UKPC - fined for parking over line ...

[pvr]

Ok, so Mrs PVR got an "invoice" from UKPC for parking over the end space line (I taught her well)

They are trying to fleece you for £100 !!! Will go down the appeal route as first of all it is a free car park, and second of all there is no loss to anyone as it was an end space next to a wall.

Tossers ...

[Taz]

things like this are just so annoying

[inkey$]

You took photos too right? I'd let them try their worst. Utter cowboys.

[pvr]

Well, not me as I am in NL at the moment,m but Mrs PVR took pictures yes.

[inkey$]

Found this online...worth a read.

"Only councils, the police, train operators and Transport for London can impose legally enforceable fines or penalties. A private parking company (PPC) or an individual can't. Even PPCs call their tickets “Parking Charge Notices”, not “Penalty Charge Notices”. In law, they’re called “speculative invoices”.

Any warning signs are usually so badly positioned and worded, that they won’t have created a fair and legally binding deemed contract between the car park owner and a driver entering the car park in the first place. See The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1997 and Excel Parking Services vs. Cutts, Stockport, 2011, 1SE02759, the Peel Centre case.

All the car park owner (CPO) can claim from a driver in damages for any breach of contract is what they’ve lost as a result. If this is a free car park or they paid, this is £0.00. Asking for more has been judged to be unreasonable and therefore an unfair contract penalty under the terms of The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1997, which is not legally enforceable. See Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd. vs. New Garage & Motor Co. Ltd., House of Lords, 1914 and countless cases since.

What should I do now?

Don’t appeal to the PPC. They always reject them. What’s in it for them to let anyone off? Actually, there is something in it for them: information. They need to know the identity of the driver of the vehicle involved at the time, because that’s who the alleged contract was with. If they don’t know who the driver was, they have to make do with chasing the registered keeper.

With windscreen notices, an appeal letter will tell them your name and address, and maybe who was driving at the time. If they don’t know who the driver was, they have to buy the details of registered keeper from the DVLA. With postal notices, they’ve done this already. But they still need to know the identity of the driver.

They sometimes say that they have the right to ask for this information. This doesn’t mean that you have to tell them.

However, even if you’ve written and told them who the driver was, it doesn’t make their actions any less unlawful. It just means that instead of harassing the registered keeper, they can now harass the driver.

What will they do to me?

The PPC, then a debt collector and then a solicitor will send you a series of letters. The debt collector and solicitor are usually also the PPC, but using different headed paper. These letters will threaten you with every kind of financial and legal unpleasantness imaginable, to intimidate you into paying.

But, they can't actually do anything, for the same reason that a Nigerian e-mail scammer couldn't sue anyone who didn’t pay them.

What should I do then?

Continue to ignore everything you get from the PPC and their aliases. It does seem counter-intuitive to deal with something by ignoring it. Eventually, they will run out of empty threats, and stop throwing good money after bad."

[BMWZ4MC]

Inkey is absolutely correct. They can sue you for loss of income, but only if there is an income to be lost and only if the violation prevented them from gaining that income by stopping another vehicle paying for a space. Neither obtained in this case. The other option they have is to sue you for trespass. This usually requires them to prove that harm has been done for a successful case to be brought. Again, this does not apply in your case.
Ignore all correspondence up to and excluding a court summons (which won't be forthcoming).
I'm had the same (one sided) argument with the hospital where I work. I explained the above to the parking "officer" and it was met with "Yawhat Doc? We're gonna take you to court if you don't pay now". That was the last I heard.

[PerryGunn]

Remember, even if they tried to take you to small-claims court, they must prove a loss has occurred (hard to do if your wife was a little bit over a white line and not blocking another space). The other defence is that the penalty charge they are trying to levy is unfair as there is no correlation to the cost of parking or perceived loss or revenue.

They're all a wunch of bankers...

[toolmanchris]

Please be carefull. I had a similar thing with stopping on the service roads at the local airport. Was served with a "Fine" of £100 for parking but the latest advice is not to ignore these things.
Try searching on the MoneySavingExpert site as there is lots of information on there. I am currently appealing to the Parking companys trade association as apparently they are getting braver and actually taking some people to small claims court and sending baliff's etc
Dont want to be a scaremonger but please be sure of your facts before deciding to ignore

[simonlpearce]

Am currently in the process of ignoring one of these as we speak. They can s**t off if they expect any money from me.

Ok they had signs up, but they were that far up a lamp post that even the BFG would have struggled to read them. Not to mention the prior week there was nothing up at all.

[Scooba_Steve]

The only possible way they can get any money is if they take you to Small Claims Court. Ignore everything. If you get court paperwork, check it's genuine (telephone the court) and then take it seriously.

[kevinmarkwhite]

Havent read all replies (just about to leave work and don't want to stay here longer than I need to!).

Didn't Carol have experience of this since the rules have changed? Hopefully she'll give advice. I think it was safe to ignore them in the past, but don't know about the latest rules.

[bladeowner]

In February I parked in a public car park at night (to eat some fish and chips) that used to be free at night. It was after 7:30 pm and I was the only car there. During the day this car park is only 20p per hour. I ate the fish and chips and left 20 min later. A couple of weeks later I receive a parking charge notice asking for £60 if paid within 14 days and £100 otherwise. The car park now has some sort of ANPR system. A month later I received another letter asking for the £100.

I know that the the system has changed and it is now recommended that you appeal (POPLA) but as the amount of money they were out of pocket was 6.6666666p I thought to hell with them and let them take me to court. I haven't had another letter but I know from my wife's experience that they sometimes keep trying months later.

[Geezah]

I've got one of these from UKPC from 4 months back, I just binned them. Havent heard anything from them for about 6 weeks now, as far as I'm concerned they can go forth and multiply, lets see if they take me to court or not.

[californiagirl]

Read the whole thread about it on Money Saving Expert forum. If you write the right kind of letter first off they will just ignore it all. I got a Parking Eye one a few months ago, followed the advice and bingo they backed down and it was cancelled. Sample letters are on the forum, I just cut and pasted it all. Good luck with it, these semi legalised parking scams are horrendous.

[ut745]

Some companies back off but others don't. Sometimes (depending on the amount of the fine) it's better to just pay it.

At the end of the day if you are in the wrong then just pay it. Some may say thats giving in to these bullies but I wouldn't want to deal with the hassle of bailiffs and potential court action over £50 or so (I know your fine is more significant at £100).

Having said that, I did previously ignore their threats and it went away but since the rules changed, my next ticket was harder to avoid paying with UKPC.

They had clear evidence that I didnt park in a proper bay (my fault obviously) so I just gave in and paid it. Easier than wasting my time searching around forums for excuses not to pay (it was only £35).

Whatever you do, good luck but don't stress yourself about it!