To not pay this parking fine?

[ChicagoBears]

Parked in a car park with 3 hours maximum stay. Was back in plenty of time 2.45 hours but when I got back the car park was literally gridlocked with not a single car moving for at least 30 minutes. I therefore couldn’t get out of the on time if I’d tried.

the car park has CCTV of this but has still issued me with a £100 fine, despite me appealing where I argued that but for the road outside the car park being blocked I would have successfully exited on time.

the appeal has failed, does this mean I have to just suck it up? Thanks!

Please just pay it, a few years ago i ignored one and I ended up with bailiffs at the door and a £1700 fine! Honestly these companies are utterly brutal I would just suck it up and pay it, I still think about what I could have spent that £1600 on!

Easier to just pay it.

In my experience, parking companies almost always reject the first appeal. There’s usually a recourse to an ombudsman or appeals service. I’d take it to there. I suspect you have good argument to have it cancelled when listened to by someone more impartial than the company themselves.

Fight it, there should be clear evidence you could not get out of the carpark.

But do not IGNORE it, that is how people get into trouble with these things.

This.

You need to google Pepipoo. It's a forum that will help you fight it.

Don't just ignore it. They have 6 years to take you to court and you will get a CCJ.

If you have some sort of evidence then fight it. They may drop it or if it does make it to court you will almost certainly win. On the other hand if you don’t have evidence or can’t be bothered to go through the rigmarole maybe best to pay. Try moneysavingexpert or pepipoo forums are usually good for reliable advice, have saved me hundreds over the years.

My husband always says: pay it.

I feel that I cannot bear to pay a fine I don't owe. We ended up with bailiffs at our house last Christmas trying to reclaim a supposed debt for an unpaid parking fine to the local council. (I had parked in the wrong place, but I had already paid the fine and had proof.)

Eventually I paid £400 just to get the bailiff (who was very sympathetic and said I shouldn't need to, on the basis of evidence) to fuck off on Christmas Eve. I could have paid a smaller amount at an earlier stage to avoid this but revised because I had already paid the original fine on time.

The local council repaid me the £400 and wrote a nice apologetic note (original parking fine only £60) in January.

You're in the right, as I was, and I do think if you push it hard enough you won't have to pay. (Do you have photographic or other evidence that it took so long to get out?) But obviously depends on whether you're willing to let the costs increase, and go along with the associated hassle. Personally I think you should -- because why be fined when you did nothing wrong?

Fight it. There is good advice online.

however it will be less stress sadly if you just pay it, sadly

I had my own £100 PCN this week - for not phone when I actually had done so, I’m advance, online. I appealed and won thankfully but was preparing myself for battle.

i’m still furious as I have no acknowledgment or apology for a cock up which was 100% their own doing. Cowboys the lot of them.

For not paying
in advance
ffs

Morally you are in the right of course.

It does rather depend on whether you want to give yourself the stress of fighting it for the sake of £100 though. The parking companies know this full well, unfortunately.

I would continue to fight this one. There was nothing you could do.

There’s a diff between ignoring and fighting- keep fighting, there’s lots of advice online. The bully boy tactics of these companies is to refuse every 1st appeal, even tfl tried that with me. The minute I requested to take it further to an independent review they backed down.
don’t roll over like half of mn do- but you do need evidence of the matter. Did you not think to take time stamped photos ?

Pay, then appeal. If your appeal is successful, they will refund you.
If you don't pay and appeal, the charge will rise.

I appealed one and it got rejected , I appealed it again and they accepted the appeal as a ' gesture of goodwill '

@Coasterfan omg which co. was that ? My son has 2 hanging over him at the moment! Don't want bailiffs turning up at our house 😫

Don't ignore it but take it to the parking ombudsman. There are two, poplar? and another one. It should state on your ticket who you can appeal to if the parking company refuses to budge. Its very easy to do.

What bs- you think you will ever hear back from these companies once you pay them?! how ridiculously naive.
keep all communication recorded- deliveries/ emails- read receipts etc- the costs don’t spiral whilst you’re appealing!

There’s some groups who can advise on Facebook. You can sometimes successfully appeal. I think one is called fight against unfair parking fines. I would take a look. I wouldn’t want to pay but don’t ignore

No. I would appeal again, my experience is they will reject the first appeal, as a matter of routine, but you have a good reason with evidence. Try pepipoo forums, they can advise on how to proceed, but don't ignore it.

Please just actually read OP’s situation and not project your own on to her. Ignoring the fine was a stupid thing to do, OP has not ignored it.

OP, there is great help available with appeal letters, don’t pay.

Ignoring it is not the same as fighting it.

These companies are unregulated scumbags who rely on bully tactics to pursue knowingly unjustified claims.

Do not ignore it op. Obviously that's a bad idea. But use their own process to appeal, state the evidence.

Bailiffs cannot just turn up and demand cash or start taking your things unless they have a legally valid claim which has been accepted by a court as a valid debt. You can't get into a situation where bailiffs have a legal right to enforce a debt collection unless you've done the silliness of ignoring it. Can you imagine a world where I as the owner of ABC Ltd could issue you with an invoice demand to pay, then legally get a bailiff company to enforce the debt collection without any legal process? All sorts of claims would go on without oversight.

We have ALWAYS fought them. Ignored them until court, appealed using the websites used above, always won.

it’s very difficult for them to win in court in these incidences UNLESS you don’t show up, which is how most people end up with the CCJ. Also, you don’t immediately get the black mark, you have to lose and STILL not pay it.

I would pay but also send details to a tv show like Ripoff Britain

After 1st appeal it has to go to a 3rd party for 2nd appeal. I always win on the 2nd appeal. So keep fighting it. Do not pay it.