Parking Fines On Private Land, Issued By Private Companies ......

[Gizmonster]

A friend of mine came round earlier and told me that his daughter got fined for parking over the allotted 2 hours on a car park (I think it was TK Max) and received a ticket for £60.
Anyway they've paid the ticket, but I'm sure that they needn't have done so.

Can someone please confirm, that if you get a ticket from a private parking firm, they have no legal power to enforce the ticket - it's simply an invoice.

I'm sure I read somewhere that if you simply ignore their threatening letters, they'll eventually stop.

Is this right ??

TIA :)

[Purple_Popple]

Were there any warning signs on display regarding fines for parking over the allotted 2 hours ?

[Gizmonster]

I think there was a sign, but I heard they're not enforceable.
I know that this car park was free, but on the car parks where you pay, they can only try and claim the difference for the amount. So if it's £5 per hour and you pay for 1 hour and park for 2, they can only try and claim back their losses, which would be £10 in this case .... not sure how it works when it's a free car park ....... or so I think ??

[ChillDoubt]

Yes, simply ignore EVERYTHING they ever send you.
Your friend has needlessly just given away £60.
Never mind.

[Gizmonster]

...... cheers ChilliDoubt.

I would, however, like more responses from other ABers, as I'm going to show him this as proof .....

[hc4361]

Good information here:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/private-parking-tickets

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01b85c4/features/private-parking

As stated in the links, these parking 'fines' are not fines but invoices and have no legal standing.
If the driver refuses to pay or ignores any subsequent letters the company that issues the ticket MAY take the driver to civil court, using the Small Claims Procedure, for breach of contract.

The fact is although many companies never take anybody to court, some do, so it is a risk.

[stewey]

My response will probably not be considered as "proof" as I do not live in the UK. However, I would imagine that the situation over there is the same as in Ontario: the only legally enforceable parking ticket fines are those issued by the police or municipal by-law officers (traffic wardens in the UK?).

[Nibble]

That pretty much covers the facts in both countries, stewey. :)

Ignore the "ticket" it goes away.... finally.

[Gizmonster]

Cheers peeps :)

[Hypognosis]

I think the name of the game is intimidation. The fine was 60 quid but most of us would anticipate court costs to go into three or four figures if we were to lose, so we bottle out and cough up.

If you allowed it to escalate into a court case, the onus would be on them to prove your friend overstayed. Was there CCTV monitoring? Was there a clocking in/out system (ticket timestamps etc)? Is their evidence strong enough to stand up in court?

When you know you were in the right, that it was under 2 hours and your evidence of that is strong enough then you can safely call their bluff.

[lankeela]

Friend of mine called at a motorway services on the way to a dog show. Called at the same services on the way home, and has now received a ticket for parking there all day with photographic evidence of arriving (first time) and leaving (second time)! After advice not to pay it, they wrote to the company and explained what they had done and it has been cancelled.