pimpkiller Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Ok been out to a large out of town retail park today parked up, gone in shops, come back, ticket on the window. Its only after seeing this that I looked and realised the small part we have parked on is pay and display the vast majority is free. Now this has really ticked me off because there was absolutely no signs down the road or at the entrance to the car park, the nearest sign with all the gobbledygook on is right at the opposite side of the carpark on the actual store front (which we didnt go into so didnt see). Now this ticket is a little receipt type thing from "smart parking" not a proper council one, it says £70 or £40 if paid within 14 days and I can appeal this decision by applying in writing to them so what can I do about this? Am i right in thinking that they have to put up the sign at the entrance to the car park to let people know its pay and display ( I have taken pictures to show this, and taken pics of the nearest sign) and if so what should i do? ignore it or appeal to them? I am obviously researching on tinternet but I Know people on here are knowledgeable about this sort of thing so any help would be much appreciated, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzy518 Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 If its just a private parking company job and not a council or police issued ticket I'd just ignore it. They might send letters threatening court action but if you ignore them too they will get bored and give up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 (edited) If you parked there and they bothered to have someone patrolling to issue tickets I would expect that they would be pretty sure of their case. Years ago it was worth challenging, but recently things appear to have been tightened up. You stated that there is appropriate signage that you failed to see. Good luck. Edited March 15, 2013 by TIGHTCHOKE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeonblasterian Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Bin it and forget about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 You won't get anywhere challenging a private ticket, if you ignore any correspondence they will give up eventually. If you phone or reply to them it just confirms they have the correct details Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpkiller Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 (edited) "You stated that there is appropriate signage that you failed to see" this is the bit thats winding me up, nothing on the road, nothing at the entrance to the car park its only when i returned to the car and saw a ticket I said "you what?" and went hunting around and saw a sign on the building which is the other side of the car park. Now im not a dodgy scum-bag or anything and of course i would of spent £2 if i had known, arnt I right in thinking they should stick up those big gobbledygook signs at the entrance so you know and hence its a genuine defence? Has anyone actually ignored these things themselves? Edited March 15, 2013 by pimpkiller Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 "You stated that there is appropriate signage that you failed to see" this is the bit thats winding me up, nothing on the road, nothing at the entrance to the car park its only when i returned to the car and saw a ticket I said "you what?" and went hunting around and saw a sign on the building which is the other side of the car park. Now im not a dodgy scum-bag or anything and of course i would of spent £2 if i had known, arnt I right in thinking they should stick up those big gobbledygook signs at the entrance so you know and hence its a genuine defence? Has anyone actually ignored these things themselves? Presumably "they" will state that signage was present and then it would be up to you to prove otherwise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byjovecarruthers Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Should have asked somebody who had actually paid for their spot at the same time as you had parked their for their old ticket. Then sent a copy of it to parking company claiming you'd paid for it and the warden hadn't seen it. Unfortunately hindsight is an exact science though. Might be worth the risk of not paying...... Or, pay the £40 in 10p cheques so that it costs them more in administration fees! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdubya Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 if its a"parking charge"from a private company, not a fine from a council etc which you will have to pay, just throw it away and wait for the letters threatening this that and the other, non of which will amount to anything they will give up, I had one from LDK after about five letters from different people IE bailiffs, solicitors, ( all from the same address) they gave up. KW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpkiller Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Thats why i took some pictures, but id like to know whats the crack with where they have to stick up the signs and whatnot, whats appropriate signage, im sure it has to be at the entrance so thats why im asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpkiller Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Should have asked somebody who had actually paid for their spot at the same time as you had parked their for their old ticket. Then sent a copy of it to parking company claiming you'd paid for it and the warden hadn't seen it. Unfortunately hindsight is an exact science though. damnit i didnt think of that I never even saw a machine or tickets in peoples windows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry-M Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 if its a"parking charge"from a private company, not a fine from a council etc which you will have to pay, just throw it away and wait for the letters threatening this that and the other, non of which will amount to anything they will give up, I had one from LDK after about five letters from different people IE bailiffs, solicitors, ( all from the same address) they gave up. KW This ^ If it's not from the police or council then ignore. It's not a fine you've got but an invoice. Bin it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr smith Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 (edited) This ^ If it's not from the police or council then ignore. It's not a fine you've got but an invoice. Bin it. Yep just ignore it,do not answer fone calls from numbers you don't know either. Google the company's name,likely there will be loads of similar tales on there. Edited March 15, 2013 by mr smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the crowman Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 (edited) Don't worry about it I get them all the time lol as I work in London and drive back early hours and have a snooze in the motorway services 2hrs free stopped at one it was about 03:45 woke up 07:45 :) and I use them all the time I'm always getting them just ignore :) and they take a photo as I enter and leave smile for the camera lol Edited March 16, 2013 by the crowman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds chimp Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 ignore it and dont worry...wait for the "baliffs" to come knockjing because they wont Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonathanL Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 "You stated that there is appropriate signage that you failed to see" this is the bit thats winding me up, nothing on the road, nothing at the entrance to the car park its only when i returned to the car and saw a ticket I said "you what?" and went hunting around and saw a sign on the building which is the other side of the car park. Now im not a dodgy scum-bag or anything and of course i would of spent £2 if i had known, arnt I right in thinking they should stick up those big gobbledygook signs at the entrance so you know and hence its a genuine defence? Has anyone actually ignored these things themselves? Then it's almost certainly the case that the ticket is not enforcible. For it to be enforcible there has to be a contract between you and whomever gave you the ticket and there cannot be one if you were unlikely to have seen the sign. Also, even if the contract was valid then a £70 ticket is not reasonable as it will almost certainly consitute a penalty at law and contractual penalties are illegal in this country. Unless, that is, the fee for parking was actually £70 which I'm sure it wasn't. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon R Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Interesting point, Jonathan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parapilot Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 (edited) All good advice. As stated ignore it, and after the first one if you recognize the envelope don't open it just write return to sender and pop it back in post. I got about 4 before they gave up. Not enforceable unless its police or council ticket. Edited March 15, 2013 by parapilot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike737 Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Should have asked somebody who had actually paid for their spot at the same time as you had parked their for their old ticket. Then sent a copy of it to parking company claiming you'd paid for it and the warden hadn't seen it. Unfortunately hindsight is an exact science though. Might be worth the risk of not paying...... Or, pay the £40 in 10p cheques so that it costs them more in administration fees! I LOVE that suggestion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpkiller Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Ok after listening here and doing a bit of research i am going to bite the bullet and ignore it, im bricking it, never done anything like this before but that car park has really ticked me off, its obviously designed to trick people then milk them dry. thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chady Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 I'm interested in this as well keep us informed will yo please see what happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLuke Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Go to pepipoo.com - they get me out of all of mine. Mostly by advising you to ignore them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
castletyne Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Do DVLA give them your details for them to be able to send letters to your home address Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaxiDriver Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 Do DVLA give them your details for them to be able to send letters to your home address Yes, as a supposedly legitimate business (what a joke) they can apply to DVLA for details of the registered keeper of a vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GingerCat Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Hate to say it, however jl has a point on this one. I would questionb if it is enforceable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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