AEJ Management Ltd - parking charge notice

[treeswinter]

Went to shopping retail park at weekend;

I was not driving car ( it is registered in my name and a named driver was driving) .

 

Car park was packed - no place to park anywhere,

so we droive right to the back and decided to park alongside an unmarked kerb,

still allowing space for cars parked along side/oppositeto reverse and get out.

There were no notices anywhere that we could see which said no parking/ no yellow lines or marked boxes.

 

When we returned we found PCN affixed to windscreen stating contrvention code C - park only within marked bays;

£90 fine reduced to £50 if we pay within14 days.

 

Very upsetting as we had been out budget shopping to save money!

 

Not sure how to deal - are we really liable to pay this and should we bother appealing?

 

I almost submitted the appeal form online when prompted to confirm if I was the driver and I stated "no"

- they then wanted the driver to enter into a contract online a to pay anything found to be due!

 

I thought that was unfair and so did not proceed further and the appeal has not been submitted.

 

Can they get a judgement against me for this?

 

I ahve no CCJ's and worried how this could affectme professionally + credit rating.

 

What if there was a notice somewhere which we did not see telling us we could not park anywhere except within marked bays?

 

Would apprecaite any comments at all. Thank you very much.

[Bazooka Boo]

Who issued the ticket?

 

A traffic warden or the Police?

 

Or is this the work of another private parking company?

 

What does the ticket actually say, does it say a 'parking fine' or 'parking charge'?

[dx100uk]

unless it says

 

PENALTY CHARGE NOTICE

 

you can IGNORE IT.

 

[and ONLY THOSE THREE WORDS>

 

anything else is a 'specultive invoice'

 

please read this forum.

 

dx

[treeswinter]

thank you for replies; I did post a response earlier but it seems like it's not displaying, so will try again.

 

It's definitely headed PARKING CHARGE NOTICE/ not penalty charge notice. it has a notice number, and it's issued by a management companay ltd.It's issued by a parking officer, stating time and date, and when I lenter ticket details on line it shows a photo of car parked.

 

It states" A PARKING CHARGE NOTICE OF £90 IS DUE WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THE DATE OF ISSUE"/DISCOUNTED AMOUNT OF £50 WILL BE ACCEPTED IN FULL AN DFINAL SETTLEMENT IF RECEIVED WITHIN 14 DAYS"

 

"Parking officer xxx has reasonabel cause to belive that a parking charge notice has been incurred because of : .......(blank) Code No - C

 

(please tick code as defined on reverse of this ticket).....there is nothing ticked on the reverse. It was stuck to windscreen in sam eyrllow/black outline pouch used by local authorities.

 

THANK YOU.

[DBC]

Could you tell us the actual name of the parking company?

[Bazooka Boo]

You can ignore it, it's an unenforceable speculative invoice, in layman's terms, it is simply a piece of paper that a toddler has coloured in using their crayons.

 

You will receive three four or even five more threat letters each of which can be ignored, they will threaten that Santa won't visit you this year unless you fall for their con and pay up.

[treeswinter]

thanks all, what a huge relief this is : the company concerned is : AEJ Management Ltd.

[Bazooka Boo]

http://www.aejmanagement.com/car-park.html

[DBC]

I see that this company are on the AOS approved list, but I doubt if they will follow up with any more action

[kvj811]

Hi, Could you tell me what course of action you took with your ticket, and what was the final outcome, as the same thing has just happened to me. I got a ticket for not parking in a marked bay (section C)

 

Thanks in advance

[treeswinter]

hi

 

nothing happened....as at today's date, heard absolutely nothing from them ! Really grateful to those on this forum who responded - otherwise we would have probably paid up not knowing any better. We had planned to ignore any communications in any event, but did not receive any.Hope this helps.

[dx100uk]

Hi, Could you tell me what course of action you took with your ticket, and what was the final outcome, as the same thing has just happened to me. I got a ticket for not parking in a marked bay (section C)

 

Thanks in advance

 

ignore then kvj

 

its a speculative invoice

 

read a few threads here in this forum.

 

dx

[treeswinter]

Got letter yesterday in post from AEJ Management stating : A PCN was attached to the above named mentioned vehicle and the driver should have paid.....it is now too late to pay the discounted amount......the terms & conditions, to which the driver of the vehicle agreed to be bound by remaining within the car park, were clearly displayed in prominent places at the entrance to and throughout the car park and if you were the driver you must pay the total amount due.

 

Under Important Notice at the end it staes:

 

In the event of non payment we reserve the right to pass htis matter to our apponted debt collection agency and the costs of recovering this PCN will be added to the amount oustanding.

 

then details of how to appeal and how to pay on the back.

 

Am I safe to ignore this?

 

I wasn't the driver.

[dx100uk]

yep!

 

dx

[treeswinter]

thanks....will keep you posted

[Candy_man]

I am in a similar position to you Treeswinter...I received the same Parking Charge Notice at Gallions Reach Retail Park on 29/November/12 for parking in a Parent and Child bay.

 

I had dropped off my 10 year old son with my mother-in-law at Tescos (which falls in the same retaill park, although I believe Tescos have their own parking rules) and then drove further down and parked in the parent/child bay. When returning to the car I received a parking ticket.

 

Having argued with the jobsworth parking "officer", who actually agreed with me, I went to the office to speak to the Manager. He told me that they watched me park via their security camera and advised me that I would need to bring my son into the office as proof. I was not prepared to use my son as evidence, so I collected my son and mother-in-law at our pre-agreed meeting point and then left the retail park.

 

There was one visible sign (not very close to the bay I parked in), whiich states Parent and Child Bay. Now, where AEJ may have made a mistake is on the ticket... The contravention code reads: " E: Parent and child parking in parent and child marked bays". Correct me if I am wrong but isn't this a contridiction rather than a contravention? When I returned home, I read some forums about the fine and took the advice suggesting that recipients of the ticket should ignore them, which I did. However the majority of the fines occurred pre-October 2012.

 

Fast forward four and a half months... Having thought that I would not hear anything else on the matter, the lease company who own my company car sent me an email to advise me that they had received a letter from AEJ stating that the charge has increased to £90.00 as I did not pay £50.00 within 14 days of the notice.

 

Since 1st October 2012 AEJ started using an independant appeals service called POPLA (Parking On Private Land Appeals). Does anyone know about this and whether we the victims should be going through this process? Due to the Protection Of Freedom Act that came into force on 1st October 2012, private parking companies now have a legal right to persue the registered keeper of the vehicle for any unpaid charges. My lease company have advised me that if I do not pay the fine, then they will have to pay and then pass the cost to my employer (and an admin fee). They will then deduct the money from my salary.

 

I have looked at the Gallions Reach website, which makes interesting reading. The website reads...AEJ Management Ltd have been employed by the land owners to manage the car parks, the following conditions of parking apply:Parking for customers users only Park within marked bays Disabled bays are for valid blue badge holders onlyParent and child parking within marked bays No roadway waiting or parking Do not leave vehicle unattended or parked in drop off / pick up area No overnight parking Permit holders only in specified parking areas NOTE: The word "only" is used when describing restrictions regarding the disabled bays but they do not use the word "only" when referring to parent and child parking bays.

 

Can anyone advise me where I stand on this matter? Should I pay? If not, how can I convince my lease car company not to pay?Thanks in advance for your help and guidance.

 

Candy Man.

Edited April 15, 2013 by ploddertom
Paragraphed

[Candy_man]

Sorry everyone. Newbie error with the formatting of my previous reply. I hope you can still read it.

[dx100uk]

use the edit post below the block of text

 

dx

[treeswinter]

HELP !!

Have received a letter threatening legal action recently from Roxburghe UK Ltd, followed by letter from Graham White Solicitors which states:

"You were written to by AEJ Management Ltd. and their agent Roxburghe requesting settlement of PCN.Due to absence of payment or a valid appeal, our client has instructed us to recover the total amount due as shown above ( now £153). In order to recover the sum due AEJ Management may instruct us to take legal action in the county court and to prevent such action we would invite you to contact Roxburghe on 01932 332048 to confirm your proposals in respect of this PCN.

 

Take note: the costs associated with issuing a claim and subsequent potential enforcement could be as follows ( these figures are for illustrative purposes only and would only apply in the event of a judgement being granted and subsequently enforced):

Claim issue fee £30

Solicitors costs for issusing claim £50

Judgement costs £25

Warrant issue fee: £100

Solicitors costs for issuing warrant £2.25

Total additional costs: £207.25

 

You should note also that if any judgement is registered against you, it could seriously affect your chances of obtaining credit in the future,..........

 

Please contact Roxburghe UK Ltd. upon receipt of this letter. Alternatively you can make payment via their website"......signed Michael Sobell, solicitor

 

Are solicitors really allowed to send out letters like this if there is no legal basis on which to demand that these fines be paid?

 

What do I do ? !

I really don't want to get a judgement registered against me, and have just read post by Candy _man and apologise for not responding. What did you do in the end Candy-man? Any update on what's happened?

 

Is it correct as Candy-man says that the rules may be different in relation to fines imposed pre October 2012? My fine was imposed in December 2012.

 

Thanks again for all input.Much appreciated.

slightly worried treeswinter

[treeswinter]

is this correct, quoted from candy_man's post above?

 

"Due to the Protection Of Freedom Act that came into force on 1st October 2012, private parking companies now have a legal right to persue the registered keeper of the vehicle for any unpaid charges."

[ericsbrother]

Treeswinter, note that it says MAY and not will. Roxburge and Sobell got their bottoms spanked in court quite recently, look for East Kent Hospital thread. The truth of the matter is they do not have the authority to take anyone to court as they dont own the debt but that wouldnt necessarily stop them but defending any claim would show that their claim is utterly spurious.

The new Act means nothing other than they may send silly letters to the owner instead of the driver. This stops a defence of not bweing the driver automatically winning but still cannot force a contract upon someone who wasnt there to agree said contract so really makes no difference to any action that can be taken.

[treeswinter]

thanks for reply.

but still cannot force a contract upon someone who wasnt there to agree said contract so really makes no difference to any action that can be taken.

just to clarify - I was there, I was present as a passenger. Does this still apply?

 

The truth of the matter is they do not have the authority to take anyone to court as they dont own the debt

also, would the debt collector company not have authority to issue proceedings on behalf of the car park company?or wouldn't the car park company issue in its own name?

 

sorry, don't mean to bog you down in these issues, just trying to get my head around it a bit better,thank you.

[dx100uk]

can I suggest you READ a few threads in this forum.....

 

dx

[Scouse Magic]

HELP !!

Have received a letter threatening legal action recently from Roxburghe UK Ltd, followed by letter from Graham White Solicitors which states:

"You were written to by AEJ Management Ltd. and their agent Roxburghe requesting settlement of PCN.Due to absence of payment or a valid appeal, our client has instructed us to recover the total amount due as shown above ( now £153). In order to recover the sum due AEJ Management may instruct us to take legal action in the county court and to prevent such action we would invite you to contact Roxburghe on 01932 332048 to confirm your proposals in respect of this PCN.

 

Take note: the costs associated with issuing a claim and subsequent potential enforcement could be as follows ( these figures are for illustrative purposes only and would only apply in the event of a judgement being granted and subsequently enforced):

Claim issue fee £30

Solicitors costs for issusing claim £50

Judgement costs £25

Warrant issue fee: £100

Solicitors costs for issuing warrant £2.25

Total additional costs: £207.25

 

You should note also that if any judgement is registered against you, it could seriously affect your chances of obtaining credit in the future,..........

 

Please contact Roxburghe UK Ltd. upon receipt of this letter. Alternatively you can make payment via their website"......signed Michael Sobell, solicitor

 

Are solicitors really allowed to send out letters like this if there is no legal basis on which to demand that these fines be paid?

 

What do I do ? !

I really don't want to get a judgement registered against me, and have just read post by Candy _man and apologise for not responding. What did you do in the end Candy-man? Any update on what's happened?

 

Is it correct as Candy-man says that the rules may be different in relation to fines imposed pre October 2012? My fine was imposed in December 2012.

 

Thanks again for all input.Much appreciated.

slightly worried treeswinter

 

Hey hello read my threads on "Roxburghe / sobell lose again in court." Now then... You can take the site teams trusted advise and ignore which is great...

 

This scenario in my opinion is this...AEJ do not own the land in question as it is a retail park, therefore, they do not have any legal right to enter into a contract with a motorist, regardless of who was driving...or issue parking charge notices which is intended to intimidate for prompt payment.

 

Secondly Graham White is a Trading name of Michael Sobell, same address of Roxburghe. He is 76 and registered with the SRA dealing with civil litigation and others but is never contactable by telephone except by correspondence (Letter, email etc.)

 

Roxburghe are tredding on eggshells as their consumer credit license is "Refuse to Renew" by the OFT pending any appeal to the adjudicater as of April 2013, but are allowed to trade in the meantime.

 

The costs incurred to AEJ and then third party Roxburghe are their running costs, and not an accurate reflection of actual loss suffered by the land owner (EG £2) if you were found liable.

 

Roxburghe havent tested the new laws yet from October 2012 as they have to pay POPLA..

 

Keep me posted

[treeswinter]

Hi Scouse Magic

Thanks for response. I have perused some of the threads, but honestly cannot make clear sense of it all and how it relates to me.

These are my questions - thank you in advance if you are able to reply:

1.How can I be sure AEJ do not own the land?

2.How can I find out who does own the land?

3.As long as the owner has authorised AEJ to pursue the debt on their behalf, or sold any legally enforceable debt to AEJ, where does the problem lie? In other words, why is the issue about land ownership rather than debt ownership? If AEJ can prove they own the debt but not the land, does that really prevent them getting judgement? You're saying the notices put up in the car park are AEJ notices - surely there must be some small print in them ( I shall have to look next time!) stating they are acting on behalf of the (named) land owner....in which case, they've got themselves covered (?) as long asd the named land owner properly authorised them to enter into contracts with users of the car park

4. If the vehicle owner was present with the driver, post Oct 12, is the situation any different now?

5. Presumably too late to appeal to POPLA now? If we did not appeal/ haven't appealed, does that make it harder to defend county court action? Is that a route we should properly have exhausted first?

6.Is this a good legal point: I did initially go online , intending to appeal ( on basis there were no parking bays available on date in question therefore no alternative but to park in a spot not causing obstruction to anyone else) ....but reason Id id not apepal was that I was being invited to first sign a contract to say I woudl be liable for any debt found to be due....I thought that was unfair so did not proceed to register my appeal.

 

Finally, have received this letter:

"You have recently been written to by our solicitors Graham White.

As this matter has not been resolved and no payment has been made, the account has been referred back to me to consider the suitability of legal action for this account. Before commencing such action I have been isntructed by our client to give you one final opportunity to settle this matetr and I have been authorised to accept a lesser sum providing payment is made within the next 14 days. Please contact immediately on 01932 332048 to confirm what this amount may be and to make arrangments for the subsequent payment. Please do not ignore this letter - it is in your best interests to clear your liability."