Meteor Parking Ticket Orpington Station

[underfined]

Hi All,

 

Last week in a hurry to catch my train I had to drive to Orpington station, parked, ran and bought a ticket (paid £5.50) and displayed clearly on my dashboard. When I came back to my car I had a lovely little notice from Meteor say I was in breach of their "Terms & Conditions". I was absolutely outraged that they had given me a ticket despite the fact that I had paid and clearly displayed, the problem being I was parked in a permit holder bay rather than a bay for non permit holders. I rarely use this car park and was unaware of this "rule" as I would normally get a bus to the station.

 

In my anger, I wrote a very pleasant non-aggressive email to their appeals department which surprise surprise got rejected. I regret doing this as the majority of advise is to ignore these notices until they give up and they now have my name email address and number plate, and I also acknowledged that I did not realise I was in a restricted area (although I realise this doesn't hold much weight).

 

In the appeals response: " Breach Code 10: Parking in area restricted for use of permit holders without displaying a valid permit before 09:30"

 

They go onto say what I assume is the usual stuff they tell everyone..

 

Having reviewed the photographic evidence, which is also attached, there is clear signage to state that the area is reserved for permit holders only before 9:30am. It clearly states in the terms and conditions that daily and weekly ticket holders are not permitted to park in areas reserved for permit holders as permits are classed as monthly or longer tickets.

 

You will note that the Parking Charge Notice also clearly states, “This car park is regulated by the Terms & Conditions of parking displayed at the car park. By entering the car park you have agreed and contracted to be legally bound by those Terms & Conditions.

 

The Parking Charge Notice was completed and attached to the windscreen of the vehicle, with photographic evidence taken of the vehicle. The parking notice clearly provides information on payment terms, which are: “if payment is made within 14 days the Parking Charge Notice is reduced to £45.00”. Payment made after this time should be paid at the full amount of £90.00 is then due. It also advises any representations regarding the issue of the notice should be made in writing. However, this is the choice the owner would make and is not imperative.

 

Having reviewed the circumstances surrounding the issuing of the above Parking Charge Notice, and having considered your reason(s) for appeal, I have concluded that the parking notice should remain and my decision is to uphold the Parking Charge Notice.

 

Payment at the reduced rate of £45.00 for each parking notice will be accepted if received within 14 days of the date of this letter.

 

Zoë Page

Meteor Appeals Department

 

I wanted to check these Terms and Conditions this morning and managed to find them under incredibly poor lighting (see attachment Station1 and Station2). Further, the appeals department stated I have supposedly breached upon Code 10 (Station3). Code 10 in these Terms & Conditions have absolutely nothing to do with parking in a Permit Holder space, so I am under the impression Meteor Limited have lied to me about which code I have supposedly breached - is this a fair assumption or is this referring to some other term & condition or breach elsewhere? For me even needing to ask this implies this whole procedure is confusing.

 

I have researched this thoroughly online, and the majority of people say to ignore these notices, my main concerns are:

 

- Credit Rating - is there any chance this could be affected?

- Byelaws - could someone help explain what these are and how it could hurt/help me?

- What are the chance of this going to court/maximum charges that could be incurred?

 

I still have my original tickets as purchased on the day and will be keeping hold of these.

 

This forum is excellent and I look forward to any advise that can be offered here. I do not want to give these people a single penny unless I have too - this £45 would be much better off going to charity.

 

Thanks in advance!

Underfined.

Edited November 17, 2012 by underfined

[Crocdoc]

Under no circumstances can your credit rating be affected unless they went to court obtained a judgement and then you refused to pay. To put it in perspective I have more chance of winning the Euro Lottery and being appointed the Archbishop of Canterbury on the same day.

 

The fact that they are using Parking Charge Notices and quoting their rediculous terms and conditions means that this is nothing more than an invoice from a private company of no legel status., they merely try and impersonate authority.

 

THE BEST THING TO DO IS IGNORE, YOU WILL OF COURSE RECEIVE NUMEROUS COLOURFUL BEGGING LETTERS BEFORE THEY THROW THEIR TOYS OUT THE PRAM AND GIVE UP.

READ SOME OF THE RECENT COURT CASES, VCS V IBBOTSON IS PARTICULARLY FUNNY. VERY FEW CASES EVER GO TO COURT AND THEIR IS SUSPICION THAT THE FEW CASES THEY HAVE WON HAVE BEEN A SET UP.

[i hate bailiffs]

Ignore them you will get lots of beg letters begging for money some may have bold writing in red ink

 

followed by a fake solicitors letter they will give up soon best thing is to ignore them all

[dx100uk]

only the owner of the land can enforce any bye laws too.

 

so thats a red herring

 

dx

[underfined]

Thanks for the comments guys, appreciate the help!

 

Do I have a valid point from the fact that the appeals process said I have breached code 10, whereas Code 10 on the terms and conditions in the car park is completely unrelated. What is this Breach Code 10 referring to?

 

Also is there any stance given the poor quality lighting on the sign (Station3) - NOTE: I took this picture whilst on foot and could not read it, and it would have been even harder to read if someone was sitting in a car!!

 

I feel stupid for even bothering to contact them via the "appeals" process.

 

Thanks!

Underfined.

[dx100uk]

why

 

imho you should ignore

 

dx

[lamma]

Its rubbish. Just ignore this idiot company.

[Crocdoc]

Thanks for the comments guys, appreciate the help!

 

Do I have a valid point from the fact that the appeals process said I have breached code 10, whereas Code 10 on the terms and conditions in the car park is completely unrelated. What is this Breach Code 10 referring to?

 

Also is there any stance given the poor quality lighting on the sign (Station3) - NOTE: I took this picture whilst on foot and could not read it, and it would have been even harder to read if someone was sitting in a car!!

 

I feel stupid for even bothering to contact them via the "appeals" process.

 

Thanks!

Underfined.

 

You could if you feel inclined to communicate and we know some people do , appeal to POPLA (Parking on Private Land appeals) bearing in mind that their findings are only binding on the PPC and not the recipient of the invoice. I would however warn you that their remit is extremely restrictive and they do not address the REAL issues surrounding these invoices. In addition, I am not aware of anyone who has gone down this route as I am based in Scotland and the Protection of Freedoms act does not apply. Nevertheless if you decide to appeal it will cost the pursuer £27.00 + VAT and the only difference it will make if the find against you is that the "SO CALLED" discount figure stated on the invoice will not apply and they will attempt to pursue you for the higher amount. Nevertheless, if you have no intention of paying the amounts become an irrelevance as you can ignore at that stage .

 

POPLA appeals are based on the following.

 

The vehicle was not improperly parked: e.g. that the vehicle was not parked where stated on the parking charge notice; that you believe you were still within the time you paid for; that the voucher was clearly displayed or that the conditions were not properly signed.

The parking charge (ticket) exceeded the appropriate amount: e.g. that you are being asked to pay the wrong amount for the parking charge or that the charge has already been paid.

The vehicle was stolen: e.g. that the vehicle was improperly parked after being stolen. However, the fact that someone else was driving your vehicle, for example a family member, friend or colleague, is not in itself a valid ground of appeal. The fact that you told the driver that they could only use your vehicle on condition they did not get any parking tickets is not a valid ground of appeal.

I am not liable for the parking charge: e.g. that you had sold the vehicle before, or bought it after, the alleged improper parking. However, the fact that you had paid to park the vehicle in the first place (even if, for example, the voucher was not clearly displayed) is not in itself a valid ground of appeal

[CCMW]

Hi, what has happened since you got issued the ticket? Have they been chasing?

 

I just got the same ticket today at Orpington after paying £6.50 for a parking ticket, then looking around to see if there were any restrictions on the bay that I'd selected and not seeing anything at all! How are you supposed to know where it's for permit holders only? At Sevenoaks the bays are clearly marked, you can't miss it. Here it's like a game to catch people out?! I'm especially angry given i normally park at Knockholt but the train was cancelled (again) and I had to rush to Orpington so as not to be late for work. Now this.

 

And where is the picture evidence of my car in the wrong bay?

 

Thanks

 

C

[ac123]

Hi CCMW,

 

Have the same thing, parked in area B, which clearly says, pay and display. section a says permit holders only?

 

very annoying, unsure what to do here

 

let me know how it panned out

 

many thanks

[f16]

ac123 The thread you posted on is nearly a year old.

You might want to start a new thread

[dx100uk]

this thread is now closed

 

dx