Parking Charge Notice

Desert Orchid

Desert Orchid

Senior Jockey
Joined
Aug 2, 2005
Messages
25,024
I got one of these through the mail today.

Firstly, I wasn't expecting it. I saw no indication of a parking time limit in the place I was using. Nor was I aware of any cameras capturing registrations. And I had a blue badge holder with me. (I exceeded the 4 hour time limit by 20 minutes.)

However, I thought there was something on TV last year saying these charges are not legally enforceable. Is that the case?

I'd rather just ignore it all than get involved in exchanges of letters with the company (Euro Car Parks).
 
Desert Orchid said:
However, I thought there was something on TV last year saying these charges are not legally enforceable. Is that the case?
Click to expand...

If it's been issued by a private company, they are not legally enforceable. Ignore every single letter. They'll send hundreds of "final demands" and "court summons" with the language getting stronger each time but they're all bluffs designed to get you to cough up.

After 3/4 months, they give up and go away.

My old boss had about 40 from his local B&Q opposite his road (as on street parking was often full) and they never took it further after he ignored every single letter.
 
there is a thread on here i started DO last year.

my wife got one 2 days before Xmas 2012...if they hadn't have lied on that letter i would probably never have googled it. they said we had had two previous letters..we hadn't.

when i googled it i found out its a bunch of chancers who have no right to any money whatsover..only the police and council can demand a fine from you

they have to call it a charge as they are not allowed to say fine...according to one forum one of these shyster companies slipped up when they put a post code on the "debt collection" letter that follows if you ignore a couple of the others.....when you googled the postcode there was only one building in it...a pub

its just another money making racket...those gullible enough to pay make it worth it.

if shopping areas want people to shop in them then the sooner they stop paying these people to try and scam money off their own customers the better it will be

what would be the chance of you getting money out of someone who parked on your drive do you think?

we had 5 letters by the way...of which i knew what they would be as all the templates are online...the last one is best...it offers a reduced payment:lol:

i took the letters to work to show others to try and save them money...people at work still paid theirs though in the main

sling them in the bin with the other junk mail would be my advice..but its up to you
 
Last edited:
Be careful!
I had one last year and did the usual "ignore" advice from the Internet crusaders until I received a court summons. The law changed recently in favour of the parking companies. There are many forums that are up to the minute on this so check them out: they changed their approach when the law changed. You can fight them but ignoring is not recommended any more.
 
Last edited:
Read the car park penalty forums to find out how the law changed

Agree it's completely his decision but he posted on here wanting opinions and he's got them
 
i just googled law change and came up with the link...can't see any law change in the last 12 months...on those forums you get the scammers posting with false information

like i said..they claimed the law had changed on my letters yonks ago..it hadn't

the only change there has been is that they are not allowed to clamp any more from about October 2012...hence they are blitzing people with chancing letters..which was when my wife got ours in the December

i would guess 80% of people pay them...so why would a scammer bother wasting time and effort on the 20% who don't...particularly when its recorded that past cases taken to court have resulted in a roasting for them?

government love it as they get £2.50 when these people ask for folks details from swansea...so much for data protection age...2.50..fookin joke
 
EC1 said:
exactly how as the law changed?

they said that on the letter i got 18 month ago..it hadn't

a few of these cases have gone to court in the past with the result that the judge made the parking scamsters pay for wasting his time

like i say..its up to DO or anyone to do what they want...but there is no legal obligation for anyone to pay a parking charge...it is not a fine

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/scotland/drivers-urged-not-to-pay-private-parking-fines-1.251312
Click to expand...

I read through that item this morning, EC1, mainly because I wanted to know if Scots Law differs from elsewhere in the UK.

I'm very much of a mind just to ignore it all. I'm slightly of a mind to get involved in teasing them a bit by stringing them along for a while. I'll phone Which? Legal Service next week to see what their advice is. I suspect they'll advise me to write saying the charge is unfair. I've looked at their template letters but they don't cover this situation.
 
i never contacted them at all.

this whole issue needs addressing...some of the retailers involved are braindeads imo ...i would also like to add that never mind them taking us to court...i would imagine that they could also be threatened with court action for harassment...probably got more of a case than they have.

we have Meadowhall shopping centre 10 miles away from our town...immense...free parking...many people prefer to drive there than go to the main shopping centre in town...a simple lesson there for retailers...pack the f*cker in ...you are losing customers..which they are.. in droves in our town..just on this issue alone. Local paper has lots of letters about this.

when retailers go out of business because they drive customers to go 10 miles away...it will be..oh what a shame
 
Back
Top