Topic: Contesting a Parking fine on private land.

[owens_2k]

I had to appeal a private parking ticket fairly recently. "no loss of earnings" and just ignorimg them are no longer valid appeals due to some recent court case.

If anyone is knowingly parking in parent & child bays and disabled bays when they shouldnt then they need a slap!

[Nobby Reserve]

due to some recent court case.

Yep, some wanker of a Judge not applying the letter of the law, but making an interpretation along the lines of "We can't have oiks parking their charabancs wherever they feel and not paying honest to goodness gentlemen merchants their due!", and allowing companies to charge a penalty for breach of contract, when there's already an established precedent explicitly prohibiting this.

[Too early for flapjacks?]

After parking in a Lidl without buying anything I received a fine through the post. Chucked it in the bin. They gave up after a few follow up letters.

[Nobby Reserve]

After parking in a Lidl without buying anything I received a fine through the post. Chucked it in the bin. They gave up after a few follow up letters.

Is that the one by the Royal?

I parked there last year, expecting to be out within the permitted 2 hours. I wasn't. Their parking-parasites wrote to me asking me to pay them some money and sent me some photos of my car. Mine went in the bin, too. And they stopped after another couple.

[Barry Banana]

Just after a bit of advice regarding parking tickets at Supermarkets.

Went to Asda today and parked in my usual space as someone had just left it. Hadn't been there for a couple of weeks as we've used the delivery service instead but when I left I noticed the space and the one in front had been turned into Parent and Child spaces. Can I get a ticket through the post for parking there? My Dad said I could as they all use Parking Eye or SMART now.

Don't want to get a £40 fine for a genuine mistake. To be fair I wasn't paying much attention to the markings so didn't actually see the huge pram they had sprayed on to the space

The car park will be controlled by ANPR cameras which record your entry and exit. The process is automated and if you've stayed longer than permitted you'll receive notification through the post.

The cameras cannot see where you parked so if the car park only uses ANPR, it wouldn't matter if you were parked in a blue badge bay, parent and child, drop off only, or the middle of the road. They wouldn't know.

Some supermarket car parks might also have people patrolling the car park but if so, those people would place a parking charge on the vehicle at the time they noticed the alleged improper parking.

As you haven't already had a parking charge you won't hear anything.

Its true that a lot of parking operators will give up after a few chasers. But its also true that many are becoming more litigious. Parking Eye in particular will take people to court and it wins more often than not. If you get a parking charge notice, its worth looking up whether that particular company pursues to court rather than just ignoring.

Some nurses in Cardiff were parking without at the hospital without valid permits for months - having believed stories online that they didn't have to pay the parking charge notices. The judge determined that between them they owed over £40,000.

[Spezialo]

Bringing up an old topic sorry...

Parked in the pub car park while i ran over to the chippy. Received a letter today from ParkingEye. £100 or £60 within 2 weeks. I must have not seen the sign. Letter says a total of 9 minutes.

I know a while ago, it was said just to ignire them. Anyone know if thats the case nowadays?

Thanks

[duvva 💅]

Don’t think that’s the case anymore, they didn’t use to follow up on those who ignored, until enough people ignored it. Now they do follow up with threats to go to court, and have taken people to court.

Worth googling them. There is a ten minute grace period when leaving a car park but although we tried to argue with this it wasn’t accepted.

Fuckin cowboy c*nts

Edit: looks like private parking firms are supposed to abide by the 10 min grace period now

https://www.itv.com/news/2019-11-03/10-minute-grace-period-before-fines-being-considered-for-private-car-parks

However if you didn’t buy a ticket initially/at all not sure this argument would work.

Still fuckin cowboys

[Danny Boys Dad]

Has anyone been sent a parking charge notice for parking in the KFC on Great Homer Street after hours?

Parked there to eat my Maccies after the Preston match and have now received a parking charge notice from UK Parking Control Ltd. Didn't see any of the signs it says were there but to be honest I wasn't looking for them, didn't expect to be charged.

Money saving expert says to just ignore it 

[WhoHe]

Yes, ignore it and do not acknowledge anything, I kept all letters but responded to none. I got done, got letter threatening that it will double/treble or something, ignored this as well. Then got a letter basically negotiating with me for an offer, ignored that as well. Its basically an invoice for using their land wrapped up to look like a real parking ticket.

[Danny Boys Dad]

Yes, ignore it and do not acknowledge anything, I kept all letters but responded to none. I got done, got letter threatening that it will double/treble or something, ignored this as well. Then got a letter basically negotiating with me for an offer, ignored that as well. Its basically an invoice for using their land wrapped up to look like a real parking ticket.

Not sure I've got the cojones for that haha

[liversaint]

Had a few of these over the years in different parts of the country. Ignored them all. Never followed up after 2 or 3 letters of ever increasing threats.

Don’t engage at all if you decide to ignore. They prey on fear and the gullible.

[afc tukrish]

Had a few of these over the years in different parts of the country. Ignored them all. Never followed up after 2 or 3 letters of ever increasing threats.

Don’t engage at all if you decide to ignore. They prey on fear and the gullible.

And those who choose to park in one fast food company's lot to eat food from another...

[ABZ Rover]

It’s absolute bollox.  Ignore it and as previously stated by others, do not respond at all!

[[new username under construction]]

Yep same here, got one for waiting in a service station car park. Ignore everything they send

[gazzam1963]

Was doing a job in a block of private flats a few months ago and parked near to the entrance to unload some heavy items into the flat , was there an hour and completed , a few weeks later a fine for obstructive parking
dropped through the letterbox with a £100 fine reduced to £60 if paid within a month .

Called back there as was pretty certain there was no cctv there , arrived and seen plenty of notices saying what
was allowed and what wasn’t . When i in looked at there website it turns out they pay a tenant to watch out for
any activity not allowed parking wise and said tenant takes pictures with there phone and forwards them on and
receives a payment off the company if the fine is payed

[Tesco tearaway]

Was doing a job in a block of private flats a few months ago and parked near to the entrance to unload some heavy items into the flat , was there an hour and completed , a few weeks later a fine for obstructive parking
dropped through the letterbox with a £100 fine reduced to £60 if paid within a month .

Called back there as was pretty certain there was no cctv there , arrived and seen plenty of notices saying what
was allowed and what wasn’t . When i in looked at there website it turns out they pay a tenant to watch out for
any activity not allowed parking wise and said tenant takes pictures with there phone and forwards them on and
receives a payment off the company if the fine is payed

Aka a snidey bastard 

[gazzam1963]

Aka a snidey bastard 

My exact words as well as rat 😀

[Roady]

Worked in maidenhead for a while and my boss used to park in the Travelodge car park. Got a ticket every day and just ripped them up.said he'd been doing it for seven years 😂 never paid one.

[Jwils21]

Got one in Asda a few months ago, was recorded going into the car park around midday and then leaving at 10:30pm. Thing was, I’d gone up on my lunch break to get a few bits and then left (there for about 10 mins) and then went back later on in the evening to get petrol. The ANPR camera had coincidentally not recorded me leaving on the first occasion or entering when I went back for petrol.

Rather than speak to the company (Parking Eye) I went in and had a word with the security staff in store, they said it happens all the time and just cancelled it on the spot. Was told by a solicitor that there were grounds for a GDPR claim as they’d falsely accessed my data with no legitimate reason, but nothing came of it.

[Nobby Reserve]

Had a few of these over the years in different parts of the country. Ignored them all. Never followed up after 2 or 3 letters of ever increasing threats.

Don’t engage at all if you decide to ignore. They prey on fear and the gullible.

I'm well past 20 of these over the years. Never paid one, and for the last decade at least I just bin them (and the follow-ups). They stop after anything from 2-12 months.

If you don't pay, the only route open to them is to sue you through the Small Claims Court, and in the extremely unlikely event (they just don't bother) of them doing that, there's a whole library of defence documents available online that you can submit, which leads to the parasites backing off in the vast majority of cases.

[rob1966]

I love it when people moan that they got a parking ticket for parking on someones private property. I bet you'd love it it someone parked on your driveway cos they could

[Millie]

I love it when people moan that they got a parking ticket for parking on someones private property. I bet you'd love it it someone parked on your driveway cos they could

Absolutely no comparison whatsoever.

[Nobby Reserve]

I love it when people moan that they got a parking ticket for parking on someones private property. I bet you'd love it it someone parked on your driveway cos they could

If I painted bays and signposted it as a car park, I'd probably lose the right to whinge.

[rob1966]

Absolutely no comparison whatsoever.

It is when people are parking in KFCs, Travelodge etc etc when they aren't a customer. There's massive aggro at the minute at the Trafford Centre due to the tram line extension, people are now parking their cars there and getting the Tram to OT.

If I painted bays and signposted it as a car park, I'd probably lose the right to whinge.

Car park for their customers, not all and sundry to just dump their car there. How would you feel if you owned a business, say a hotel and the car park was full of cars not using your place, stopping your customers parking there?

Such an entitled society we live in, I'll park where the fuck I want.

[El Lobo]

I dont like them....but I think Robs probably got a fair point when the opening gambit was literally 'I was eating my maccies in a KFC car park'

[Nobby Reserve]

It is when people are parking in KFCs, Travelodge etc etc when they aren't a customer. There's massive aggro at the minute at the Trafford Centre due to the tram line extension, people are now parking their cars there and getting the Tram to OT.

Car park for their customers, not all and sundry to just dump their car there. How would you feel if you owned a business, say a hotel and the car park was full of cars not using your place, stopping your customers parking there?

Such an entitled society we live in, I'll park where the fuck I want.

That's nothing new 


Part of the problem is that councils have wiped out areas in town/city centres where you can park unrestricted. It's to force you into paying for car parking (where they don't operate their own, they're either in formal arrangements with parking companies to share profits, or load the business rates)

As a side issue, I also think this sort of brings the whole concept of double-yellows into disrepute, and might encourage people to not take them seriously. To explain, double-yellow used to be only where parking would cause an obstruction or hazard. Then they put them along most main and 'mainsish' roads in cities and towns, but over the last 20 or years, councils have nailed every single side road, no matter if parking wouldn't create an obstruction or hazard. The concept of double-yellows being only used for road safety reasons is long gone from people's thoughts.


As for the businesses providing car parking for customers, I get that. City centre businesses can't have their car parks crammed with people parking there all day for work, for instance. But many of these places don't have that issue. I know of a retail park in St Helens that's never had restrictions; it's too outside the town centre to have people parking there for work. All but Aldi close at 8pm at the latest there. When Saints play, loads have parked there (it's all but next door to the stadium) but it's still never full, and the handful of people shopping at Aldi have no problem parking. They've recently lobbed up signs restricting parking to 2 hours - even when the shops on the retail park are closed - and parking 'fines' will apply. Pure greed.


Surprised to see you piling in on behalf of corporate twats, by the way 

[Buck Pete]

Its utter bullshit.  Rip off Britain.

When have you ever seen a Screwfix car park (for example) full?

I'd say they WANT you to park there and fuck off without buying anything.  £30 fine slapped on someone for doing absolutely nothing opposed to £1.50 for a bag of tungsten tipped screws from the person parking there legit. It's a no brainer

Never gonna use em'

[rob1966]

That's nothing new 


Part of the problem is that councils have wiped out areas in town/city centres where you can park unrestricted. It's to force you into paying for car parking (where they don't operate their own, they're either in formal arrangements with parking companies to share profits, or load the business rates)

As a side issue, I also think this sort of brings the whole concept of double-yellows into disrepute, and might encourage people to not take them seriously. To explain, double-yellow used to be only where parking would cause an obstruction or hazard. Then they put them along most main and 'mainsish' roads in cities and towns, but over the last 20 or years, councils have nailed every single side road, no matter if parking wouldn't create an obstruction or hazard. The concept of double-yellows being only used for road safety reasons is long gone from people's thoughts.


As for the businesses providing car parking for customers, I get that. City centre businesses can't have their car parks crammed with people parking there all day for work, for instance. But many of these places don't have that issue. I know of a retail park in St Helens that's never had restrictions; it's too outside the town centre to have people parking there for work. All but Aldi close at 8pm at the latest there. When Saints play, loads have parked there (it's all but next door to the stadium) but it's still never full, and the handful of people shopping at Aldi have no problem parking. They've recently lobbed up signs restricting parking to 2 hours - even when the shops on the retail park are closed - and parking 'fines' will apply. Pure greed.


Surprised to see you piling in on behalf of corporate twats, by the way 

Nah, its from experience mate. When I worked in the Hire Branches we'd get c*nts parking on the front overnight and then either we couldn't park our cars or they'd be obstructing customers or making it impossible to get the vans in/out when they parked in front of the gates. They always acted in a fuck you manner too.

Councils have taken the piss, I remember when pay and display was introduced in Southport, fucking shite when you are a resident and having to pay to park to go shopping.

[John C]

After ignoring a private parking ticket for a while my lad has received a notice entitled Claim Form the County Court Business centre, Northampton, which appears to be set out as a genuine document.

It has a gov.uk webpage but is redirected when you search it. Google search suggests there's some background scams - but thats not reassurance this isn't.

I'm aware of the PePiPoo forum but to be honest the advice is not straight forward and it seems to be full of absolute smart arse bellends

Does anyone know how to recognise whether this is generated from the debt collectors office or if it has been presented to court?

[rob1966]

After ignoring a private parking ticket for a while my lad has received a notice entitled Claim Form the County Court Business centre, Northampton, which appears to be set out as a genuine document.

It has a gov.uk webpage but is redirected when you search it. Google search suggests there's some background scams - but thats not reassurance this isn't.

I'm aware of the PePiPoo forum but to be honest the advice is not straight forward and it seems to be full of absolute smart arse bellends

Does anyone know how to recognise whether this is generated from the debt collectors office or if it has been presented to court?

Have a look at these John

https://moneynerd.co.uk/what-county-court-business-centre/

https://debtcamel.co.uk/court-claim-form/comment-page-1/

[John C]

Have a look at these John

https://moneynerd.co.uk/what-county-court-business-centre/

https://debtcamel.co.uk/court-claim-form/comment-page-1/

Ta Rob.
To an extent it looks gen, but there's an interesting point in the second link about the court stamp. And the fact that the debt has been sold on.

Will have a proper look tomorrow. Thanks again mate.

[Wabaloolah]

After parking in a Lidl without buying anything I received a fine through the post. Chucked it in the bin. They gave up after a few follow up letters.

technically speaking, they have 6 years from the date they issued the "invoice" to take you to court

[Sangria]

I have a question, not exactly as per the thread title, but similar. I've been issued a fine, and I want to know how to go about contesting it. It's not a parking fine, but it might as well be, and it was issued for goings on on government property. I didn't know I was breaking the law at the time, or at least that's my story as of now. The lawyer who's threatened to prosecute is, I fear, highly skilled, and I've been caught bang to rights. Which is unfair as I was going about my business of getting vaccines done, getting Brexit done, getting Britain done like a kipper. Also, a previous source of income is, sadly, now curtailed due to certain circumstances.

Any advice on what I should do? Apart from fecking off, I mean.

[ToneLa]

I am not a lawyer and ignorance of the law is no defence but here's a question

What was there to show you no trespassing? Signs, etc? Clearly visible? All access points marked and delineated as such? Could you reasonably enter that property without knowing you shouldn't?

.... That's a hole in the case, to me. I'd be tempted to take it back to said lawyer if doing one isn't an option

[rob1966]

I have a question, not exactly as per the thread title, but similar. I've been issued a fine, and I want to know how to go about contesting it. It's not a parking fine, but it might as well be, and it was issued for goings on on government property. I didn't know I was breaking the law at the time, or at least that's my story as of now. The lawyer who's threatened to prosecute is, I fear, highly skilled, and I've been caught bang to rights. Which is unfair as I was going about my business of getting vaccines done, getting Brexit done, getting Britain done like a kipper. Also, a previous source of income is, sadly, now curtailed due to certain circumstances.

Any advice on what I should do? Apart from fecking off, I mean.

You could try and goad Argentina into invading the Falklands again, that seems to work in deflecting people from other matters.

[afc tukrish]

You could try and goad Argentina into invading the Falklands again, that seems to work in deflecting people from other matters.

 

[Nobby Reserve]

After ignoring a private parking ticket for a while my lad has received a notice entitled Claim Form the County Court Business centre, Northampton, which appears to be set out as a genuine document.

It has a gov.uk webpage but is redirected when you search it. Google search suggests there's some background scams - but thats not reassurance this isn't.

I'm aware of the PePiPoo forum but to be honest the advice is not straight forward and it seems to be full of absolute smart arse bellends

Does anyone know how to recognise whether this is generated from the debt collectors office or if it has been presented to court?

You could try contacting the Court and asking them if it's genuine.

You should also have the chance to appeal the invoice if it's genuine - if the worst comes to the worst, they can only be awarded the original charge plus their direct court costs (ie, cannot include all the incremental 'collection charges' they will have tried to charge)

There's some additional stuff here from MSE - but I don't think it's helpful, and is overly cautious.

There was a court case in 2015 where the legal argument was tested that an additional charge (in this case £85) was punitive and unenforceable, because Enlish Law does not allow companies to arbitrarily impose punitive penalties for non-payment (ie, they have to be proportional). The c*nt of a judge ruled that £85 was proportional.

[John C]

Ta Nobby, I did phone the court but the queue was ages so jibbed it. I'm going through a process (for my lad. Who nominated me as Admin Officer, anyway). I need to compile a defence using some jargon picked up from all the online sites.

[[new username under construction]]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/Zy3MY_j7JYw" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/Zy3MY_j7JYw</a>

No idea if already posted, this guy has a few videos on parking stuff