Legal advice - car park season ticket auto renewal

Suffolk_Tractor

Hi all,
I had a season ticket (residents) car park pass with Q Park. This automatically renewed after 12 months with the company issuing a new invoice for a fixed period (£1075). This was in the terms and conditions that I originally signed up to online (ticking the box!). However, upon renewal I was never sent the terms of conditions for the new contract. Indeed, I have never been sent the terms and conditions via a durable medium (letter or email).

I want to see if any other members have had a similar scenario and could advise whether the renewed contract falls under the Consumer Contracts Regulation 2013 as a new contract? If so, I believe my cooling off period is extended to 1 year and 14 days because:
1) this is a distance contract as via the web. 
2) the terms and conditions must be sent via a durable medium (which they weren’t).

Qpark are offering me the chance to pay 50% of the season ticket (£540), but are in the same sentence threatening the use of Solicitors to seek the full invoice amount. It feels like bully boy tactics, but I’m nervous about this winding up in court and it costing me more. 

Other factors include:
a) I moved away from the premise just before LD1 in March 2020
b) I haven’t used the car park since March 2020. 

C) in April 20 I received an email including an invoice requesting payment for the renewed period. I missed this email but have only just been chased for it in Jan 21.

davidmcn

What period are we talking about? If they invoiced you last April then presumably most of the 12 months have already passed. I don't think you get a right to "cool off" for a renewal of an existing contract.

Sandtree

b) is irrelevant, a ticket allows you to use it not requires you to use it.
a) could be relevant but be against you, I dont know exactly which product you've bought but some of their tickets are discounted if you live within a certain radius and so if you are no longer in that radius the price may go up rather than it nullify the liability 
c) you dont mention when the renewal itself was but they have up to 6 years to chase you for a debt, the only relevance in a delay in chasing could be in consideration of what interest you owe them for late payment


I wont profess to be an expert of the CCR but services are often treated differently to goods and in some cases the cooling off period ends when service commences and/or services rendered can be chargable even if you cancel. 

Durable medium is clearly up for debate given a dozen websites give different views as to what would count as durable or not. Even so most agree that it is only core information that must be provided and not the full T&Cs and can include things like email and/or customer log in sections of websites... I note Q Parking does have a "log in" button prominately on their home page... does your ticket and key info of the terms show there when you log in?

To get to the real point of this all though.... you agreed that the ticket would automatically renew unless you told them otherwise... did you tell them otherwise? Or did you not bother and now trying to weasel out of your commitments?

Jenni_D

Contract renewal? Unless the terms have changed then they don't need to send you the T&Cs again. If they do change then they need to inform you and, if the change represents a marked detriment to the consumer, allow you to cancel the contract without penalty. I don't think this applies in your case.

peter_the_piper

You no longer live there, you no longer park there, why did you not tell them to cancel at end of contract? Am I missing something? By not cancelling the contract you are effectively telling them that you want to keep the contract and should have paid.

mattyprice4004

Yep, this ones on you I'm afraid; their offer is generous.
None of the factors you mention have any real relevance - you had a contract, you didn't cancel it and it renewed as per what you originally signed up for.