Help me win this argument.

[smutchin]

They would have to show that the proposed charge is proportional to the loss they have incurred. I'm not debating from a matter of principle - simply that they can't charge a punitive fee, however they phrase it.

I've suddenly become very interested in this thread having received a letter in today's post from a company called ParkingEye demanding £90 for overstaying my welcome in a car park they operate. Given that they're saying I overstayed by a mere 26 minutes (ie 2hrs 26mins on a 2hr limit), I really don't see how they can justify the extent of the charge and I'm strongly inclined not to pay it.

What's more, the letter is addressed to me as the named keeper of the vehicle but it wasn't me driving and I can prove I was elsewhere on the day.

(What actually happened was my wife took her elderly mum to do her shopping in M&S and then they had lunch in the cafe in the shop. I don't understand how it took them nearly two and a half hours to do this but apparently it did.)

Unlike Gti, there is no issue with how or where the car was parked. The only issue is the time spent in the car park. The letter has a photo of the car arriving at 12.53 and another of the car leaving at 15.20. In neither picture can the driver be identified.

No ticket was issued on the day and I am incensed to say the least about receiving this letter.

So where do I stand (both legally and morally)? And how should I respond?

[Edit: I should add that I'm determined not to pay the charge and the main question is whether I reply to them and tell them I wasn't driving and can prove it (without divulging who was driving, of course), or just ignore the letter altogether.]

d.

 

[400bhp]

do not respond.

do not respond

do not respond

do not respond

Did I say do not respond?

Do not respond.

 

[smutchin]

Message understood. Thank you.

d.

 

[smutchin]

What charge do you think would be reasonable?

The going rate for parking for two and a half hours in a public car park round here is about a fiver.

d.

 

[smutchin]

Right back and tell them to stick it.

But that's the opposite of what 400bhp said...

I suppose that's the hazard of asking for advice on an internet forum.

d.

 

[400bhp]

Right back and tell them to stick it.

dont (I take it you meant write).

they have you on the hook.

 

[400bhp]

But that's the opposite of what 400bhp said...

I suppose that's the hazard of asking for advice on an internet forum.

d.

Aye!

FYI, I have had 2 such "fines" in the past. I spent a bit of time doing some research and the overwhelming thing I took away was 1. do not pay and 2. do not reply.

 

[smutchin]

That'll do me. Thanks!

d.

 

[rich p]

Right back and tell them to stick it.

George Cohen?

 

[Globalti]

DO NOT RESPOND, no matter how intimidating the letters become. They are designed to frighten you into paying.

Check out the signatures on the computer-generated letters they will send you with ever-increasing levels of threat, if your extortionists are as stupid as mine you will begin to see a pattern..... like the same sig on all the letters.

 

[srw]

You've been caught fair and square. Write them a cheque.

(That's the moral thing to do. The legal thing might be quite different. If it is really the case that charges for overstaying in car parks are not legally enforceable we can kiss goodbye to any idea of traffic management, and the whole concept of private property is undermined.)

 

[smutchin]

You've been caught fair and square.

Me? No, they haven't caught me doing anything. I was at work 60 miles away at the time. <whistles innocently>

If it is really the case that charges for overstaying in car parks are not legally enforceable we can kiss goodbye to any idea of traffic management, and the whole concept of private property is undermined.)

I would be happy to pay a fair and reasonable charge to park my car in their car park while shopping in their store. They're the ones undermining moral principles with their attempts at extortion.

d.

 

[biggs682]

how much is the fine !

is it worth the aggro ?

 

[Vapin' Joe]

You've been caught fair and square. Write them a cheque.

(That's the moral thing to do. The legal thing might be quite different. If it is really the case that charges for overstaying in car parks are not legally enforceable we can kiss goodbye to any idea of traffic management, and the whole concept of private property is undermined.)

If the car park company asked for a fiver they may have a case for the moral high ground. As they've asked for £90 they haven't and I would take the legal option of ignoring it.

Be aware though that I am talking about a private car park, if it was a local authority one then it is a very different matter as they do have the power to issue fines.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

When my former employees had recieved parking tickets, they were obliged to pay them. It was part of their contracts I had had written up to protect my company from the hassle, and possible credit rating hit. If they did not pay, it was removed from their wages and if they disagreed they had to take it up with the fine issuer.

Sorry Ben, but why should your employers even be involved in this? Times are hard and they need all the help they can to survive, not be tying up a valuble resource (another employee sorting your mess out). If I was you, I would check your contract of employment, you may be surprised and find a 'get of jail card' for your employer, who may even charge you for time taken to sort it out. They would be perfectly within their rights to do this, I know, I won in court over a similar point with a former employee.