Private Parking (Space) Ticket

Babbly_boo

Hi all, newbie here and hoping to get a steer.

As registered keeper I received a ticket on 7 days after the date on the letter. Car had been parked on a private parking bay and didn't realise.
The charge reduced by 40% if 'paid in 14 days'. I assumed this to be from receipt of letter (so Fri 28th) and tried to pay yesterday. The only option for payment was the full charge.

This feels grossly unfair and unscrupulous as 14 days haven't yet elapsed.

Any advice gratefully received.

Coupon-mad

Babbly_boo said:

Hi all, newbie here and hoping to get a steer.

As registered keeper I received a ticket on 7 days after the date on the letter. Car had been parked on a private parking bay and didn't realise.
The charge reduced by 40% if 'paid in 14 days'. I assumed this to be from receipt of letter (so Fri 28th) and tried to pay yesterday. The only option for payment was the full charge.

This feels grossly unfair and unscrupulous as 14 days haven't yet elapsed.

But you don't pay unfair private parking invoices! Thank goodness you didn't but why on earth do people think these scams are real fines and rush to pay at the bribe rate like it's a bargain (rhetorical question).

Just ignore it.

Sounds like you haven't yet read the MSE Guide, which does NOT suggest that anyone ever pays an unfair private PCN.

Just click on the words underneath little red 'MSE link' in the small 'Parking Ticket Appeals' banner at the top of this page which leads to the MSE Guide to fight PCNs.

Same info is shown in both this forum and in that Guide, as regards the debt recovery letters being a futile stage and ignoring these demands being risk-free as long as you don't miss or ignore a Court Claim (easy to defend). Consistent advice here is easy to find and not just from random strangers. The MSE Guide is official 'Martin Lewis backed' advice.

Which PPC?

Babbly_boo

Coupon-mad said:

Babbly_boo said:

Hi all, newbie here and hoping to get a steer.

As registered keeper I received a ticket on 7 days after the date on the letter. Car had been parked on a private parking bay and didn't realise.
The charge reduced by 40% if 'paid in 14 days'. I assumed this to be from receipt of letter (so Fri 28th) and tried to pay yesterday. The only option for payment was the full charge.

This feels grossly unfair and unscrupulous as 14 days haven't yet elapsed.

But you don't pay unfair private parking invoices! Thank goodness you didn't but why on earth do people think these scams are real fines and rush to pay at the bribe rate like it's a bargain (rhetorical question).

Just ignore it.

Sounds like you haven't yet read the MSE Guide, which does NOT suggest that anyone ever pays an unfair private PCN.

Just click on the words underneath little red 'MSE link' in the small 'Parking Ticket Appeals' banner at the top of this page which leads to the MSE Guide to fight PCNs.

Same info is shown in both this forum and in that Guide, as regards the debt recovery letters being a futile stage and ignoring these demands being risk-free as long as you don't miss or ignore a Court Claim (easy to defend). Consistent advice here is easy to find and not just from random strangers. The MSE Guide is official 'Martin Lewis backed' advice.

Which PPC?

Thank you. I'll take a read. I agree with you but to clarify I was referring to the option of paying the lower charge as unfair and unscrupulous. The parking space was at the end of a short row of fee-free spaces (with duration reatrictions which may be parking for a business premises). It has a no parking sign on the wall directly behind it which was missed, and I wasn't sure if this would be defensible in court hence considered making the reduced payment (believing the 14 days were from the date of receipt of letter).

The PCC is Azure Parking. There is also a handling fee of £1.95 added to all payments which is absolutely a scam.

Does any of this alter your advice?

James_Poisson

They cannot add a handling fee, but if you think that is a scam why on earth are you considering paying them their ridiculous PCN?

If there was a sign saying no parking please explain what you think you are being invoiced for because they were not offering you anything?

Also if you missed the sign it cannot have been very prominent.

ChirpyChicken

Why would the advice change

Babbly_boo

In case the advice given related only to the notice being unfair. I had used the word unfair in relation to being charged the full fee when I believed I was within the reduced rate period.
The car was reversed into the space on a busy aproach to a train station and the sign was at the rear of the car. Having read the guidance, it's not a private road thus making it unfair? 

ChirpyChicken

Follow the advice already given

Babbly_boo

James_Poisson said:

They cannot add a handling fee, but if you think that is a scam why on earth are you considering paying them their ridiculous PCN?

If there was a sign saying no parking please explain what you think you are being invoiced for because they were not offering you anything?

Also if you missed the sign it cannot have been very prominent.

I didn't have any concrete knowledge that it was legally unfair so rang to check if the reduced fee was still offered, and probably pay. The car was reversed into the bay and behind it was a wall with the sign. The car was there for a total of 5 minutes (to drop off a parcel) and the road was not private which it needs to be from the guidance referred to.

ChirpyChicken

Babbly_boo said:

James_Poisson said:

They cannot add a handling fee, but if you think that is a scam why on earth are you considering paying them their ridiculous PCN?

If there was a sign saying no parking please explain what you think you are being invoiced for because they were not offering you anything?

Also if you missed the sign it cannot have been very prominent.

I didn't have any concrete knowledge that it was legally unfair so rang to check if the reduced fee was still offered, and probably pay. The car was reversed into the bay and behind it was a wall with the sign. The car was there for a total of 5 minutes (to drop off a parcel) and the road was not private which it needs to be from the guidance referred to.

Of course you dont pay 

Car1980

14 million other people get these every year. Just ignore them and begging letters from their powerless debt collectors.
Come back for advice is you receive a letter titled "Letter Before Claim".

Coupon-mad

Nobody pays Azure Parking!

In fact, they have been a source of great amusement on other threads because they use ZZPS who - deliberately or maybe cluelessly - mislead consumers.

Some pretty nasty lies have been collated by us. They (ZZPS) also send the PCNs because it looks like Azure couldn't manage to find their own earhole if you guided their finger there!

Quite a few Azure examples in my posts on this page:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6617396/parking-code-of-practice-consultation-2025-now-lets-see-what-happens/p14

This isn't a firm to be scared of or pay. Ignore the ZZPS threatograms too. Don't show us.

Tell us if you get a private message from Steve Clark. He did that to one person on here and spooked them. Odd, because Steve is normally reasonable. He's a parking consultant who tries to help rookie small firms like Azure find their Rs from their elbow.

Must be an uphill struggle!

Anyway IGNORE AZURE.

You can't appeal or reason with them, as you'd be talking to cluelessly dim Shannon (she works for ZZPS I assume. A joke of a company IMHO). Read the Azure examples in the linked page. You'll see!