Private Car Park Fine

[robin1000]

My pensioner mother has been hit with a £40 fine for parking in a private car park - she was taking a disabled a friend to the shops and she was displaying her friends blue badge.

 

The carpark is attached to a closed shop and has been free parking for years recently it has been taken over by a private operator who has installed machines. To be fair they do say that there are no exemptions for disabled however my mother made genuine mistake of thinking that this was like all of the council car parks that offer free parking for disabled.

 

The notice recieved states that they will employ bailifs etc if payment is not made, can they enforce this? They state that they will get her details from DVLA.

 

Any advice appreciated?

[born2bongo]

Robin

 

Spend some time looking through this forum and the pepipoo forum. Without knowing more details I can't say what you should do but if you look around you will find the answer.

 

I doubt you will have to pay, though you will have to put up with threatening letters, etc.

 

Private operators in private car parks cannot fine someone. That is for the police or the local authority. The only way they make money is by issuing a charge. This is in effect an invoice, and the basis of the claim is that by parking there, the driver has agreed to the terms of parking there, and thereby agreed to the charge for doing so.

 

Regrettably they can write to the DVLA and the DVLA will sell them the details of the Registered Keeper. Sadly, this is no longer "Great" Britain, but a banana republic where laws like the Data Protection Act seemingly do not apply to government or its agencies.

 

However, a charge for goods or services has to be reasonable in relation to what is provided and it £40 is not a reaonable charge for parking. Added to this you may be able to challenge the way a ticket is formatted, or the placing or wording of signs.

 

Don't panic. Take time out and research these forums. It's all there

 

B2B