Parking Charge Notice Inverness

aivega94

Hi,

First of all I would like to apologize if this thread may already be repeated, but I have specific questions that I wasn't able to respond by reading the newbies sticky and several other threads about Strothers Lane Parking in Inverness. Furthermore, I'm sorry if I may occur in any spelling or grammar mistakes as English is not my mother language.

I'm from Spain and on 28th June we visited Inverness and parked our HIRED car in Strothers Lane Parking, which is managed by Smart Parking. On Friday, 17th August I received a letter of the rental company with a photocopy of a PCN by Smart Parking. In the letter, the rental company states that they have received a PCN for the vehicle we had hired on that date. The only notice I have received about the PCN is through the rental company and not by Smart Parking itself.

The photocopy states that the PCN was issued on July 9, and the rental company received notice on 12 July and then send a letter to me which arrived two days ago; therefore all the deadlines to reduce the fine or appeal it may have passed.

We still have the parking ticket we purchased from the machine (1,45 pounds) and we have checked the fees of the parking, where it states that up to 2 hours = 1 pound and up to 3 hours = 2 pounds. According to their cameras, the vehicle entered at 16:41 and exited at 19:13. The ticket was purchased at 16:45.

I do not want to contact the company Smart Parking whatsoever until I know what to do with certainty because I do not accept the PCN they have issued. I've read in several threads that the usual recommendation is to just ignore the PCN and subsequent letters that may arrive, but as we live in Spain and our legislation is different from the UK we really do not know what to do.

Furthermore, the rental hire company is trying to charge an administration fee of 40 pounds which we certainly do not intend to pay until the issue is solved, but I don't know if should contact the rental company or not.

If you could help me in any way as to how to proceed with this issue I would highly appreciate it.

Thank you very much,

:j

System

Do you live in the UK?

It would be better for you - as this is Scotland - to advise Smart the name of the hirer and telling them, if true, that the hirer was not driving that day. In Scotland it is only the driver and not the hirer/keeper who is liable.

You do not need to name the driver.

aivega94

Do you live in the UK?

I don't! I live in Spain.

The thing is that our rental contract states only one driver, which was the same person as the hirer, as having a second driver was far more expensive, so if I said that the driver that day was another person it may imply a breach from the contract between us and the rental company.

waamo

The parking company don't get to see the contract you signed or get to know what is in it. That would be a breach of data protection.

twhitehousescat

We still have the parking ticket we purchased from the machine (1,45 pounds) and we have checked the fees of the parking, where it states that up to 2 hours = 1 pound and up to 3 hours = 2 pounds. According to their cameras, the vehicle entered at 16:41 and exited at 19:13. The ticket was purchased at 16:45.


the vehicle entered at 16:41 and exited at 19:13. = 152 minutes , why did you pay 1.45 pounds?

PS , its (not so) smart parking , send them a picture postcard when you get home

Fruitcake

I suggest you send the appeal template you will find in the Sticky thread for NEWBIES exactly as it is from The Hirer, giving the full name and address of The Hirer with the appeal to Smart Parking, then wait to see what happens.

Tell the hire company in writing that you have appealed this and they, the hire company, are therefore not liable for the charge and they MUST NOT pay it.
Add that since this a private unregulated parking charge, it is not a penalty or a fine, has not been issued by any authority, and therefore is outside the terms and conditions of the hire agreement. This being so, they are not entitled to charge the hirer for passing these details to the unregulated parking company.
Also point out that since the alleged event took place in Scotland, neither the registered keeper (the hire company) or the day to day keeper (the hirer) are liable for the charge under UK law, The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

aivega94

the vehicle entered at 16:41 and exited at 19:13. = 152 minutes , why did you pay 1.45 pounds?

I don't really know how private parking in Scotland works, but in Spain we pay according to minutes and you can choose the amount of money you put into the machine and then it translates it into minutes, and then in the ticket it states the max time limit you can park at the car park.

I mean, in Spain there's usually a fixed rate per minute so that it follows a rather logical mathematical sequence, but in this case the time frames and fees are difficult to be calculated this way.

Anyways, the PCN states "by either not purchasing the the appropriate parking time or by remaining at the car park longer than permitted", so I don't really know to which of those two possibilities this PCN stands for. To be completely understandable, I guess the notice should clearly state what the alleged breach was and not just a mere supposition.

KeithP

It doesn't work like that here.

In your case, as you paid less than £2.00, the three hour charge, they will say you only purchased one hour of parking. Any money over the £1.00 is not counted.

So they allege you paid for one hour but stayed for two and a half hours.

Umkomaas

I don't really know how private parking in Scotland works

Like anywhere else in the UK (other than keeper liability) anything a parking company can do to scam from a motorist works for them! Never be astounded!

so I don't really know to which of those two possibilities this PCN stands for. To be completely understandable, I guess the notice should clearly state what the allege

Somewhat immaterial, they'll try anything, but you won't be paying them anything.

Just use the blue text template and give the 'hirer's address for service' (use those words) as xxx, xxx, xxx, ESPAÑA

aivega94

I just entered the PCN number and the vehicle registration plate on the Smart Parking website and it says:

"The Parking Charge Notice (PCN) has been cancelled. No appeal is necessary. If you would like to contact the Parking Office regarding this Parking Charge Notice please call the office on 0845 230 3081 and select option 4."

I guess my problem has just disappeared?

Should I contact the hire company anyways to deal with the administration fee they want to charge us?

Thanks you very much for all your replies!

Redx

yes, because its not a FINE and not a PENALTY and probably isnt covered in their T & C, so tell them to check the BVRLA rules etc on this too


definitely dispute it and dont pay them a euro