Parking Fine!- Euro Car Parks

[Ro]

Hey Guys,

Parked my car in a Sainsbury's car park. Went to town for couple of hours and came back to a fine! The reason was that I hadn't paid and displayed. I looked around and i couldn't see no signs or any machines? so who does that work... anybody had any experience with this sort of thing. On the paper they left they ticked other reason and put a reason i cannot understand. I phoned them and they reckon that is the reason! I really do not wanna pay £50.00!

Any help is appreciated

 

[Keval]

Re: Untitled

sorry to hear about that mate! but i had a ticket from there aswell 2 months back. didnt pay them at all they will send you warming just dont reply to them. just remba u do not have to pay for the ticket because it is not a council ticket.

 

[Ro]

Re: Untitled

Cheers kev for your reply....I asked them the question and said im going on holiday and wont be able to pay in time. THey said that if i dont pay in 14 days it will go from 50 to 70....then they will keep adding handling charges and they sadi they will then give it to a debt collections agency.


Should I just pay up and smile. I did find out that the car park was pay and display so kinda is my fault! BUT DO NOT WANNA PAY ANY MONEY TO THEM AT ALLi know that they have screwed people on here as well!

 

[Roberto]

Private companies can issue tickets to drivers parked on their property, but the rules are not the same as local authorities.
If you receive a ticket in a private car park, such as a supermarket car park, or private multi-story car park, remember that it is not criminal law, but contract law that applies. The driver enters into a contract with the landowner when they drive into the car park.

This means that it is only the driver that can be subject to a ticket from a private company. If they do not know who the driver was, they cannot claim a penalty. They have no legal right to demand that you identify the driver.

If you are approached by a member of staff inside a private car park there is no obligation for you to assist them in any way

If the company wish to pursue a claim in the small claims court, they have to prove that you were the driver of the car. Any comments that you make may assist them in this aim, so best to say nothing.

If you refuse to pay, the private company has to pursue you through the small claims court. It is up to them to prove a breach of contract so look at the terms carefully. These are usually printed on a sign at the entrance to the car park.

Additionally, you may be able to reduce any fine issued by a private company. Under contract law, they can only claim for any loss they have suffered because of your offence. They may try to claim a penalty of, say, £100, but in law they may only be entitled to any revenue they had lost. So, if you pay £2 to park for one hour, but stay for three hours, they can only claim for two hours of lost revenue, which is £4.


Rob
Mk.2 Marea Weekend 1.8 16v 115 ELX - Bigger IS better !

 

[Ro]

Thank Rob

Thanks Rob for your response Sir!

The car is actually my mum Punto as my brav is in garage....so I can say that i wasnt me! lol

 

[Anonymous]

dilemna

The parking operator can get the vehicle details from DVLA who will be more than happy to provide them. They will then contact your Mum being the registered owner demanding payment. You have better tell her! If you or your Mum do not pay you will then get some pretty nasty letters as it passes to a debt collection company who may be very persistent. Just make sure they don't bring a civil action in the small claims court against your Mum as the registered owner who then misses the opportunity to contest or defend the action. They company can then apply for judgement by default or in your absence This means they can instruct bailiffs to seize anything which isn't screwed down belonging to the registered owner including the vehicle to they can sell it to meet the now grossly inflated debt and their costs. Also under OFT guidelines the company should have a fair and transparent appeals procedure. There might also be CCTV footage that you might not have considered.....

Can't advise you what to do. Presumably customers of the supermarket receive re-imbursement in store? Did you shop there if so you might be able provide a receipt and sort it out so they leave you alone.

 

[Keval]

i think the best thing you can do is get forget about it and not pay it off. if you lived in leicester my friend works for them he would have canceled the ticket for you. thats what he done to mine. but he has also said that if you do not pay it off it will go up. also they will give information from the dvla and send you a letter. thats all they can do they cannot force you to pay the private car park. so which means no one can force you to pay as they are not working with the law.

 

[Tempest]

Does them sending it to collections not seriously impact your credit score?

Where I'm from if a debt goes to collections whether you think you should have to pay or not, its a huge black mark on your credit.

Even if you're young now and you think it doesn't matter because you live at home or whatever, at least where I'm from it stays visible for 5 years or something that you had collections against you and it can mean you'll never get a mortgage, loan, credit card, and maybe even a mobile phone.

I had a mobile phone company come after me for money that I didn't feel I should have to pay because I'd cancelled my contract early due to them having such crappy coverage every call I tried to make failed five times due to a busy network and that was when it could even find the signal anyway. I said there was no way I was paying a contract termination fee when I was paying a monthly fee for something and they weren't providing it. But in the end they sent the fee collection to an agency. I just told them off about why I wasn't paying for the first age when they called (about a million times a day) and then I went to have something else based on credit set up and the collection showed on my credit report. I settled the amount and paid it. Way easier in the long run.

And you parked there. It was technically up to you to know if you had to pay or not and do so. Claiming it wasn't you driving just puts your mother in an awkward position. Does she then lie for you that you weren't driving? Who does she say was if it comes to it? Will she end up paying your fine for you so they don't put collections against her. I mean, I guess you could go lie in court and say your car wasn't there or you weren't driving. But if they have CCTV or something to prove you were, you'll be royally screwed. Personally I think I'd try to negotiate the fine down. But there's a reason why they don't just fine you the cost of the hours you parked for free. If they did, everyone would take their chances and not pay knowing at the worst they'd get a fine equivalent to what they'd pay anyway.

 

[Buzz]

They cant send a debt colection agency after you, as you have no written conract. Only their say so. As Rob said, theres naff all the supermarket can really do. They dont actualy take folk to court, at least, they haven't done so yet.
I'd file it away, (let your mum know f course) and forget all about it.

Buzz
If you see a bandwagon, its already too late!