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Parking stories in the News/media
Comments
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Parking Eye withdraws PCN when things get a little too uncomfortable, that the car park owner Jubilee Pool refused to request themselves:
https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/jubilee-pool-refuses-cancel-fine-111582744 -
A parking company can issue fines like confetti - sending letters, escalate costs, and threaten small claims. The onus of defence, time, stress and the fine defaults to the customer.
But, as soon as they are challenged, they can simply drop the case or fail to appear in small claims. This is like being able to bully with no ramification.
One simple change would probably stop this behaviour. Simply - if they issue a PCN, and fail to defend it or lose while doing so - they should have to pay the fine levied against the customer to the customer as compensation.
That would stop this practice almost immediately. There would be no incentive to play the 'numbers' and simply hope that people pay up. Equal consequences would level it all out.
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A Colchester driver says he feels “cheated and robbed” after being hit with a £60 parking charge at Stansted Airport.
Jacek Puchrowics, 57, went to the airport after 6pm on September 7 to collect his wife from the pick-up-only zone.
APCOA Parking runs Stansted’s parking system, which scans number plates and takes electronic payments.
Mr Puchrowics said he previously forgot to pay and settled the charge after receiving a reminder a week later.
Mr Puchrowics said: “A year ago, I happened to forget to pay for a visit, people are so busy with their daily responsibilities these days.
“A week later, I received a reminder to pay, and I did so. That was a very logical approach by APCOA.”
He said he forgot to pay the £10 fee after his latest visit. When he remembered, he tried to pay online.
Mr Puchrowics claims the payment deadline has changed, leaving him unable to pay for the visit.
He contacted APCOA and was told to wait for a letter demanding £60. The letter arrived at his home yesterday, and he now plans to pay.
“Personally, I feel cheated and robbed by APCOA; their actions seem driven by a desire to maximise profits through changes to the rules regarding payment deadlines and reminder letters,” he said.
The airport said its payment arrangements had not changed.
The automated system was introduced in January 2025, and drivers must pay by midnight the following day.
The advertised deadline has been midnight the following day since the system was introduced, although there may have been a short grace period at first.
An APCOA spokesperson rejected Mr Puchrowics’s claims, saying: “The barrierless system was introduced at Stansted in January 2025, and the payment deadline has always been midnight the following day.
“This deadline has not changed, nor has the process for issuing parking charges.
"Since the system was introduced, the customer’s vehicle has visited the drop-off zone 15 times.
"On his first visit, he attempted to make payment after the deadline had passed and appealed the subsequent parking charge.
"As a gesture of goodwill, the customer was offered the opportunity to pay the original drop off charge rather than the parking charge and provided with the decision in writing, together with a clear reminder of the payment deadline and the applicable terms.
"He would therefore have been aware of the payment deadline before making subsequent visits".
I'm a random person on the internet. I hold no legal qualifications and nothing I say is advice.
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Looks like it's behind a paywall.
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A woman who has been fighting a 'ridiculous' parking fine she received in Kidderminster for more than a year has said that her mental health is being affected by ongoing legal threats.
Julie Parsons, from Kidderminster, was issued a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) after parking in Weavers Wharf, which is managed by Euro Car Parks, in August 2025.
On the PCN, it states that Julie was issued the fine for giving 'no valid payment or validation to cover the duration of the stay'.
I'm a random person on the internet. I hold no legal qualifications and nothing I say is advice.
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A son of a dodgy parking boss has been back before the courts after evading a quarter of a million in VAT.
Sultan Khan pleaded guilty in May this year to one count of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of VAT, contrary to section 72(1) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994.
According to court documents, between November 1 2014 and June 30 2018, Khan was knowingly concerned in, or took steps with a view to, fraudulently evading VAT by failing to register his car parking business for VAT, despite knowing that its turnover had exceeded the compulsory registration threshold.
I'm a random person on the internet. I hold no legal qualifications and nothing I say is advice.
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Ocean Parking , Peel Centre , £170 for wheel on white line
You can read it using Brave web browser or similar
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Liberal use of the word 'fine'. Ocean must be loving the free smoke and mirrors.
I'm a random person on the internet. I hold no legal qualifications and nothing I say is advice.
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"The IPC said they had not seen any evidence suggesting Ocean Parking failed to issue the notice or provide information. They said there had been no breaches of any code of practice in the handling of the fine."
Oh dear.
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Just read some of those readers’ comments …. and despair! PPCs have a massive army of naives pushing for them. 🤦♂️
Please note, we are not a legal advice forum. I personally don't get involved in critiquing court case Defences/Witness Statements, so unable to help on that front. Please don't ask. .
I provide only my personal opinion, it is not a legal opinion, it is simply a personal one. I am not a lawyer.
Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.#Private Parking Firms - Killing the High Street4
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