You know those parking tickets on private land?...

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

vernon

Harder than Ronnie Pickering
Location
Meanwood, Leeds
Ask the company concerned.
 

Bromptonaut

Rohan Man
Location
Bugbrooke UK
First things first, it's not a fine but a charge. I suspect you do lose the 'concession' of a discount but bearin mind these charges are of dubious enforceability.

There's loads about it on Money Saving Expert or on Motoring forums such as Honest John or Car4Play.
 

Edge705

Well-Known Member
goto MSE forum and the people there specialise in this. They provide the templates/info everything and if you present your side properly they are unlikely to pursue you. In a nutshell its only enforceable if they (the private parking firm) can prove that you were trespassing, and if not, does the charge cover their loss ect ect. Like I say MSE is the pace to go in the first instance
 

spen666

Legendary Member
if you appeal, then you have a short period after the appeal is determined to pay the discounted rate
 

Vapin' Joe

Formerly known as Smokin Joe
[QUOTE 3131045, member: 45"]Is that still the case?[/QUOTE]
Yes, only the police or state authorities can issue fines. A private company can technically issue a charge if they can show the landowner suffered a loss by effect of your vehicle being left there, but the cost of going to court and the tiny amount the courts usually order the miscreant to pay means it is rarely worth it.

Generally after a few threatening letters are ignored they give up.
 

MikeW-71

Veteran
Location
Carlisle
As far as I am aware, yes. Only Councils can issue proper parking tickets that can't be ignored.

On private land, you have an invoice issued by the parking company. They operate on the basis that the signage forms a contract with the driver agreeing to penalty charges. The problem (for them) is that they don't know the identity of the driver. They can ask DVLA for the name and address of the registered keeper, who was not necessarily the driver at the time. They have no power to force you to identify the driver, and without knowing that, court action is doomed.
 

pplpilot

Guru
Location
Knowle
Bin it... Ive binned a few over the years. Last one I had I was curious so went to the website to pay the 'fine' it asked for the reg number of my car so i entered gibberish , /:;&/38;£48:3 , and it went straight toa payment page, no registration number not recognised error. What a scam. A girl in our office had problems when she moved into a new flat, same thing tickets issued buy a company, she had one every day for months, every one went in the bin.
 

MikeW-71

Veteran
Location
Carlisle
[QUOTE 3131068, member: 45"]Thanks. So costs can only be claimed from the driver/rider and not the vehicle owner?[/QUOTE]
Correct.
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
As has been said, no private parking company has the power to punish - fine - a motorist.

As a civil matter, they could in theory claim damages - the loss you caused the landowner.

At most this will be a parking charge - £2 an hour or whatever - that wasn't paid.

The parking companies know all this, which is why these things aren't pursued to a court hearing.

I make it a policy not to get any ticket if I can avoid it, but I have ignored three of these in the last six or seven years.

I didn't keep all the threatening letters, but I think one of the companies sent about 10 or 15 payment demands over two years or so before they gave up.
 

Bromptonaut

Rohan Man
Location
Bugbrooke UK
I'd be chary of any keeper is not liable statement, Recent legislation (Protection of Freedoms Act?) was designed to create just such a liability as a quid pro quo for outlawing clamps but there are still enough loopholes to get you off hook against the majority of landowners.
 

Mark Grant

Acting Captain of The St Annes Jombulance.
Location
Hanworth, Middx.
A couple of years ago a chap in my team got a ticket in a B&Q car park for parking a little out of the marked bay. The ticket looked ALMOST like a council one but not quite, a bit of Googling and I decided we didn't need to pay. I took this to my line manager , explained and he agreed with me, just keep him informed. Over the next couple of months the 'fine' went up to over £500 then we were offered a 50% discount to settle. We didn't hear anything after that. All along the correspondence said that we 'may' take legal action never that they WOULD. I never acknowledged or replied to any letters.
A little later we had another because of over staying in Wickes. Same treatment, same result.
 
Top Bottom