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AIBU?

AIBU to ignore 'Parking Charge Notice' from Parking Eye

133 replies

ComposHat · 04/01/2013 12:54

Just before Christmas I was travelling from England to Scotland when we stopped at a service station for a break at a service station just over the border just before midnight.

When we returned to the car after a loo break and a cup of coffee, the car resolutely failed to start. After a call to the AA we were told that it would be a three hour wait until a patrol would get back to me.

Anyway the patrolman showed up after about three hours and got me us underway again, colder, grumpier but none the worse for wear.

All well and good, until I got a letter from a company called 'Parking Eye' trying to get me to pay £100 quid for overstaying the two hour free parking period (in a deserted car park at midnight in a broken down car) complete with two blurry pictures of my car's number plate. The driver (who may or may not have been me ;-) ) isn't visible in their cruddy shots.

Having scanned a few forums, the consensus seems to be to ignore these money grabbing chancers and deposit the letters they send straight into the dustbin. However I am by nature quite nervy, so am a bit worried about the consequences, equally I don't have a spare £100 lying around to hand over to these cowboys.

Has anyone had any experience in dealing with 'Parking Eye' or other Private Parking contractors and what did you do? Any help greatly appreciated.

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HollyBerryBush · 04/01/2013 12:57

Private car park fines cannot be enforced - havea look at Martin Smith money forum - you should find a template letter there to tell them to go boil their heads.

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ChaoticintheNewYear · 04/01/2013 12:58

I believe that the only parking tickets that are legally enforceable are those given by the council/police.

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NewYearNewNN · 04/01/2013 13:00

There was a very good thread about this a little while ago, I'll see if I can find it. Meanwhile, I'm pretty certain you'll be fine - but DO NOT RESPOND to them yet, by phone, letter or email, until some of us have had a chance to do some research.

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atacareercrossroads · 04/01/2013 13:02

Ignore, nothing will come of it, apart from them wasting their time sending more letters.

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HoratiaWinwood · 04/01/2013 13:03

DH is expecting one of these for breaking down in a car park last week. He intends to reply informing them that the landowner was made aware (lent him a phone to call the AA!) and their later cctv will show said AA van parked nearby and then towing him away.

Panic not; let the experts get back with template links!

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NewYearNewNN · 04/01/2013 13:03

this one covers a lot of what you need to know.

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GoldPlatedNineDoors · 04/01/2013 13:03

DO NOT PAY THEM. The only car parkibg fines you NEED to pay are Council and Police ones.

Stand firm. They will send you a fine letter, then a late fine letter, then tell you they will.pass it onto a debt collection agency and it has reached x amount of £££s then eventually it will disappear.

They have NO legal leg to stand on.

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rechargemybatteries · 04/01/2013 13:04

Keep the letter but DO NOT RESPOND.

They can't do anything.

Were there any clear signs about exceeding the time limit?

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ComposHat · 04/01/2013 13:14

Thanks everyone, I feel emboldened.

recharge I'm not sure how clear the parking signs were as it was pitch black and we'd only intended to stop 20 minutes before the car broke down.

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Garnier · 04/01/2013 13:15

DEFINITELY IGNORE

Read lots about it on moneysavingexpert or the consumer action group.

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googlyeyes · 04/01/2013 13:20

Yes, do not respond at all to anything they send. All that will do is lead to extra hassling as you've confirmed they have the right address

I got one of these fines after staying too long in a McDonalds car park last year (in my defence my autistic son was taking ages to eat his food following a massive meltdown) and my brother told me categorically to ignore all letters/ threats from them. It was pretty hairy as I got repeated letters upping the fine amount but then they just stopped.

Thee's an M&S near us that charges a pound to park in their car park (run by europarks) and it's quite funny seeing people panic if they don't have change on them etc. Most people aren't aware what an empty threat the warnings in these car parks are

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Notfootball · 04/01/2013 13:24

Don't pay, ignore is the advice I have been given. We overstayed in a free car park but spent lots of money in the shop in November and have had two letters requesting payment (the second one arrived before the 'pay by' date had expired so they must be desperate) and recently, a third one from their 'legal team'. I'm enjoying collecting them and want to see how far they will go to collect 90 odd pounds from someone who overstayed a couple of minutes in a free and empty car park.

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rechargemybatteries · 04/01/2013 13:25

Was there a ticket machine to pay for parking or was it one of those "free parking up to two hours" places? Because the law is different whether there's a ticket that you get or if it's free.

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ICBINEG · 04/01/2013 13:25

have had a little look and if the parking is free then they have no legal right to claim they are out of pocket. They would if you had stopped other customers but given the car park was empty this is trivially bogus. So you cost them nothing and their invoice is therefore unreasonable and you should not pay it.

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CornyClam · 04/01/2013 13:27

So I don't have to pay to park in m&s?

What do I say to the car parking guy who stands guard in the doorway?

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ComposHat · 04/01/2013 13:28

recharge it was one of those 2 hours free jobs.

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JamesBexleySpeed · 04/01/2013 13:31

I don't think a ticket makes any difference, recharge, just whether or not it's a council or private car park.

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rechargemybatteries · 04/01/2013 13:33

Oh ok Blush

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meddie · 04/01/2013 13:36

Just ignore it. DO NOT RESPOND this will only confirm to them they have the right address.

You will get a few more letters, some in big red writing that look scary and say stuff like. you may be taken to court, you may get a CCJ etc etc.

You might even get a letter that looks like it came from a solicitors. Graham white or roxburgh was who they used to use.

DO NOT RESPOND

The letters will stop eventually. They are just chancing their arm.

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ivykaty44 · 04/01/2013 13:44

It is a parking charge that they try to get you to pay by pretending it is a fine when reality is they are bully boy chancres.

If I send you a letter Op demanding 100 quid would you send me the money if I dressed it up in the same scam like way? Thought not - so don't pay them either Wink

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ivykaty44 · 04/01/2013 13:46

Oh and you could keep this first letter and then send the others back Not Known at This address - that will mean they think the DVLA have sold them the wrong address due to you not upadating your driving licence - but there would be nothing they could do about it....

That is if the envelops have a distinguishing feature about them so you know to send them back Smile

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ComposHat · 04/01/2013 13:51

I do hope they do start threatening CCJs as they don't exist in Scotland!

I was wondering if it was worth talking to the Centre Manager at the Service station and explain the circs of the breakdown and see of he/she can do anything?

I'm minded to do nothing, but wondered if asking the Welcome Break to intervene with this clowns might save a few trees/long drawn out process.

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LadySybilPussPolham · 04/01/2013 14:05

I recently received a parking charge notice for £70 from a company like this who manage the Aldi car park near us. I had gone over the two hour period, not realising that they were actually timing it from the moment you drive onto the premises! As I had spent close to 20 minutes queuing in the car park to actually get a space (Christmas) I was pretty peeved and fired off an indignant email with my receipts attached. I got a fairly prompt response telling me that the charge had been cancelled.
I had no idea at the time that this was an unenforceable charge; even so I would still have been tempted to contact them to tell them to do one

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ivykaty44 · 04/01/2013 14:06

contacting the welcome break will just me you confirm to the company that employess this company that you have received your fine and therefore they can send you more letters and cut down more trees

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MegBusset · 04/01/2013 14:09

YANBU to ignore. I had one from them last year after they took over the car park at my local Aldi. They may send you one or two more letters but they have zero legal standing and they will give up and go away eventually. They are total scamsters and I'm astonished they're still allowed to operate.

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