G24 Parking Charge Notice - 02 June 2021

Celtic_Martini

Hi,
There is so much on this forum about fines etc  but can anyone advise on the latest way to approach a Parking Charge Notice ( 02 June 2021 , £100, £60 if paid in 14 days) .
I have never had such a fine /Parking charge notice before.
The site in question was in Stevenage (SG1 1XW) Oaklands retail park.
On 02 June during the half term we did not notice any signage and according to their video photos stayed 193 minutes when a 180-minute limit seemingly applied.
The car park was at all times half empty. 
Appreciate any help and will be willing to donate the fine charge to a charity rather than what seems to be a dodgy industry.

All the Best,    M

Fruitcake

We generally only deal with private parking charges here, not fines, so you are in the right place.

Start by complaining to the landowner or retail park management company. You were there to spend money but took longer because of ...*insert reason here*
Perhaps this was because of social distancing/covid regs or a car breakdown or someone was taken ill.
You and your family can't afford to come back again if it comes with an extra £100 for genuine customers to shop there.

If that doesn't work, then send the appeal template in blue text from the sticky thread for NEWBIES. Send it unaltered, from The Keeper.

If the NTK was non PoFA complaint (the NEWBIES tells you how to check) then add a one liner to this effect and therefore the PPC cannot hold the keeper liable.

Do also complain to your MP about this unregulated industry that parliament has referred to as rogues, scammers, and bloodsuckers.

Fruitcake

I can't find an Oaklands retail park using that postcode. Instead I can only find the Roaring Meg retail park, and a Westgate shopping centre.

Celtic_Martini

This is the small retail park just across from Roaring Meg park.                                                                                                                https://www.charityretail.org.uk/charity-shops/cancer-research-uk-superstore-stevenage-unit-2-oaklands-london-road-sg1-1xw/
We were visiting the Cancer Research UK Superstore, Unit 2 Oaklands, London Road, Stevenage, SG1 1XW

Fruitcake

That link unfortunately brings up a map that is way off and unhelpful.

Is this it? If so, where was the car parked?

Stevenage, England - Google Maps

Celtic_Martini

Yes  -  The car was parked in that small shopping centre ( after the ANPR cameras ) ,   about 60m after the B&M store at the dead end of the car park.              The parking spot looks right across at the Harvester pub.   There is a shopping trolley in the parking spot on that map/streetview.        I can see there is a Parking control sign we must have walked past.

Fruitcake

The signs on GSV aren't very clear but it looks like they say, Customer Parking Only, and 180 Minutes Free Parking, and £100 charge, but the rest of the Ts and Cs are unreadable.

If you can go back, you should take pics of the entrance and entrance sign, as well as close ups of the signs in the car park. Also take pics of the spaces where there are gaps in the signs as there appear to be a couple of areas that aren't covered.

I don't think G24 are particularly court happy, but they have six years to start a case.

Your best bet is to contact the managers and CEOs of all the stores visited, as well as the retail park landowner and/or managing agent. As I mentioned earlier, you and your family can't afford to shop there if each trip comes with a £100 charge from an unregulated company referred to as rogues, scammers, and bloodsuckers by our MPs across all parties.

Celtic_Martini

Thanks Fruitcake -  great info.          
What is the downside if I don't pay up?            e.g   extra charges for balliffs/debt collectors ........   extra charges for their lawyers fees .....anything else?
Do you know what happens if this fight against the 'fine' does not work?
ATB,  M

Fruitcake

You are not obliged or required to pay unless it goes to court and a judge tells you to pay.
At the moment the cost to you is zero.
If you appeal and win, that's it, no costs, ever.
If you appeal and lose, so what? There is no requirement to pay, so the costs to you are still zero.

The charge is £100, and will always remain so. If it went to court then additional permitted fees are £25 court filing fee, £50 solicitors fees, and (sometimes) £25 court attendance fees. The latter is unlikely for a 'phone video hearing.

In other words, if you lost then the maximum costs would be £175 - £200.
If you lost and paid within 28 days, then there will be no additional charges, and no CCJ.
Debt collectors are powerless and can do nothing except send you poor quality bog paper. There are never any debt collectors costs.
If there is no court case, then the cost will be zero
If there is a court case and you won, the cost will be zero and possibly costs in your favour.

All the talk about court is conjecture. At the moment you are at the, complain to the landowner stage.
If that doesn't work, then you make the initial appeal.
If that doesn't work then you can appeal to the IAS kangaroo court, or not appeal at all.
Previously we have told posters not to make an IAS appeal, but due to reduced staffing as a result of covid, we have seen an increase in the number of motorists who win at the second stage appeal.
Even if you appealed and lost, the decision is not binding on the motorists so there is still no obligation or requirement to pay.

All the above information is in the NEWBIES.

A landowner cancellation is always the first and best option. 

ig1234

Hi @Celtic_Martini have you got any further with this?

We received one of these from the same place a week after you. I've sent an email to Perkins Fox to complain, they are listed as the contact for the development by Wheatley Homes. The stores have phone numbers but no email addresses so if we get nothing from PF we'll have to call. 

Interested to know where you got though. 

IG

Coupon-mad

G24 is not particularly litigious but it would be good to see if this landowner cancels.