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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To refuse to pay this private parking ticket

44 replies

Sajamine · 14/11/2015 16:04

Was slapped with a ninety pound fine for parking without a ticket. Could only see one parking ticket machine and it was out of order with a mellow jacket on. Sobi just didn't pay.

Apparently there was another one around the corner. It didn't say this on the others jacket

Also the fine its too high IMO, its 2 pounds to park for the whole day. So mayabe I deserve a 2 pounds fine plus a ten pounds admin fee. They wouldn't of lost out on ninety pounds for the two three hours I was there for .

OP posts:

OhBeloved · 14/11/2015 19:44

Oh dear, I googled the ruling.

But I understood there were several problems with private parking tickets:

The contract to park is between the driver and the supermarket say, NOT the landowner or parking ticket company - so a ticket receiver could countersue the supermarket - which of course the ticket company don't want.

The ticket company have no means of establishing who was driving the vehicle and incurred the ticket.

If there is no charge for parking then no contract has been entered into when parking.

Disclaimer: I know nothing of the law - just I've seen all these given as reasons you can ignore on the www.

So, I don't think that judgement will make much difference. The judgement was only about the £85 being a proportionate charge. Presumable the driver had already admitted his involvement.

maggiethemagpie · 14/11/2015 20:03

i ignore them until/unless I get a court summons from an actual court, not a pretend nasty letter from a pretend solicitor. No one has tried to take me to court yet.

Sparkletastic · 14/11/2015 20:07

Yes blah blah blah they can take you to court. VERY rarely do though unless you are a chronic repeat offender. Ignore.

PiperIsTerrysChoclateOrange · 14/11/2015 20:15

I would pay up, I wouldn't want a ccj on my record.

It would screw up my credit rating, may be difficult to get a morgage or even hire a car ect.

Original poster

Sajamine · 14/11/2015 20:17

That judgment doesn't seem right IMO. Along with a long list of others.

Anyway I'll ignore, the letter is pretty threatening so it makes me less inclined to pay up.

OP posts:

honeyroar · 14/11/2015 20:24

My friend emailed Martin Whatshisname (the money saving blike) when's he got one. He suggested paying £15 as a proportion, but not all of the fine as you dispute the amount. They didn't like it, and kept writing to her, but he gave her templates of what to write back, and eventually they accepted it. He said not to pay nothing. See if his website says anything?

Deinosuchus · 14/11/2015 20:30

I got one of these a couple of months ago. I appealed and lost first appeal and I also wrote to the people who employ the parking company - where I had patronised them as a paying customer. I got a blah blah reply but then about two weeks later, a letter from the parking company saying the charge had been cancelled and no further action. In the end it became a point of principle - £90?!! Outrageously disproportionate (I had overstayed, whilst spending money in the cafe attached to the car park). In fact I have had this happen twice and both times got off the fine. I agree with earlier post - if it's council, cough up straight away, if private, make a nuisance of yourself. If it had been £20 I would have paid straight away but £90 is taking the piss on a massive scale. Do you have receipts from spending money in the shops attached to car park? You could write to the store/retail park manager and go down that route.

TheClacksAreDown · 14/11/2015 21:46

You may think the judgment "isn't right" but it is the Supreme Court so basically that is the end of the matter from a ,legal persoective as it is binding authority in lower courts.

witsender · 14/11/2015 21:59

We had similar. Kind of...we pulled into a carparkbfor long enough to change a nappy, didn't leave car. Park had automated cameras, cue ticket. We ignored as per the outdated advice online. Eventually got taken to court, never had a ticket before. We offered to pay parking, argued that the amount asked was punitive as against representative of costs, they demonstrated it did in fact represent their administration costs etc. In the end we avoided court by paying the reduced fee you can pay in the first 2 wks, and we only had that wiggle room for negotiation because they screwed up by not agreeing to mediation earlier on which they should have done...judge would have looked on it unfavourably in court.

The law has changed, advising people to ignore, they won't take you to court etc is misguided and inaccurate. Don't ignore, appeal if you think you have been wronged.

GruntledOne · 14/11/2015 22:35

Anyway I'll ignore, the letter is pretty threatening so it makes me less inclined to pay up.

Well, it's a plan. Whether you'll think it was the best plan after you've ended up paying three times as much including court costs is a different matter.

ReallyTired · 14/11/2015 23:03

It is a mistake to ignore the parking invoice. You need to make an appeal to the parking company, which will almost always be rejected. The next step is to make an appeal to POPLA. (Independent parking appeals) It is possible to win an appeal, on certain grounds.

witsender
There should be a grace period to allow you to read the notices and then leave if you like the terms and conditions. There is no commerical justification for slapping a huge fine on someone who has parked for just a couple of minutes. If there is no grace period then its impossible to get out of your car and read all the terms and conditions of your parking. It is an unfair penality. I am really surprised you didn't win your court case.

The recent ParkingEye Limited (Respondent) v Beavis does not give the right to parking companies to charge whatever like or make up arbitary rules. It only shows that parking management companies can charge people who abuse free parking by over staying all afternoon.

If a random person off the street thinks that your parking invoice is unfair then you will stand a good chance of winning a popla appeal. Money Saving Expert website has lots of good advice on winning popla appeals.

Shirtsleeves · 14/11/2015 23:03

Your plan to ignore is stupid and will end up costing you more in the long run.

dratsea · 15/11/2015 01:13

If they have already acknowledged, in writing, the mellow hello jacket, that there was no notice about the one around the corner and if the alternative was not visible from the meter, ignore. If you live alone, do not spend much time at home, do not work in a public place and want to get bolshie just point out the above, and ask them to take you to court. They will not reply other than to send 3 letters from "legal firm" followed by three from "recovery firm" all printed in same ink on same paper but different fonts and by third you will be asked for about £500, being the fine, cost of three letters and recovery charges. At this point, and not before, a human bean will review the case and they may start turning up on the doorstep and at work. I got away with one, got all the letters but no visit. But it was an ANPR system, takes pictures of you going in and out and the car was driven out by dw who had already visited the Safeway private parking place earlier in the day and we had receipts for both shopping visits. I had sent copies of receipts for both lots of shopping and a request for copies of ANPR pictures with my instruction to take me to court. The only replies I got were the standard computer generated letters and they went on over about six months. It was well stressful and hardly worth it and after the recent court case I think the parking bandits will be emboldened. But good luck.

Tarrarra · 15/11/2015 01:28

The contract in the car park is to pay and display your ticket. As you didn't do that then in the eyes of the law, you broke the contract. Pay and appeal on the basis that their signage wasn't clear as to what you should do if the meter was out of order. Always take pictures if you can... Good luck.

kali110 · 15/11/2015 01:57

Advice changed do not ignore.
Not saying pay but if you ignore then you only have yourself to blame.
As said above courts have been ruling a lot more in their favour as of late.
Go on websites to look for how to appeal, pepipoo forums is a good one.
Though may be hard to argue with facts given.

unimaginativename13 · 15/11/2015 02:28

Use the template from the money saving website. I've used it over 10 times, always been cancelled.

ReallyTired · 15/11/2015 03:00

Don't pay as that would be seen as an admission of guilt. You do have a good case if signage was poor.

If you find the hassle of preparing your own appeal to much there are companies who will manage the appeal for you for a small fee which is less than the "parking fine".

Timri · 15/11/2015 03:16

Don't know if this has been mentioned, just seen OP, but a lot of the time there will be a notice saying 'if machine out of order please call on blah blah blah'. Presumably if there is something like that written you wouldn't have a leg to stand on...

BaggiesBaggies · 15/11/2015 13:34

The 'ignore and eventually they'll stop' advice WAS good, but the court case of 4 November has changed that. Don't ignore it. Best bet is to ask one of the nearby stores where you spent money to get it cancelled for you to retain you as a loyal customer etc, or as a pp paid to appeal on the grounds that there wasn't clear instruction about what to do if machine wasn't working. No point being bloody minded for the sake of it - to avoid paying their stupid fine you've got to do what works.

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