# Car parking fine (Not Council)



## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

We got this one yesterday (No intention of paying it) I am sure this is a speculative one, as it says our car was in this car park for 4 hours 02 minutes now this particular car park is about 30 mins from our house it's a small retail park, you could spend time in all of the shops for maybe an hour, but Liz uses it to visit a friend who lives over that way during Covid and they park next to each other and have a Costa coffee, they may stay an hour or so but certainly not for 4 hours.

The letter wording is a bit odd and cannot IMHO be enforced.

"When your vehicle entered the car park the driver agreed to the terms and conditions displayed on our signs, which show how long you can stay for if you overstay if you overstay of £100"

Letter appears to come from Group Nexus, you can pay at www.parkingchargepayment.com and they appear to be an approved operator of the British parking association.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Good luck and let us know what transpires Kev.

Ray.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

As said we're not paying it.


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

Bear (not a pun) that the law has changed: if you ignore it they will probably take you to court.

There are help-groups out there: I think I found one through moneysupermarket.com.
No: moneysaving expert.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/private-parking-tickets/_

"There are some militant private parking campaigners out there who argue you simply shouldn't pay the ticket or have any contact with the company that issued it.
To be clear, we don't suggest you take this approach, particularly because if you've been ticketed by a company which is a member of an accredited trade body, it can apply to the DVLA for your details. But we're including this approach here anyway because you may hear some advocate it."_

Please consider their advice - Gordon


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I disagree, they cannot tie you to an agreement simply by driving into a car park.


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

As ever: your choice 

Gordon


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

As Gordon says Kev, gone are the days where you could just throw a private invoice for parking charges in the bin. I would follow his link if I were you. If Liz only stayed an hour is it free for that hour and if not did she pay for a ticket for the full time she was actually there? Four hours is a massive discrepancy if she did so it does sound like it might be a cock up but I woudnt just leave it and hope it will go away. if they have cocked up then it should be easy enough to get reversed.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

There was a similar thing going on in our nearest town. A particular shop owned a piece of land that, to all intents and purposes, looked like part of the free public car park. It had been used as such for many years. They put up the tiniest of notices saying that parking was for shop users only. All others parking there would be fined. There was a massive outcry as some people had only stopped to read the notice and got a fine for doing so! They were right, and the car park stands deserted while we all refuse to enter the shop (M&Co).


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

What we don't understand is how the times show it was there for four hours in the first place.


Unfortunately, she has an iPhone, if I had been with her my Google timeline would have verified it one way or the other, but having said that £15/25 per hour is hardly fair even if it was there for four hours.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Surely Liz must know how long she was parked there for Kev or at least roughly but you haven't explained the rules or the situation. Was it Pay and display, an hour or two hours free and then a fine if exceeded? If its the latter and you are sure you never exceeded the free limit then dispute it otherwise your probably stuffed although I think if you read that link there are some that have had success in disputing the amount payable, especially if its free in the first place. 

More info needed really.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I thought I'd covered it in the OP, but Liz says she wasn't there anything like that long, it's a normal retail park, no pay, and display, she just went to meet a friend for a coffee, and even Liz can't talk for that long although it seems like it.


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

Is it controlled by cameras?
If so then they should provide time stamped photos of entry and exit.

Could Liz have been there for an hour, left and then popped back in just for a short time? That can be picked up as continued parking which exceeded the limits.

I thought that new rules were being introduced to give a 10 minute grace period: worth checking if that applies.

Please don’t just ignore it.

Gordon


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> I thought I'd covered it in the OP, but Liz says she wasn't there anything like that long, it's a normal retail park, no pay, and display, she just went to meet a friend for a coffee, and even Liz can't talk for that long although it seems like it.


Right so its free for what? Two hours? You reckon Liz was there for an hour or so but they claim over four hours. Then as suggested ask them to prove it. It just all seems a bit vague Kev. Did she call you or anyone when she left? Phone times? How about her friend does she (he?) not know how long they were there for?


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I assume it's free for two hours which is normal, she normally goes from here about 09:30 and comes back whenever, she hasn't asked her SHE friend, no calls to me on that day.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Sometimes it helps to have your location open in Google Maps. This can record where and when you moved in your Timeline.

Ray.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

She doesn't have an android phone, not sure if it works on iPhones.


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> She doesn't have an android phone, *not sure if it works on iPhones*.


It certainly does. What is the name of the Car Park that she used?


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

It was Westside retail park, LS20

https://www.google.com/maps/place/W...c05a6e36fc59a829!8m2!3d53.869267!4d-1.7041038


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Any chat on social media Kev ?
If they’re dodgy and up to no good I’m sure Liz isn’t the only one targeted.

Terry


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

OK, it is a “shoppers” car park.......

What could they say if she had spent say an hour in TK Max another hour in Curry’s, another hour in Asda, another hour looking at carpets etc., she would have bought nothing, but would still be a “shopper”.

I would ask for time stamped proof of that duration stay and the relevant “small print” displayed on the site which defines “shopping”.

Do not ignore, send a letter by Recorded Delivery requesting the documented details requested within 14 days. That way they cannot ignore your reply, but if they do not respond within that time, with the materials requested, they weaken their case markedly.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Pudsey_Bear said:


> I assume it's free for two hours which is normal, she normally goes from here about 09:30 and comes back whenever, she hasn't asked her SHE friend, no calls to me on that day.


It's 3 hours per their website.

We have a similar parking issue at a local centre, it's controlled by ANPR cameras, it was put in place to stop commuters using it as a free car park whilst they hop on a bus to Belfast for work.

https://westsideshoppingpark.com/information/

I'd ask for the camera time stamped pics if that's what they are using.

Terry


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

Well according to their own website parking is for up to three hours but they say to read the signs.

https://westsideshoppingpark.com/in...parking signage,for full terms and conditions.

However on Parkopedia (odd name) it says two hours and if you read the single one star review someone complained about getting a fine (not a fine of course) for parking there twice in the same 24 hour period.

https://en.parkopedia.co.uk/parking...y/?arriving=202106111430&leaving=202106111630

It sounds though Kev that sometimes people are getting fined when they leave and then return later and the camera has failed to spot them leaving the first time so thinks they have been there all the time. There is actually a case from this thread concerning that same car park. Its a good way down the thread so ill past the info

http://notomob.co.uk/discussions/index.php?topic=5768.0

*Woman fined [charged] £100 for parking in free car park

Karen Slingo from Guiseley had a parking tricket cancelled with with a parking enforcement company over a £100 ticket she was given at Gusieley retail park, thanks to the YEP.

A PARKING enforcement company performed a sudden U-turn when the YEP questioned why a Leeds grandmother was handed a £100 fine for visiting a FREE car park.

Karen Slingo, 55, said she parked at Westside Retail Park on Leeds Road at Guiseley for around 20 minutes while shopping in the morning of July 3 and returned for a few minutes to buy a coffee at the McDonald's drive through just before 5pm that afternoon. Mrs Slingo, of Guiseley, was shocked to receive a £100 parking ticket in the post five days later, which stated her car had been caught on camera breaching the three-hour limit for free parking at the retail park on July 3.

She wrote to parking enforcement company Parking Eye to explain they had made a mistake. Mrs Slingo received a letter back on August 6 saying there was no evidence to to substantiate her claim and that the parking fine still stood.

She contacted the YEP and Parking Eye agreed to cancel the ticket this week, shortly after being asked for a comment

Mrs Slingo, who works as a carer, said: "I was appalled. I don't mind paying if I've done something wrong, but this could have been an old person they were chasing for payment of a wrongly-issued fine.

A Parking Eye spokesman said: "It appears that the vehicle registration was mismatched due to the position of one of the 'bolts' that affix the plate to the vehicle.
*

So the question is, did Liz leave within the time allotted and then did she maybe return a bit later, even for a few minutes?


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

dghr272 said:


> Any chat on social media Kev ?
> If they're dodgy and up to no good I'm sure Liz isn't the only one targeted.
> 
> Terry


Nothing specific Terry unfortunately.

My attitude with these tickets is to ignore them and any debt recovery letter, if and when they give me a court date I'll think again, I am pretty certain no one is going to bang on the door demanding money.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Penquin said:


> OK, it is a "shoppers" car park.......
> 
> What could they say if she had spent say an hour in TK Max another hour in Curry's, another hour in Asda, another hour looking at carpets etc., she would have bought nothing, but would still be a "shopper".
> 
> ...


I'm not going to contact them at all, if they have any evidence they can produce it in court.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

dghr272 said:


> It's 3 hours per their website.
> 
> We have a similar parking issue at a local centre, it's controlled by ANPR cameras, it was put in place to stop commuters using it as a free car park whilst they hop on a bus to Belfast for work.
> 
> ...


I have entry and exit pictures but no time stamp on the pictures, and if it is three hours they are having a laugh if they think anyone would pay £100 for the unallowed hour.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I know it's only a couple of weeks ago, but Liz is struggling to recall what she was doing that day and the friend is on holiday at the minute and might also have a parking invoice so Liz thinks she can wait to find that on the mat when she gets home, we think that Liz may also have gone into another retail car park and also Morrisons and come back that day (Double dipping) as they are very close together, and it seems if that is so the ANPR systems can't cope with that and why councils stopped using that method, private companies just earn more of our money if it is wrong.


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

Car Parking sign in Westwood.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

And your point is Drew?


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## homenaway (Jul 27, 2005)

Hi,

Was the coffee shop in the retail park?

There is a free shoppers carpark in Chesterfield which serves several shops in Ravenside retail park but the parking operators have staff who take photos of people who leave the site on foot to visit the main shopping centre across the road. How they know which car you came from is questionable and I believe this practice has been challenged.

At another retail park someone got a "fine" for parking at 9.30 on a Sunday as you are only allowed to park from 10am when the shops are open, and there is another carpark across the road by a couple of other shops run by a different parking outfit with different rules!

We were going to visit Bradgate Country Park near Leicester recently but read so many trip advisor posts about crazy parking rules that we stopped elsewhere.

You have to be very wary of parking in private car parks especially in a large moho!

I hope it's resolved

Steve


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I guess its going to depend on whether Liz came back to the same car park within an hour of leaving which if you look at Drews screenshot it says you cant. So if she was there for say an hour and a half but then returned less than an hour later for another half hour according to that sign she would get a ticket which actually is a bit daft as it would be a total stay of two hours but had she not left and stayed three hours in one go then presumably no ticket. 

If they have her on CCTV making two visits within less than an hour of each other then I think your screwed although you might be able to argue that the fee is ridiculous. If they only have her on CCTV arriving and leaving once but over the three hours but you know she left inbetween then you could argue that their system has failed. You might be best digging up those that have had the same thing happen with the same company / car park and how they managed to get out of it like that thread I linked to.

I think you are asking for trouble just ignoring it though.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

homenaway said:


> Hi,
> 
> Was the coffee shop in the retail park?
> 
> Steve


Yes, a Costa.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

Weve had them in the past, we do actually keep getting debt collection letters for one from before we moved here two and a half years ago, I also keep getting one from a bank I 2as with for a small amount 5 they say I owe them but I don't, bin fodder as far as I'm concerned.


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

Did you pay?


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

No way would we pay.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

When I used to get multiple debt demands. After about six 'final' demands I would pick a solicitor at random and write back saying as they had ignored all my previous correspondence would they therefore address any further correspondence to my solicitors.

That usually ended it.

Ray.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

It’s a licence to print money for greedy Companies - therefore it has a special place in the Government’s “heart” 💙


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

But why do we have them in the first place, is parking so bad or is it that the landowner gets a kickback from them.


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