I need some help with a parking charge that I couldn't have gotten

KDesu

Hello,
I received a parking charge notice from smart parking in April
I refused the parking charge as the day they claim my car was at the car park I was on holiday in Japan I have sent them proof of this with an appel and havent heard back from them till yesterday when a letter came though from a solicitor asking me to pay drp or parking eye before they proceed with court action and the odd drp letter asking for payment what I ignored as parking eye never got back to me

In terms of the cars use I couldn't of been able to get the parking ticket due to my location but nobody else would have had access to my car apart from my friend who was looking after the cats, we can call him a traveling man with no fixed address iv spoke to him and he said he didnt take the car, and parking eye refuse to give me a picture of the driver as they asked me to supply details of the driver in a certain time frame and I said I couldn't without there help and a picture so there pretty unhelpful I havent given them any information on my friend what so ever, if just denied being able to of got the ticket of the day there saying,
They have my name and up to date address to send me letters and such and my email but not phone number

So do I pay the £160 to keep the peace/ paying a higher amount in court or ignore them more or just call/email them again asking for the information I asked for back in June

Half_way

ANPR misreads are incredibly common, the usual parking eye stuff shows a picture of your vehicle - do you have this? what does it show??

So do I pay the £160 to keep the peace/ paying a higher amount in court or ignore them more or just call/email them again asking for the information I asked for back in June

Seriously??? if your story checks out, and it does go to court, then its not you that will be paying them a higher amount - either they or their principal - whoever let parking eye lose in that car park will ( potentially) be paying you signifficantly more.


If you have informed them that it was not your vehicle, and supplied evidence to show that, then right away there is a possible breach of the new GDPR regulations - failing to maintain accurate data, despite being informed of the correct details and then using the wrong data to your detriment. you stated:

have sent them proof of this with an appel and havent heard back from them till yesterday when a letter came though from a solicitor asking me to pay drp or parking eye before they proceed with court action and the odd drp letter asking for payment what I ignored as parking eye never got back to me

Keep everything yuo have in one place, you should have:
The initial letter form parking eye, with details of the vehicle usually an anpr photo, time in car park/time out of car park etc, as well as the location of the car park, ie Morrisons Sittingbourne ( for example)



So the important questions are:
Do the photos match your vehicle?
Where was the car park location?


If you are looking at a GDPR breach then both the parking company and the car park owner/person responsible for the site will be jointly liable.

The_Deep

So do I pay the £160 to keep the peace/ paying a higher amount in court or ignore them more or just call/email them again asking for the information I asked for back in June

Your choice, although if they take you to court and lose, which, from what you have told us seems fairly likely, they could end up paying you

It is the will of Parliament that these scammers be put out of business. Hopefully that will take place in the near future. In the meantime involve your MP, the poor dears are buckling under the weight of complaints about these scammers. Read this one which I wrote earlier

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of alleged contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors. Is has been suggested by an MP that some of these companies may have connections to organised crime.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, (especially Smart}, and others have already been named and shamed in the House of Commons as have Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each week), hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned. They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

The problem has become so widespread that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers.

Sir Greg Knight's Private Members Bill to curb the excesses, and perhaps close down, some of these companies passed its Third Reading in late November, and, with a fair wind, will become Law next year.

All three readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 6-7 hours), and published in Hansard. MPs have an extremely low opinion of the industry. Many are complaining that they are becoming overwhelmed by complaints from members of the public. Add to their burden, complain in the most robust terms about the scammers.

Fruitcake

As above, check the photos they have sent, and one's on their website if you log in to look at them using the PCN number.

Do they match exactly your car? Is there perhaps a garage name on the number plate that is different to yours, or a different length if unreadable?
Are there screws or scratches or cracks or marks on one that do not match the other?
Are there stickers or model numbers or similar on one car that do not match the other?

Of course you don't pay.

Redx

PARKING EYE dont use gladrags or drpl so I am not convinced that this is a PARKING EYE debt letter or claim or whatever

PE tend to use EQUITA or use their in house team

please confirm the name of the PARKING COMPANY that these people are acting for

Coupon-mad

when a letter came though from a solicitor asking me to pay drp or parking eye before they proceed with court action

As Redx says. We do not believe the PPC is ParkingEye at all. They don't use DRP or solicitors.

beamerguy

Bit early for April 1st ??

fisherjim

Coupon-mad wrote: »

As Redx says. We do not believe the PPC is ParkingEye at all. They don't use DRP or solicitors.

I suspect they may have changed their procedures now they have been sold to Macquarie.

KDesu

Hello,

Thanks for all the helpful replies
Yes the company is smart parking I got the wrong company and I have had drp letters sent to me not sure if this is unusual for them, there was another company at the start I cant remember the name and I havent kept the letters they sent

The picture they have sent me is the rear of a car similar looking to mine with my plate but doesn't have any badges on it, and I know mine has the f spott badges showing and the hybrid badge

And then just a picture of a front lisence plate that I cant gather details from as it's just a zoomed in picture of the plate

I have asked them for a picture so that I can see whose driving and make out the model of the car but they never got back to me about this and just moving to debt collectors what I have ignored so far

The_Deep

The picture they have sent me is the rear of a car similar looking to mine but doesn't have any badges on it,

Clearly they have made a FUBAR, not a rare thing. If they persist, let them take you to court where you can counter claim for misuse of your data, and harassment, also complain to your MP.

KDesu

Sorry just re read the post I did just some clarification
The picture of the lisence plates matches in terms of the letters and numbers
But doesn't match as my reg plate as a st Georges flag and GB on the side of the plate what there picture is lacking
Will this and the fact I have a stamped passport, boarding pass and holiday photos prove in court it could not of been me driving my car