# does anyone know about parking ticket?



## cypsygal (Dec 19, 2009)

I have unfortunately got a parking ticket £60 if I pay within 14 days, or £100 if not. I parked in a private car park, on business, my hosts having given me a sign to put in my windscreen. I parked in the wrong part of the car park, and got a ticket for 'leaving site'. I probably wouldn't have got a ticket if I hadn't advertised my absence by leaving a sign in my windscreen!!

I intended to pay the £60, and appeal, but didn't hold out much hope of the appeal, because I did leave the site! Altho' had I parked in my hosts' allocated area of the same car park, I'd have been ok. The car park was nowhere near full either.

When I went on line to pay this evening, I came across an 'online experts' site, and this indicated that as a private company they could not enforce the charge legally and would have to take me court to prove that I was the _driver _of the vehicle on the day. With info from DVLA they could ascertain my ownership of the vehicle, but not the identity of the driver on the day. As such, the website indicated that if I didn't make contact with them at all, they would simply not bother to take it to court (altho' on the ticket they do state they will do this).

I posted my own question on this website called 'just answer, ask a questions, get an answer' but got directed to a page wanting my credit card details for the £22 fee for the 'expert'. It also stressed that what Iw ould get would be an opinion, not necesssarily 'fact.'

Well, that sounded a bit risky. And then I thought about all of you motorhomefacters, and whether there might be anyone on here who could help me with an answer?

Is this correct, that they are unlikely to take me to court? Does anyone know?

thank you in anticpation....


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

loads of info on this subject A couple of threads on here.

Have got a Parking Charge Notice PCN and not a fine.
If yes throw it in the bin and forget about it.
Do not answer any correspondence.

If it is a fine issued by the local council I am afraid you have to pay.

read this.http://www.ukpoliceonline.co.uk/index.php?/topic/42909-parking-charge-notice-pcn/

Lady p received one last August lots of threatening letters but nothing has come of it.
These people make money out of fear.
Dave p
edit. The only loss they have made is the amount of money that they have lost in parking fees. That is all that they can sue you for. Highly unlikely.


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## tonka (Apr 24, 2006)

Look at http://www.pepipoo.com/ for more info..

If it's a private car park and "controlled" by one of those parking companies then just ignore it...

It is a private "invoice" and not a fine... Your going to get a few letters but sit it out and do NOTHING.... Dont call, dont write and dont try to explain... JUST IGNORE..

Youll get letter 1, letter 2, maybe a "solicitor" style letter and even a "debt collection" letter.. They mean zilch... If they want to pursue they need to take you to small claims court and then that costs them.. 
The way they work is to pay DVLA about £2.50 to get the vehicle owners details. They dont even have a right to ask who was driving so again you dont need to tell em. They lash out another few quid on stamps and letters hoping that a percentage of people pay up....

First time we genuinly overstayed at an Aldi, I thought it was 2 hours and they had changed it to 1 and 1/2. Read Pepipoo and took the advise.. Never heard anything after the batch of letters.
Then my wife and daughter parked at Asda and did shopping and decided to go have their hair done !!! Same thing, lots of letters then all quiet..

Oh.. and i did some research after getting the letters.. the debt collection agency was registered to the same address as the parking company.. Spookey. :lol:


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## HeatherChloe (Oct 18, 2009)

If the private carpark is not owned by the council and is not the public road, then they can't give you a parking tickets.

All they can do is try to charge you for parking on their land. So they dress up an invoice as if it were a parking ticket.

To get you tonpay their 'invoice' they have to take you to court. 

If they threaten this, just write and say that you have never parked at their site ever. 

They will have to prove to a court that you did - and not just your vehicle, YOU. As it is a person that they are invoicing and not a car.


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## biggles777 (Jan 18, 2006)

All the advice is in my experience correct . Private car park , do not pay or communicate with them and just ignore the barrage of letters .


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## cypsygal (Dec 19, 2009)

*Parking Notice Charge*

Thanks to all who responded - yes, it is a Parking Notice Charge, the crapark and has the similar signs that supermarket car parks with time limits tend to have. There is actually no charge to stay in this car park, but obviously they want you to visit their onsite attraction - Dickens World and the Dockside Outlet Centre - just like the supermarkets!

I'm not a lawbreaker, and it makes me feel quite scared to not pay up, but I won't and I'll withstand the letters pressure, and see what happens.


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## Pet12 (Oct 10, 2011)

Hi
I got one from Maidenhead services stopped 2 .3/4 hours not the 2 allowed by the time I got back from Switzerland it had gone from £60 to £120 needless to say I paid neither, the fine is only a invoice made to look like a fine, no court no further corrie that was 2 years ago. Pete


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## altom (Sep 12, 2009)

DTPCHEMICALS said:


> Have got a Parking Charge Notice PCN and not a fine.
> If yes throw it in the bin and forget about it.
> Do not answer any correspondence.
> 
> If it is a fine issued by the local council I am afraid you have to pay.


Very interesting

Can someone expand this?? Does this go for company's such as NCP or any other local Private parking company ??

If that is the case this cop out is very interesting indeed What about parking in the Motorway services with a 2 hour wait time? Can they legally charge you?

Another thing ...if you pay for the 1st hour and return late having a PCN slapped on your MH / Car, you are only obliged to pay for the extra hour/s you were there and not the so called "penalty" notce that could be > £140


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## padraigpost (Dec 8, 2010)

go to www.moneysavingexpert.com and at the top right hand side of the page click in the box marked SEARCH MSE, the box will expand and then do not select main site but instead select forums from the drop down menu and type private parking tickets and then click search which will take you to the forum, on the header bar of each letter on this section will be written " forum-private parking tickets", click again on this and it will take you to the main forum which will show you on one thread what kind of letters to expect from which parking companies, all the letters in the forum will tell you the same thing DO NOT PAY THEM they are modern day pirates who make a living out of making people believe that you owe them money. Only the police and the council can fine you. read the forum and it will tell you all their tricks to con money out of you. 
Good luck


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## cypsygal (Dec 19, 2009)

Dear fellow MHF's

I thought I might update you on this situation - received the notice threatening me with court action today - possible fees of £325 if I go to court, but they are giving me a chance to pay £140, and avoid going to court. 

So it's ripped up & in the (recycling) bin.................

Thanks for all the response and advice. I hope that this is last I hear. trying to be 8)


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

Isn't the real cruncher for these parking tickets the fact that IF they ever took you to court they would have to prove to the court that it was you who parked there? Without such proof they could never win the case - and they know that.


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

There was a big article in the Sunday Times about this a couple of years back.

Our sons met up with some guys they had bought some Landy bits off at the A34 services (Chievely) on the M4, the other guys were late, so our two had to wait. They went and had a drink and filled their van up, so they weren't just sitting there.

They got the standard letter which we ignored, then the next letter and then the ST article was publish and we heard no more.

Sad that people have to do this sort of thing, we have made it a matter of family policy not to use that services ever again, or any other site that we hear of playing the same games.

Peter


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

cypsygal said:


> Dear fellow MHF's
> 
> I thought I might update you on this situation - received the notice threatening me with court action today - possible fees of £325 if I go to court, but they are giving me a chance to pay £140, and avoid going to court.
> 
> ...


Well done.
Just ignore the next few threatening letters and you are home and dry.

You could always send them a £1 if you feel guilty :wink:

I havej ust shredded Lady ps invoice for last August.

Dave p


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## Spiritofherald (May 18, 2012)

Even if they take you court, I fail to see how they can predict what fine you would ever get. As everyone says, just ignore it. If you do get a court summons then pay the original fine (not some inflated figure) before you go, at the very least you will have cost them time & money to chase you down.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

The "Contract" (parking charge) is between the land owner/operator and the vehicle DRIVER.

They have to prove, to any court, who the driver was. They can obtain details of the registered keeper from DVLA but the registered keeper has NO legal obligation to identify who the driver was. (unless its a notice sent from the Police which has to be complied with, but Police do not carry out parking enforcement any way now) 

Just ignore ALL of the letters, they will LOOK very official and intimidating. Just remember they must have a court order to send in bailiffs, to get a court order they must PROVE to the court who was driving, and there is simply no way they can do that.

CHUCK 'EM ALL IN THE BIN :lol: :lol:


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## cypsygal (Dec 19, 2009)

Thank you all for all the informative and supportive posts. . I will keep you all posted!!


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

One of the good things about the internet as there are now thousands of posts on forums about how to avoid paying these people money.

Some of them are no worse than highwaymen and hopefully there days are numbered.


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

DO NOT BREAK!!! they will threaten you with alsorts.........then you can get them done for harrasment!!

you MUST IGNORE everything....if you reply then they will just keep on at you.....they and their lawyers have ZERO power (always remember that)!


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## ThursdaysChild (Aug 2, 2008)

If the carpark is equipped with CCTV and there is video evidence of just who was driving the car, would that stand up in court ?

CCTV cameras are not always readily spotted, and are deliberately placed to be so. Hoodies and balaclavas are not to keep the ears warm, but to conceal the face from the ubiquitous cameras.

Just be careful that the bluff you are calling really is bluff.

Keep us posted, please.


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

Listen NO court in this land will allow a company to sue someone who parked on their land for a few hours and charge them £375 quid.....it hasn't happened for a reason .....YOU MUST NOT WRITE BACK TO THEM!! that is important.


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## cypsygal (Dec 19, 2009)

You are so right, some young friends of mine are in Barbados, currently having strife - they paid 5k for an all inclusive holiday to Virgin. They paid for a room with a seaview, but got stuck in a room at the back of the hotel. The rep and the hotel staff ignored their complaints, after a week they got support via facebook, and they are now in a different hotel, which they could have gone to on day one, had they agreed to pay a further £1500 to virgin, which was later reduced to £800 - and clearly a ploy to rip them off. In fact they had paid more than other guests at the original hotel. It wasn't just the room, rotting stuff, peeling walls, dead insects and dark coloured slimy pool..... They were told that they were paying for the service not luxurious rooms...... (strangely as the rep didn't respond, I'm not sure what service they were paying for??)

Anyway suffice to say that once they got taken seriously (via facebook and twitter), Virgin kindly asked them to remove their posts from Facebook, and to ask their friends to refrain from 'malicious' posts. Virgin also made the hotel remove untrue posts about the behaviour of my young friends.

Virgin clearly , eventually, listened, but only because of the power of the internet. My friend sent an email to virgin on day one, because the virgin rep took no notice of their complaint - virgin's message was that they would reply witin 28 days. Her Mum called the local Virgin travel shop, to try and pay the £800, 'cos her daughter was so stressed, and they said they could only accept payment from the party leader!! They advised contacting the rep on site ( who was not responding).

*Knowledge really is power*, education education, education is the real engine fo change.

Thank you to all of those members who share your knwoledge and empower the rest of us. Respect 8)


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## cypsygal (Dec 19, 2009)

Thursdays Child

I had wondered about the possible CCTV element. The day in question I did have a notice in my window telling everyone where I had gone, but I did notice other people had 'parking tickets' too ( more than a couple of others), and they didn't have my 'notice' in the wndow, so not sure how the parking people knew they had also left the site. I was an easy target - i told them i had left the site. Very disingenuous though, as I was given a parking place by the local NHS who rent spaces, as i now know, in a different part of the same cark park. So giving me a parking ticket was debatably unfair, as they alreadu were recieivng some kind of reward for my parking space on the day, albeit not where I parked. There were more free spaces than parked cars that day.................

Surely if they had evidence from CCTV they would have shared that knowledge by now?


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## iandsm (May 18, 2007)

*Do not*

Do not send a £1 as has been suggested. If you do you could be held to have accepted that you were the driver and that you are accepting that you must pay the invoice but dispute the amount claimed If you do not communicate you cannot be held to have accepted liability. This is of course if the people concerned tried to take you to court seeking compensation for your unauthorised use of their lands. Very unlikely.


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## Enock (Nov 11, 2011)

Pet12 said:


> Hi
> I got one from Maidenhead services stopped 2 .3/4 hours not the 2 allowed by the time I got back from Switzerland it had gone from £60 to £120 needless to say I paid neither, the fine is only a invoice made to look like a fine, no court no further corrie that was 2 years ago. Pete


I have one ongoing at the moment from the same idiots at the same carpark...

CP Plus....

I'm on my 3rd threatening letter, which I'm happily ignoring....

Just be aware though, that after Oct 1st...these scammers will have the opportunity to chase the registered keepers... So things may change..


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

Again its against the law for them to harrass you....always remember that!!!

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

http://www.yourrights.org.uk/yourri...lls/protection-from-harassment-act-1997.shtml


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## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

Enock said:


> .....................
> Just be aware though, that after Oct 1st...these scammers will have the opportunity to chase the registered keepers... So things may change..


Can you give us some more information on this Enock?


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## Enock (Nov 11, 2011)

wakk44 said:


> Enock said:
> 
> 
> > .....................
> ...


Not really unfortunatly, as I'm not aware of the finer details....

But going off what I've picked up on pepipoo.... It seems that as from Oct 1st there is new legislation, that outlaws clamping on private property...
Due to this, the private scamming firms have pleaded their case, and said well how do we control private car parks etc if we have no way of giving a penalty.... (at the moment as I believe they can only penalise the driver, and as we know there is no legislation that can make you tell them who that was)... So in reallity they're pretty toothless...

So as I understand it, the new legislation allows them to chase the registered keeper...

How it will work in practice, I've no idea, but I think the days of just ignoring them, may well be numbered....

In saying that, websites like pepipoo and honest John etc, will I'm sure still find ways of not paying unfair or extortionate penalties, when in practice no loss has occurred to the land owner...

It'll be interesting to see how it develops...


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## cypsygal (Dec 19, 2009)

I think Enock is probably correct, when first investigating this (before I asked MHF's) I found info online that indicated a bill going thru parliament that would allow these company's to sue the registered owner - that seemed to have been going through earlier this year, February ish, so a change as at 1st Oct would make sense.


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

They can get the details of the registered keeper already....thats what the number plate (and paying DVLA a small fee) is for.


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## Enock (Nov 11, 2011)

bigcats30 said:


> They can get the details of the registered keeper already....thats what the number plate (and paying DVLA a small fee) is for.


Yes, but at the moment they can't make the registered keeper tell them who the driver was, and currently, any penalties can only be enforced against the driver...

After Oct, I believe that penalties can be issued and enforced against the registered keeper, and whoever was driving becomes irrelevant


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

Enock said:


> bigcats30 said:
> 
> 
> > They can get the details of the registered keeper already....thats what the number plate (and paying DVLA a small fee) is for.
> ...


Enforced by who?? only a court can enforce IF they are shown the proof.....and again no court will allow a company to charge you 375 for a parking charge.....even the council can't do that.


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## Enock (Nov 11, 2011)

bigcats30 said:


> Enock said:
> 
> 
> > bigcats30 said:
> ...


I suspect the courts, or some other agency acting on their behalf...
I never mentioned any figures, As I said in my post.... I'm unsure of the finer details, and am just going off my understanding of the new regs as I read on pepipoo....

You seem to have a better understanding, so instead of questioning mine, why not enlighten us


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

Enock said:


> bigcats30 said:
> 
> 
> > Enock said:
> ...


Knowing the registered keeper makes no difference....they already know who the registered keeper is hence why they have your address.( I can get the same information from the DVLA just by knowing your reg)

NO ONE other than a court of law can make you disclose anything.....there is no other agency.....A private parking firm has ZERO power...zilch nothing not a bloody thing.

They can know your eye colour but unless a court finds you guilty (and agrees that you should be fined any amount)....then you continue to do NOTHING.

even if you get letters from a lawyer...again a lawyer has ZERO POWER.....ONLY a court can decide.

Its simple...ignore them.


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## Enock (Nov 11, 2011)

Yes.... That's how it works now....

The point is, that as of October 1st.... New legislation is being introduced, and things could be different...


As for me, I will continue to follow the ignore advice, until I receive some form of official documentation, from a real court....

Until then.... Anything that comes through the door, is free toilet paper.


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