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Hello people, can anybody help with this please?
On 10/9/08 we got a charge notice from CP Plus in a Morrisons car park for going over 2 hour stay time. At the time we had a hire car (ours was in garage for repairs after an accident). Thought no more about it, then this week we got a note from the hire car company with a receipt for their admin charges, total £29.38 which they have taken automatically from my debit card. (The hire co. get your card details when you get the car, I imagine for this kind of eventually) Enclosed with the invoice is a letter from Trethowans Sols. acting for CP Plus, threatening court action etc. if we dont pay. The thing thats got me is the car hire co. have charged me an admin. fee for getting the pcn! Any way, my question is, have the car hire co. broken any regulations regarding the Data Protection act, by giving them my details? And what are the chances of CP Plus taking this to court? Cheers, jed.
I don't recall any such cases. There are only a select number of PPCs that try it on. CPS, UKPAO and Excel are the PPCs where a small court claim is possible - not that it changes the usual ignore, do not contact approach.
Thought no more about it, then this week we got a note from the hire car company with a receipt for their admin charges, total £29.38 which they have taken automatically from my debit card. (The hire co. get your card details when you get the car, I imagine for this kind of eventually) Enclosed with the invoice is a letter from Trethowans Sols. acting for CP Plus, threatening court action etc. if we dont pay. The thing thats got me is the car hire co. have charged me an admin. fee for getting the pcn! Any way, my question is, have the car hire co. broken any regulations regarding the Data Protection act, by giving them my details?
You will find that the agreement you signed contains a clause allowing then to charge an admin. fee in this sort of circumstance.
However, you need to look closely at the exact wording (and post it on here). It could be that the hire company are acting under the misapprehension that this is a lawful parking ticket.
Thanks pd, i'll get it out and check it. But what will they do if they have misapprehended it? I intend to ring them tomorrow and find out what I can. But whether its a lawful ticket or not, they are still going to charge me an admin. fee are'nt they? What do you think? jed
We've had this situation a few times at work with company vehicles.
The lease company has had to reduce its fee from £35 to around £12. They could not justify the amount being taken as being anything other than a "ad terrorem" clause - one designed to frighten people into not breaching a contract - an unfair charge and a penalty one to boot. I would suggest that 29.38 is in the same league.
It's worth noting that the adminstration fee is designed usually to cover legitimate tickets from either the plod or councils not from private companies. Have a read through the fine print of your contract. My guess is that it won't mention invoices from private companies.
As others have pointed out - the lease company may have mistaken the "ticket" or invoice from the private company as legitimate. Remember that private companies have power to penalise or fine you. Only a court can do that. Usually an icily polite letter to the hirer or leaser reminding them of this is will be enough to secure a refund.
If the bank won't reimburse the unathorised charge then I would suggest a letter to the hirer making these points, stating that you dispute the charge from CP Plus and asking for a refund.
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Thanks guys, i've emailed Drive Assist but too early to get a reply yet, i'll be calling them shortly. I've been on a couple of other forums and discovered that they have funny ways of operating, such as finding damage on cars after 6 months and after their driver has passed it off as ok when collecting the car. Going to bank now. jed.
Hello people. Going back to my first post, I didnt mention that CP Plus have not written to us at all, but just got Trethowans on the case straight away. I know that most posters on here say just ignore the letters, but does that mean I should just ignore Trethowans Solicitors also? I'm not sure what I should do next. I've been looking at some of the letters in the template section, but none of them seem to refer to writing to solicitors directly, they seem to be for the PPC's. Could I use the same letters or not? Any advice guys? jed
Maybe they have found sending so many letters is getting expensive. I don't see why Trethowans shouldn't get the same treatment, after all, they are probibly in the same building.
Yep, ignore Trethowans. Sue from there sends two letters from there and then gives up.
The problem is your hire company. They've forwarded you the Trethowan's letter, but is there any chance they'll just take the money from your account in the future if Trethowan's write to them again? You need to prevent this before it happens with your bank - what if they just take out £150 out (or whatever) plus another £30 'admin' charge?
I think you'll have to write off the £30 but need to send a letter of disgust to you hirer educating them about private 'fines', how you only agreed an admin charge for bonefide council fines and how the £30 is an unlawful admin charge that bears no relation to their cost of merely forwarding a letter.
Also point out how you will never use said hire company again and that is probably the last thing they need considering car hire companies are really suffering in the current financial climate.
Thanks people. I've cancelled my bank card so they cant take any more money out. I called the hire company and asked for their t & c's because I thought I had lost mine, but its just come in the post and I dont ever remember seeing this when I signed for the car. I'm sending them a letter demanding the money back pointing out that I didnt see their t & c's when I signed for it. T & c's state that they will charge £25.00 + vat for this sort of thing, but the point is I never saw t & c's. (Hire co. is Drive Assist.....i've read alsorts about them, alleged imaginary damage to cars etc) I'll write to insurance company also. Thanks for your replies crem and Al27. jed
Whether you saw the Ts & Cs or not will probably end up not mattering - If you signed for the hire contract, it most probably implied that you accepted the Ts & Cs. Not actually reading them is, I'm afraid, your own responsibility.
The important part of the Ts and Cs though, as had been pointed out, is whether they refer to lawful tickets (e.g. PCNs, FPNs etc), or to the processing of any invoice with the word "parking" written on it.
The important part of the Ts and Cs though, as had been pointed out, is whether they refer to lawful tickets (e.g. PCNs, FPNs etc), or to the processing of any invoice with the word "parking" written on it.
Even if they used the general word "parking" they may also have paired that up with "fines". As a PPC cannot "fine" anybody, that may give you sufficient grounds to challenge the admin charge as this couldn't be a legal "parking fine" if that's what the T&C refers to.
Thanks for your input, crem and MRN. The point i'm trying to make is that I was never given any t & c's to read before I signed for the car, although in all probability, most people would sign anyway.
The exact wording in the clause is this;
13 The hirer shall be liable as if the owner of the vehicle for;
i, any parking fines or penalties imposed relating to the hire
ii, any fine or penalty imposed under a fixed penalty notice relating to the hire
It doesnt mention "parking charge notice" anywhere.
I think i'll challenge it, what do you think? jed
the terms only include council or police issued tickets NOT invoices from PPCs. clarify that with lease company and get it in writing. then tell everyone else in the company car scheme (if applicable).
13 The hirer shall be liable as if the owner of the vehicle for;
i, any parking fines or penalties imposed relating to the hire
ii, any fine or penalty imposed under a fixed penalty notice relating to the hire
The owner is not liable for breach of any contract entered into by the driver (such as the contract entered into when parking on well-signed private land).
Notwithstanding, private tickets are neither fines, nor penalties, but invoices.
Car hire co. and PPC
charges, total £29.38 which they have taken automatically from my debit card. (The hire co. get your card details when you get the car, I imagine for this kind of eventually) Enclosed with the invoice is a letter from Trethowans Sols. acting for CP Plus, threatening court action etc. if we dont pay. The thing thats got me is the car hire co. have charged me an admin
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Originally Posted by jed52
I don't see why Trethowans shouldn't get the same treatment, after all, they are probibly in the same building. 
