Parking ticket advice

[Kurt.]

Sorry lads, bit of a boring thread but thought it may help some of you in the future.
I parked up in a pay and display car park near a touristy spot last weekend to go hiking with a couple of friends. Paid to park and displayed the ticket in my windscreen. Couple of days ago someone knocked the door and after confirming that we owned the car he handed my Mrs a parking fine of £100. Luckily for me I still had the ticket I’d paid for and took a photo of it to send to the company to appeal the fine and yesterday they sent an email to say I had won my appeal. Turns out a private company own the site now after buying it off the local council and they have installed their own ticket machines and cameras. They claimed it was a camera fault which caused them to send me a fine. After asking around a bit it seems this company have a history of doing this and if you can’t prove that you purchased a ticket then you have to pay the fine.
Basically.. keep your tickets for a couple of days as there are scamming barstewards always after your money.

 

[Bungle]

Thanks mate

 

[Yarrgh]

I'm in that limbo. I paid, I got the letter. I didn't have the ticket so I appealed. 3 years later I'm still getting letters saying they will take me to court. I'm on my fifth or sixth last chance to pay apparently.

 

[4737carlin]

There's a car park near me with them nightmare ANPR cameras on it, but the car park has more then one exit, if you come in one way and leave by a certain exit that has no camera working on it they don't know you have left and you get a fine, people are kicking off all the time on the shop owners in front of it but there's nothing they can do.
Theres another one with free blue badge parking by me but how can the camera pick up you have a badge? They are ending out fines then canceling them on request but its causing stress.

 

[COYBL25]

Sorry lads, bit of a boring thread but thought it may help some of you in the future.
I parked up in a pay and display car park near a touristy spot last weekend to go hiking with a couple of friends. Paid to park and displayed the ticket in my windscreen. Couple of days ago someone knocked the door and after confirming that we owned the car he handed my Mrs a parking fine of £100. Luckily for me I still had the ticket I’d paid for and took a photo of it to send to the company to appeal the fine and yesterday they sent an email to say I had won my appeal. Turns out a private company own the site now after buying it off the local council and they have installed their own ticket machines and cameras. They claimed it was a camera fault which caused them to send me a fine. After asking around a bit it seems this company have a history of doing this and if you can’t prove that you purchased a ticket then you have to pay the fine.
Basically.. keep your tickets for a couple of days as there are scamming barstewards always after your money.

Have you thought about fire bombing their offices and blaming it on the Welsh Nationalists ?

 

[Kurt.]

Have you thought about fire bombing their offices and blaming it on the Welsh Nationalists ?

Hourly

 

[Shevin Keedy]

Does dogging count as parking?

 

[JimmyJeffers]

Sorry lads, bit of a boring thread but thought it may help some of you in the future.
I parked up in a pay and display car park near a touristy spot last weekend to go hiking with a couple of friends. Paid to park and displayed the ticket in my windscreen. Couple of days ago someone knocked the door and after confirming that we owned the car he handed my Mrs a parking fine of £100. Luckily for me I still had the ticket I’d paid for and took a photo of it to send to the company to appeal the fine and yesterday they sent an email to say I had won my appeal. Turns out a private company own the site now after buying it off the local council and they have installed their own ticket machines and cameras. They claimed it was a camera fault which caused them to send me a fine. After asking around a bit it seems this company have a history of doing this and if you can’t prove that you purchased a ticket then you have to pay the fine.
Basically.. keep your tickets for a couple of days as there are scamming barstewards always after your money.

It’s worth noting that private parking and council parking fines are very different. The council will regularly enforce bailiff action if left unpaid therefore I would probably pay up if an appeal fails even if I disagree.
Private companies have to go through county courts. If they still say you owe them after any appeal process, I’d be inclined to make them prove it in court if you are aware of the risk of court costs and possible detriment to credit rating if you lose.
As @Yarrgh says above, they will likely periodically send threatening letters with little intention of actually taking it further. After 6 years it can no longer be enforced in court regardless.
Good advice on this here

Fight unfair private parking tickets

You shouldn't pay unfair 'fines' and many parking tickets issued in private car parks are invalid - see our step-by-step guide on how to check & what to do.

www.moneysavingexpert.com

 

[ClausThomsen]

It’s worth noting that private parking and council parking fines are very different. The council will regularly enforce bailiff action if left unpaid therefore I would probably pay up if an appeal fails even if I disagree.
Private companies have to go through county courts. If they still say you owe them after any appeal process, I’d be inclined to make them prove it in court if you are aware of the risk of court costs and possible detriment to credit rating if you lose.
As @Yarrgh says above, they will likely periodically send threatening letters with little intention of actually taking it further. After 6 years it can no longer be enforced in court regardless.
Good advice on this here

Fight unfair private parking tickets

You shouldn't pay unfair 'fines' and many parking tickets issued in private car parks are invalid - see our step-by-step guide on how to check & what to do.

www.moneysavingexpert.com

Very much so. But they soon recoup the price of a few stamps if they can get a couple of bites from vulnerable victims. Utter scum.

Previous tenant of our old house was forever getting letters over parking on a Farm Foods near ours. I only know 'cos I opened up the repeated official looking letters just to be sure it wasn't something that could affect us. That I continued to open them is 'cos I'm also a nosey git and was quite interested in their repeated albeit empty threats having dealt with several debt collection agencies in the past.

 

[chrismpw]

England seems to encourage land owners to grab money from others for doing diddly squat in terms of a service. I blame the Normans for this land ownership obsession.

Seems sharp practice is legal. I wish we had a government that protected the many from the few, but then Westminster is filled with landowners who protect their own interests, not the majority.

 

[Bazlar]

It’s worth noting that private parking and council parking fines are very different. The council will regularly enforce bailiff action if left unpaid therefore I would probably pay up if an appeal fails even if I disagree.
Private companies have to go through county courts. If they still say you owe them after any appeal process, I’d be inclined to make them prove it in court if you are aware of the risk of court costs and possible detriment to credit rating if you lose.
As @Yarrgh says above, they will likely periodically send threatening letters with little intention of actually taking it further. After 6 years it can no longer be enforced in court regardless.
Good advice on this here

Fight unfair private parking tickets

You shouldn't pay unfair 'fines' and many parking tickets issued in private car parks are invalid - see our step-by-step guide on how to check & what to do.

www.moneysavingexpert.com

Mrs Bazlar has a disabled pass partly due to poor eyesight amongst other things. We got one of these from a Tesc carpark. I was driving fair enough as she can't. Got a ticket as we had exceeded 30 mins. Told us we should have let the store know if we were going to be longer. Annoying thing is we could have parked anywhere outside the carpark without any hassle. Paid it in the end because Mrs just can't take the stress

 

[JimmyJeffers]

Mrs Bazlar has a disabled pass partly due to poor eyesight amongst other things. We got one of these from a Tesc carpark. I was driving fair enough as she can't. Got a ticket as we had exceeded 30 mins. Told us we should have let the store know if we were going to be longer. Annoying thing is we could have parked anywhere outside the carpark without any hassle. Paid it in the end because Mrs just can't take the stress

Can’t actually believe that’s a policy.
I understand what you’re saying about just paying to stop any stress and that is understandable. If you’d have wanted to, you could have gone to town on that.

 

[Bazlar]

I know mate but the Mrs is vulnerable. On the odd occasion we can manage a match these days we can park in residents places for three hours. Doesn't make sense. I didn't want to leave it but hey ho. Some things need to be done for a stressless life. Not worth arguing with Mrs Bazlar not well at all

 

[Bazlar]

Can’t actually believe that’s a policy.
I understand what you’re saying about just paying to stop any stress and that is understandable. If you’d have wanted to, you could have gone to town on that.

At our local one it's 20 mins for customers. Half hour for disabled. Takes 5 mins to get her out. Anyway. Don't use them anymore

 

[Yarrgh]

It’s worth noting that private parking and council parking fines are very different. The council will regularly enforce bailiff action if left unpaid therefore I would probably pay up if an appeal fails even if I disagree.
Private companies have to go through county courts. If they still say you owe them after any appeal process, I’d be inclined to make them prove it in court if you are aware of the risk of court costs and possible detriment to credit rating if you lose.
As @Yarrgh says above, they will likely periodically send threatening letters with little intention of actually taking it further. After 6 years it can no longer be enforced in court regardless.
Good advice on this here

Fight unfair private parking tickets

You shouldn't pay unfair 'fines' and many parking tickets issued in private car parks are invalid - see our step-by-step guide on how to check & what to do.

www.moneysavingexpert.com

Motoring subforums

www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk

Another useful website.

It's one thing knowing it's a scam and another thing opening a letter and seeing a threat of a huge fine and court proceedings against you. Knowing that the form of letter is following something quite prescriptive to not be construed to be technically that threat is useful in reacting non-emotionally to it. First time I ever got one it was panic stations, now I wonder how much they're wasting on ink.