Parking notice..

[Usernameinvalid16]

I'm not sure if this is in the right place but here goes..

I parked in asda car park today and was in such a rush with dd that i completely forgot to pay for the parking. I came out to find a parking notice stuck to the window, i was parked in a parent and child bay (dd is 2)
The fine is £40 if paid within 14 days then increases to £70 if paid after the 14 days. Dp tells me i don't need to pay it as it isn't police/council issued. Is this true? Can they take me to court if i ignore it?

[Megatherium]

Yes, you do need to pay. Parking companies can and do take people to court, and if you don't pay you will end up paying the extra £30 plus all the court costs.

[Usernameinvalid16]

Forgor to mention i am in scotland (not sure if that makes any difference)

[Autumnchill]

It's not a fine, it's an invoice. Only people that can fine you are Police and Council.

We get these all the time at work and in 17 years I've not paid a single one and never been to court.

You'll get a demand, another demand, a final demand, a letter from a solicitor offering a reduction if you pay now, another letter, threat of court, final threat, silence.

You can pay if you want but if you decide not to, don't engage with them at all, no acknowledgment.

[Palomb]

Money saving expert is great for researching things like this. It used to be the case that you could just ignore them but I think there's recently been a legislation change and now they're enforceable.

[tribpot]

I posted about this recently (different circumstances) as I received a hire car which had been parked there earlier in the day and incurred a fine). The advice here was not to pay (although there is a difference in that I genuinely wasn't at fault). And this is also backed up by MoneySavingExpert. This is not a penalty charge notice but a 'parking charge notice', a private fee and nothing to do with the Council.

[Penfold007]

You can't just ignore private parking tickets/invoices since the Parking Eye V Barry Beavis court ruling. When you parked in the supermarket you entered in to a contract with the car park owners and agreed to follow their rules.
This link from CAB Scotland may help; www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/consumer/parking-driving-transport/parking-driving-transport-s/appealing-parking-tickets/parking-tickets-on-private-land-s/

Even MSE have had to amend their advice. It sucks but you may well have to pay the charge - sorry.

[Jayfee]

I usually write to appeal and then pay up. It sort of lessens the blow somehow

[PigletWasPoohsFriend]

You can't just ignore private parking tickets/invoices since the Parking Eye V Barry Beavis court ruling.

^ this.

People are now being taken to court.

The 'just ignore it' advice isn't always correct.

Also check that it isn't council property. Some supermarket car parks are council land.

[MsMarvel]

Yes you have to pay. I'm guessing the car park was clearly sign posted with the charges and costs of parking, and you didn't pay.

Previously it was never worth their trouble of taking people to court, but now they regularly do. I'm guessing because too many people had the attitude of 'nah I'm not paying, I can park for free and there's nothing they can do about it'

[Autumnchill]

They cite that case in their letters to us but we still ignore.

OP it's up to you what you want to do

[Usernameinvalid16]

I did some research and found that i shouldn't just pay the notice and try and appeal, even if they did take me to court it would only be a small claims court and it is unlikely as the charge is so small.
The private firm is parkingeye and they do have the right to ask for my information from the DVLA (what does that mean?) that little bit has got me worried but i guess thats what they want?
I didn't want to send away an appeal until i got some advice, my local cab office is closed until wednesday, once its open i will go and get some upto date advice.

[PigletWasPoohsFriend]

I did some research and found that i shouldn't just pay the notice and try and appeal, even if they did take me to court it would only be a small claims court and it is unlikely as the charge is so small.

As has been said. They do take people to court and it won't just be a small amount once charges etc are added.

Don't be fooled by the title 'small claims' either. They deal with cases in the thousands of pounds.

Not sure what your grounds of appeal are.

You didn't pay! Unfortunately being in a rush us no excuse.

[ElizaSchuyler]

I disputed 3 cases (& won) on behalf of work but the signs were not compliant (it was a hospital & the only signs were located in the public car park, none in the contractors compound) & the charge notice was not sent within the specified timescale.

You can't just ignore the charge following the Beavis Case.

[Usernameinvalid16]

As i said i will visit my local citizens advice and get some upto date advice and see if they can help me with the appeal. I don't want to just pay it without getting some sound advice, if they tell me to pay it, i will. I don't want to acknowledge it just yet.

[ChanandlerBongsNeighbour]

I would say any appeals would be based on wrong doing or some liability on the part of the car park company? The wrongdoing is here from yourself in failing to buy a ticket. I think you need to just suck it up and pay and consider it a lesson learned.

[Usernameinvalid16]

The sign is at the entrance to the car park, you can't stop and read it as the writing is too small and you can't park then run over to read it because there's a wall between the car park and road. There isn't any signs in the car park or next to the pay machines, there isn't a payments list e.g 50p for an hour, £1 for 2 hours. And the pay machines aren't noticeable there is no signs to say where about they are located in the car park. I can nip back later and try and get a proper look at the sign.

[WellErrr]

Did you shop at asda?

If so, write to asda with proof of either receipt or bank statement and they'll cancel it for you. Easy peasy.

[ElizaSchuyler]

Ok - with that extra information it sounds like you may have a good case to appeal.

[Usernameinvalid16]

Yes i shopped at asda i spent over £40 and i still have the reciept.

[ElizaSchuyler]

You have to be given chance to read (& therefore accept) the terms & conditions of parking.

[ElizaSchuyler]

From CAB Scotland

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Parking tickets on private land

This advice applies to Scotland Print
In many areas, parking on public land is managed by the local authority. Where it isn’t, the police are responsible instead. Parking tickets can be issued by either the local authority parking attendant, or by a police officer or traffic warden.

On private land, parking is often managed by private parking companies who issue their own parking tickets. The rules about issuing these tickets are different to the rules about tickets issued by local authorities or the police.

On this page, read about what you can expect if you get a parking ticket if you parked in a private car park or on private land.

Parking on private land

If you park on private land, such as a supermarket car park or a privately owned multi-story car park, you will have entered into a contract with the landowner. If there are clear signs displayed in the car park setting out rules for using the car park, then these are the terms of the contract. If any of these rules are broken, then the car park owner can take steps to enforce them. There is often a parking operating company managing the car park for the owner or landlord.

Parking on a private residential road

Some roads are privately owned by the residents. Residents may have problems with unauthorised parking. Private landowners are entitled to impose reasonable terms and conditions and restrictions on those using their land. You may want to get legal advice about how to enforce your legal rights. Options available to resident landowners include:

asking the local authority to adopt the road, with enforcement coming under local authority control. This requires majority agreement. Your local authority can explain the process, including any costs.
entering into an agreement with a reputable private parking operator to enforce the parking restrictions.
When a parking ticket may be issued

If you park on private land without permission from the owner, or breach any conditions imposed by the owner, then the owner or someone authorised by them, may give you a parking ticket. This might look like an official fixed penalty but it isn't one. It's a notice that the owner of the car park or the private car park operator intends to take you to a civil court, and will offer to let you pay the charge to settle the case out of court. This is a civil matter, not a criminal one.

You must be aware of the terms of use of the parking

The car park operator issues the notice on the basis that you have broken the terms of the contract between you and the landowner. There is no specific legislation dealing with parking on private land in Scotland. The general principles of contract law apply. This means that for a binding contract to be formed between you and the landowner, the rules about where and when you can park and what charges apply must be displayed clearly throughout the car park (particularly at the entrances). They must be clear enough so that no reasonable person could claim that they were not aware of the rules.

A sign is misleading if it fails to make it clear what the car parking rules that form the contract between you and the landowner are. If signs are misleading or deceptive, they might break consumer protection regulations, as well as not forming a valid and enforceable term of the contract between you and the landowner.

[Usernameinvalid16]

Well the only 2 signs aren't at the entrance, you turn into asda go round a bend and the 1st sign is just after the bend. You would be too focused on making the bend to even notice the sign (its a very tight corner) the next one is also on the side of the road (writing is too small to read) whilst driving anyway. There might be another sign somewhere else but thats what i can remember off the top of my head.

[ElizaSchuyler]

Are there APNR cameras?

I would go back & photograph the signs (or lack of them) also photograph the lack of detail on the pay machines & try & draw a map layout showing where the signs are & detail why you can't read them.

In my appeal letter I cited the fact that the only sign our driver passed he would have had to pull up on double yellows to read them.

[RebootYourEngine]

Small claims court have a maximum limit of 5,000 pounds. If you can afford to pay that (because i think parking eye would bump up the costs) then you should just pay it.

[ElizaSchuyler]

Template appeal letter

images6.moneysavingexpert.com/images/documents/step_1_letter.docx