I'm livid - today we have received a £100!!!!! 'charge' for parking 'longer than the maximum period permitted' (which is 60mins) on the 9th Feb 2019. We went to see an evening performance at Theatre Deli and parked in the carpark directly outside the theatre, which is on a small retail park (it used to be a carpet shop). A theatre performance is obviously going to last more than an hour, and as there were no pay machines we presumed it was free to park (especially on an evening). The notice is dated 21.2.19, the envelope does not have a post mark. The PCN is from VCS Ltd who are members of IPC. Happy to provide more info if needed. Please help me sort this as quickly and easily as possible.

I'm really keen to see how this turns out VCS ANPR PCN Claimform - overstay St Marys Gate, retail park, Sheffield **WON+COSTS** - Page 5 - Private Land Parking Enforcement - Consumer Action Group we have received PCN of £100 for the same car park and same reason. I've dug the envelope out of the bin, it does not have a postmark. The contravention date is 9th Feb.

Im preparing a defence for a similar case at the minute. Could you explain how i could use the signage argument in my defence pls. Thanks!

Wow so happy to have found you CAG. Fingers crossed I can beat this. I am devastated, treated myself and a friend to a theatre show tickets were about £7 each. We are both pretty skint and I have now had a charge for £60-£100 quid!!! Theatre Delicatessen (voluntary run theatre) had just moved to the address above when I went to see the show which was on the 24th October 2017. Yesterday 6th Dec 2017 I received a letter asking me to pay £100, or £60 if I pay within 14 days of the date of the letter 29/11/17. (Why have they taken so long to respond but yet I am pressured to pay so quickly just before Christmas and I have two small boys!) The building they have moved into is a retail outlet which used to be a Mothercare outlet. Next door to staples. The show was at 7:30pm. I checked to see if there were any pay and display machines but did not see and other signs (tempted to go back to check where they are) The letter shows registration recognition (but does not show the driver) points out that I stayed 152 minutes and the maximum time of free parking is an hour. I can understand why this is in place as I guess some people could take the mick and go into town but I was visiting a building that the carpark was for and the rest of the carpark was pretty empty except a few others which expect will also have received a charge. I have rang the theatre who sypathetically said that I'm not the only one and that there is nothing they can do about. She pointed out some other places I could park in future and that they have got signs inside the theatre. These were not there when we visited as as it had just opened my friend and I had a good look around. She said they are trying to sort something with the council which is a bit strange as the letter I have had says "Private land" and is from Vehicle control services who are accredited by the IPC. I think I probably ought to call back and ask about this. Could the council have employed VCS. Please can anyone advise me what to to for the best. Should I ignore? Appeal? Contact the company direct and explain the situation? I sense they would not show goodwill. Have I got a leg to stand on??? I look forward to hearing your wisdom I only have 6 days to pay the lesser price if you think I should. Thank you, Gemma:|

Hi guys I have an issue similar to a few others on here, involving the Swansea based Millennium Parking Services. My vehicle was parked in a residential area in Swansea, totally oblivious to any signs advising it was Private Property and Permit Holders Only. Received the PCN stuck to windscreen upon return to the vehicle. The original ticket charge of £100 has not been paid. As the registered keeper, I received the NOK a month or so later and have retained it. It has not been acted upon my me. More recently, I received a demand for £160 from Debt Recovery Plus. I have ignored all requests for payment so far. I'm quite comfortable going through the court process if it comes to that, but would you advise on any action I should take now that might help prevent being taken to court, or even assist with the defence if that day does come? I'd be keen to save myself on the hassle and time wasted in going to court if I can help it, for the want of a well worded letter of dispute. Cheers, Sham

Britain’s banks face the threat of a huge new PPI bill that could add billions of pounds to the £30bn already paid out in compensation, following a court ruling lauded by claims management companies as “hugely significant”. The case opens the door to a renewed claims bonanza as it suggests that even if the PPI policy was not mis-sold, the buyer may still be able to reclaim because the scale of the commissions paid were excessively high. While the ruling does not mean any more cash for people who have already received compensation, it may allow cases that have been rejected to be reconsidered. The ruling is likely to be appealed against but if it stands it presents a fresh PPI nightmare for Britain’s banks, after one claims expert said new payments could run into the tens of billions. Lloyds Bank has so far paid out £18.8bn for mis-sellingicon claims, while Barclays has paid more than £9bn and RBS nearly £5bn. https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/jul/02/uk-banks-could-face-new-multibillion-pound-claims-after-ppi-ruling

Hi guys, I've recently received a parking charge notice from the Swansea based Millennium Parking Services. They have asked for £60 with the charge increasing to £100 after 14 days. I am currently a student, so I don't have the money to pay for this and I feel conned. I was using the street to park for my regional rugby training sessions in Llandarcy academy of sport. They don't always have someone blocking the carpark entrance but when they do they don't let me in even if I tell them that my team trains here!! There were no road markings or clear signage for me to know that it was a permit holders only area, if there was, it was 6pm in november and I did not see them, meaning they were inadequately lit! What action should I take from here? Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Natalia I have answered the questions I could from the forum the parking ticket forum; 1 The date of infringement? 04/12/2017 2 Have you yet appealed to the parking company yet? NO 3 Have you received a Notice To Keeper? NO 4 Who is the parking company? Millennium Parking Services 5 Where exactly did you park? Residential housing area - Heritage Gate, Swansea/Neath, SA10 6DF

Hello fellow forum members: I’ve just received a Country Court Claim form : I’m a complete novice at this, I’ve never been to Court before - or posted on here before. I hope someone can give me some advice. The claim is from a gate installation company who have done part of a (verbal) contract made 18 April 2016 to make and install an automated sliding gate, around £5,600. I haven’t received any paperwork from the company (Contract, T&Cs, design, safety and compliance etc), nor have I signed anything. They laid the track for the gate in concrete on 01 June 2016. The ground works were done by a freelance carpenter. My builder who was present raised concerns with him about how the work was being carried out, and was told ‘this is how we do it’. There was no quality control during the installation and no supervisor visited the site during or after the installation. The owner told me they were very busy, I’d have to wait for the gate. My husband agreed “as long as it’s in before winter”. 15 July 2016 I received a new quote by email for the gate and installation for a 28.5% price increase. I did not agree to a new price. If I had known they intended to change the price part way through the contract I would not have agreed to proceed. 03 Aug I got a statement for just under £918.00, no invoice. I queried it (nicely), saying I had not received an invoice, what was the charge for. I was told it was for some work which I had commissioned my builder to do ie they did not do this work. I wrote to them. They then said the charge was “for site visits and a track ordered but did not go ahead”. I had asked only for a sample of the track. This is not an order. They said they had sent an invoice 27 July (not received by me). I wrote a nice letter back disagreeing, but suggesting we just continue with the work and contract as originally agreed. They wrote back to say they would take this amount off the final price on completion. However if I paid this I think it would mean that I had accepted their new higher price. 16 Sept 2016 email - the owner changed their description of the work they were charging for again: now it was for the installation of the track and wiring. Still no invoice. I asked them to forward the invoice. They did so 27 Sept . It’s now 2 months since the date they claimed it had been sent. The construction of the header (date, time of sending, subject etc.) of the forwarded email does not match any other forwarded emails and additionally shows the last (Sept) description, not the one given us in July when it was supposedly sent. So it seems the invoice was never sent, and that this 'forwarded' email is a fraudulent document. I was still waiting for a response from the owner to the letters I had sent. 25 Oct I received another threat of county court action. I wrote back 06 Nov, acknowledging the threat and telling them we had lost confidence in the company and would not continue with them. 15 Nov I received an invoice for 10% ‘late charge’ i.e 10% of their invoice +VAT. I wrote back 16 Nov confirming that the charge was in dispute and I would come back to them in a few days. 18 Nov received County Court claim dated 16 Nov. They have ignored all the questions and points raised with them, and have just continued to stick with the new price quoted after starting the contract, and this later demand for payment. They haven’t started making our gate, it’s well into winter. We called in another gate company to quote, they have told us the track laid is not straight and not flat and will have to be removed and replaced. I sent photos to the Gate Safe, an independent charity/training/industry oversight body. They agreed the track had to be removed. The job is difficult and complicated and may require removal of newly constructed landscaping and may affect the foundations of a wall. It will be highly disruptive. Gate Safe has safety concerns about the claimant’s work, as do we. I wrote to the claimant 17 Nov 2016. The claimant has offered to have “an independent company’ assess the track” (23 Nov) and say they ‘will put right anything that is incorrect’ if necessary. We have no confidence in the claimant’s ability to do the work, or their contact’s independence. We would like to get the track removed and go to someone reputable. If the claimant relays the track we won’t get a warranty from any gate manufacturer/installer as they won’t have laid it. They really have put us in a difficult position in addition to holding up our landscaping works still further. What am I reqd to do? Have I got grounds for a defence and maybe a counterclaim? Any advice or help would be gratefully received. I’ve looked at the Consumer rights Act 2015, is this the (only) legislation to quote?

I need advice on if is worth proceeding with an appeal, I have already submitted it but could cancel it. The PCN was correctly sent to my address, I informally appealed to the council (Sheffield) a few days ago received a Notice of Rejection. The NoR was sent to the wrong address, my previous address (I moved 2 years ago and my driving license has been updated with my correct address for about 2 years), I received a few days ago when the person from the old address found out where I lived and hand delivered it. 1. I could contact the council and given the fact I haven't had 14 days to pay the lower rate get them to agree the lower rate (£30 instead of £60) instead of proceeding with the appeal. I'm concerned that I might lose this opportunity if I take too long to decide about appealing. 2. My ground of appeal would be the signage - I don't think I can use the wrong address as grounds of appeal? 3. I'm not sure how strong my case is. I turned left onto a main road, where the bus gate started 50 meters down the road, at which point you have to turn right to avoid it. After negotiating and speeding up, by the time I became aware of the bus gate it was too late. My grounds are as follows, which I think would be OK for a bus lane, but I'm not sure about a bus gate (though I think the rules are the same)? Looking at TSM Chapter 3 (I'm not allowed to post a link, but its a pdf on a uk gov website) 1. I think the side road I emerged from should have advance warning signs of the bus gate, it didn't. 2. Although there is a warning sign immediately about 2 yards away from where I turned left, it's orientation at 90 degrees away from the direction of travel when I stop before turning left means I can't readily see it (also it's height above the car made it difficult to see). At least that's why I didn't see it. I think that sign doesn't apply to me, because it's not on the road I was on, and it is not visible for me by at least 45 metres as per section 15.9 of TSM chapter 3. I'm not clear how this might be viewed by the adjudicator? 3. The next sign is 50 metres away, at the start of the bus gate, where I would need to turn right. As far as I'm aware, that also contravenes section 15.9 because it is not 30 metres in advance (given the route I was taking) although it was visible for over 45 metres. 4. Taking 2 and 3 into account, I don't think I had sufficient visible advance notice of the bus gate. Traffic travelling along the main road would have had advance notice, but because I was on a side street with no advance warning signs I didn't have advance notice My difficult with deciding if I should appeal is that (1) I don't know how the adjudicator might look at it, (2) because its a bus gate, I don't know how rigidly the rules on advance warning for bus lanes are expected to be applied by the adjudicator, or if they apply at all (3) if my appeal isn't strong, I wonder if I'm best trying to get the council to let me pay the reduced charge in view of the wrong address on the NoR (I've only just received it even though it is more than 14 days since it was first issued), I'd pay £30 instead of risking £60 on an appeal that might fail. Can anyone advise?

Hello all. Today - when doing the school run, I parked the car near to the entrance to a Highways Agency weighbridge. The gate is normally closed, however today, it was open. I parked, walked kids up to school and returned to the car. I got in, looked out - nothing obstructing me, so drove off - to an almighty crunch and smash. Not visible from the car, I hadn't realised that the gatepost (for when they lock the gate) actually sits in the road. I'm not really one to claim, but I wondered if there's possibility to claim against either the local authority or highways agency for not making this post visible - in height or sign..? Any thoughts??

Please only read this if you can provide useful help. I am just a small cog, in a huge manufacturing plant that has its own site security who man the gates checking lorries leaving. This morning I had to leave night shift early due to a private hospital appointment. This was pre-planned, and accepted by my boss, and I also had the proof letter. There are 2 lanes to exit, with retractable bollards, and safety barriers that can also be raised. As there was a long que of lorries in the left hand lane, I chose to use the open right hand lane as the first set of bollards & barriers were open. This is something we always do when usually leaving after a shift. As I approached, the security lady waved her right arm backward and forwards as if to indicate me to move forwards. She then turned around and started shouting to my surprise. I was by now past the first lowered bollards, and in the 'security box'. Ahead the 2nd barriers were raised, but the 2nd bollards up. She shouted, " I told you to stop, you need to reverse and go to the back" I told her don't be stupid it is dark and raining, and would she open the barriers. She got the hump and made threats to 'report' me for calling her stupid. I said, do whatever you need to, but can I just get home now as I have permission for my appointment, and I am in my own time. She refused, and then took my name & reg, and asked for my company ID, which I gave her. I told her again I needed to go and moved the car an inch. She stood in front of my car and stopped me there while she shouted to the other guard to close the other barrier preventing my exit. She now has my reg, ID and name, and still is refusing to let me go home. I said, and I quote "Look, you have my details, lets just deal with this Monday" She said "You wont have a job on Monday" I said "Well we'll see won't we" ...she carried on the radio for a few minutes when I just told her "look, I have permission to leave this site for a medical reason for which I will hold you responsible" She lowered the bollard and I left. Now this was 5 mins of my time I won't get back, and I do not appreciate being threatened by a hitler security guard on my way out of a very physical job. There are 2 lanes to exit. I did not think it was unreasonable as the left hand lane was full of commercial lorries being checked, for me as an employee who works hard, to use the right hand lane which was open. I did not appreciate having my ID taken, and kept against my will. I did not commit a criminal offence. This is all on CCTV as she told me. Great, I would like to see that as everything I have said happened they will see. Can I SAR them for the footage of me by any chance? It is data, and do they have to comply? What I would also like help with please is if any, is what workplace offences she, or I may have committed, as my workplace uses a kangaroo court style justice system where they trump up charges to boost their own ego. I have been through a tribunal myself, which I won, and I know that there has to be proof of EVERYTHING for things to stick legally. They cannot take one side over the other, which is what they will do anyway, as they like to get one over us on the shop floor by 'doing someone' regularly to show their superiority. Also, was I falsely imprisoned, threatened unfairly etc.. It is now 7am, 2 hours after I left work, and I cannot sleep due to this stressing me out, and I have to be up for the hospital at 12pm. Thanks for reading.

So I drove through a bus gate in Southwark. But in my defence, I did not see the markings nor did I really have a chance because of a really poor layout and badly maintained signage: - One sign and the street marking was obscured by the bus at a red light, and I was behind the bus. - Another sign suffered a hit and was pointing towards the shops, so not fully visible from the street. - The third sign was mounted too high up on the lamp post, actually separated from the rest of the signage. - The road markings are a bit confusing, the direction of travel which should be followed by all non-bus traffic seems like a side road. This is not all, actually no signage is in any way fit for purpose due to lack of maintenance. Broken, wonky, even so far as not being properly illuminated (all lamps broken/ripped off). Went through the appeal process, presented all of the above... council rejected it (but then fixed one of the signs a few days later!), PATAS rejected it saying: - On balance I should have seen it. - The adjudicator did not want to refer to the traffic signage regulation on the basis that "there's a lot there" (her words), and recent cases have set the standard that "on balance" the driver should have been aware even if the signage is poor. So, I'm annoyed that what should be a process to hold the councils to a certain standard of signage is blatantly failing in this case. I can pay the £130 fine now, but I'd rather it cost me x10 that and the serious failings are fixed and someone is held to a standard for all motorists. Or am I barking up the wrong tree? Thoughts? (or suggestions for a good solicitor who would be willing to take on this fight?)

Hi....I would apperciate any advice anyone can give on the following.... My partner was driving from our house past a neighbours property during recent inclement weather. Their farm style wooden gate flew out into the entirety of the road and my partner crashed into it demolishing the wooden gate and causing substantial damage to the car. Initial approaches to the home owner (not a farm) have not led to any admitance of liability. At the scene there was a statement by the gate owner that "I'm always telling them to secure the gate", presumably referring to other family members. It is sunday and I am amazed that the (vehicle) insures are not contactable yet. I should add that amazingly it is correct and true that the gate is able (was able!) to open outwards obstructing the entire single track road. Additionally it is probably not relavant, but the road is a Byway (B.O.A.T) Byway open to all traffic. We are just a little unsure about the best way forward as we do not really want to claim on our motoring insurance as we are not at fault. Any advice much appreciated. So far we have only spoken to the neighbour, rung the motor insurer (unavailable) and have obtained a police ref number for what its worth.