Private Parking Tickets - General discussion points

[Tusses]

I guess I posted in the wrong place - sorry. Can someone move it to where I will get an answer please

 

Thanks

 

[Tusses]

hmmmm .....

 

can anyone see my posts ??????

 

did I register properly ???

Hello

Hello

Hello

 

 

 

anyone out there ???

 

:confused::confused::confused::confused:

[battyboomboom]

Best thing to do is do nothing at all until you get actual court papers.

 

Which you never will.

[Tusses]

Best thing to do is do nothing at all until you get actual court papers.

 

Which you never will.

 

That contradicts what most seem to say - and defeats the idea of this thread of template letters !

 

As I said - they got the name of the RK wrong at the moment . I have written back to them simply stating there is no one by that name here.

[battyboomboom]

Well yes, but there is only 1 school of thought here: don't pay.

 

Just different ways to go about it, some say you're likely to get more letters if you write to them, but whichever way you do it the end result is the same - fraud, harrassment and then they give up if you don't bother paying.

[MalMonroe]

Help! Is anyone there? I posted before about Excel and having input an incorrect registration number. Now they have sent me a final demand prior to court action. I must admit to feeling a bit intimidated but I am prepared to go to court all the same. I just need some moral support here. I did pay and display but I didn't keep the ticket (who does?!) and they wrote to me three weeks later to say I'd not paid. I did pay but I put in a totally nonsensical number just so I could get a ticket out of the machine because I couldn't see properly. (Didn't have reading specs, only driving/distance specs). In a letter to my MP Excel admit that there WAS a 'fictitional' registration number in their system at EXACTLY the same time that my car was parked there - a total of 15 mins for 60p - but that it didn't match up with any vehicle. And I was the only one entering and leaving at those exact times!! Apart from me the park was virtually deserted. HELP!!!

[burgerhater]

My son had a ticket in mcdonalds car park in Truro last year around october. He ignored it but now he's had a letter from 'Ross & Robert legal investigations dept' saying he owes £85 to GT parking Ltd. If he doesnt pay in 7 days they are sending baillifs round. If we contact them they will add an admin fee!!!. They obviously have his details from DVLA. How do we tell them to go rotate?

[MalMonroe]

Hello! I'm sorry to hear of your son's problems but as far as I am aware, and from what I've learned from lots of learned people on these threads, bailiffs cannot be sent in unless a court/judge has given the order. In which case, they are acting illegally. If my own experience is anything to go by, they are probably just illegal anyway. I'm waiting to be advised that Excel Parking in Sheffield are taking me to court. Going on five weeks now.... still, I know these things do take time.

[reetpetite]

BurgerHater, I would tell the police about their harassment as they should take your complaint seriously, that would most definately stop them in their tracks - maybe they would try to charge the police for contacting them too!

 

MalMonroe, I completely agree with you; a bailiff would be illegal if not sent out by court.

 

I have just read Bernie's very helpful information on how he would correspond with a parking company and intend on taking similar actions myself. However, my situation is slightly different because the DVLA have issued the parking company with my maiden name, even though they have my married name on their records (yes I have double checked my driving licence)! Naughty, naughty DVLA for providing my personal data inaccurately (Data Protection Act) ! But could this work in my favour?

 

Assuming there is the slightest chance this charge could get to court (???), I was under the impression that the claimant must correctly name the defendant or the claim will be thrown out. Is my maiden name no longer legal which identifying me? Interesting stuff.

 

Also, I am concerned that in complaining to the DVLA about anything, they will seek to correct this information with the parking company, who will reissue the notice with my married name. Although, does it really matter?

 

Anyway, to get back to my main question, if I am to avoid providing the parking company with any further information, which of the following would be the best course of action:

 

a) deny anyone of that name lives at this address, return to sender

b) reply using one of the standard responses, signing all correspondence in my maiden name

c) as above, but sign in my married name (using an obscure signature which they cannot read and so cannot identify my true name)

[Revisor]

hi to all on this site and am new myself so hope this is the right way about doing things. i was wondering if anyone has had similar woes to me and whether they know if i can do anything about it.

 

i parked my car in a residents parking bay in southwark, london and made the effort to ask my friend for a residents visitor parking permit. this i displayed properly but unfortunately i only scraped off the date and month section and failed to scrape off the day of the week section. i filled in my vehicle reg number as well. however when i came back to the car i found that i not only had one but two PCNs!!! the first said i "parked withoutclearly displaying a valid pay and display ticket" and the second (handed out by the same enforcement officer) was put on 2 hours later saying that i had "parked in a resident or shared use parking place displaying an invalid permit, an invalid voucher or an invalid pay and display ticket."

 

Firstly do u think that i will be able to get the council to waver these charges and secondly why have they given me 2!! do i only have to pay for one despite the fact i can't afford to pay for one of them let alone 2 as i am a student still!

 

any advice on this is ery much appreciated and i look forward to hearing back from anyone

 

Cheers

the revisor!

[Tigger Tale]

All the private parking companies should be listed on this site for ALL to see, especiallythose who operate the really threatening letters. Some are very tenacious and we should answer just as forcibly (and threatening ?)

[MalMonroe]

Hello! Further to my previous posting I have today received a letter from Excel's debt collection agency for a different sum of money altogether. Now I owe them £130 for some reason. I'm going to use your template, Bernie the Bolt but I'm still prepared to go to court over this. They are going to pass the matter on to Graham White who will review my case for potential legal action. I've heard that name before! Bring it on!!! yay. I think!

[Disgruntled Brit]

• Do not initiate correspondence.* This means ignore the ticket but keep it. Only write when they have written to you.
  
• Do not ignore letters (unless and until you have written a “cease and desist” letter).
  

 

Hi everyone!

 

First post after reading all your helpful information.

 

Referring to Bernie's original text, forgive me for being slightly dense but does this mean a ticket fixed to the car or the ticket they send you through the post?

 

I received the "Parking Charge Reminder" from ParkingEye (Morrisons) first and then the "Parking Charge Notice" a few days later (incidentally the reminder came just within the 14 day period but the notice was four days outside it).

 

Basically I'm quite keen to try out the Data Protection Complaint template letters that Bernie also wrote and then launch into the standard templates in this thread. What I want to know is whether I should do that now or wait until they've actually written to me?

 

I guess the next letter will be just another notice asking for the £90?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Brit

[lamma]

what 14 day period ? ? ?

there is no such thing.

[Disgruntled Brit]

OK, that was hardly the point of my question but anyway. I was referring to the 14 day period in which you can pay the reduced fine of £40.

[lamma]

It is NOT a fine.

the reduced period for PPCs is just another way of trying to get cash off you. It has no legal basis whatsoever. just like their invoices.

[Disgruntled Brit]

OK, sorry for the semantical error.

 

I guess I'll just write the letters now then.

[crem]

OK, sorry for the semantical error.

 

I guess I'll just write the letters now then.

 

The point lamma is making DB is that the mere fact that the PPCs quote a "14 day reduced charge" is to make their invoices appear to be more like a real PCN and therefore they hope more victims will simply pay up quickly.

 

They would far rather have a quick 40quid off you than any protracted letter exchanges with the probability that they will get nothing further down the line.

[Disgruntled Brit]

Yes, sorry - I guess I was living up to my name with that slightly sarcastic tone! Didn't mean to sound ungrateful and thanks for pointing it out. I may have been tempted to pay the "reduced charge" at one point before I read all of the good stuff on here!

Wrote the first template letter yesterday - decided to save the Data Protection stuff for another day. Will keep you updated on progress.

[willfoster]

Dear all - first post here but I thought my letter might be useful to others. Apologies for the lenght of the post.

 

£40 fine from CP Plus for parking in the hospital I work in - didn't have my ID on me (my ID lets me into the staff car park) so I left a note in my window with my contact details, and parked in the pay and display. I wrote to appeal before reading any of the advice on this site (and so inadvertently admitted being the driver). They sent a standard letter saying they were "unable to offer a cancellation". Initially I planned to send them 160 cheques for 25p on the basis that they will have to pay a bank charge for every cheque they pay in, but then I came across this site and decided to fight a bit harder. I sent this back in April and haven't heard since so I think they must have dropped it:

 

------------------------------------------------------------------

CP Plus Ltd

PO Box 14836

London

NW3 1WT

12 April 2008

Dear Ms ***

Re: Notice no. 4131523

Site: Royal Bournemouth Hospital

Parking att. no. 306

Thank you for your letter dated 25th March 2008. I am obviously disappointed that you are ‘unable’ to offer a cancellation.

Frankly I find the initial charge notice ludicrous. I initially appealed using the concept of what is common-sense: I had a valid permit, I was unable to get into the staff car park because I did not have my ID card on me, and there was no attendant on the gate. I had no change in my car. My only alternative course of action would have been to go into the hospital, borrow some money from a colleague, and then buy a ticket; during which time my operating list would have been delayed. I was in error when I left my ID behind, but in these circumstances I do not feel that it was unreasonable to leave a note in the window explaining the circumstances, and then move the car at the earliest opportunity.

It is incorrect to say that you are unable to offer a cancellation. What you mean to say, I suspect, is that you are unwilling. Similarly, I am unwilling to pay the charge.

As you have rejected what I consider to be a commonsense and reasonable appeal, I will now clarify the legal reason for refusing to pay this unreasonable charge.

(1) The charge notice refers to a contract relating to parking charges

(2) I dispute the acceptance of a contract with you as I do not recall seeing signs relating to the charges involved. I have been back and I dispute your allegation that the site is clearly signposted.

(3) Under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (1999), I believe the contract you believe I have entered into to be unfair as the charge you are suggesting is disproportionate to any loss that may have been incurred. Parking in the bay I used is £2 for four hours and so it is difficult to see how a charge of £40 for failing to display a ticket is proportionate.

(4) Even if I had entered into a contract with you, and then breached the terms of the contract, you would be entitled to proportionate damages, ie recompense for any losses. I do not believe that there has been any loss that should be compensated because I have already paid for parking on the site, and therefore if the barrier had an attendant on it, I would have been granted access to the staff parking area without charge. Thus I do not believe that you have a legitimate claim for damages from me.

(5) In view of the excessive nature of the sum claimed, I believe the £40 charge to be a penalty rather than damages (ie punitive), and therefore I do not believe it to be enforceable.

If you still believe the charge should be paid please confirm why you believe your loss to be £40; please also confirm that you believe me to be the driver of the car (and on what basis), and the time on site that you say has been logged.

Yours sincerely

***

-------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

So, whilst I'm no expert, my advice would be (1) do not pay under any circumstances; (2) follow the advice in this website carefully; (3) when writing back to them make it clear that you will make them prove everything - ie don't confirm or deny anything, ask for proof that you were driving, that they have suffered a loss etc. It seems to me that it makes sense for them to reject the first appeal automatically but if you are a fighter it is not worth their while taking it on: even if they were to win a court case, the time and effort they would have to expend would almost certainly outweigh any benefit. Note that I'm not a lawyer and I should probably add a few disclaimers to my advice (ie don't hold me responsible if you use my letter or follow my advice), but from my experience, persevere and don't let them get away with it!

 

Good luck with any claims.

 

 

Will

[Peckhamrose]

Hi all, I have been reading the forums with great interest and wish to heck I had done so before writing my letters to UKPC Ltd. I don't think I've blown it yet though, but would be interested in your viewpoints.

 

Here's my story in brief. I am a motorcyclist. My hubbie rode my bike (legally) to B&Q and I got sent a Charge Certificate from UKPC Ltd. We have always parked in a little triangle area out of everyone's way in that car park before (as there is no dedicated motorcycle park and if we did park in a car space, trust me on this, sometimes car owners do lift and move our bikes out the way!).

 

But now that little triangle area is apparently not part of the proper parking area. The Charge Certificate includes a nice photo of the back of my bike. However, that is ALL it shows. it does not show or prove the context, the wide area. So we can't tell where it is parked let alone that it is parked illegally. The wording said there had been an ALLEGED contravention but demanded money anyway.

 

I appealed saying there was no proof of a contravention and indeed pointing out that their certificate only related to an "alleged" contravention!

 

They basically wrote back saying "tough". I wrote back the 2nd time saying basically "You have failed to prove what I did wrong and not answered the other questions about this matter in my 1st letter." Both my letters were sent recorded delivery. None of theirs were. Their last letter said the same as someone else said here, that they will now pass over to a Debt Recovery Agency. But I was not the one riding the bike!

 

So now I am going to wait and see what happens. Quite frankly I am very scared. I have written to the Complaints department of DVLA telling them their criteria for who to sell my information to is dodgy as UKPC appear to be a bunch of amateur bullies, and I sent evidence of same.

 

May I make a couple of suggestions? Could the forum posts be divided according to the different agencies so we can guage overall results against each company?

 

Also, may I ask, if people have court cases coming up perhaps we could all go along to support one another.

 

Anyway, that was my first post. Thanks for all advice. I shall keep you informed of the outcome and look forward to reading the outcomes of the other folk who have written their posts too. Specially the hospital worker who gets fined for parking outside his own place of work. Absolutely shameful!

[willfoster]

Seems to me very clear, Peckhamrose: you are not responsible for paying for a 'fine' someone else incurred riding your bike [regardless of who the person was]. The whole thing is absolutely disgraceful: they are contacting the wrong person about an offence that has not been committed!!

 

I suggest you point this out to them: something along the lines of "Thank you for sending me a photograph of my motorcycle [you might even say 'a motorcycle' if you want to neither-confirm-nor-deny it being yours]. I suggest you contact the person riding the vehicle when believe any offence to have occurred. Please refrain from contacting me again as this matter has no relevance to me."

 

Don't be scared - it does feel intimidating to receive threatening letters but if they really do take you to court I can't see how they could conceivably win in these circumstances. I strongly urge you to resist paying - the placing of a fine on a vehicle parked out of the way goes so far against the spirit of any sensible policing of parking that it just has to be a way to make money.

 

Good luck with it!

 

 

Will

[lamma]

just ignore them, you are safe and they aren't getting your money.

[Peckhamrose]

Is it really that simple? I wrote stating that I was not the one riding but they said I am responsible for the bike whoever rides it (which of course if it were the roads, would be true). They have also refused to answer my questions to prove it. Would they really take me to court? I have been trawling through the forums to see if any private parking company have taken people to court but can't find any references.

 

Nope, sorry, still very very scared. But the ball is now in their court and I have copies of my letters to prove I tried hard to get them to prove the evidence.

 

just ignore them, you are safe and they aren't getting your money.

[lamma]

yes it is that easy.

 

they are lying and misrepresenting your legal position.

If I ride your bike and get caught speeding you don' t get the points do you ?

For COUNCIL parking tickets the RK is liable but these are not council tickets are they ?

These PPC [problem] invoices are an alleged contract matter and third parties cannot be held to a contract - where one exists - and a contract cannot impose penalties.

have you read the stickies ? if so re-read them.