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Original poster

Parking fine - should I pay it?

22 replies

user0243 · 10/03/2023 17:25

Hi,

I'm after some advice from someone who knows the law regarding this please so any help will be gratefully received!

A couple of months ago I went to my daughters for the evening to babysit. She owns a house in a cul de sac, privately owned by a housing association.
Each house has one allocated parking space - there is no guest parking.
The HA pay a local parking firm to issue fines to anyone parked in the marked spaces, and there is a sign by the spaces to show this.

I parked outside my daughters house on double yellows, which is the only place I could park, but it doesn't obstruct anyone at all, there is plenty of room to get past and several other guests of other residents also park there.
My daughter has confirmed with the HA that the parking company only monitor the assigned parking bays, not the double yellows.

So the night I babysat, I left at around 10pm to find a parking ticket that had been placed on my car at 9.30pm by the private company, not a police officer or traffic warden.
They have now sent several letters demanding £80 which I have ignored as I believed their ticket was invalid but I have just received a letter from a debt collector demanding £170 and saying it's too late to appeal. There are also threats on the letter stating what will happen if I ignore them.

Does anyone know where I stand legally with this please? I understand it is legally an invoice, rather than a fine, as they believe I have broken a contract with them, but can they use debt collectors for this without it even going to court?
And are private companies allowedto issue fines for parking on double yellows?? I always thought it was only police and traffic wardens that covered them.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

OP posts:
NomadicSpirit · 10/03/2023 17:27

HI. You want to go over to Money Savings Expert website and ask there

(forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/parking-tickets-fines-parking). There are lots of switched on people there who will tell you exactly how to respond and when.

Redglitter · 10/03/2023 17:28

I got an invoice Dec 2020 which I ignored. I got a few letters from a Debt collection agency but that was all. I presume they've given up. It hasn't affected my credit score or anything either

Personally I'd bin it

underneaththeash · 10/03/2023 17:30

Go and take a photo of the parking notice. That will tell you the areas they can issue fines for.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Driving & parking
Original poster
user0243 · 10/03/2023 17:35

Thank you for your replies. I'll look on Moneysavingexpert, I didn't think of them.
I've just read on moneynerd.co.uk that they can't actually issue a 'fine' (invoice) for more than £50 and the initial ticket left on my windscreen is for £100!

I have ignored everything so far but as the car is in my husbands name and the debt letter is, he's worried it's going to affect his credit file so that's reassuring Redglitter, thank you.

I'll ask my daughter to send me a pic of the notice on the fence too.

OP posts:
MajorCarolDanvers · 10/03/2023 17:38

Double yellow lines - yes you need to pay.

akkakk · 10/03/2023 17:40

double yellow lines can be on private property or on public roads...
you need to establish which that land might be...

if private then they may have a right to issue penalties for that area - if a public road they almost 100% do not have that right...

Original poster
user0243 · 10/03/2023 17:43

It's a private road but the housing association have said they're only supposed to monitor the parking bays, not double yellows.
If I was on a public road and issued it by a traffic warden or police officer I'd pay it, but the first charge was for £100 and they've called it a PCN which I also didn't think was allowed?

OP posts:
Kinneddar · 10/03/2023 17:43

MajorCarolDanvers · 10/03/2023 17:38

Double yellow lines - yes you need to pay.

Not if its from a parking company. Double yellows on a main road & a ticket issued by Council or Police then yes. But not from a parking firm.

LIZS · 10/03/2023 17:43

user0243 · 10/03/2023 17:35

Thank you for your replies. I'll look on Moneysavingexpert, I didn't think of them.
I've just read on moneynerd.co.uk that they can't actually issue a 'fine' (invoice) for more than £50 and the initial ticket left on my windscreen is for £100!

I have ignored everything so far but as the car is in my husbands name and the debt letter is, he's worried it's going to affect his credit file so that's reassuring Redglitter, thank you.

I'll ask my daughter to send me a pic of the notice on the fence too.

I think that relates to potential legislative changes, which unfortunately stalled in Parliament last year

Mrsm010918 · 10/03/2023 18:13

I work for a lease hire company so deal with a lot of fines related issues on a daily basis.

As it is on the road it is entirely down to whether that road is classed as owned by the housing association or considered a public highway.

If it is private they can issue the ticket as they have done and as per Parking Eye vs Beavis they are legally entitled to pursue this which it appears they are doing by going through debt collection agencies. I would generally ignore money saving forums etc as a lot of them have outdated advice but if you look up the legislation it will tell you what is/is not enforceable.

I've seen an increasing number of companies pursuing these over the last 6 months rather than letting it slide with drivers having bailiffs at their door when they ignore a ticket. Not trying to scaremonger but just the trying to highlight the reality of not dealing with these things

Original poster
user0243 · 10/03/2023 19:07

Thanks Mrsm010918. That's helpful to know.
Where would you say I stand then, being that the sign is nowhere near where I parked and definitely not visible in the dark.
And that the housing association who own the land told my son-in-law that they don't cover the road?

OP posts:
Mrsm010918 · 10/03/2023 19:38

Parking companies can pull back from debt collection stage (though they do like to pretend otherwise), but not from bailiffs, so I'd recommend contacting the company that issued the ticket as a first port of call to discuss parking restrictions on the area.

Any photos you can get both of where your vehicle was parked and where the signage covers would be beneficial.

If they refuse to discuss it due to the time that has passed then its up to you whether you choose to pay while it's at £170 (bailiffs is usually about £450) or whether you challenge them further. Also look up POPLA as you may be able to appeal via that avenue

Original poster
user0243 · 10/03/2023 19:42

Does it not have to go to court before it gets to bailiffs stage?

OP posts:
Original poster
user0243 · 10/03/2023 19:43

I'm tempted to go through Resolver as the parking company is on their list and everything will be documented properly.

OP posts:
Original poster
user0243 · 10/03/2023 19:55

I just looked it up - private parking companies can't issue bailiffs. They can take us to small claims court if they choose to pursue it.

OP posts:
NomadicSpirit · 10/03/2023 20:06

Mrsm010918 · 10/03/2023 18:13

I work for a lease hire company so deal with a lot of fines related issues on a daily basis.

As it is on the road it is entirely down to whether that road is classed as owned by the housing association or considered a public highway.

If it is private they can issue the ticket as they have done and as per Parking Eye vs Beavis they are legally entitled to pursue this which it appears they are doing by going through debt collection agencies. I would generally ignore money saving forums etc as a lot of them have outdated advice but if you look up the legislation it will tell you what is/is not enforceable.

I've seen an increasing number of companies pursuing these over the last 6 months rather than letting it slide with drivers having bailiffs at their door when they ignore a ticket. Not trying to scaremonger but just the trying to highlight the reality of not dealing with these things

HIya. I used the money saving expert forum when in a similar position to the OP and I won my case. They have some very switched on people on there. Honestly OP, you should be going there and asking for help as they will tell you exactly what to do.

Original poster
user0243 · 10/03/2023 20:12

Thank you Nomadicspirit, that's great to know!

OP posts:
mariebaby3 · 10/03/2023 20:15

My husband got a private parking fine which he ignored and he ended up with a CCJ which absolutely destroyed his credit rating. The only way he could get it removed was by taking them to court. I would never ignore one again.

Original poster
user0243 · 10/03/2023 20:31

That's awful. I read on one of the money websites it can only legally affect you credit though if they take you to court and you ignore a court order as you don't have any credit agreement with them.

OP posts:
Original poster
user0243 · 10/03/2023 20:31

It's not legally a fine, it's an invoice.

OP posts:
LumpyandBumps · 10/03/2023 20:53

You are right that this is an invoice.

The company could take you to court and obtain a CCJ. I read somewhere that a CCJ doesn’t stay on your credit record if it is settled promptly, within one month I think.

They clearly are unlikely to take every case to court, but there is a risk that you will be unlucky.

The Parking Eye/Beavis case has received a lot of publicity; that was different to your case and it appeared to be important for the deterrent value. From memory it relates to overstaying in a ‘free’ car park. I understand Beavis and his representatives argued that all Parking Eye could charge was a reasonable amount for his parking overstay, and not a punitive sum. The ‘fine’ was accepted at a punitive rate as it was decided that they needed to be able to stop people ignoring the time limit.

That was in a busy car park, and there are many such car parks. That was an important case. Only you can decide if it’s worth the risk that yours is not an important or precedent setting case.

If they don’t go to court you can safely ignore demands and tell any debt collectors posing as bailiffs to go away.

Original poster
user0243 · 10/03/2023 21:02

Thank you. I wouldn't say mine is an important case at all. It's a cul-de-sac with around 20 houses off a public road.
Each house has one allocated parking bay and there is no visitor parking at all.
I could have parked in the next road but it was dark and quite late and not the safest of areas.
I also have photos of one of their parking attendants parked at an angle across 2 of the private parking bays, yet he's issued a ticket to my son-in-law before for not displaying his permit when parked in his own space!
I'm going to contact the housing association Monday and ask them to confirm again that they don't police anything but the bays.
If I can get a record of that I'll tell the parking co to drop it or take me to court.

I never usually park on double yellows but there wasn't anywhere else and in my opinion, it's purely a money making excercise to ticket someone in a quiet private road at 9.30 on a saturday night.

OP posts:
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