chargest to pay ticket

wonderfulcounsellor

Hi all


First post and my first message is to say great work, it's appreciated and humbling how much effort you put into helping others.


I've had a ticket from Highfield in a Tesco car park. Appeal to them obviously rejected. In some ways it's fair enough - I work in a hospital, the hospital car park was full due to a !!!!-up with their barrier system so I eventually parked in Tesco to avoid having to cancel my patient's surgery. I shop there weekly and didn't think it would be a problem as I did my shopping there, but I did spend 9 hours in the car park.


Standard ticket with bribe to pay £20 if I pay quickly.


Frankly it's not a lot of money to me - I don't want to sound cocky but it isn't a big deal to lose £20 (and I'd have to pay £9.60 in the hospital car park as I only go there once a week and pay for my parking and claim it back) ... except that I don't want to give the money to those !!!!!! who prey on others and there are plenty of people who would find it financially painful ... so I intend to fight it and give the money I would have paid to a good cause.


I will use all the standard lines of appeal but one of the things that wound me up and made me more enthusiastic about refusing to pay up is that all of their payment strategies cost extra: they charge £2.50 to process a cheque, they refuse to accept cash, they charge £1.50 to process a card via their website, and they charge a premium rate number to take a phone call to take payment (£0.55 per minute and I have no control over how long the call lasts).


It might seem pedantic but it seems to me very opaque if you state on your signage that you charge a certain amount for a 'fine' or 'penalty' or whatever but there is no possible way to pay that amount - it is necessarily more because of their accepted payment terms.


Any advice on whether this has been used to fight a ticket before?

Thanks v much and keep up the good work.



Will

nosferatu1001

Charging to accept payments is illegal.

wonderfulcounsellor

Thanks very much - I thought so.
(Almost unfortunately) I think Tesco are cancelling the ticket. I was half hoping they'd refuse to help because I'd love to take them (Highfield) on.

Thanks again.

Will

KeithP

That's twice now you've mentioned Highfield.

Did you perhaps mean Highview?

The_Deep

hey charge £2.50 to process a cheque, they refuse to accept cash, they charge £1.50 to process a card via their website, and they charge a premium rate number to take a phone call to take payment (£0.55 per minute and I have no control over how long the call lasts).

Report all of this to your local Trading Standards Officer, I am sure some/all is illegal, and complain to your MP.

The whole industry is a scam, relying on threats of court, and the public's ignorance of the Law, A bill is currently before parliament which will regulate the scammers, many of whom are ex-clampers.

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 Second Reading in the Lords this month, and, with a fair wind, will l become Law later this year..

All five readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 7-8 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. .

wonderfulcounsellor

Yes, you're right - it's Highview. Thanks!

wonderfulcounsellor

Thanks The Deep.
Yes, Trading Standards is a good way to go. All very helpful, thank you.

Will

Coupon-mad

You need to continue to appeal anyway, in case Tesco don't cancel it. Are you at POPLA stage?

Highview are the easiest PPC to beat on appeal, as long as the driver is never implied. Did you blab about being the driver already?

KeithP

Just sent the already written for you blue text template appeal you will find in the first post of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread.

Send it unchanged - no additions or alterations needed.

Send it as the keeper.

Coupon-mad

If they've already appealed, then they might be at POPLA stage and might have blown it in terms of blabbing about the driver.