Euro Car Parks please help

[claire78]

I know I know, I'm a site helper and should be able to work it all out for myself. I'm pretty good at the banks stuff etc, but would really appreciate some advice on the parking issue.

 

Scenario: I found a Euro Car Parks parking charge notice in my car glove box today, dated a couple of weeks ago. Being the nice person I am, I frequently lend my car to my sister and ex hubby to ferry the kids around. Neither one of them will own up to being the one who got the ticket.

 

I am the registered keeper of the vehicle, so what do I do now, do I write to Euro Car Parks, or do I wait for them to contact me?

[Almo23]

I am far from an expert, but from what I can gather from other threads the onus is on them to prove you were driving when the ticket was issued (presumably via photographic evidence... not sure on that). Therefore, if you just deny that you were driving they are helpless. As you weren't driving, even photographic evidence is of no use to them. You are under no obligation to reveal who was driving, even if you did know! I think you just give them the run around until they give up!

[patdavies]

EuroCarParks are a private company and their 'ticket' will have been actioned as such.

 

This is easy to beat. Private car park tickets depend on the driver impliedly accepting a contract by parking - as you were not the driver, you cannot have formed such a contract impliedly or otherwise, and cannot therefore be liable - even if English Law premitted penalties in contracts - which it doesn't.

 

They will bluff and say that the Registered Keeper is responsible - many people believe this because it is legislated as such for council parking. Also as they are a private company, you are under no legal obligation to inform them of the identity of the driver

[beccysmum]

I agree with Patdavies - I've just had a letter from them, and the same same circumstances relate. I spoke to Verity from Customer Services and told her that I knew this was a civil debt, and they should pursue me through the courts if they really want their money, they caved in and wrote the ticket off.

[Guest xipetotec46]

Scenario: I found a Euro Car Parks parking charge notice in my car glove box today, dated a couple of weeks ago. Being the nice person I am, I frequently lend my car to my sister and ex hubby to ferry the kids around. Neither one of them will own up to being the one who got the ticket.

 

I am the registered keeper of the vehicle, so what do I do now, do I write to Euro Car Parks, or do I wait for them to contact me?

 

Take the initiative and phone them first. tell them you have just found the PCN and on that day your sister in law or your ex husband was driving the car. give them their names and addresses, you have done your bit, or you can wait for the Notice to Owner to arrive comply, with their instruction, that on that day your sister in law or your ex husband was driving, then inform your ex and S.I.L let them know what you have done my guess is that Euro Car parks will not pursue it as they now they will have to find out which one of the two was driving your car, and if none of them admit it they cannot pursue you for it. Read my reply to the thread.

Re: Am I buggered?

[patdavies]

Scenario: I found a Euro Car Parks parking charge notice in my car glove box today, dated a couple of weeks ago. Being the nice person I am, I frequently lend my car to my sister and ex hubby to ferry the kids around. Neither one of them will own up to being the one who got the ticket.

 

I am the registered keeper of the vehicle, so what do I do now, do I write to Euro Car Parks, or do I wait for them to contact me?

 

Take the initiative and phone them first. tell them you have just found the PCN and on that day your sister in law or your ex husband was driving the car. give them their names and addresses, you have done your bit, or you can wait for the Notice to Owner to arrive comply, with their instruction, that on that day your sister in law or your ex husband was driving, then inform your ex and S.I.L let them know what you have done my guess is that Euro Car parks will not pursue it as they now they will have to find out which one of the two was driving your car, and if none of them admit it they cannot pursue you for it. Read my reply to the thread.

Re: Am I buggered?

 

Sorry, this response is nonsense.

1. It is not a PCN - these can only be issued by councils
   
2. You are under no legal obligation whatsoever to provide driver's details to a private company
   
3. There will be no Notice to Owner - this is a specific step in council parking enforcement

Either ignore it or wait until EuroCarParks write to you and then write back and state that you were not the driver at the time; the registered keeper has no liability for private parking; that penalties are not enforceable under English contract law; the RK is not obliged to pass on the details of the driver; that any further communication from them (other than cancelling the ticket) will be viewed as harrassment and reported as such.

[demon_x_slash]

Anonymous123, please start your own thread instead of spamming everyone else's with the same post. Thanks.

[anonyMOUS123]

why? when its related..???

[demon_x_slash]

Because it's considered rude - it's known as 'hijacking' a thread, and posting multiple messages with the same content is also rude, and known as 'spamming'. I hope that answers your question.

[Barnsley Boy]

I concur, reading the same post 5 times on different threads is a trifle annoying.

[falcon185]

Scenario: I found a Euro Car Parks parking charge notice in my car glove box today, dated a couple of weeks ago. Being the nice person I am, I frequently lend my car to my sister and ex hubby to ferry the kids around. Neither one of them will own up to being the one who got the ticket.

 

I am the registered keeper of the vehicle, so what do I do now, do I write to Euro Car Parks, or do I wait for them to contact me?

 

Take the initiative and phone them first. tell them you have just found the PCN and on that day your sister in law or your ex husband was driving the car. give them their names and addresses, you have done your bit, or you can wait for the Notice to Owner to arrive comply, with their instruction, that on that day your sister in law or your ex husband was driving, then inform your ex and S.I.L let them know what you have done my guess is that Euro Car parks will not pursue it as they now they will have to find out which one of the two was driving your car, and if none of them admit it they cannot pursue you for it. Read my reply to the thread.

Re: Am I buggered?

 

 

You do NOT have to give the name of the driver at the time, this is for all intense and purposes an invoice from a private Parking Company, they have no legal right to demand the name and address of the driver, if you have advised them it was not you driving at the time of the alleged offence the onus is on them to disprove it. It is highly unlikely that they will try taking this further but you may get the odd letter demanding payment from them, once you have advised them you was not the driver I would ignore any further letters they may send.

 

I would hate to be a member of xipetotec46s family, looks like he would bubble hi Granny to save on a ticket

[pin1onu]

Take the initiative and phone them first.

 

I wouldn't advise phoning these companies. They often use premium rate numbers.

 

My advice would be use a letter it's usually cheaper and getting proof of posting costs nothing.

[anonyMOUS123]

not sure why there are 6+ threads started for the same thing? seems pointless when they are all related...means searching thru each one to find any useful info, instead of looking at just the one

[demon_x_slash]

People may deal with the same company, but require different advice for different circumstances. Also, having one thread per situation allows readers to see the OP's progression, good or bad.

In addition to this, many if not most readers of this site tend to read all the threads contained therein. Therefore, if one poster posts the same message on multiple threads, having to read the same 'spam' over and over again gets very irritating - you think that there's a new development on a thread you've been reading over the past few days, only to find out that the new post is one you've already had to read three times.

For easy searching, there is a Search Tool at the top of the subforum, last box on the right-hand side, labelled "Search this Forum". If you need to look up anything, use that tool.

Hope that helps.

[demon_x_slash]

Brain in there?

 

Evidently not.

 

[patdavies]

How very grown up and helpful - not:rolleyes:

[demon_x_slash]

Fancy getting that post knocked off too? "Circumventing the swear filter..."

[helen87]

Sorry to 'hijack' a thread, but i cant find the button to start a new thread so apologies for interupting!I received a fine from Euro Car Parks in December for... wait for it-leaving the site! I wrote to them and said id left the site for 15 mins,not quite true-but they have no proof, met a friend, returned to the site, browsed and then purchased an item and then found a ticket on my car, which was issued 3 minutes after i had arrived- they must have physically watched me leave.And that i didnt intend to pay it. Ive now received a reply telling me i have to pay it because i contravened Code D-non-shopper leaving site and that my purchase receipt was made after the penalty charge notice-how the hell could it not be, i had 3 minutes to make a purchase before it was issued and also that their signs are clear in their intent. I still dont intend to pay the fine, 1 because their sign isnt clear and of which i had photographic evidence, 2 because i was a shopper and 3 any purchase i made would have had to have been after the penalty charge notice.Just wondered if anyone had been fined for the same thing and whether i should expect to be called to court of it there is anything which means i dont have to pay this fine!Any help would be most gratefully received. Thanks

[Barnsley Boy]

Sorry to 'hijack' a thread, but i cant find the button to start a new thread so apologies for interupting!I received a fine from Euro Car Parks in December for... wait for it-leaving the site! I wrote to them and said id left the site for 15 mins,not quite true-but they have no proof, met a friend, returned to the site, browsed and then purchased an item and then found a ticket on my car, which was issued 3 minutes after i had arrived- they must have physically watched me leave.And that i didnt intend to pay it. Ive now received a reply telling me i have to pay it because i contravened Code D-non-shopper leaving site and that my purchase receipt was made after the penalty charge notice-how the hell could it not be, i had 3 minutes to make a purchase before it was issued and also that their signs are clear in their intent. I still dont intend to pay the fine, 1 because their sign isnt clear and of which i had photographic evidence, 2 because i was a shopper and 3 any purchase i made would have had to have been after the penalty charge notice.Just wondered if anyone had been fined for the same thing and whether i should expect to be called to court of it there is anything which means i dont have to pay this fine!Any help would be most gratefully received. Thanks

 

I fully agree that you should not pay, just not for the reasons that you've stated.

 

The nub of their case is that you, upon seeing the signs, parked your car therefore impying agreement to their terms and conditions including their charges for "not parking in marked bays", "leaving the site", "exceeding stated time limits etc". Please remember that this is completely different to a council ticket. It is not backed up by any legislation, it is to all intents and purposes a [problem].

 

It is a mistake to engage with these companies by volunteering information. By writing to them in the way that you have, you've effectively admitted to being the driver. It is only the driver at the time, not the Registered Keeper, who could conceivably have entered into any implied "contract".

 

I'd say your best tactic is to use bernie's template letters linked below:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/parking-traffic-offences/119917-private-parking-tickets-template.html

 

This will put them on the back foot of trying to justify their actions.

 

The good news about Euro Car Parks is that, although they issue lots of tickets, no one has heard of a SINGLE court case. There is no reason to suppose that your case would go any differently. Stand firm, do not be intimidated by the empty threats you will get.

[helen87]

Thanks for your reply. I realised i shouldnt have admitted to being the driver when i first came on this site, but unfortunately its a bit late for that. Shall have a look at the link you provided,Thanks

[archiewood]

I thought it might be useful to update this thread with what happened - or rather didn't - to me in the same situation.

 

On January 15th, ECP sent me a letter threatening to refer me to debt collectors if I did not pay the fine within 28 days. On February 18th, I got a letter from debt collectors, which amongst other things said they had been passed the debt with instructions to seek a judgment against me, it may affect my ability to get credit etc etc.

 

I wrote back the same day saying the debt is disputed, their principal has failed to substantiate their claim, that they should refer back to their client, and any further correspondence from them (the collection agency) may result in a complaint under the Protection From Harassment Act 1997.

 

It is now almost two months later and I have not heard a thing from either the collection agency or ECP.

 

I know it's probably been said here hundreds of times, but why not add another voice - they're completely full of hot air.

[Guest Julian Fiddlepot]

Why didn't you appeal in the correct fashion?

[Bernie_the_Bolt]

Why didn't you appeal in the correct fashion?

 

Partly because there is no confidence in that process but mainly because there is no reason to dignify what is essentially a confidence trick.

 

Why can't you provide the statutory or judicial precedent to substantiate your claims?

 

Here's a clue - rearrange the following words into the correct order:

 

exist they because don't

[octron32]

Fiddlepot, is it part of parking companies terms of reference you have to do at least one week of the month on internet troll duties?

 

Do you get overtime for joining forums and post trolllike comments at 10 o'clock at night?

 

Do you have to go on a weekend seminar/break on speaking troll? or do they provide you with a script?

 

Do you get the next day off if you get to 10 troll posts in an evening?

[Guest Julian Fiddlepot]

Octron, I wish to make a constructive contribution to this community and balance up some of the snide comments being made with some home truths from the real world of parking.