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I have a friend who works for a company located in a business park owned by the local authority. The car park for this facility operates on a displayed permit basis. Recently the local authority passed the operation of the permit scheme to a private company. My friend was issued a new permit for parking under the new scheme but forgot to display it one day and got a fine ("details of contraventions against of parking regulations") stuck to their car.
I'm looking for some advice on a couple points here:
1) as the car park is owned by the local authority, is this covered under the road traffic act? The ticket bears the private company's name not the council's.
2) Is it reasonable to demand payment considering that ordinarily there is no parking fee to pay? The employer pays rent at the site so its not like any financial loss has resulted.
3) Is it reasonable to demand an amount in excess (nearly double) of what the local authority normally demand for parking offences on the public highway.
4) probably a minor point but the small bag containing the notice which was stuck to the car claimed it was an offence for it to be removed by anyone other than the driver. Is that legal if this is not a road traffic offence and in fact a civil (contract) matter?
I don't have the facility to scan the parking notice, sorry. I've checked it to make sure its the proper format and it appears to be correct.
I thought I had pretty much explained the basis it was issued under but if there's anything specific you need to know then please let me know. One thing I will say though, I won't provide any specific details which I think will identify my friend.
I don't wish to appear paranoid but its not hard to imagine parking companies joining this forum.
I thought I had pretty much explained the basis it was issued under but if there's anything specific you need to know then please let me know. One thing I will say though, I won't provide any specific details which I think will identify my friend.
The main question is "Is this a private ticket (ie invoice) or are the private company acting as agents for the Council and it is therefore a de facto council ticket?"
On the ticket, does it say that it is issued on behalf of the council?
Is there any legislation quoted in or near the header?
What is the actual ticket header (eg parking charge Notice, Excess Charge Notice, Penalty Charge notice,)?
NCP do do outsourced council ticketing.
but there are issues with that is some locations.
Is this NCP Services ltd ?
What is the authority ?
both question would be answered by pictures of course.
if you don't have a scanner do you have a digital camera - or a mobile phone with a digital camera built-in ?
struggling to get a decent pic of the ticket as its quite small and my phone camera is rubbish.
In the meantime I'll type some in:
In red at the top
"Unauthroised persons must not remove or interfere with this ticket. Please read the notes on the rear of this parking ticket""
"Details of contravention against parking restrictions"
Location of vehicle
Date parking ticket issued
Time parking ticket issued
Date vehicle was seen in contravention
Time vehicle was seen in contravention
reason why ticket was issued
vehicle registration
make
model & colour
Signed & dated by the parking employee.
The charge payable is £100
If this parking charge notice is paid within fourteen days the fee will be reduced to £70
After fourteen days the full amount is due and payable
Details overleaf will tell you how to make payment
On the back:
VAT number
In red: "Please keep part 1 for your reference"
PAyment of parking charge notice
If this charge notice is paid within fourteen days the fee will be reduced to the amount shown overleaf. After fourteen days the full amount is due and payable.
Non payment of parking charge notice
If payment is not recieved within fourteen days of the date this parking ticket was issued the fee will be passed to our recovery department who will apply to the DVLA for the registered keeper details. As a resultof this administration fees will be incurred. If payment is still not received then the debt will be pursued through the courts and additional administration fees and court costs will be incurred.
Then there's some more stuff, pretty much repeating what they have already said and giving payment details.
In answer to earlier questions, there is no mention of the local authority's name. Only the company WJ Parking of Exeter. There is also no mention of any legal statute.
Hope that helps, let me know if you need any more.
PS is there any way of forcing them to provide evidence that the parking permit was not displayed?
fraudulent.....really? could you explain why? I find it quite interesting so would be good to hear why.
I will try to get a pic of the parking notice on here. I'll borrow a digital camera off a mate and get a pic of it.
One thing I should add.....apparently the council have CCTV in the car park so they might well have proof my friend was the driver. But from the sound of what you guys are saying its not going to be necessary to rely on that.
don't know if anyone is still watching this thread but its time for an update.
I have been written to by the parking company demanding £130. Being a bit busy with work and stuff I let the side down a bit and forgot to reply. I have since been contacted by a debt collection agency demanding I pay the £130 or they will take me to county court and my credit rating could be adversely affected.
So, I decided to get my act together and I used two letters from the template letters thread. One to the parking company to say take it up with the driver and one to the debt agenct to say I've written to the principal to dispute the alleged debt, please take it up with them.
It will be interesting to see what they have to say.
Now all you have to do is wait, the toothless wonders that are the debt collection agency will threaten all sorts in their letters and will use scare tactics such as 'adverse effect on your credit rating, removal of goods to satisfy the debt, etc etc'. In reality they can DO NOTHING of the sort until you have gone to Court (unlikely) and lost (even more unlikely).
Sit back and wait, eventually the PPC will realise you are not going to be scared into paying something that you don't have to and they will move on to someone else. If you get any doubts post back here for re-assurance or to tell us they have given up
as yet I have had no follow up letters from either the parking company or the debt collection company.
I do have some news though. A friend has told me that they have heard that the parking company WP Parking have gone bankrupt. This is third hand news so I don't know how reliable it is but i'm told the it originated from a source at the council.
If true this is good news I guess, although you guys had made me pretty confident this would eventually go away so its just a bonus really.
More will go the same way - as money tightens people will not just sit back and pay these [problem] invoices. A large number will look on the web and find this forum (and the other one). Councils will get snarled up with appeals as well but they have a duty to provide enough back office staff to deal with appeals
private ticket on council owned land
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Originally Posted by meursault
