Civil Penalty Notice in Sainsburys Car Park!!!

[zigster]

I received a civil penalty notice whilst parked in Sainsbury's car park in Child and Parent Space (whilst with my two young children). It is pay and display but having never had to pay to park in a Sainsbury's car park before, I didn't notice the signs. Apparently you get a ticket and when you spend £10 or more you get a refund. £1 for an hour and £1.50 for two I think.

Anyway, it says that the time the car was first seen was 16.20 but I know without a shadow of a doubt that I was still at home at this time (I had to drop my husband at work for a particular time). The ticket was issued at 16.45 which must have been literally after I had unloaded my two children. I returned to my car at about 17.00.

It is £40 but £20 within 10 days.

Now should I just pay this within the 10 days? Or should I try and appeal against this and risk further charges?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

[zigster]

Oh and just to add something on the civil penalty notice it states that the reason for it was because I was 'out of time'. Surely it should have been 'No Valid Ticket'!!! Must have been done in a hurry!

[pin1onu]

Originally Posted by zigster

Oh and just to add something on the civil penalty notice it states that the reason for it was because I was 'out of time'. Surely it should have been 'No Valid Ticket'!!! Must have been done in a hurry!

Whatever you do don't pay and Don't volunteer any information. This is a private parking invoice from a private parking company employed by Sainsbury. Some on these forums argue that they are a scam. If you are the registered keeper I wouldn't initiate contact with them, wait for them to contact you. They will have to pay to obtain the registered keepers details from the DVLA. This is a civil case. The plaintiff has to prove their case.

Have a read of this Private Parking Charges guide here. You'll find it in the stickies section at the top of the forum. Also have a read through the Bernie the Bolts template letters also in the stickies section. They give a good guide of how to act.

[zigster]

Thanks for the reply. I have not paid it but still worried that I am only going to get charges added and loads of annoying letters to deal with. I have so much going on at the moment so could do without this. Is it worth fighting this even though I wasn't even parked at the time the ticket says I was first seen! Not that I have anything to prove this other than my word.

[pin1onu]

Originally Posted by zigster

Thanks for the reply. I have not paid it but still worried that I am only going to get charges added and loads of annoying letters to deal with. I have so much going on at the moment so could do without this. Is it worth fighting this even though I wasn't even parked at the time the ticket says I was first seen! Not that I have anything to prove this other than my word.

IMO its definitely worth fighting. The decision remains yours.

Let me clarify a few things for you to ease your mind

1. They cannot add charges. Only a court can do that.
2. The onus of proof in civil case is on the plaintiff not the defendant (i.e. you)
3. A court will not take their word over yours without some evidence to corroborate it.
4. You don't have to admit anything or incriminate yourself.
5. To get this to court - they have to prove you were the driver, prove you saw the signs, prove you understood the signs and agreed to the contract, prove you breached the contract and finally prove that the charges are reasonable damages and not penalties which are illegal in contracts. (That is quite hard to do all that with an "uncooperative" defendant)

I will warn you that they will probably try several letters, even try passing things over to a debt collection agency to try and scare you or harrass you or bully you into paying up. Stand firm and the eventually they will give up.

Have a read of Bernie the Bolts template letters as to how to respond at each stage in the process. It could be that one letter may do the trick

Remember you are not alone. If you need advice or support you'll find it here. There are any number of people on this forum willing to help.

[dickydavies352]

Also had one of these in an out of town retail park. Thanks to previous postings I will not pay either!

[Al27]

Thanks for the reply. I have not paid it but still worried that I am only going to get charges added and loads of annoying letters to deal with. I have so much going on at the moment so could do without this. Is it worth fighting this even though I wasn't even parked at the time the ticket says I was first seen! Not that I have anything to prove this other than my word.

As the initial scrap of paper is nothing more than an unenforceable invoice, it makes no difference whether they send you more letters with whatever figures they pluck our of the air.

Private companies have no powers to issue penalties and to give out pieces of paper with 'Civil Penalty Charge' on them is downright fraudulent.

They know this, which is why they will never set one foot inside a courtroom.

You are quite safe and need do nothing more apart from ignore 5 or 6 junk mail letters.

You have three choices:

• be a mug and pay
• do nothing and ignore the letters you receive
• send them a template letter, bearing in mind this will not stop them sending you stuff

Whilst ignoring letters you receive may be annoying, it's the only option open to you.

Personally I would never ever contact this company as they will never go to court with their dodgy paperwork and contacting them will merely make you a hooked fish. Someone who can bothered and rattled enough to write, could be someone who could be scared into paying if they write enough letters.

By the way, there is no 'appeals process'. You will just receive a standard template letter back.

Don't worry, don't pay and get on with your life

[lamma]

Fourth approach. Play them as the fish, get them to waste time and effort sending you letters while they dig themselves ever deeper into unlawful and probably illegal activities. Then use their paperwork against them. Not for the average punter though.

[Mossycat]

Originally Posted by lamma

Fourth approach. Play them as the fish, get them to waste time and effort sending you letters while they dig themselves ever deeper into unlawful and probably illegal activities. Then use their paperwork against them. Not for the average punter though.

That's the option that appeals to me though!



Mossy

[Horsham_Dingle]

Which PPC issued the original "invoice" - was it Euro Car Parks?