Parking Notice Charge Please Help!

[redtreeant]

Hi,

I have recently received a Parking Charge Notice from a company called Parking Eye for parking in a Co-op car park and have a few questions I hope someone can answer please.

(the background info is I parked in a co-op car park at 7pm believing it to be a free car park, as all other car parks in my town are free in the evenings. As such I never looked for any signs and have since been sent a PCN).

I have the following questions:

1) There are no signs facing the driver at the entrance to the car park, just a few signs on the walls within the car park on the outside walls and as such are obscured if any cars park in front of them, is this valid?

2) There was no notice placed on my car at the time, just an automated letter sent through the post, is this valid? I've read the British Parking Association (BPA) code of conduct and it says they have to place a ticket on your vehicle?

3) If they take me to court will I be held liable for their legal costs etc?

Many thanks for any help offered.

[maf91]

The Co-op now employ Euro-Car Parks to attempt to enforce these "restriction" in their car parks. It is a private parking company and therefore the invoice they have givin you is unenforcable. Just simply ignore it. Although if I was you I'd ask to speak to the manager of the Co-Op store, as I KNOW that they have the power to have this joke of a company stop harrasing you (and I'm sure they would not want to lose a customer because of this incident)

[redtreeant]

thanks for the help, i've already written to the co-op manager and he's basically sent me a letter saying he beleives the charges are proportionate and fair. Although I'm still not going to pay them.

[pin1onu]

thanks for the help, i've already written to the co-op manager and he's basically sent me a letter saying he beleives the charges are proportionate and fair. Although I'm still not going to pay them.

You should send a reply back with link to the Private Parking Charges sticky and suggest that he should have a read.

 

BTW if you can't see the signs you can't agree to their contract - even if it was enforcable.

[Al27]

Parking Eye are well known.

 

The Co-op manager sounds a bit of a fool, with no knowledge of the law.

 

All you have is an unenforceable invoice from a private company. Private companies cannot issue 'fines', only claim actual losses. They rely on contract law, but omit to mention that a sign saying "if you do x, you agree to pay £x" is legal tosh.

 

The usual advice applies:

 

• do not pay

• do not contact them

• ignore any letters you receive, no matter how threatening

• they will go away after 5 or 6

• they will not take you to court

• they don't have a legal leg to stand on

 

Hold tight and don't believe any of the lies in the letters about CCJs, court costs, or owner liabilty. The sole job of Parking Eye and other such companies is to trick people into paying their laughable 'fines'.

 

I'd be tempted to contact the Co-op head office though and ask how their ethical policy sits with the fact they employ companies who send out fake parking fines designed to scare people into paying something they don't have to.

Save the Parking Eye letters you receive and send photocopies of them with your letter. With any luck, they'll ditch Parking Eye.

[redtreeant]

Parking Eye are well known.

 

The Co-op manager sounds a bit of a fool, with no knowledge of the law.

 

All you have is an unenforceable invoice from a private company. Private companies cannot issue 'fines', only claim actual losses. They rely on contract law, but omit to mention that a sign saying "if you do x, you agree to pay £x" is legal tosh.

 

The usual advice applies:

 

• do not pay

• do not contact them

• ignore any letters you receive, no matter how threatening

• they will go away after 5 or 6

• they will not take you to court

• they don't have a legal leg to stand on

 

Hold tight and don't believe any of the lies in the letters about CCJs, court costs, or owner liabilty. The sole job of Parking Eye and other such companies is to trick people into paying their laughable 'fines'.

 

I'd be tempted to contact the Co-op head office though and ask how their ethical policy sits with the fact they employ companies who send out fake parking fines designed to scare people into paying something they don't have to.

Save the Parking Eye letters you receive and send photocopies of them with your letter. With any luck, they'll ditch Parking Eye.

 

cheers mate, i've just written a letter to the manager. I've also written to my MP asking why the DVLA are giving my personal info to these companies.

[gwc1000]

I've also written to my MP asking why the DVLA are giving my personal info to these companies.

Because they don't GIVE your personal info. They SELL it.

[maf91]

When writing to the manager of the Co-Op you should mention that you are a regular customer at their stores, and that they will be losing out on your custom in future should they try to enforce this invoice, which you are not going to pay anyway.

 

Common sense should tell them that if you were to spend £50 a week in their stores, this would amount to £2600 per year, whereas the ticket (if it was enforcable and you were to pay it) would only net them a couple of pounds, which makes it in their best interests not to lose you as a customer.

 

If they do not see sense then you should simply just ignore all corespondance with the parking crooks.

[spikes62]

cheers mate, i've just written a letter to the manager. I've also written to my MP asking why the DVLA are giving my personal info to these companies.

 

It costs the company £2.50 each time they ask for the vehicles owner details park as much as you want and cost these [EDIT] money but dont pay them a penny and dont get in touch.

Just for infor one person got a pcn in a free 2hr car park, went to the manager who told him the same as your CO-OP idiot, he then organised a mass park-in where they filled the car park up early in the morning and all disappeared for the day, when genuine customers turned up, no parking spaces, hence no body leaving the car park either so went else where, at close of day they all returned and drove off, but telling the manager what they had done and why, his takings were next to nothing for the day, they would continue doing this until they got rid of the [problematic], which the manager did after talking to head office, hence all back to normal and nobody being ripped off in that car park any more, shame we cant do that every where... I look on their web site to see where they operate so I know where I can park for free, its easy

[lamma]

Nice one !

[letshelp]

It costs the company £2.50 each time they ask for the vehicles owner details park as much as you want and cost these [EDIT] money but dont pay them a penny and dont get in touch.

Just for infor one person got a pcn in a free 2hr car park, went to the manager who told him the same as your CO-OP idiot, he then organised a mass park-in where they filled the car park up early in the morning and all disappeared for the day, when genuine customers turned up, no parking spaces, hence no body leaving the car park either so went else where, at close of day they all returned and drove off, but telling the manager what they had done and why, his takings were next to nothing for the day, they would continue doing this until they got rid of the [problematic], which the manager did after talking to head office, hence all back to normal and nobody being ripped off in that car park any more, shame we cant do that every where... I look on their web site to see where they operate so I know where I can park for free, its easy

Total contravention off Perky Law, all fined £1,000 reduced to £500 if payed within ten minutes.

regards

[spikes62]

Total contravention off Perky Law, all fined £1,000 reduced to £500 if payed within ten minutes.

regards

 

Damm missed the 10minutes deadline and had to pay NUFFIN ha ha 8)

[spikes62]

Daugher gets 4 to 5 a week over the past 3 years where she parks and the company is Dept Collection Service, the level of threats go up and down depending on the Moon cycle, and when the birds are migrating, she has:

contacted them = Zero

Payed them = Zero

Been to court = Zero

Got a CCJ = Zero

Met the baliffs = Zero

 

But the funny thing is, is that she is a copper and they all park there...... Drink on who gets the most in a year at christmas, she's really going for it this year though

[Old Snowy]

OP - I received my first PPC ticket in 2002 and am still waiting for the promised court action - long given up holding my breath. I have however attended court once on behalf of a previous employer (2005, I think) and won - couldn't prove who driver was.

[spikes62]

OP - I received my first PPC ticket in 2002 and am still waiting for the promised court action - long given up holding my breath. I have however attended court once on behalf of a previous employer (2005, I think) and won - couldn't prove who driver was.

 

Thats the catch even with photgraphic eveidence, Taken from the rear of the car, they cant prove who was driving and by law you dont have to tell either,, their loss yeah free parking