Parking Fine when i didn’t park!

sarahcallisto

Sorry - Im not intentionally ignoring questions - trying to keep up - i honestly haven’t ever parked in the car park in question so when i got the letter originally, and it has a photo of the car with me in it i assumed it was a scam - seeing that it isn’t. I have no proof I wasnt there. The v5c has the correct address and the other letters have had the correct address on them. I will find all correspondence and see what ive actually had but as far as i am aware its just 3 or 4 letters to say theres a fine.

fisherjim

sarahcallisto wrote: »

Sorry - Im not intentionally ignoring questions - trying to keep up - i honestly haven’t ever parked in the car park in question so when i got the letter originally, and it has a photo of the car with me in it i assumed it was a scam - seeing that it isn’t. I have no proof I wasnt there. The v5c has the correct address and the other letters have had the correct address on them. I will find all correspondence and see what ive actually had but as far as i am aware its just 3 or 4 letters to say theres a fine.

Sorry if you think I have abused you but here is your problem; you have assumed things, taken bad or outdated advice and haven't read the communications that you have been sent properly, there is no fine your letters never mentioned a fine, it was an invoice and the parking industry has developed into an unregulated, unrelenting cash cow.


The regulars on here can help, but again you need to read their requests and heed their advice otherwise they can't help you.


You need to dig out all the info you have to get to the bottom of this, and it's not unheard of for a PPC to even get the wrong site on their paperwork.

waamo

I hate to say but I think you are probably going to need to pay this ASAP. It sounds like your record keeping is, at best, poor and your memory of events none existent.

If the other letters arrived and your details are correct then convincing a judge you didn't get the paperwork will be next to impossible.

Pay it ASAP.

Le_Kirk

If you haven't moved since the time of the alleged parking incident AND your V5C is up to date with correct address, submit a SAR to the PPC and the solicitors involved (if any) asking for all and any data, including letters sent about car with a VRM (enter yours) and concerning PCNxxxx which number should be on the court papers. This should, at least, get you letters you claim weren't sent. Also sometimes posters have reported that phoning the court has proved useful in getting copies of the original court claim. Worth a try.

Check out the NEWBIE sticky post # 2 to find out how to submit a SAR.

Redx

sarahcallisto wrote: »

Sorry - Im not intentionally ignoring questions - trying to keep up - i honestly haven’t ever parked in the car park in question so when i got the letter originally, and it has a photo of the car with me in it i assumed it was a scam - seeing that it isn’t. I have no proof I wasnt there. The v5c has the correct address and the other letters have had the correct address on them. I will find all correspondence and see what ive actually had but as far as i am aware its just 3 or 4 letters to say theres a fine.

just so you are aware

My brother has a white Toyota and recently received a pcn from Smart Parking for a notorious car park in Perth , Scotland , called Kinnoull St car park

the ANPR photos identified a dark coloured VW, not a white Toyota, plus the number plate read was correct so not a camera or computer issue

somebody at Smart but one incorrect letter into their computer terminal and issued a pcn to a vehicle that was never in that car park, in a place my brother has never been to in his life

simple human error caused this pcn

BUT he identified the problem and complained and the pcn was cancelled

if he hadnt , he could be in the same position as you if he had ignored all paperwork, including ignoring the court claim papers


we understand your position, but you still had to fight back to avoid what has happened to you, even if both he and you are in the right and have the moral high ground

but not fighting your corner in court seems to have led to this point with a default CCJ in your name, plus all that entails

we understand you are angry and frustrated, but the stable door is open and Shergar has disappeared , leaving you with a large bill to put things right, namely paying the CCJ off asap

this is a difficult saga with no obvious solution, mainly because you did not respond to the court claim papers or ask for advice when they arrived weeks ago

it is what it is, you must now deal with it and most legal advisors will tell you to pay it off , IN FULL , as soon as possible

Fruitcake

sarahcallisto wrote: »

Sorry - Im not intentionally ignoring questions - trying to keep up - i honestly haven’t ever parked in the car park in question so when i got the letter originally, and it has a photo of the car with me in it i assumed it was a scam - seeing that it isn’t. I have no proof I wasnt there. The v5c has the correct address and the other letters have had the correct address on them. I will find all correspondence and see what ive actually had but as far as i am aware its just 3 or 4 letters to say theres a fine.

There are two separate issues. One is satisfying the CCJ. I see no option for you to pay this other than leaving the country.

The second issue is whether you want to get your money back from the PPC.

If you want to do the latter then you will need to take them to court for a data/GDPR breach. If the car really is yours and it really is you in it, then you must have passed the camera at some point.
That being the case you will need to prove beyond the balance of probabilities (greater than 50%) that your car was outside the area mismanaged by the PPC at the time the image was taken.
If you can't do this, you will not win.
Even if you can, there is still a possibility that a judge will find for the defendant anyway, or not allow the costs you claim.

You will need to find the exact spot where the image of the car was taken. Not the town, or the street, or "at the car park entrance" but with millimetre accuracy.

Think VAR from a sporting event where the cameras show an imposed line on the pitch. The toe of a boot or a fraction of the diameter of a ball one way or other and a try/goal/point is allowed or disallowed.
You will need to take images from as near to the same point as the camera used, although taking a ladder to get up a pole might be a bit extreme.
Then you need to determine the site boundary where the scammers claim they have the right to mismanage, and thus prove you and your car were outside said boundary.

The scammers will not help you so you need to contact the council of the area in question and Land Registry. The latter will cost you a few quid.

If the car in their picture is not yours and it is not an image of you, then you will need to prove that to a judge.

Half_way

There is a huge volume of traffic on here, so it can be incredibly frustrating when people are asked by the regulars for certain bits of information, plus add into that that replies can be a little blunt, things can be easily mistaken for rudeness/abuse.


The big issue here is the default judgement, this needs sorting ASAP


You said you know where the car park is, and that its managed by Britania, but whey on earth havent you said whos car park it is? or its location, some car parks are known hot spots,m and it helps if these hotspots are known in order to build up a full picture.


Did you say that you never received any court papers at all??? even when some were advocating ignore PPC letters, this was never true with genuine court documents


By the vehicle never parked there, did it pass the car park on the road?
enter the car park for some time ( waiting in a car with the engine on is still parking ) ?
make two trips into the car park ( also known as a double dip)?


To advise fully, more information and less wittering is required.


Im guessing that if its not an ANPR misread ( you said they have a picture of you in the vehicle????)

then we could be looking at a double dip, vehicle pictured going past the car park or the vehicle was in the car park stopped but with the engine on in the beleif that that is not parking.
what is it?? that will have a huge bearing on what you can do




If you have a smartphone you may be able to use location history to show where you were at the time/times - do not turn this feature off as it can be extremely useful



If the Vehicle was not in the car park and i was in your situation and everything was in my favour ( that is parking company at fault )
i would be opening a dialogue with the car park owner (over the actions of its agents ( britania) Immediately and demanding that they initially provide the funds to pay the court judgement as they are jointly responsible for the actions of their agents.
On top of that depending upon who the car park owner is, I would be looking at further damages (GDPR breach and so on)



but as previous too little is known, and not enough clear concise information is forthcoming to give you the correct advice on how to reslove this without costing you money