"Parking Charge" £70 Euro Car Parks?

[librarylover]

We have just managed to get a Euro Car Parks "Parking Charge Notice" demanding £70 after being 20 mins over our 2 hours in a private pay and display car park.

 

Does anyne have experience of how best to deal with Euro Car Parks? is it best to pay the reduced £50 for quick payment, or wait and see if they will take us to court?

 

Any advice welcome! Thanks.

[dw190]

We have just managed to get a Euro Car Parks "Parking Charge Notice" demanding £70 after being 20 mins over our 2 hours in a private pay and display car park.

 

Does anyne have experience of how best to deal with Euro Car Parks? is it best to pay the reduced £50 for quick payment, or wait and see if they will take us to court?

 

Any advice welcome! Thanks.

 

They would rely on the driver entering into a contract. If you ignore the PCN they will probably get the name and adress of the registered keeper and send a letter demanding the money. The RK is under no obligation to assist Euro Car Parks in identifying the driver.

[Rob S]

Am I right in thinking that in instances where private car park operators issue tickets, there is no obligation for the registered keeper to pay any charges, unlike it is with tickets issued by local authorities?

[dw190]

Am I right in thinking that in instances where private car park operators issue tickets, there is no obligation for the registered keeper to pay any charges, unlike it is with tickets issued by local authorities?

 

The doesn't appear to be any legislation in relation to private car parks other than "Contract Law". You will notice that a lot of private ones have a sign saying CONTRACT PARKING, the contract being that of paying for limited time to stay and you are given a ticket.

 

Any car park that doesn't issue a ticket and just has signs saying £*** if you stay more than two hours only implies you enter into contract by entering the car park having seen the signs or not.

 

Who on earth would enter into a contract to pay £70 for over staying by ten minutes.

 

The difference with council parking is that most councils have taken over parking enforcement from the police with the blessing of Parliament.

[kazzaw]

I too received a parking ticket from Euro Car Parks for overstaying. I usually have my elderly Mum with me when I park in this particular car park & she has a disabled parking badge which gives us free parking so I just forgot about the time limit.

 

I then forgot to pay the "fine" as I've been busy hospital visiting etc & I have now received a letter asking me for £60. If I don't pay within 14 days the matter will be referred to a debt collector & will incur a further admin charge of £25.

 

Can anyone tell me if this is enforceable?

[Rob S]

Was the charge a penalty for overstaying? If it was, perhaps you could ask them for a breakdown of their costs in your overstaying your permitted stay in the car park and indicate you would be willing to pay reasonable costs, but you regard the penalty as disproportionate to the actual contravention and are therefore not prepared to pay it. It works with the banks and their charges, is there any reason why it couldn't work with these greedy private car park companies?

[dw190]

I too received a parking ticket from Euro Car Parks for overstaying. I usually have my elderly Mum with me when I park in this particular car park & she has a disabled parking badge which gives us free parking so I just forgot about the time limit.

 

I then forgot to pay the "fine" as I've been busy hospital visiting etc & I have now received a letter asking me for £60. If I don't pay within 14 days the matter will be referred to a debt collector & will incur a further admin charge of £25.

 

Can anyone tell me if this is enforceable?

 

I wonder if a claim could be made against them under the Disability Discrimination Act

[kazzaw]

I wonder if a claim could be made against them under the Disability Discrimination Act

 

Unfortunately on this occasion I did not have my Mum with me.

[dw190]

Unfortunately on this occasion I did not have my Mum with me.

 

Is your mum by any chance the Registered Keeper?

[kazzaw]

No. When I take Mum out I drive my parent's car but this time I was in my own.

 

I've looked at the Parking Charge Notice & it states that on 12/6/06 from 16.38 to 16.40 my vehicle was parked longer than the maximum period allowed!! By 2 b***dy minutes!!!!

[dw190]

No. When I take Mum out I drive my parent's car but this time I was in my own.

 

I've looked at the Parking Charge Notice & it states that on 12/6/06 from 16.38 to 16.40 my vehicle was parked longer than the maximum period allowed!! By 2 b***dy minutes!!!!

 

I would still kick up a big fuss with the stores and tell them that a disabled person who needs longer to shop is being discriminated against.

[pcr1]

As has already been said, a contract cannot bind anyone that is not party to that contract.

 

Simply wait for a letter to the RK, and reply saying you weren't driving and you don't know who was, so kindly bugger awf. Totally unenforcable.

[Roadrally]

PCR1 is correct. These parasites bleed motorists who don't know what the law says. Take a look at the ticket. Do they use the word offence on there? Lots of them do, especially Excel parasites in Sheffield.

 

If so that in itself is a criminal offence. Administration of Justice Act 1970 says this:

 

Section 40 of the act provides that a person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed from the other as a debt due under contract, he or she:

 

...

 

(d) utters a document falsely represented by him to have some official character or purporting to have some official character which he knows it has not.

 

Take a look at this

 

Private 'penalty' notices with a threat not to remove - FightBack Forums

 

In fact this site FightBack Forums (Powered by Invision Power Board) is a mine of information for anyone fighting tickets be they parasites like this or local authority tickets or speeding tickets.

 

Tell the ECP parasites to go away with a suitable reference to sex and travel.

[stevokenevo]

I sent this email in reply to a letter from eurocar parks debt collectors, i chuckled when i noted the 'account' number they had allocated me, i gibbered on like a budgie but have not heard anything back for 3 weeks or so, so maybe i said something right

To: [email protected]CC: BCC: Subject: your ref 571245Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 9.19PM

 

 

Good day, I write in response to your letter dated 28th June 2006.

Please be aware, I do NOT have an account with yourselves or your client.

I do Not accept this penalty charge of £25, a new ruling by the Office of Fair Trading states penalty charges must be a reflection of the actual costs incurred.

Considering i had already purchased a parking ticket, i am sure the company did not lose £25 in lost revenue for the 15 minutes excess i incured.

Perhaps if they stopped harrasing innocent members of the public and paying debt collectors like yourself to intimidate people like me, they would make more money.

I consider this an end to the matter, any further threats of litigation shall be regarded as harrasment and be met with a response from my legal department.

 

Regards

 

Stephen ******

 

Good luck anyway!!!

 

.

[pcr1]

I don't think you should use the penalty charges argument here or in any parking case. They have a claim for trespass (in England and Wales at least). You can trespass if you:

• Park without permission
  
• Park for longer than you were given permission to park
  
• Park in an area where you weren't supposed to park (not in a bay, in a disabled bay etc.)

They can claim damages for trespass. Damages do not have to reflect any actual loss. This is how clampers work. (Technically clampers would trespass on your property by fitting the clamp; however you've agreed to this because of the signs, so they don't. If no signs then it's quits. If no signs and no clamp they can sue you for trespass.)

 

It's a bit of a mix between contract law and trespass as far as I can see. It'll depend on the individual case. If the penalty argument fails, they could technically then sue you for trespass.

 

You are far better not admitting anything.

 

Just say that you are not party to the contract. If they write to the RK and ask who was driving, write back and say "sorry chaps, no idea." Untouchable unless they have your face clearly on CCTV.

[stevokenevo]

Fair enough, looks like ive blown the 'dont know who was driving' rgument, so fingers crossed i've heard the end of it, will keep yooz informed if there is any follow up, after all, we learn from each others mistakes ;-)

 

Good Luck All

[falcon185]

Hi guys, one thing that really bugs me is the fact that they give you a time limit to pay the penalty charge levied against you, in thier letters they say if you dont pay within that time limit they increase it to almost double and threaten you with court action if you dont pay, surely this is an offence in itself by "Demanding Money with Menaces" which I might add is a CRIMINAL offence!!

Any thoughts on this??

[brechiner]

Hi guys, one thing that really bugs me is the fact that they give you a time limit to pay the penalty charge levied against you, in thier letters they say if you dont pay within that time limit they increase it to almost double and threaten you with court action if you dont pay, surely this is an offence in itself by "Demanding Money with Menaces" which I might add is a CRIMINAL offence!!

Any thoughts on this??

 

I overstayed in a Morrison's car park in Peckhan S London and received a fine of £40 if I paid within 14 days. I waited until I received a reminder then I wrote to the parking enforcement company (called parking eye). Stating that under constitutional law they are breaking the law by demanding money from me before any court conviction (bill of rights 1689) and any claim they had would be null and void as they had demanded monies from me.

 

As they had written to me twice I had to advise them of the terms and conditions of writing to me, which are thus:

 

I will accept two free letters but any third letter received; would trigger the acceptance of the fact that they would have to pay me an admin fee of £50 per letter, but the third letter would also be a free letter unless I received a fourth letter related to this matter. In which case I would have to charge for ALL four letters. I would invoice them and request payment within 7 days otherwise court action would follow on the 8th day. The terms are fair under the Unfair terms Act 1999 as this is for my time and expenses. Any fifth letter would trigger a harassment action under the 1997 Protection from Harassment Act, which I would be entitled to claim £5,000 in damages for mental anguish.

 

Funnily enough every time I get a ticket and a reminder, I NEVER receive a third letter, as they (parking agents/councils) are really concerned that I would go for it.

[falcon185]

WOW!! Good for you, keep the buggers thinking eh?? ;-)

[brechiner]

I overstayed in a Morrison's car park in Peckhan S London and received a fine of £40 if I paid within 14 days. I waited until I received a reminder then I wrote to the parking enforcement company (called parking eye). Stating that under constitutional law they are breaking the law by demanding money from me before any court conviction (bill of rights 1689) and any claim they had would be null and void as they had demanded monies from me.

 

As they had written to me twice I had to advise them of the terms and conditions of writing to me, which are thus:

 

I will accept two free letters but any third letter received; would trigger the acceptance of the fact that they would have to pay me an admin fee of £50 per letter, but the third letter would also be a free letter unless I received a fourth letter related to this matter. In which case I would have to charge for ALL four letters. I would invoice them and request payment within 7 days otherwise court action would follow on the 8th day. The terms are fair under the Unfair terms Act 1999 as this is for my time and expenses. Any fifth letter would trigger a harassment action under the 1997 Protection from Harassment Act, which I would be entitled to claim £5,000 in damages for mental anguish.

 

Funnily enough every time I get a ticket and a reminder, I NEVER receive a third letter, as they (parking agents/councils) are really concerned that I would go for it.

 

Just to keep you updated,

 

I have still not received a response from the car parking company after 6 weeks.

 

You can draw your own conclusion

[consumerzoo]

I am still hoping for some further advice on a message a posted two weeks ago

..>

On Saturday I took my son to Argos in Crewe Cheshire to spend £10 on a birthday present. I parked the car behind a 4x4 in the middle of the car park not realising it was not a proper bay.. It was NOT causing an obstruction in any way even if a 40 ton truck has decided to park there.

 

I duly paid my 2hr car park fees and 20 minutes later returned to my car only to find a penalty notice on it.

 

The very indistinct writing for 'Other' says ( I think as it is very faint ) something like 'parking outside normal bay'

 

Where do I stand with this. I had a look at other threads and they seems to concentrate on council car parks..

 

I'm not loaded with money at the moment and I'm really angry that I should receive my FIRST parking ticket in over 30 years driving for such a stupid reason...

 

I obviiously need to pay the fine by tomorrow unless someone can come to my aid...

 

Thanks

 

[pcr1]

If it's a private car park then it will depend very much on the terms and conditions of parking, and whether it was clear that you must park in a marked bay. If not, and it is private, I can't see anything they can do. (The ticket is a contractual matter, but if there is no term in the contract, there is no comeback.)

 

If it's council then you may have to cough up, but I don't know much about this side of things.

 

Edit: if, and only if, it is a private car park, you can also use the "I wasn't driving and have no idea who was, sorry old chap" approach as they can't require you to give driver details (whereas council can).

[brechiner]

Just to keep you updated,

 

I have still not received a response from the car parking company after 6 weeks.

 

You can draw your own conclusion

 

Well the 56 days for appeals was up two weeks ago but they still refuse to write to me. I phoned them up and they even said, 'sorry but we cannot write to you!'

 

such a shame...

[parking problems]

Date 7th October 2006

 

Any one with further details please post. ENJOY THE READ

 

I have been searching the Inernet for information on fines issued by Euro Car Parks in private car park facilities they administer on behalf of retail stores as I was parked in one of their car parks. The car Park has a remote CCTV number plate system and I have been worried that I will receive a fine for overstaying my time by 17 minutes at the most (I know this as I timed myself when I parked and when I left the car park.

 

I intend to contact Euro Parks to see whether my details have been captured on CCTV as evidence.

 

Any how So worried that I might receive a £80 fine I looked at various peices of information on the web and found an intersting section in The Traffic Management Bill see House of Commons Standing Committee A (pt 1)

in this bill there are three key points that I would like to share with other members especially CONSUMERZOO who experienced similar problems although this ticket was placed on the car and not via post (something I might receive from todays date) .

 

1. (6) The regulations shall include provision that a penalty charge shall not be imposed in respect of any description of conduct in which there is a reasonable excuse having regard to the circumstances at the time.'. (it was pouring down this morning in Watford hence my delay of 17 minutes getting back to my car) will I have to get Metrological data to support a claim of reasonable conduct i.e not wanting to get soaked before driving?

 

2. '(8) The regulations shall include provision for penalty charges to be proportionate to the gravity of the contravention having regard to the duration of the contravention and its impact upon the safety and convenience of other road users.'. (Does 17 minutes or thereabouts attract an £80 charge / Did my overstay impact upon the safety and convenience of other road users at the time of my overstay?

 

3. The use of the criminal law by a private operator is an anomaly. A private operator of a private car park can use civil law only, and thereby pursue a civil debt. In accordance with the principles of civil penalties for road traffic contraventions in existing law and in part 6 of the Bill, the notion that such disputes should be civil disputes is right and proper. One who objects to the facts of the situation can go before a county court, with no criminal impunity possible, and argue one's case, and the issue can be resolved in the normal manner in the civil courts.

 

However, the anomaly with local authority car parks that are under private subcontracted operation is that the private operators are using criminal law in the same way as a local authority is empowered to do, rather than civil law. That puts pressure on the individual, because the threat of criminal action entices him to pay the sum demanded by the private operator.

 

Q Does this anomaly extend to Euro Car Parks as the private operator subcontracted by a private retail park group?

 

I am waiting for this one i.e for a charge notice to be issued if one does arrive will Euro Car Parks seek to use criminal law for a private car park that is subcontracted if so is this lawful action?

 

If anyone has any further caveats that could be used effectively to deal with parking fines issued by a private car park please post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[parking problems]

Consumerzoo please refer to post of 7th October. Any advice would be welcome as I intend to compose a letter to Euro Car Parks should they issue me with a parking fine.