Sorry but not sure how to find correct forum??

I want to send a new thread regarding parking fines i received from Parking eye and Equita, here is my story.

I received a letter on or their about's 27 September 2017 from Parking Eye.

In the letter (see attached PDF) they explained I had been fined ref Asda Gravesend,

I moved house to from Harlow Essex new address when moving to Gravesend

i updated driving license but forgot to update my vehicle log book...( it is now been done)

The letter from Parking Eye stated because of the mix up of DVLA addresses they would NOT charge me for the full amount either £70 or £130 and would charge me the reduced amount of £40..

On the 30th September 2017 I went online at Parking Eye and paid the £40

Please see Attached PDF with proof of received e-mail, and bank statement,

also if one logs onto Parking Eye website and give the ref .

...it shows that their is no such reference number! Reason must be because I have already paid it..?!

I was unaware that I had also been fined a second time to confuse things further, so I eventually found out by visiting my parent at the previous address.. So now I had another fine of £130, Parking eye ref ...

I paid £130 via the automated telephone system to Equita on the 3 November according to my bank statement please see attached PDF...

.According to the conversation I had with Equita agent this may have been a mistake of mine as I may have paid it to the wrong Equita ref number it should of been paid to Equita ref .... Instead of Equita ref 2.... this i can't prove or disprove.the only thing i can prove is i paid £130 to equita which has came out of my bank account.

So this should prove that I was fined in total on 2 occasions the first occasion Parking Eye themselves gave me a reduced fine of £40 as per letter received from them, see attached which was paid as soon as I was aware of it..

And the other fine was for £130 which have also paid on or their abouts 1st November 2017 via Equita automated payment system..also proof of payment see attached PDF..

Equita and Parking Eye are still claiming i owe them a further £130 I sent a recorded delivery to Parking eye with proof of what i have paid and sent e-mails to Equita and it made no difference what so ever.

.Today ( 10-12-2017) received another letter from Equita saying despite previous efforts trying to to contact me they are still demanding another £130 and will go to "Enforcement/Litigation action"

What can i do??

I have already paid total of £170 for 2 parking fines.

.and they want another £130??

I'm pretty stressed about it, what can i do please help!!

docs1.pdf

You havent been fined at all.

And you should never pay the speculative invoice.

They always make mistakes and rely on peoples lack of knowledge so they pay up without question.

go do a chargeback on all your payments

ring 1st direct

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?473624-Section-75-and-Charge-Back..-gt-Whats-the-difference-and-how-to-utilise-them

then comeback here

I did over stay in the Asda Gravesend car park and parking eye have timestamped registration so i guess it was my fault.

..but they are trying to get even more money from me

..If I contact 1st direct what can i say to them i want my money back??

I doubt you did overstay

but we've not seen the NTK you got.

most Asda sites are are 3hours but ofcourse PE will claim their own time limit

they probably don't even have planning permission for their signs anyway.

go any do that chargeback on both payments as its not a fine and equita have spoofed you.

nowhere does ANY of the signs nor paperwork use the word FINE!!

go do a chargeback on all your payments

ring 1st direct

 

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?473624-Section-75-and-Charge-Back..-gt-Whats-the-difference-and-how-to-utilise-them

 

then comeback here

The problem that I see it is that payment appears to have gone astray and that is what needs to be resolved.

Since the Supreme Court decision in the 'Beavis' case, it is no longer the case that we can refer to these Parking Eye charges as 'speculative invoices'. As MSE and Pepipoo will demonstrate, since the 'Beavis' outcome, Parking Eye are now one of the most prolific users of the County Court Bulk Centre and sadly, judgments are awarded by the Courts.

If payment of both charges has been made and proof is available, (which it appears to be) I would suggest that the OP inform Equita that if their client is considering the litigation route that he will oppose their application by providing evidence of his payment and paper trail questioning where the payment has been allocated to.

So, at the outset PE admit they got it wrong and as they couldnt lawfully ask you to pay anything at all they would settle for a donation of £40 and you thought this was nice of them.

To be honest the best thing to happen to you would be for PE to take you to court and that way not only would they look utterly stupid and incompetent you would get the overpayment back with your costs.

You need to read up on these matter and the powers of debt collectors.

You never owed £130 even if you owed PE somehting as the law doesnt allow them to add a unicorn food tax just because they feel like it

many people think that dca's are the same as bailiffs when they have no powers at all.

The company that owns Equita own PE so you have paid them several times over, not just twice.

The problem that I see it is that payment appears to have gone astray and that is what needs to be resolved.

 

Since the Supreme Court decision in the 'Beavis' case, it is no longer the case that we can refer to these Parking Eye charges as 'speculative invoices'. As MSE and Pepipoo will demonstrate, since the 'Beavis' outcome, Parking Eye are now one of the most prolific users of the County Court Bulk Centre and sadly, judgments are awarded by the Courts.

 

If payment of both charges has been made and proof is available, (which it appears to be) I would suggest that the OP inform Equita that if their client is considering the litigation route that he will oppose their application by providing evidence of his payment and paper trail questioning where the payment has been allocated to.

Hi thank you for your reply yes i agree that the money seems to have gone astray, having a conversation with equita they even suggested that might be the case ..So Equita know about it...IF in fact that is the case..??? I personally believe when i paid Equita using their automated answering system it was paid to the correct account.. And PE and Equita are not talking to each other ...because this should have been resolved by now..PE and Equita are just trying to get another £130 from me..

As one poster mentioned maybe PE and Equita are the same company??

You said you suggest that the OP inform Equita.....sorry but what is the " OP "??

I think i have given all the evidence of payment..to Equita and PE i dont think i need to contact either of them again...because they are obviously ignoring info i have given them..

What do you think should i do in preparation for my defense should i contact a lawyer or citizen advice bureau??

I believe PE or Equita will send more letters to my door and even threaten me with possibly higher parking charge.. These people in my opinion are working in a way which surely must be Illegal why isnt there a governing body somewhere which stops these kind of companies clearly extorting money from people!!??

All help from anyone is most appreciated..

you don't need a lawyer

you don't need CAB

you have CAG..

go do a chargeback on all the payments you have made

then we'll start again

you have nothing to 'defend' either.

these are not fine

they don't come from any court

nor the police

nor the council

you just jumped and panicked

as you wrongly thought they had some claim against you!

CHARGEBACK TIME!!

go ring your bank NOW

You said you suggest that the OP inform Equita.....sorry but what is the " OP "??

The OP is the original poster - you.

HB

be aware that your bank may refuse the chargeback, or give you the run around for a good while.

As one poster mentioned maybe PE and Equita are the same company?..

Not quite. Parking Eye are owned by a large outsourcing company called Capita. Equita are also owned by Capita.

I have had experience with ParkingEye in Scotland an won with help on this site, it is not a fine it is a charge. Recently i received a charge notice from another parking company for a car park that i drove in and straight back out due to shop being closed, i wrote to them and they apoligised.

wouldnt matter if in scotland. they cant issue any charges there.

wouldnt matter if in scotland. they cant issue any charges there.

Not quite.

They can issue as many invoices as they like, but there's no Keeper Liability so they can only go after the driver.

Just to keep an update,

firstly thanks for your advice i'm a bit worried about chargeback

i dont feel i want to do that..

Because i dont understand how i stand,

as i did overstay in the carpark

and they have evidence of that with CCTV time stamp of my cars registration..

Yesterday 28-12-17 received another letter by post from Equita they confirmed they received an e-mail from me on the 15 November so it took them all this time to reply to that..

They confirmed they received money and there reference .... and equita will no longer be involved.

But they say in relation to another parking charge their ref .... their client ref ..... they state the "Offence" 17-8-17 at Gravesend Asda..

Now the charge has now gone up to £160..

As i say it seems a mixup between the 2 companies Equita and Parking eye...If i go on parking eye website reference 452768/481979 it still says i owe £130 so how did Equita state £160...??

The 2 companies seem to be are playing me..

As i said i have done nothing and just wait for it....if it goes to court??

I believe i have made 2 payments for 2 parking charges £40 which was accepted by parking eye and another payment of £130 to equita, in my opinion whether or not the payments were mixed up and one payment should have gone to another ref number or not i still have paid twice..

Am i wrong in what i have done ??

now as you guys say this is a parking charge Not a fine....Just wondering what the difference is between the 2..??

What in your experience will be their next step..?

If they keep sending me increasing charges with threatening letters to go to court..

...Is there something i can do to do stop this, or report them, surely what they are doing is at least classed as "harassment"??

Oh by the way hope everybody had a nice Christmas

You are looking through the telescope from the wrong end. Start off with the fcat you dont owe them anything (didnt to start off with either) and then assume they are incompetent greedy liars and you should then see this in a different light.

Difference between this unlawful demand and a fine? Easy, a court hands out FINES, councils PENALTY CHARGES and these lot send out begging letters.

PE issued you a demand and now Equita, a sister company is acking as a debt collector but has no legal standing in any of this so can be ignored. Your only error was taking these cowboys seriusly and paying them to start off with. If you hadent they would have to claiify what they were after to ensure they followed the correct protocols of the POFA to create a liability.

What to do, ignore any letter that isnt from PE itself, do not pay any sum, especially anything above the supposed contractual sum as there is no legal reason to claim that money.

Threshold for harassment is very high but misuse of your personal data is another matter. get this sorted (wont be quick or simple) and then consider a complaint to the ICO

get that charge back done!!

Regarding the charge back

i think i will try to get the £130 back from Equita

if i am successful then should i pay the online £130 too PE??

s in effect should stop Equita from badgering me any further..

Because Equita claim there so called "client" is PE and they act on behalf of PE, presumably!!

i am bit confused who actually has, IF any legal responsibility here?

PE are doing a job for Asda

i guess someone in PE sets out rules for these car park stays..i.e 2 or 3 hours permitted..

PE then uses Equita as a debt collecting agency..

IF PE themselves dont get any money..

what you're saying because the car park is initially a FREE carpark for Asda customers to do their shopping in,

no company really has no legal right to claim ANY money from people in the first place

even if they break certain rules set down by PE who work on behalf of Asda, presumably???

Or have i misunderstood the situation altogether??

if that was the case then surely nobody would pay any money to companies like PE and Equita at all??

I think other comments on here are right to say that PE and Equita are liars and greedy

if they are part of the same company and not independent of each other.

. they are playing a game with people ,

which is not right.....I have had no response from PE at all..

IF what PE does and Equita do is extort money from people

how do they get away with it?

Surely what they are doing is illegal and should be prosecuted for it??

This kind of thing has been going on for a long time with Car parking charges....and I guess the Law is on their side?

So there is no regulation here, that these companies should abide by??

Thanks to ALL for your advise so appreciated..love this consumeraction group you guys are so needed, for people like me thanks..

I'm confused.

You seem absolutely determined to pay someone £130 that they aren't entitled to! Would you like my bank details?

First thing to do as soon as the banks open on 2nd Jan is get the chargeback(s) done. After that, you might find it worthwhile to get on to your local council planning department and find out a few things about this site...

1. On what basis was the planning consent for the car park granted in the first place. As in, was there a time limit set (at the planning stage). If there was, what was it.

2. Is there any planning consent for ParkingLie's signage and/or ANPR cameras?

Just do what dx says equita and PE are the same company. You do not owe them a single penny. Now go to your bank and get that chargeback done.

chargeback can be done 24/7 on your banks phonebanking line.

please don't pay anyone anything....

PE/equita are capita and are most certainly nothing to do with asda at all.

the landowner MIGT have signed a parking contract with pe

but more likely a managing agent that the landowner gave no permission to do so too

so you owe nowt void contract

you SERIOUSLY need to go read a few thread

get your money back and then tell them all to get stuffed when they write again.

After that you wait to see who comes crawling out of the woodwork and set about knocking back any claim they say they have by using the same law they like to use to claim money in the first place.

That is where we come in, we can help you through all of the various stages but you have to get to the start line.