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Private Parking Ticket Megathread (Part 3)

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As the old thread was becoming unwieldy.

 

Please keep it civil.

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Would someone like to put up a small review of the current recommended action when receiving a private parking notice???

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MSE forum - Private Parking Companies - NEWBIES THREAD

 

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4816822

 

Be aware, the good people on the MSE, while helpful, are mostly lawyers and I find they tend to use a lot of jargon and don't really present things in such a way that is clear to the layman. Also, they'll expect you to be doing most of the donkey work, researching, putting together your own defence etc etc. This will take you forever and a day.

 

I'm fighting a ticket on behalf of someone else; and I absolutely detest these private parking companies, so naturally, I'd be loathed to send any cash their way. Even so, it takes a LOT of time and research, and I'm now debating the wisdom of fighting it. The cost in terms of time investment and anguish, is really not worth it; it's just the principle of the thing, and that I consider these scammers the lowest of the low, that is why I'm choosing to fight.

 

Avenues of help other than MSE, may be more user friendly though...

 

That's not to say that I'm not grateful for the help and guidance I have received from the MSE forums though. They're freely giving their time and expertise after all.

 

Oh, best of luck to anyone else fighting these tickets!

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I've received letters demanding a fine and threatening court action for an 'offence' at the Bradfield Road car park over 6 months ago. I wasn't parking, just waiting for a space, but am I doomed?

Edited by BurtBackcrak
my sentence didn't make sense!

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I've received letters demanding a fine and threatening court action for an 'offence' at the Bradfield Road car park over 6 months ago. I wasn't parking, just waiting for a space, but am I doomed?

What was the offence?

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Firstly, declaring the identification of the driver is a bad move, as since Oct 2012, when POFA came into force to restrict the dodgy clampers, there is potential keeper liability.

This is harder for them to enforce through the courts as mistakes are often made in the Private Parking Company's (PPCs) paperwork leading to a viable defence for the keeper, since the driver hasn't been identified, even though they may be one and the same person).

I would suggest that writing "The driver" entered the car park etc, rather than "I entered.." etc.

 

Secondly, regardless of what you might read elsewhere, what you have received is an "invoice" not a "fine"; private companies cannot "fine" you, merely send you an invoice, which may be enforceable in the County Court.

Council tickets are a different ballgame.

 

I would also suggest that ignoring is bad advice, as the PPC has up to 6 years to instigate a claim via the County Court.

Certainly ignore the Martin Lewis meme that's doing the rounds again, saying to ignore, as he's now retracted it in a further blog post.

 

You will find good advice on the previous links further up this thread, MSE and The Prankster, along with;

 

PADI for a list of how often the PPC instigates court action. The right hand column there gives a radio button linking to the number of court cases instigated, but takes no account of those who paid up before the case made it to court.

 

Pepipoo has an active PPC forum, where you will receive good advice, but you will need to register for an account there.

Like MSE mentioned above, you will be expected to do some of your own research as every case is different.

 

Scan/photograph both sides of all paperwork received, redacting your personal details, host somewhere free, and post a link in your initial thread there.

 

Look at previous threads, on the forum of your choice, and see what questions the regulars ask, so you know what other information to provide in your initial post; this will save everyone wasting their time repeatedly asking the same questions.

 

Please pay heed to the number of posts each contributor has made previously; these forums are broadly self policing, and it's not unknown for someone to pop up spouting "advice" which will cause you some grief.

 

There are a number of Facebook groups available, but be very careful of which ones you use for advice, see my previous comment. ;)

 

Also, there are one or two websites charging for their services in getting a ticket cancelled. It is rumoured that one , or more, of these is as much as a scam as the PPCs.

 

Don't get too stressed, and when folk mention County Court Judgements (CCJs), remember that they don't land on you immediately, regardless of what the PPC may imply.

You would first have to have been taken to court, lose, and still not pay up within the specified period, for one to be taken out against you.

 

Note from this, that the PPCs would love you to ignore all the paperwork, including anything from the County Court processing centre in Northampton, so that they could press a court case, which you would lose in your absence.

If you then ignore that, the CCJ will appear on your credit record for 6 years.

Edited by peak4
Change of link from BMPA to PADI

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I overstayed in a scuzzy small car park at bottom of Bailey Lane on corner with Broad Lane and thought surely no one would notice. Wrong!!! Letter arrived 2 days later from Parking Eye camera company - £100 fine for overstaying by about 40mins after 11.00pm.

DO NOT PARK THERE AND OVERSTAY BY ANY TIME!!

Parking Eye company - get lots of bad press for being cowboy rip-offsters.... But legal so unable to challenge - so chuffing crazy there's no regulation of these companies!!!!!!

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I received a letter from debt collectors saying they take me to court if I don't pay them.

 

Two years ago I went to Cineworld with my mom when the construction renovation work was happening there. 20 people got PCN there that night parking next to the temporary wall they put up in the parking lot. They changed the shape of that parkinglot and the signs on the posts were concealed by the wall put up there separating the work area from the public parking.

 

My mom said look Ill pay it I put the car there. But I said she should not do that and I wrote the appeal on her behalf writing that I did this on the drivers behalf without mentioning who the driver was.

It was my intention to sort it properly but these parking companies are too focused on the money and don't listen to anything and send extremely nasty horrible letters back.

At one point I even wrote to them saying their language and attitude on this was out of order and I'm not having it if they cant do this properly.

 

Now two years later I received a letter from a debt collectors company saying they take me to court if I don't pay.

 

Thing is I am epileptic and haven't driven a car for 9 years and haven't owned a car for 9 years. The car belongs to my girlfriend and she wasn't there that night. The private parking company has not yet figured out I am not the owner, and ignored my telling them I was writing on behalf of the driver. They send nasty letters but never asked who the driver was.

I didn't want to take this to court but by the looks of it that's were it is going to go now.

 

These companies are disgusting and treat people like dirty scum criminals without even properly investigating the matter. We exchanged 5 letters and it got worse and worse, they stopped when I told them any more of this and I want compensation for the harassment.

Edited by dutch

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As I previously posted: don't reply to them, don't pay, and don't be cowed by them.

But DO respond if proper Court proceedings actually begin- or else a Default Judgment will be entered against you.

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There's an outfit in London operating under the title of PCM.

 

I had a "fine" stuck on my car whilst parked outside my friend's home.

I contacted my insurance legal Dept.

 

They explained that it is technically "breach of contract"

 

If they pursue you it becomes a "civil action " affair and can lead to Court.

 

I'm ignoring it.

 

The legal advice was to make a token offer of payment if it ends up in Court.

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There's an outfit in London operating under the title of PCM.

 

I had a "fine" stuck on my car whilst parked outside my friend's home.

I contacted my insurance legal Dept.

 

They explained that it is technically "breach of contract"

 

If they pursue you it becomes a "civil action " affair and can lead to Court.

 

I'm ignoring it.

 

The legal advice was to make a token offer of payment if it ends up in Court.

 

They've already been to court 275 times so far this year.

 

I believe that current advice is not to make contact with them about the screen ticket, but to await the "notice to keeper (NTC)".

When it arrives, read up on the next course of action on one of the previous links in this thread, but do not identify the driver. There is always the chance that the NTC will not be POFA compliant, thus providing another means of defence during court action.

They are IPC rather than BPA affiliated, so it's widely reported that both their internal and external appeal service is little more than a kangaroo court.

A well crafted and robust response, to show that you're not an easy target, may lead to cancellation, but don't bank on it.

 

Good Luck

Edited by peak4

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