read the guidance offered?

The private parking company can issue a speculative invoice anytime they like.

The days of compulsory windscreen tickets have long gone.

What is the name of the parking company?

pogofish

time2deliver wrote: »

I'll be interested to see what the consensus is

There is no "consensus" to seek here - You either use the proven approaches laid-out in the Newbies Sticky or you are wasting your time and ours. Success by other approaches is a rare and quite arbitrary thing.

fisherjim

time2deliver wrote: »

...he's confident their position wouldn't stand up in court given the absence of a parking charge ticket in the first instance; is he right to be?

He needs to stop being so pig headed and get on here himself to sort this out!

When we know who the PPC is (they are hardly an "enforcement crew") more advice on the likelihood of a claim can be formed.

This is an unregulated industry and he will be pursued relentlessly for their cash if he doesn't sort it out, and court is a lottery!

Guys_Dad

time2deliver wrote: »

Umm interesting;does seem an extroadinary state of affairs if they can lawfully demand money for an offence when they haven't raised a ticket in the first place! Thanks for your rapid reply in any case;I'll be interested to see what the consensus is

You clearly posted without reading much on this forum. I don't think we can help without proper information. See other threads for information other people have supplied .

The_Deep

It is not an offence, it is not a fine, and it is not contrary to the law, it is an invoice, for an alleged breach of contract, and they can take him to court.

He is obviously misinformed and should read the guidance available here.

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and another company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

Hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned.

The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the HofC recently.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by Christmas.

waamo

Given that the Supreme Court have upheld these tickets I think your friend could be in for an expensive legal lesson.