3 Service Station Parking fines

dvwdoncaster

We have a local services on the A1 just north of Doncaster (Barnsdale Bar) I called in to the southbound services 3 times to collect a prepaid and pre ordered Starbucks Good To Go bag. The dates were 16th July, 11th August and 18th August. Not long after my 3rd visit, I received a parking fine from Parking Group Ltd saying I had pulled up in a no parking area. I tried to appeal saying I was there no longer than 4 minutes but I ended up paying the fine (I'm 60 yrs old and have never had a parking fine in my life) In my appeal, I also stated that I had been using these services for 40 years and only recently had the services changed hands and I was aware that I had parked in that same place 2 other occasions and that I wouldn't park there again now that I new the services now had parking restrictions. I paid the £60 fine which stated was for an offence on 11th August. I eventually received a letter for an offence for 18th August and paid that reluctantly. I have only just received a letter from DCBL Debt Collection saying I now owe £170 for an unpaid parking offence on 16th July. Yes, I have parked in an unallocated bay 3 times and I put my hands up to that. But I am not paying £170 when I have never received an initial letter. They can surely see from my records that I am a "payer" for an easy life so how do I contest this and who to? Parking Group or DCBL?

Woodstok2000

Step 1 - don't pay anything

Step 2 - Follow the newbies thread, and in particular appeal to the landowner to get the pcn cancelled

Gr1pr

Definitely Not a fine ( or Penalty ) , just 3 pcn invoices from a private parking company

No offence was committed, just an alleged breach of the parking contract on that private property

Ignore the powerless debt collectors letters too , especially from DCBL

You should not have paid anything at all, so dont start now, because you still haven't committed an offence and none of them are fines either

Umkomaas

They can surely see from my records that I am a "payer" for an easy life

Exactly that!

dvwdoncaster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82152446#Comment_82152446

I can't find out who the land owner is as there are several outlets at these services now. They've already had 2 payments out of me (as I had parked 3 times in close succession before the first parking letter came through) and I am of the age where I just want a quiet life and no legal battles but I refuse to pay £170. I wish I had found this forum before I paid the other fines. I am just a very good, law abiding citizen and assumed I was in the wrong and had to pay the price for it 😒 I think I might have had the courage to contest them all if I was more informed

dvwdoncaster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82152470#Comment_82152470

How have I not committed an offense if there are signs up saying I will be fined if I park in the wrong place? (signs that I didn't notice until after the letters had started coming through)

OldBugger

The signs don't say you will be "fined", they say you wil be "charged". Big difference.

Read a few of the threads on here and you will soon realise that these private parking companies are nothing more than scammers commiting legalised extortion.

I'm 69 and am currently fighting a case that is due in court next month, but I doubt it will go that far.

Gr1pr

1 because its not a criminal offence or matter, no authoritiesare involved, its a civil matter, so they are alleging that a breach of the parking contract on that private property occurred, not an offence

2 you wont find the words fine or fines on any of those signs , private parking companies are actually banned from using incorrect legal terminology in paperwork or on their signs, check the current Joint Code of Practice for the list, but fine , offence, authority etc are part of the banned terminology words

You have been hoodwinked by common urban parlance that is completely incorrect in law, dont be taken in any more by misconceptions

Lastly, you should trust the advice being given on this MSE site, so study the official MSE advice on the link at the top of the forum and endorsed by Martin Lewis himself , see

UNFAIR PRIVATE PARKING TICKETS

4. . Don't think of private parking tickets as 'fines'

Private parking companies have no official right to fine you, though they may try to make you think that they do. All they're doing is sending you a notice of what they deem to be a breach of contract.

Park in a private car park and you're entering into an unspoken contract with the landowner. They're letting you park, while you're agreeing to meet their conditions. Under UK contract law, if you break those conditions, they can argue you broke the contract.

Yet that doesn't mean they can issue tickets willy-nilly, without just cause – and ultimately to enforce its case a firm would need to take you to court. No one wants that. But even if they do, it isn't a criminal issue, just a contract dispute.

James_Poisson

There was no "offence" "fine" or "law" broken.

You received a speculative invoice from a bunch of chancers that have hit on a way to extract money from people by sending threatening letters. They are no an authority anyone can start up a private parking company join one of two parking organisations stick up signs and get charging.

If this site had just started parking control they should not have even been sending out PCN's for four months anyway, why didn't you complain on site?

1505grandad

"You received a speculative invoice from a bunch of chancers that have hit on a way to extract money from people by sending threatening letters."

Aided and abetted by the DVLA who sold your private data even though the KADOE contract allowing this scam states that the ppc must COMPLY with The ppssCoP which states - if the following is relevant:-

"If this site had just started parking control they should not have even been sending out PCN's for four months anyway, why didn't you complain on site?"

https://www.britishparking.co.uk/write/Documents/AOS/Sector%20Code%20Templates/sectorsingleCodeofPracticeVersion1.1130426-2.pdf

"3.4. Material changes – notices

Where there is any material change to any pre-existing terms and conditions that would not
be immediately apparent to a driver entering controlled land that is or has been open for
public parking, the parking operator must place additional (temporary) notices at the site
entrance for a period of not less than 4 months from the date of the change making it clear
that new terms and conditions/charges apply, such that regular visitors who might be
familiar with the old terms do not inadvertently incur parking charges."

dvwdoncaster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82152529#Comment_82152529

I have offered to pay the initial fine of £60 if they send me a link to do so. I have just lost my mother to cancer. I am not in a good place and I have always hated being involved in any form or dispute or confrontation. I sent an email to Parking Group Ltd saying I have paid both the other charges so they can see I am not someone who is ignoring their letters and that I would pay the 3rd and final £60 now that I know I can't part there and close the matter. I have just opened an email saying that they will send me a link as a one off gesture to pay £100 not £60. I could cry. I replied with the following

No,  There initial fee is £60 not £100.   You have never sent me a notice to pay an initial fee.  I think you will find that if you want to go to court, the court will see that I have paid 2 other fees at the same location within 10 days as I had parked there 3 times without knowing I was doing anything wrong.  After I had my first notification, I paid the charge.    I then paid a second charge when that came through.  I would have also paid the 3rd £60 had I received a notification.  So feel free to take this all the way if you want or offer me the option to pay £60.  
However, in the meantime, after taking legal advice, please provide the following:



1. The date on which Parking Charge Notice (Removed by Forum Team) was issued and the date on which it was sent;

2. The method by which it was sent and the full postal address used;

3. A copy of the original Parking Charge Notice;

4. Copies and dates of any subsequent notices or correspondence said to have been sent to me, together with the address used for each;

5. Details of the date and basis upon which the matter was referred to DCBL; and

6. The relevant correspondence/enforcement history for (Removed by Forum Team).

In particular, I require confirmation of when and to what address the initial notice and any subsequent notices were sent, as this is the first correspondence I have received regarding this charge.

Please provide the requested information electronically.

For the avoidance of doubt, this request is made to establish the history and notification of the charge and does not constitute an admission of liability or acceptance of the £170 demanded.

Yours faithfully

(Removed by Forum Team) 






On 5 Oct 2026, at 10:27, Support <support@parking-group.co.uk> wrote:




Good morning,

 

 

Thank you for providing the information required to pass security.

 

I can confirm that I have cancelled this with DCBL debt resolution and reinstated the reduced amount of £100 if paid within 14 days. This is a one-off gesture of goodwill. Please use the following link to make your payment -

 

https://parkinggroup.ec6pay.com/

 

 

Kind regards,