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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not pay this parking ticket from Total Parking Solutions because its a scam?

79 replies

littlejo67 · 22/06/2013 18:01

There is info online saying this company is unethical and don`t pay, but ts difficult when you get threatening letters to find the courage to ignore it (thats the ploy apparently).

I have been ignoring Parking Invoices from Total Parking Solutions (TPS). I have now received a letter from Debt Recovery Plus a "Notice of Intended court Action". It states if I don`t pay £148.00 it will go to the creditors solicitor to commence court proceeding.

Apparently I have ignored a previous letter from them - but this is the first I have received.

The original parking invoice was because I stayed 20 mins over the allowed time in a Health Centre car Park. The Health Centre has a Boots and two Dr`s Surgeries on it. So I guess that they are the clients of TPS.

I work from one of the Doctors Surgeries- I am not employed by them but work as a therapist with their Patients. I was asked to come in by the Surgery for an I.T induction and I parked in their car park.

The Car Park was free so there has been no financial lose on their clients part, plus I was invited by them (but I should of noticed the cameras I guess).
Therefore should I just keep ignoring this?

Anyone else have a ticket and it went away?

OP posts:

Slavetothechild · 22/06/2013 18:05

Ooh snap i have on that i am ignoring from the same company.i must say i am getting nervous though !! I shall watch with interest

JakeBullet · 22/06/2013 18:08

Keep ignoring them, they will eventually stop. this is not legally enforceable so they cannot go to court.

playftseforme · 22/06/2013 18:11

I would suspect nothing will come f this, they apply strong arm tactics in the hope that some people will be scared into paying, but if you ignore them it's likely to be too much hassle for them to take you to court over what is a relatively small amount. I ignored a similar letter, and it all went away, but obviously I'm not advising anyone to copy me!

melika · 22/06/2013 18:14

From what I have heard on the radio and friends the council are the only ones who can take further action when you have a parking ticket. Wait it out.
Recently, my Dsis parked in a Morrison's and outstayed it by 10 mins,(2 hours free), she still hasn't heard from them, althought the very unhelpful staff in Morrison's said she would.

Blissx · 22/06/2013 18:22

Ignore it. In fact, don't even complain about it as at the moment, the is no contract between you and the company and if you respond, you are admitting there is one, by law. These penalty charge notices are not legally enforceable and are not parking fines. Please read the link below to get more information, shred the letter and stop worrying. Also, re-read the notice-are you not sure it states "we may to you to court" or similar-it will be worded to scare but not actually be factually correct.

Martin Lewis

sebastianthesingingaubergine · 22/06/2013 18:23

Basically they cannot issue a legally bound penalty charge notice. The only thing they can theoretically do is take you to the small claims court. Depending on the circumstances, signage and bearing in mind this is private land it is possible they could get you to pay.
However, i have dealt with this myself and the reality is they make their money purely off the back of scary letters or phone calls. They are not interested in the costs involved with courts. I sent them a letter saying i did not accept the charge or their authority to enforce it and other info like poor signage etc... They sent me another letter and i called them and told them i would not pay and if they wanted the money they would have to take me to court. The guy on the phone got quite aggitated and said 'see you in court then'.
Never heard about it since.....

evelynj · 22/06/2013 18:24

Do not pay & continue to ignore, as pp says, they have no right to enforce anything.

It's hard to ignore as it adds anxiety to your life when there's something pecking at you for attention & you have a little guilt over error. This is how they want you to feel so you'll pay.

I parked in a disabled spot in a retail park (didn't notice as thought it was just the one beside me was disabled & weird goings on in the car beside were distracting me). Got a ticket & ignored this & all subsequent letters. They increased & then stopped within about 3-5 months IIRC

Good luck & stick to your guns!

Original poster

littlejo67 · 22/06/2013 18:28

Thanks for the replies, it helpful to know others would do the same.

Blissx - it says - "To prevent your case being passed onto the creditors`s solicitor to commence court proceedings, you must pay the full amount of £148.99 by 01/07/13.

OP posts:

Purple2012 · 22/06/2013 18:29

Its an invoice not a fine. I recently had one from parking eye and have been ignoring them. Do not enter into any correspondence with them. Just ignore. I have had 3 letters, the latest threatening court action etc.

They cannot force you to tell them who was driving. Only the police and council have that right so they can't take you to court and force you to say who was driving.

They get most people by the threats and hope they will just pay.

If you get a ticket put on your car from these companies there is something on the back to police telling them not to discourage payment. So they know it's not enforceable.

TimeofChange · 22/06/2013 18:30

Ignore them.
Do not reply in an shape or form.

They will give up after 12 months!

mrsminiverscharlady · 22/06/2013 18:33

They are legally enforceable now. The lovely government changed the law in October 2012 to give these companies more rights to pursue motorists for unpaid 'fines'. I think it's disgusting. I would see if the GP surgery will get on to the company and get them to drop it. I recently overstayed in an Aldi car park and when I complained to their head office they contacted the company and withdrew the fine.

carabos · 22/06/2013 18:36

Ooh this is a timely thread. I've just opened a letter from Parking Eye demanding £90 for DH overstaying by 10 min in a free car park - it's got pics and everything.

It has come to me because I am the registered keeper of the car. Shall I ignore? DH is abroad at the moment, but it was him who parked the car. It's from a week ago.

sebastianthesingingaubergine · 22/06/2013 18:40

www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/enforcement/
Says it all really.

Blissx · 22/06/2013 18:42

Hey littlejo, thought as much, they are trying to scare you and the charge is totally disproportionate to the action. Hope the excellent information on the moneysavingsexpert site helps ease your concern;have a glass of wine and don't give it another thought. You may get maybe two more letters at most and then it will stop. This is just another case of the illegal activities of the DVLA as they should not have given out your address to this company. I feel for you, but can promise nothing will happen to you or your credit rating.

sebastianthesingingaubergine · 22/06/2013 18:43

www.speechlys.com/knowledge-centre/knowledge-centre/publications/real-estate-and-contruction-and-engineering/new-rules-govern-parking-enforcement-on-private-property.aspx
The new rules were did not change how the fines can be enforced. They have to go to court and frankly they wont.

VivaLeBeaver · 22/06/2013 18:46

I have had lots of tickets from TPS as they patrol our work carpark......a car park for which I pay £14 a month for a permit.

I have ignored every single ticket and seeing as the tickets go up to about £800 per ticket I must owe then several thousand £.

They have given up with me now. I've never replied to them as I believe that makes things worse/gives them hope. The letters are quite scary, some look like they're from a court/solicitor. They are cowboys and the "tickets" aren't enforceable.

They're only allowed to fine you enough to cover any loss they incurred by you been there. Seeing as its a free car park there is no loss.

Technically they could legally fine me £3.50 as once I did park in a visitor space so they could argue £3.50. I look forward to the day they take me to court for £3.50.

Funnily enough the last few tickets they haven't even bothered writing to me about.

Blissx · 22/06/2013 18:47

Carabis, yes,ignore. It is not legally enforceable either, but they get their money from people willing to pay and these cowboys are the scourge as far as I am concerned. Having been through it with the Homebase car park and the fact I was having a kitchen design appointment and they went over the two hours limit I was angry and knew there were no visible signs warning me. I knew we were in the right. I got legal advice from my solicitor who lives only a few houses away and reading sites like the one I've given, I'm glad I ignored the three letters we got as nothing ever happened and nothing went on my credit rating.

VivaLeBeaver · 22/06/2013 18:53

No, they're still not enforceable.

What changed in Oct was that now you legally can't refuse to tell them who was driving/parking the car whereas before you could.

gallifrey · 22/06/2013 19:05

actually they are within their rights to take you to court if they feel they will be successful. The law has recently changed. My dh works for a parking company.

Cutiecat · 22/06/2013 19:17

I got one in December where I overstayed my 2 free hours looking at laptops in Staples. I am staying strong despite the really threatening letters. My only concern is if they make an example of my and start court proceedings it would be awful for my credit rating. BUT I don't think they will for £90 (the last letter offered me £45 if i paid within 10 days again!). Mine is from parking eye, they are evil.

VivaLeBeaver · 22/06/2013 22:56

They can only take me to court for £3.50 which they're never going to do. They can't legally make me pay the £800 per ticket or however much they say it is now.

gallifrey · 23/06/2013 00:05

they probably won't but they can do it.

WafflyVersatile · 23/06/2013 00:18

I'd check out the parking tickets forum on MSE. Also pepipoo.com.

Hercy · 23/06/2013 01:20

The amount they're charging is not legally enforceable, but they are within their rights to claim something. It's based on expectational damages under contract law. If they were to take you to court it the amount you would have to pay would be based upon what you had to pay based on the contract with the landowner. Eg if a car park charges £1 p/hour and you stayed over the hour you paid for, you would have to pay them £1 (per hour) for the time spent over what the ticket covers.

If its a free car park, then you would not be expected to pay anything (although I would check this as a lot of free car parks have a max stay of 2 hours).

What I would personally do is send them a cheque, in full and final settlement of the matter, for what you would have had to pay if parking according to their terms and a small amount in respect of admin. If you were to do this "full and final settlement" would have to be on the note with the cheque. If you were to ignore, they most likely wouldn't pursue further, but personally, I would want the peace of mind.

sebastianthesingingaubergine · 23/06/2013 08:05

Gallifrey, anybody can apply to take anyone they like to a small claims court. This is not the issue.
The issue is the difference between a ticket issued by a traffic warden that is enforceable by law without the need to go to court and the fact that private parking companies DO NOT SHARE THIS PRIVILEDGE. If they didnt try and charge ridiculous fines, escalation fees people would probably pay anyway. The fact is they try it on and get away with it sometimes. No court would award the charges they apply.

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