If anyone has the time...

[CrabPaste]

Have been reading the UKCPS saga as a lurker for a while - a very spineless move to cave in and become a PPC puppet in my view.

Google cache doesnt seem to bring anything up - the other option is www.archive.org - they have all the posts as they appeared on 27th December 2007

[CrabPaste]

Here's what I managed to dig up


Me Vs UKCPS Ltd

29/9/07

Hi Everyone

I have received to parking tickets from UKCPS Ltd, 1 on 25 July, the other 06 August, both for parking without a valid permit or authority and both for £60.

The background to these tickets is:

I have various health problems which mean I am unable to walk more than about 50m unaided. I parked in this car park at the rear of my local Wilkinsons store as I was buying heavy bulky items. On each occasion I was no more than 15 minutes.

At first, I was quite confident that these tickets were unlawfull and unenforceable by law, so I ignored them. The company has now written to me, which I presume means they have contacted DVLA for my details. They are now claiming I owe them £102 per ticket, which unless paid within 10 days will accrue further charges of £3 per ticket per day. They also state they will take me to court and may ask the court to enforce the debt by instructing a baillif to wheel clamp my vehicle.

I have taken the liberty of asking another member for advice on this and what I should do. I would also appreciate any other advice available from anyone on the site.

Due to my being incapacitated, my family exists on £93 a week and this company are demanding nearly 2.5 weeks money, I am sure I have a case to get out of these absurd charges but do not know down which avenue to go really, so if anyone can offer advice please do so.

Thanks
Simon

29/9/07

Thanks very much for your help Paul, it is greatly appreciated. I will use your letter and get it in the post on Monday, hopefully it will stop them carrying on with these extortionate charges.

The main thing that worried me more than anything was the car clamping stuff in their letters. It just shouldn't be allowed. If my car were to be clamped I would be 'stuffed', not being able to walk very far, leaves me almost dependant on my car, yet these people just don't seem to be interested in anything other than money................a sad enditement of the world we seem to have become.

Anyhow thanks again for your help, I will post as things progress.

Simon

18/10/07

Update

2nd reminder letter received for one of the tickets. Sent a second copy of the letter sent before.

Simon

24/10/07

Spoke to soon................worri ed..........no!

Second post today brought another letter from UKCPS, strangely on totally different headed paper from the others???

Anyway it says they are not interested in who was driving they are within their rights to enforce payment on the vehicles owner. Also their charges are legal and fair and will be enforcced through the courts!

Hmm.................

I am thinking of writing back complementing them on their new headed paper and telling them I am not going to pay and if they want to take me to court to go ahead.

Is this good, to call their bluff???? Or should I just ignore them???
Any thoughts anybody?

Simon

19/11/07

Hi Peternet

Having read the thread and presumably the first post stating the circumstances that caused the issue of the tickets, are you seriously suggesting that a £60 charge is appropriate for around 10 minutes maximum parking??? A charge which they decide goes up by 50% if not paid in 10 days and then by £3 per day after that???

Yes fair enough, I commited trespass if you like, I hold up my hands but lets be right about things, these charges are absurd and unreasonable. Even if I had been willing to pay in the first instance, I could not do so in one go, on an income of £93 a week. I would be lucky to be able to pay it over 6 weeks, in which case you are seriously suggesting that parking to collect an item from a shop when I can hardly walk is liable to a charge of £159 or £15.90 for each minute parked, which is how it calculates out.

This is a small private car park at the end of a cul de sac with parking provision for a few shops and a nightclub. It was the middle of the day and there was plenty of other parking spots empty, so it's not even as though somebody had to park elsewhere.

Fair enough it was a private car park, I did wrong but lets be honest any punishment has to fit the crime and this doesn't!!

Simon

19/11/07

Peternet

I am not being obstructive in anyway whatsoever. There is no adjacent parking available as there is no adjacent car park. There is no Wilkinsons car park either, so they cannot provide disabled bays.

Also I have not claimed that I do not know who the driver is. Regarding your comments on my other threads, I see no reason why I should not take any action against any company with whom I have a greivance and incidentally many thousands of people obviously have the same gripes and greivances so are they all wrong as well?

I believe this site is about people taking action against those 'big' businesses and organisations who have and continue to act how and as they wish for the purpose of profit. I am not saying they have no right to make a profit but things must be fair and in proportion not completely one sided as they often are. Invariably all these companies make more than enough millions as it is without 'screwing' those who may be less fortunate and financialy unstable. It is hard enough to make a living in this day and age without unecessary penalty fines on everything.

With regard to your free society comment, I totally agree, which is why I now bank with someone else, no longer have Sky TV and I moved Insurance companies to boot. More importantly if you believe in the free society thing, then why would you have an issue about others taking action against actions they feel are improper.

I can only think based on your posts here that you are in favour of all these penalty charges and people charging excessive amounts, which begs the question of why you would want to be a member of this site.

As for the parking tickets, well we will see if a court agrees that the charges are fair and in proportion to the offence, if and when the company takes any action.

It would be interesting to know exactly why you would be in favour of such extortionate charges, if you would care to elaborate?

Simon

20/11/07

The car park you mention is not Wilkinsons it is NCP and above ground level, which is extremely difficult for me to deal with as I can't walk anymore than around 50 metres without severe discomfort and pain, which is why I parked where I did. As you are aware, this meant a much more manageable distance to try and walk (around 15 - 20 metres), with regard to the items my wife was with me to assist. As you are also aware the area in which I parked for around 5 minutes is used on a regular basis by many people other than tennants and also the shop staff and nightclub. You will also be aware that the road leading here is marked with double yellow lines. Not that this was an issue as you will also note that there have been no traffic wardens in Scarborough with authority to ticket illegal parkers for about the last 2 years. However I did not park on these double yellows (as the majority of people do) as the road is not wide and easily obstructed by parked cars.

I am not eligable to park in disabled bays as I do not hold a blue badge as I was awaiting a DLA award which automatically entitles you to a blue badge. As I am no longer driving it is irrelevant now anyway.

To summarise;

I was parking as close as I could, without causing any obstruction due to the fact I can only walk very short distances.

Irrespective of any of these details, the fact remains that the charges levied are ridiculous, disproportionate and in accordance with the majority of people on here not enforceable.

As for my being unhelpfull and probably obstructive, I should like to ask exactly what is meant by this comment?

I have parked in a private car park for under 15 minutes, I created no vehicle obstructions what so ever as there were a number of vacant bays. The offence (if you wish to class it as such) does not warrant the amount UKCPS are trying to get.

I am astounded that certain people seem to have lost sight of what is important here, which is absolute extortion by UKCPS and not whether or not my vehicle was parked in a private carpark. If anyone can not see this and the bigger picture of how these companys operate in taking money from people unfairly then it is indeed a shame.

21/11/07

I appreciate your morals and your standards of responsibilities but what I can not accept is that you would seem to think that UKCPS are acting in a reponsible manner by their actions of charging these ridiculous amounts.

I do accept responsibility and had the tickets been for a reasonable amount I would have paid them. However a basic charge of £60 for 5 minutes is a bit rich by any standards. Even if I wanted to pay, I could no way afford to. I can not find £60 in ten days without affecting the welfare of my family, I get £90 a week to live on and have 3 mouths to feed. So UKCPS say, ok if you can't pay in 10 days we will make it £90 and then charge you £3 a day for every day the amount remains outstanding!

So where is their responsibility in their actions on this?

I should also like to wager that like probably 99.9% of people, you too have infringed some rules in your time, ok you may not have got caught but I bet you didn't own up to it and pay any charge due had you been caught.

I have the utmost respect for the 'old school' ways, they are in the main a much better way of bringing your kids up but this is not about responsibility of me and any actions I took. It is about their (UKCPS) extortionate penalties for a minor breach of rules and irresponsible flauting of the laws on parking charges.

I live within a 5 minute walk to Wilkinsons, for an able bodied person. That I am not, otherwise I would never have parked there, I would have walked, unfortunately I can't.

22/11/07

Hi Barnsley Boy

Thanks for your support, it's good to know I have at least 'some' allies on here. I couldn't agree more about the sudden increase in pro ppc voices. This thread had run for ages and then suddenly from nowhere I am pronounced as a villain or kiddie catcher! Amazing. Everyone is entitled to an opinion of course, but wny come on a site that is pretty much anti penalty charges full stop??

Anyway I won't be ground down don't worry, I will defend if they choose to take me to court because I am not going to be bullied into paying a totally unjustifiably excessive amount.

29/11/07

Hi everyone

Well, no more contact from UKCPS yet.

On other fronts I have WON 2 cases in the last week. 1 for my bank charges and one against my insurance company for their penalty charges!

I must say it does feel rather good and I'm quite chuffed with myself to have not only stood up to them but proved a point as well.

Simon

29/11/07

Originally Posted by peternet
Or are you perhaps trying to be obstructive - reading your other threads you do seem to find cause to take on a variety of organisations and set out to challenge the rules under which they operate - if you really dont like how and organisation runs then go elsewhere it is a free society after all

Just couldn't help but answer this one with fact;

If I am being obstructive and just challenging rules under which the organisations operate, why would these organisations pay up?

Abbey Bank Charges - £2500

Its4me - £231.92 - (£150 penalty charges the rest my costs)

Both paid up in the last week. Would they not fight there corner if the charges were lawful and correct?

If being obstructive brings results like this then fine, I''ll be obstructive. I personally think it more a case of the little man standing up to the corporate giants who have abused their power and believe they are a law unto themselves!

I stood up for my right not to be ripped off.........and WON!

Simon