Highview Charge on Hire Car whilst spending 1hr spending £170 in Tesco

MonkeyMonster

Yesterday I received a £40 charge to my debit card from a hire car company which I used in August. Having spoken to them I have discovered that this is a £40 admin fee for processing a parking charge from Highview Ltd, on behalf of Tesco.

The car was parked in Tesco for just over an hour. During which time I have bank app receipts for a couple of minutes after they logged the car arriving (at the kiosk as we walked in) and then a couple of minutes before they logged the car leaving. We spent £170 in total.

I contacted Tesco through Twitter. They suggested that they may be able to help once I have appealed to Highview, and been rejected. Not before. This morning I have written to the CEO of Tesco by email as well. I suspect I will get the same response.

The car hire company supplied my name and address* to Highview Ltd. The letter states that I was driving at the time.

* The hire company actually supplied my old address. I haven't lived there for over two years. My driving licence, DVLA, insurance, etc all has my current and correct address (and did at the time of the rental). My ex-girlfriend is keen to return any post for me as 'RETURN TO SENDER - NOT AT THIS ADDRESS'. Would this be helpful, or detrimental? Is it better to try to persuade her to open the letter when it arrives and give me the reference number instead?

I have a copy of the original PCN issued to the hire company. If I try to appeal that on their website it says it has been cancelled and reissued. I am yet to receive the reissue directly. (It has been 18 days since the hire company supplied my name and address - 15 if we allow for the postal service over the following weekend).

The hire company has said that if the charge is cancelled, they will also cancel their admin fee.

The template letters on this forum look excellent, and seem to work well. I wonder if you can please advise me on whether I should appeal on the basis that I was in the store for the duration, spending a large amount of money, as stated above. Or forget that entirely and simply use the tried and tested appeal templates (which seem to focus on showing that one knows what you're talking about, and are intending to fight to the end)?

To summarise my questions:

1) The letter is yet to arrive to my old address. When it does would it be a good or bad idea for my ex-girlfriend to return it to the sender unopened?
2) If the letter doesn't arrive within the next six days (taking it to 21 days) how does this affect things?
3) Does the fact that the hire company (a large international company) stated that I was driving at the time (rather than just the hirer/ temporary keeper) affect things?
4) If my ex-girlfriend does open the letter and give me the reference number; should I appeal on the basis of being in the store and spending lots of money, or don't they care about that?
5) If the answer to 4 is no which template would you recommend I use please?

Thank you so much in advance!

The_Deep

The car hire company supplied my name and address* to Highview Ltd. The letter states that I was driving at the time

How could they know who was driving unless someone from the company was a passenger? Do they not have details of your current address?

How can they justify a charge of £40 for supply wrong information? Are they members of the BVLA? If so make a complaint to them.

https://www.bvrla.co.uk/

What does the hire agreement say about these tickets? They are neither fines nor penalties, nor are they parking charges, they are invoices for damage for the alleged harm you caused the company, you owe them nothing unless a judge says so.

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams so consider complaining to your MP.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies

MistyZ

Tesco are not the best at cancelling PCNs but with a significant spend you have a very good basis for persistence and insistence. I do not understand why people take such a defeatist attitude to landowner complaints - you've despaired about the CEO's response before receiving it! If it's not what you want to hear, you damn well try again more vigorously, more persuasively, more insistently.

I'm confused .... the hire car company do have the hirer's current address but supplied their old address to Highview? This letter from the Hire company, what kind of letter is it? And what were the exact words about the driver? (Omit the name, obviously). Hire companies don't usually know who was driving and cannot assume that they do.

On the face of it, I think you're best appealing using the Edna Basher template from the Hire Car section of the Newbies' thread. There are 3 links to templates, I'd recommend the second. Follow the advice in that Newbies' section re. timing etc.

There's a few strange bits and pieces here though .. the cancelled but re-issued PCN, the address shenanigans ... I think it will end up being relatively simple especially as Highview so often cancel as soon as they see forum template appeals. But I reckon you're going to need to do some untangling.

And do not let Tescos off the hook!!

Coupon-mad

Have you actually been sent your own PCN in your name from Highview? You can't appeal until you have got that, after the hire firm provided your details.

Then submit online, the usual template appeal from the NEWBIES thread, NOT saying who was driving, and Highview will fold. Then you can get your £40 back from the hire firm, who never had any business dealing with the PCN because they were never liable for a non-POFA one like this.

Anyway they will probably refund the £40 when you prove the PCN was cancelled, and if not then Tesco can pay you that money and more, by way of apology.

Beware of Highview's NEW TACTIC I have seen. When people send the template keeper appeal, not saying who was driving, not only do they get this email reply begging to know who was driving:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your correspondence relating to your Parking Charge Notice (PCN).

Please forward to us the full name and address of the driver at the time this charge was incurred so that we can update our records accordingly.

In light of your claims, we have considered your representations and are prepared to reconsider the status of this Notice should we receive evidence of your custom at the store on the date in question, such as copies of receipts, bank statements or otherwise. However, until such time as this evidence is received this Notice will continue to remain outstanding.

We are placing this Notice on hold for 14 days from the date of this letter to allow time for the documentation requested to be received.


Yours faithfully,

Highview Parking Ltd

But...wait for it...they helpfully MOCK UP a 'new appeal' form that gives away the driver and looks like this (below), encouraging people to fill it in:

New Appeal Form Submission

PCN No. xxxxxxxx

VRM: xxxxxxx

Was Driver? Yes

Site - TESCO

Email Address: xxxx@xxxxx

Name of Appellant: {THE NEXT VICTIM}

Reason for Appeal: Other

Follow up Questions: No of Documents attached -

Further Information

I parked the car and went shopping (I have a card transaction receipt).

Yes, that last sentence is pre-written by Highview...in response to our template!

Obviously the above is NOT how to appeal.

MistyZ

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Beware of Highview's NEW TACTIC I have seen. When people send the template keeper appeal, not saying who was driving, not only do they get this email reply begging to know who was driving:


But...wait for it...they helpfully MOCK UP a 'new appeal' form that gives away the driver and looks like this (below), encouraging people to fill it in:

Yes, that last sentence is pre-written by Highview...in response to our template!

Obviously the above is NOT how to appeal.

Good grief. Anyone would think that Highview feel threatened by one awesome little forum. Oh ...

MistyZ

So C-m is saying submit the usual template - the one in blue text - from the Newbies' thread in this instance, rather than the hire car appeal one on the grounds that Highview take fright when they see that familiar thing.

Ignore my advice to send the hire car one OP.

Coupon-mad

TBH with Highview it doesn't matter, as long as the driver isn't implied!

steve1500

Not doubting it but I have never seen such a short period, one hour, for parking in a supermarket.


How can you sit down in T's Cafe & have your coffee after spending £170

MonkeyMonster

The_Deep wrote: »

The car hire company supplied my name and address* to Highview Ltd. The letter states that I was driving at the time

How could they know who was driving unless someone from the company was a passenger? Do they not have details of your current address?

Letter from Europcar to Highview (in which they say that I am the driver) can be seen here: hxxps://drive.google.com/file/d/1TuC_t-Zbh9dCSPmaguyAkPi_5FE-QFmz/view

No, evidently they don't have my current address (despite my documentation all being up to date and correct when I hired). They must have had my old address on file and not checked/ updated it from my driving licence/ proof of address at the time.

(I was in a hurry and they did process me very quickly (for which I was very grateful. Having listened to them upgrade the poor couple before me to a diesel for £100 more (because it would save them money on fuel...really? Only if they were driving 10,000 miles, extra roadside assist for £10 per day, and extra insurance!).)

The original letter from Highview to Europcar can be seen here: hxxps://drive.google.com/file/d/1OVmirM8b5tu-aeSQ6fmVeErJknNdqviw/view

I haven't yet received the new letter from Highview to my old address.

I have received a reply from the CEO of Tesco's team, and the same reply from Tesco's Twitter operators. They said: Appeal the ticket, Highview will probably waive it, and if they don't come back to them and they will offer their assistance.

Thanks everyone!

MonkeyMonster

Unfortunately I am not allowed to post links it seems.

Redx

MonkeyMonster wrote: »

Unfortunately I am not allowed to post links it seems.

Wrong

You are not allowed to post a live link

You are allowed to post a dead link

Change http to hxxp in your link before submitting it

It's that simple