UK PArking Enforcement Agency (Parkforce)

[GRRRRR]

Hi,

Well I did post an appeal to these swines and the appeal rejected letter came today.

 

Iam buggered if im paying ANYTHING for parking a car where the idiot warden said it was ok! I would like to hear from others that are disabled and had the same treatment from these clowns at the ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL NW3.

 

I can't be the only one this underhanded warden has done this trick on, and I WILL GET HIM SACKED.

 

Cheers GRRRRR, Chris

[lamma]

they won't sack him. Disengage from the PPC.

[GRRRRR]

I shall cause a big stink at the Royal free then, how are you supposed to go there for treatment when you get a bloody ticket for parking where you were advised to by a warden, or whatever label he has, the one Im using isn't postable here LOL!!

 

I shall cease all contact with the paking ticket lot then what?

 

Regards,

 

Chris

 

 

GRRRRR

[lamma]

that would be disengaging

[GRRRRR]

I have friends in high places too my mate cliff lives top floor of Wendover house se17, it's very high!

 

Sorry LOL trying to cheer mesel up, GRRRRR

[emex]

Sorry to butt into the thread but I was wondering if anyone could help me. I was issued a ticket from this company yesterday as I was parked in my university halls car park without displaying a valid permit. I have a valid permit, which I had paid for already, but I was sent an e-mail telling me it didn't need to be picked up until today so I assumed I'd be okay until then with the temporary one they'd issued me, even though it had run out. I haven't checked on my car in a couple of weeks due to the snow and illness and when I went out today I had two warning tickets and a charge notice for £60.

 

I was considering making an appeal but my dad said to just not pay it and he'd deal with any consequences like bailiffs. I'm just wondering what you guys thought would be the best course of action, seeing as I'm somewhat the one in the wrong here and I pay for my permit which could affect the breach of contract argument.

 

Thanks for any advice you can give.

[Al27]

Start your own thread Emex, but in the meantime:

 

• do not pay

• do not contact them

• there is no appeals process - this is a private company who will never let the chance to make a few bucks pass through their fingers

• ignore any threatening letters

• they will give upa nd go away after 4 or 5

• they will not take you to court

 

Bailiffs don't come into the equation, so your dad has nothing to worry about.

 

You are not in the wrong at all. You've paid for a permit, end of. Private companies have no powers to issue penalties - the £60 charge is not enforceable.

 

I was sent an e-mail telling me it didn't need to be picked up until today so I assumed I'd be okay until then with the temporary one they'd issued me

 

Cast iron reasoning.

 

Imagine the scene in small claims court - "The defendant paid for a permit, was told it wasn't ready and so used the permit they already had. We are therefore owed £60".

 

Isn't going to happen is it?

 

What you can do is complain to the university and express your disgust and point out that you will not be paying company x's unenforceable invoice.

[judderi]

I too have been going throught the whole saga with parkforce. Ive sent all the template letters and am now at the stage where ive received a second letter from a balif. I replied to the 1st pretty much saying that it was in dispute with parkforce and not to contact me again. They have sent pretty much the same letter again saying that i must pay and if not may be taken to court bla bla bla. What should i do now? Should i bother replying again or should i just ignore them now?

 

Many Thanks

[DDWales]

I too have been going throught the whole saga with parkforce. Ive sent all the template letters and am now at the stage where ive received a second letter from a balif. I replied to the 1st pretty much saying that it was in dispute with parkforce and not to contact me again. They have sent pretty much the same letter again saying that i must pay and if not may be taken to court bla bla bla. What should i do now? Should i bother replying again or should i just ignore them now?

 

Many Thanks

 

Yes ignore. You will always get the standard rejected letter regardless.

If you have recieved the second letter you are pretty much at the begging/final letter stage. BTW- when you say bailiff do you mean DCA? If so which one?

[judderi]

Yes its a debt collection agency called Rossendales Collect. Ive now received a 3rd letter with lots of red writing. The summory of which is that i have ignored previous requests for payment (actually you ignored MY reply) and they intend to recover the debt immediately unless i pay within days.

 

Do i just ignore again? Is there something i should do if they turn up at my door? Would that happen?

[pin1onu]

Yes its a debt collection agency called Rossendales Collect. Ive now received a 3rd letter with lots of red writing. The summory of which is that i have ignored previous requests for payment (actually you ignored MY reply) and they intend to recover the debt immediately unless i pay within days.

 

Do i just ignore again? Is there something i should do if they turn up at my door? Would that happen?

Highly unlikely that they will turn up at your door. You can deny them entry. In nice polite terms tell them to Foxtrot Oscar. If they refuse then call the old bill. Debt collectors have no powers to enter a property unless you invite them in. Don't mistake them for bailiffs appointed by a court to recover debt. They have powers to enter and seize property.

 

On a more positive note if you're at the Rossendales stage then the end draws nigh. Unless you receive valid court papers (extremely unlikely) then you might receive a letter or two more and then things should go quiet.

 

Carry on ignoring.

[lamma]

they won't waste their time and fuel on visiting. these DCAs know they have no powers. furthermore just turning up with no appointment would put a real DCA (CSA regulated) into hot water.

 

One simple thing to remember, every piece of paper you receive is part of the [problem]. The [problem] does not change. they just run through their usual series on letters in the hope of getting someone to pay.

Its a mail [problem] from beginning to end. Do you think it stops becoming a [problem] at the later stages ? How on earth could that be so ? If they had a case they would issue court papers from the offset. they don't because they haven't. They have to run the [problem], if you do not participate it leaves them high and dry - and out of pocket for postal expenses and DVLA fees.

[judderi]

Thanks for the explanations and re-assurance. Much apreciated.

[materofvirii]

hey guys,

 

a while back i went through a whole pile of poop with parkforce. Basically i was living at university halls and kepy recieving parking tickets for parking on the university parking. Due to the fact the signs were unreadable and not in the places i was parked i decided not to pay, i must have had 10-11 of these tickets and have not paid one. All of them get to the Rossendales stage and then give up.

 

In any case that was that, i recieve the occasional letter now and again but nothing to worry about.

 

This was Untill today when i recieved two letters from a soliciter company on behalf of parkforce. These letters say they are acting on behalf on parkforce and will continue with court proceedings unless i pay the(compramised) sum on £158 per ticket (this is x2).

 

Now i have never really worried about these people and have done the best thing which is to just not contact them. But obviously i dont want to go to court and its a lot of hassel. Is this just another part of the [problem] or do you think they will really take me to court. they have not brought up any of the other parking charges, just these two ones. Any advice would be greatley appreciated.

 

Ben

[pin1onu]

hey guys,

 

a while back i went through a whole pile of poop with parkforce. Basically i was living at university halls and kepy recieving parking tickets for parking on the university parking. Due to the fact the signs were unreadable and not in the places i was parked i decided not to pay, i must have had 10-11 of these tickets and have not paid one. All of them get to the Rossendales stage and then give up.

 

In any case that was that, i recieve the occasional letter now and again but nothing to worry about.

 

This was Untill today when i recieved two letters from a soliciter company on behalf of parkforce. These letters say they are acting on behalf on parkforce and will continue with court proceedings unless i pay the(compramised) sum on £158 per ticket (this is x2).

 

Now i have never really worried about these people and have done the best thing which is to just not contact them. But obviously i dont want to go to court and its a lot of hassel. Is this just another part of the [problem] or do you think they will really take me to court. they have not brought up any of the other parking charges, just these two ones. Any advice would be greatley appreciated.

 

Ben

Don't panic. Who are the solicitors. Is Graham White or Sobbel's by any chance. Well known on these boards and just another part of the process.

 

It's unlikely to go to court. However even if it does get that far you are entitled to a defense. I wouldn't panic at this point. See if they follow through with an actual claim. If you decide you don't want to go to court then you can pay at that point.

 

FYI Any case is heard in the county court and is very informal. Just you, a judge and the PPC if they bother to show up.

 

I would continue to ignore them. Store their correspondence.

 

In the unlikely event that they do file a claim - post details here and you'll receive

plenty of help preparing a defense. But it's highly unlikely to get that far.

[materofvirii]

The solicitors are called. Sydney Mitchell

 

The exact terms they use are: In defaults of payment of that sum forthwith, we have instructions to commence court proceedings without further notice.

 

Thats the bit that worries me.

 

So you think i should just carry on ignoring them until or "if" they make a claim?

 

How are court orders issued, just as i am at my university address and not at my home at the moment.

 

Thankyou

[RichardM]

Again, there is no need to do anything other than you have been doing so far. Any documents will initially be issued to the address that all the letters have gone to. If you're at uni, once you get the initial documents you can ask the court to forward all further docs to your uni address if you want to but the danger is that this will go on into the summer (very likely) so you won't be there any longer. Better to keep them coming to your home address.

 

IF this is not a bluff and they are stupid enough to try court action, they don't simply get a court order. They first off have to win their case in small claims, and if they are claiming £158 per ticket, the chances of them doing it are practically nil. One thing is guaranteed, you will have a very strong defence to put to them, particularly following the judgement in the recent Excel case. It may not be precedent, but the judge was very clear that only the person or organisation who have rights to offer parking can take you to court, and you can guarantee that it isn't Parkforce.

 

You then have to default on any agreement made by the judge. Only then, after 28 days can they go back to court and obtain a court order.

 

The solicitors do exist, they are a Birmingham based group and I can't see the name having come up on here before Sydney Mitchell Solicitors & Estate Agents Solihull & Birmingham

 

I would suggest that they have been approached by Parkforce on a "no win no fee" basis just to see what happens and whether you can be intimidated. After all, how much does it cost to send a letter. It may even be Parkforce writiing on Mitchell's letterhead wth their agreement.

 

If they have said that they are representing Parkforce in this matter, then your answer to them should be, in response to "In defaults of payment of that sum forthwith, we have instructions to commence court proceedings without further notice." should be

 

"I'll be waiting in anticipation"

[borisbeaver]

Sydney Mitchell Solicitors & Estate Agents Solihull & Birmingham "

Estate Agents Ha Ha Ha. The housing market must be bad.

[sconch]

I am a staff nurse working on an A&E department at a busy city hospital. I begrudge paying parking charges to park at my place of work. Our hospital trust uses Parkforce. No Parkforce agents patrol the car park, but our own hospital security staff issue the parking fine tickets. Generally, I get away without getting caught, but sadly, one security guy revels in issuing these fines. I feel the 'power' and 'authority' have gone to his head.

 

I have been ticketed by him on several occasions. I have payed most of these fines. I ignored one of them, to see whether they actually chase them up, as I'd heard that they didn't. Several months passed, and I heard nothing, so assumed that was the last of it. Then I got two letters in June demanding payment of separate fines, one of which I had paid! I rang Parkforce, and they couldn't trace the payment. It had gone from my bank to them, and I had a Worldpay transaction ID for it. Even with this information, they couldn't trace the payment. They told me to write in to them with a copy of my bank statement, and they should be able to sort it out. By this point I was getting pi**ed off with them, as I'd paid, and was now being inconvenienced because of their inadequate, incompetent systems. I was told by Steph at Parkforce today, that they still couldn't trace the transaction, and if I failed to provide the relevant information, these letters would continue, and the charges would increase.

 

All in all, I've paid Parkforce probably in excess of £400. I've just discovered on your site that the tickets themselves are not enforcable in law, and that the ongoing charges are also unlawful. Does anyone know how I can go about recovering this money? I've shredded some of the tickets that were received a long time ago, but still have my bank statements as proof of payment.

 

Also, as the trust security staff are dishing out these tickets, are they also liable to be involved in any legal proceedings, as an 'agent' of Parkforce if they're issuing tickets that are not enforceable in law?

[Conniff]

Why are your own security guards issuing tickets? They are contracted to someone else as I don't think Parkforce have static guards, so are they getting a bung from Parkforce and Parkforce getting paid for doing nothing except hanging some signs up.

 

Something not right here. Next time you bump into one of your security, ask him who he works for.

 

Can this be classed as private land when it it owned by the state ie you and me.

[sconch]

Also, Steph at Parkforce could not confirm whether they actually even had a complaints procedure, and was not prepared to find out for me. She refused to pass my call to someone more senior, as I wished to make a complaint. She did not know who regulated them (I've since discovered no one regulates private parking companies). She also refused to put my call through to the office that would be able to trace my payment on the transaction ID. Great service there, that surely must breach SOME rules or regulations!

[sconch]

Why are your own security guards issuing tickets? They are contracted to someone else as I don't think Parkforce have static guards, so are they getting a bung from Parkforce and Parkforce getting paid for doing nothing except hanging some signs up.

 

Something not right here. Next time you bump into one of your security, ask him who he works for.

 

Can this be classed as private land when it it owned by the state ie you and me.

 

Our security staff work for the Trust, and not Parkforce. They are under Trust instruction when they issue tickets. As far as I'm aware, security staff get no money for issuing these tickets, but it wouldn't suprise me if 'cheery Bill', or friendly hospital ticketer was getting a back hander from Parkforce!

[jagerdaddy]

Parkforce run what is effectively a DIY parking scheme.

A company will buy a kit from Parkforce consisting of some signs and tickets etc. and because most of these private sites don't warrant a patrol, some may only be a few spaces behind a store for example, it is down to the individual to issue the tickets.

Of Course, because Parkforce love to have a new victim to bully and intimidate out of £60... no better make that £85... actually let’s just call it £135 between friends... they offer an incentive of £10 for every ticket that's issued.

If any of this money finds it way back down to your malicious little friend in “security”, then he has further motivation, other than the faults in his character, to run around doing Parkforce’s dirty work.

Unfortunately I don’t think refund is in Parkforce’s vocabulary. This is evident when you compare their process of appeal to a that of a legitimate council ticket (it differs from area to area but usually has a similar theme).

Council

Fine is £60 but will be reduced to £30 if you pay within 14days

Parkforce

Fine is £60 but will go up to £85 if you don’t pay within 7 days

To me, I see a reasonable incentive and an example of extortion.

Council

f you wish to appeal the 14 days in which you are able to pay the fine at the reduced rate will be on hold until the appeal has been processed.

Parkforce

You must pay the fine and then you have 14 days to appeal. If the appeal is successful then your payment will be refunded.

This clause just goes to illustrate what a bunch of money grabbing cheats these people really are. This is also reflected by your findings that there are no regulatory bodies or complaints procedure.

I think that the chances of you getting a refund through reasoning are practically zero. If you wanted to pursue it legally I wouldn’t be qualified to suggest what your chances of success are but I can tell you it probably wouldn’t be worth the bother.

 

For the future you have one of two options –

If you are brave enough to ignore lots of threatening letters with big bold red writing and the mention of court summons, debt collectors and ruined credit rating, then do exactly that and ignore the tickets and letters. Over the last few years I have accumulated over a dozen tickets and 50+ plus letters from these mugs and my girlfriend has a similar number over a similar period.

If option one seems a bit daunting, your other choice is to stop the tickets at their source. Speak to the little weasel that keeps slapping them on your windscreen and see if you can convince him not to. It sounds like you’d need to appeal to his twisted sense of authority.

The choice is yours but i find my humble pie very hard to swallow with a plastic Fisher Price security badge in the middle of it.

Edited July 24, 2009 by jagerdaddy
html was all over the place

[letshelp]

I am a staff nurse working on an A&E department at a busy city hospital. I begrudge paying parking charges to park at my place of work. Our hospital trust uses Parkforce. No Parkforce agents patrol the car park, but our own hospital security staff issue the parking fine tickets. Generally, I get away without getting caught, but sadly, one security guy revels in issuing these fines. I feel the 'power' and 'authority' have gone to his head.

 

These morons have no 'power' or 'authority', they are on the same level as the kids who place advertising under windscreen wipers.

 

I have been ticketed by him on several occasions. I have payed most of these fines.

 

These are not 'fines'.

 

I ignored one of them, to see whether they actually chase them up, as I'd heard that they didn't. Several months passed, and I heard nothing, so assumed that was the last of it. Then I got two letters in June demanding payment of separate fines, one of which I had paid! I rang Parkforce, and they couldn't trace the payment. It had gone from my bank to them, and I had a Worldpay transaction ID for it. Even with this information, they couldn't trace the payment. They told me to write in to them with a copy of my bank statement, and they should be able to sort it out.

 

Whaaat!, Give a copy of your bank statement to a bunch of [problematic] and chancers. WTF

 

By this point I was getting pi**ed off with them, as I'd paid, and was now being inconvenienced because of their inadequate, incompetent systems. I was told by Steph at Parkforce today, that they still couldn't trace the transaction, and if I failed to provide the relevant information, these letters would continue, and the charges would increase.

 

No doubt you now realise how pointless it is to engage these clowns, You have given them far too much credibility by thinking you are dealing with reputable people. It is a total [problem].

 

All in all, I've paid Parkforce probably in excess of £400. I've just discovered on your site that the tickets themselves are not enforcable in law, and that the ongoing charges are also unlawful. Does anyone know how I can go about recovering this money? I've shredded some of the tickets that were received a long time ago, but still have my bank statements as proof of payment.

 

I think you can really put this down to experience and I don't think you will ever see your money gain. Just make sure you do not pay them another penny and tell all your friends that this is an enenforceable [problem], that will really hurt these [problematic] more than anything else.

quote]

regards

[bradley000]

I've just had a lovely little run in with "Parkforce" at what seems like one of their favourite hunting grounds, the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead.

 

Being a biker, I don't often park in car parks, as they don't have bike spaces. The area I normally park at the Royal Free is inaccessible because of building work. I rode in, spotted another bike parked, asked the security looking bloke in the high vis if I could park there, and he nodded and waved in a vaguely distracted way. Hence I parked there, and went to my appointment, walking clean past the self same bloke who had told me I could park there.

 

Lo and behold! upon returning my bike has a "Penalty Charge" on it. I spoke to the guy, who got rather irate, called me a liar, said I was calling him a liar for lying to me (funny that) and refused to give his name for my complaint letter ("Why would I put a noose around my own neck" was his response. I take that as an admission of guilt!). So I came back, seething with anger, to do my usual trick of looking for a loophole to exploit, and found this place! On learning that it is all contract law that counts, I don't think I would have been parked anywhere near a contract notice, as I wasn't in the car park. Being as I wasn't on the double yellow lines (But on a little island of pavement that serves no useful purpose) they can't claim that either! I think I shall ignore them until they ask for their £85, then I'll send them a letter (without my address) from the stickies at the top of the forum here.

 

Gawd bless you people for being belligerent and refusing to take crap from these goons!