Park with Ease Vermin

grimweasel · 13 September 2017 at 10:12AM

Hello,

I have read the Newbies thread but wish I had read it earlier.

I parked at a Park with Ease (joke!) site back in June. After going to pay the parking we found the parking machine was out of order and their was a long queue at the other machine; we had a hospital appointment and had to rush off.

A few weeks later received the NtK for parking charges - £30 due, for early payment, failing that within 14days it would rise. I then submitted draft letter from this site to them which they rejected and said I could lodge appeal with IAS (another joke).

After some 3 weeks the IAS responded and rejected my appeal. Usual story. During this appeal time PWE continued to hound me with 'final demand' notices. I complained to them and received nothing back.

I was away on holiday and returned to a letter from ZZPS saying I now had to pay £50 parking charge and £60 costs, as I had ignored previous letters? They said they sent one to me on 18 Aug which I can confirm I did not receive. In the letter they stated if not paid within 7 days they would refer to their solicitors Wright Hassal LLP (this has to be a joke name surely??!) . They also stated that a recent case (Beavis vs Parking Eye) had confirmed legally the enforcement of parking charges issued on private land?!

I complained to PWE and they said no further letters had to be issued from them after the IAS decision and it was my duty to check the appeal and pay within 7 days of the decision. They didn't send me any letter and just referred this to ZZPS. I find their manner and approach utterly disgusting; this is nothing but a scam extracting profits from motorists.

What are my options now? I have told ZZPS to hold their claim whilst I engage with PWE. They have said they have no further action to take as it's been referred to ZZPS.

I have today written to the car park owner (wildlife park in Norwich) asking for the charge to be cancelled on account of machine being out of order and the presumption that everyone has constant internet access enabling online payment.

Thanks in advance.

Half_way · 13 September 2017 at 10:14AM

what did you say to the car park owner?

Guys_Dad · 13 September 2017 at 10:37AM

[QUOTE=grimweasel;73118611
I parked at a Park with Ease (joke!) site back in June.

A few weeks later received the NtK for parking charges - £30 due, for early payment, failing that within 14 days it would rise.
.[/QUOTE]

If it was more than 14 days after the event, then you could have got off with an "out of time" appeal.

However, looks like you now have to wait to see if they try court and you will need to re-read your appeals to see just how badly you have dented the normal appeal points that we normally recommend.

Quentin · 13 September 2017 at 10:43AM

Don't contact the debt collector anymore!!

Throughout this forum you are advised against engaging with them in any form, and that you should ignore debt collectors!

Umkomaas · 13 September 2017 at 10:48AM

In the letter they stated if not paid within 7 days they would refer to their solicitors Wright Hassal LLP (this has to be a joke name surely??!) .

It's no joke. Do a forum (or Google) search on their name. We see them crop up here with boring regularity. They (or the use of their name and letterhead), are just part of the ratcheting up of pressure in the debt recovery process. WH are not involved in any litigation at individual parking charge level.

Read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post # 4 for how to deal with the debt collection process.

The key question is how far will PWE take this, given that the charge is £50 and to pursue it through the court would likely cost them at least 4 times that. They've had a few court cases, but we don't know what they were 'worth', but quite possibly multiple ticket cases.

http://www.bmpa.eu/companydata/Park_With_Ease.html

Just come back if you get a LBCCC or real court papers.

beamerguy · 13 September 2017 at 10:54AM

grimweasel

A joke indeed but hey .... why are you bothering with ZZPS
they just want to extort money

As Judge Rinder says, "they are blowing farts in the wind"
Just treat them as the idiots they are

As Umkomaas said recently about another pay machine
not working, it is frustration of contract

Wright Hassall would be complete idiots to get involved
but who knows, the legals who support parking vermin
blow in the wind themselves

Good Examples of Wright Hassall here
http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=wright+hassall

And as far them quoting the Beavis case, this is nothing to
do with your case so proves "they are blowing farts in the wind"

grimweasel · 13 September 2017 at 12:13PM

All- thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I only wish I had come across this thread earlier!

I have contacted the Whitlingham Park owners and asked them to contact PWE and desist from their extortion tactics and said I will be writing to my MP to understand how these people still get away with this practice. I told them the ticket machine was out of order and it was presumptuous to assume one could connect to the internet to pay their parking charges.

I have just drafted the letter to ZZPS from this forum concerning 'Letter before Claim' so let's see where this leads.

Any further advice appreciated but I intend to 'fight them on the beaches' for the rent extracting vermin they are!!

Umkomaas · 13 September 2017 at 12:30PM

I have just drafted the letter to ZZPS from this forum concerning 'Letter before Claim' so let's see where this leads.

Not recommended. The only thing it will achieve will not be to your advantage. No matter what you write (and especially if it's a 'rant') it will not stop them, rather, it will confirm to them that they have attracted your interest (fish on a hook) and they will be encouraged to ratchet up the pressure with further letters in the hope of breaking you (reeling you in).

Remember, they have not written a bespoke letter and addressed it to you. You will be one of hundreds of automatic mail merged sheets printed off every week. No one there will know who you are, know your circumstances or remember any details. But pop your head above the parapet and you're going to attract a 'Hello.....?'

This is not to say you won't get more ZZPS letters, but they'll be robo versions, not ones which are possibly having some personal attention.

concerning 'Letter before Claim'

Where has 'Letter Before Claim' come into this? Have you received one?

Quentin · 13 September 2017 at 12:31PM

Why are you writing again to the debt collector???

See #4 #5 #6! As well as the newbies faq thread

grimweasel · 13 September 2017 at 1:57PM

Quentin - I did read those posts and at the end of #4 it said to send a strong letter and linked to template? So I have done this? Is that wrong?

grimweasel · 13 September 2017 at 2:00PM

Umkommas - The letter before claim was mentioned in the linked template in #4 of Newbie thread.

How long can one continue to ignore these letters. Applying for mortgage in next month and under strict instructions from Mrs Weasel not to screw up application because of this! ;-)

Park with Ease Vermin

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