Morrisons Brentford Parking Fine

[Garage_Doors]

The car park attendant being a minimum wage gofer who will repeat anything he is told to say. If he said "Oh don't worry mate they won't chase you for it" people would just ignore him and park all day for nothing making him fairly redundant.

I don't know how many times this has to be said but this is not a legally enforcable 'fine' it is a charge they want you to pay for allegedly breaking their car parking rules. The DRIVER of the car that is. If in the highly unlikely event that they did take it to court they would have to convince the civil claims court that the person DRIVING the car and therefore responsible for parking it there did whatever they are claiming and that their charges for this are fair. As the OWNER of the car you are under no obligation to pay or even reveal who was driving and so cannot be held liable for any charges however legitimate or official they make them appear just because you own the car.

Anybody knocking on your door demanding payment is likely to be some muscle bound black leather jacket clad baldy debt collector from an agency since for bailiffs to come a knocking would mean you will have recieved at least several court summons for payment and official court notices before genuine bailiffs turn up.

You are under no obligation to admit you parked the car there and they are not going to prove otherwise with a picture of the car parked there since that does not prove who parked it there.

Basically these companies rely on people being frightened into paying and there are enough people out there that will to make them a nice little earner. Its money for old rope isnt it, send a letter demanding £70, what does that cost? peanuts! you only need a low percentage to pay out and you are raking it in.

FFS just ignore them and if they pursue it let them prove it was you that parked there.

So your saying its ok to park for free on someone's else's property.
Even morally ?

 

[jmsc]

So your saying its ok to park for free on someone's else's property.
Even morally ?

No, what he's saying is that he didn't know he wasn't allowed to park there!

Much as it pains me to agree with palarse Big Al, he's right. Have absolutely no contact with them.

If you see any costs being added to your 'fine' it just proves that it's being passed from one
dodgy debt collection agency to another.

This is a civil action NOT a criminal one. Ignore it!

 

[beorhthelm]

This is a civil action NOT a criminal one. Ignore it!

i cant believe people are taking this attitude. just because its "civil matter" it doesnt mean its not "enforceable". rather it just means the enfocement is carried out in a different way. honestly, apart from this issue, people seem to be suggesting we can just ignore all contracts and there will be no comeback. may there isn't, but thats for a court to decide, not internet forum warriors. our whole society is based on the rule of law and justice to back us in a complaint and people here are just dismissing that out of hand unless it has an official council/government stamp on it.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

That's ok if he had entered into a contract but he hadn't. Laws apply to criminal matters not some made up rules by a supermarket.

 

[Brovion]

So your saying its ok to park for free on someone's else's property.
Even morally ?

I don't think Collar Feeler is saying that is he? He's just saying that it's not a 'fine' as such merely a 'fee' that because of the way it was imposed may not be legally enforcable.

However I agree with the context of your comment; although it's hardly the crime of the century I think Giraffe was morally 'wrong' to park there in the first place as Morrisons had gone to great expense to provide a free car park for their customers in an area where parking is tricky. However the enforcement techniques of the company administering the charge leave a lot to be desired and seem to be based more on bullying than using legal channels. Frankly I don't care who comes out on top.

EDIT: That last sentence sounds a bit callous so I'll say I'm marginally more on Giraffes's side as he's just one bloke against what looks like legalised bullying.

 

[little al]

Its an invoice and should be totally ignored. It WILL NOT go to court, I doubt even if they will go to the bother of sending round a debt collector. The will send a few letters, over a few months, then he will hear no more.

 

[little al]

The car park attendant being a minimum wage gofer who will repeat anything he is told to say. If he said "Oh don't worry mate they won't chase you for it" people would just ignore him and park all day for nothing making him fairly redundant.

I don't know how many times this has to be said but this is not a legally enforcable 'fine' it is a charge they want you to pay for allegedly breaking their car parking rules. The DRIVER of the car that is. If in the highly unlikely event that they did take it to court they would have to convince the civil claims court that the person DRIVING the car and therefore responsible for parking it there did whatever they are claiming and that their charges for this are fair. As the OWNER of the car you are under no obligation to pay or even reveal who was driving and so cannot be held liable for any charges however legitimate or official they make them appear just because you own the car.

Anybody knocking on your door demanding payment is likely to be some muscle bound black leather jacket clad baldy debt collector from an agency since for bailiffs to come a knocking would mean you will have recieved at least several court summons for payment and official court notices before genuine bailiffs turn up.

You are under no obligation to admit you parked the car there and they are not going to prove otherwise with a picture of the car parked there since that does not prove who parked it there.

Basically these companies rely on people being frightened into paying and there are enough people out there that will to make them a nice little earner. Its money for old rope isnt it, send a letter demanding £70, what does that cost? peanuts! you only need a low percentage to pay out and you are raking it in.

FFS just ignore them and if they pursue it let them prove it was you that parked there.

This post is worth repeating.

 

[Garage_Doors]

I understand the points raised as to whether its legal, whether its enforceable etc,

But what about honestly and common sense.

Regardless of signs denoting "you can't park here" Do posters on here really expect to be able to park on someone else's private property free of charge ?

It beggars belief that you can drive up into someone's private car park, albeit for customers, and leave it there for multiple hours for free and in London !!!

You can't honestly expert to drive into London, park in a car park and not expect to pay, its totally unrealistic.

Come, get real, whether the charge is legal, of enforceable, its not unreasonable is it?

 

[little al]

Then they should have a barrier or pay on exit system.

 

[beorhthelm]

That's ok if he had entered into a contract but he hadn't. Laws apply to criminal matters not some made up rules by a supermarket.

a contract can be implied. ie a big sign saying "you agree by parking here..." it may well be valid. Law includes contract law, not just criminal law. also, there seems to be a thing with whether its a fine or a fee: does it really matter what you call it? if you dont return a library book you get a "fine" and im certain that is not actually a crinimal offence. in fact, it occurs to me that other than motoring offences, most "fines" are not actually criminal matters. A policeman does not come round and arrest you for the offence of not paying paying your council tax, the council takes you to court issues fines and court appointed baliffs visit if you dont comply... all outside of "criminal" system is it not? pretty sure you cant get a crinimal record for not paying a parking fine issued by the local council either, again its technically a civil matter isnt it?

 

[beorhthelm]

Then they should have a barrier or pay on exit system.

thats the end game of this little campaign (as in that on the moneyexpert site), supermarket car parks will go back to charging through barriers.

funny though how you would accept a a little ticket, with no terms or conditions, but dont accept a notice with them. because of a little barrier it becomes "enforcable"? arent you going to argue that they have detained and denied you the use of your vehcile if you refuse to pay?

 

[little al]

thats the end game of this little campaign (as in that on the moneyexpert site), supermarket car parks will go back to charging through barriers.

funny though how you would accept a a little ticket, with no terms or conditions, but dont accept a notice with them. because of a little barrier it becomes "enforcable"? arent you going to argue that they have detained and denied you the use of your vehcile if you refuse to pay?

Most supermarkets that have barriers, give you free parking for two hours, upon receipt of purchase from said shop if it is a manned exit, or they give you a token at the checkout if its an automated barrier. Problem solved without the need to employ parasites to collect their "fine", also the supermarkets get a set fee from these parasites and don't give a toss about their customers (or otherwise) being harassed and bullied.

 

[beorhthelm]

and if you park for more than 2 hours, as in the case of the original post...?

(i recall a time when all the carparks either charged or required a reciept. many still have the barriers in place, but nowadays they are just left open permenantly. obviously this arrangement suits them better and is far easier for the customer. would be a shame to see a return to barriers imposed)

 

[Giraffe]

I understand the points raised as to whether its legal, whether its enforceable etc,

But what about honestly and common sense.

Regardless of signs denoting "you can't park here" Do posters on here really expect to be able to park on someone else's private property free of charge ?

It beggars belief that you can drive up into someone's private car park, albeit for customers, and leave it there for multiple hours for free and in London !!!

You can't honestly expert to drive into London, park in a car park and not expect to pay, its totally unrealistic.

Come, get real, whether the charge is legal, of enforceable, its not unreasonable is it?

I don't disagree with the intent of what you are saying. I have had two parking fines in my life before this one. Both I paid because it was a case of paying a ticket, and not coming back to my car until the ticket had expired. My own stupid fault and I paid the £30-40 straight away. In this case, I genuinely had no idea that I was doing anything wrong. I saw no signs, there was no barrier, nothing.

 

[TonyW]

I received a letter in the post today with pictures of my car entering and leaving Morrisons in Brentford. I parked there for our away game. Apparently there are signs saying that parking is restricted to 120 minutes for customer use ony. However neither me or my son saw any of these signs. The bastards are charging me £75 for the privilege of using their f***ing car park.

I recall seeing other Brighton fans in the car park and in fact in one picture there is someone walking by my car in their Brighton yellow and blue shirt!! Anyone else got caught by this?

Don't pay it, they can't enforce it.

 

[dougdeep]

Don't pay it, they can't enforce it.

Here we go again.

 

[Giraffe]

Here we go again.

I can't believe this has gone to 7 pages! Lovely stuff.

 

[little al]

and if you park for more than 2 hours, as in the case of the original post...?

(i recall a time when all the carparks either charged or required a reciept. many still have the barriers in place, but nowadays they are just left open permenantly. obviously this arrangement suits them better and is far easier for the customer. would be a shame to see a return to barriers imposed)

This is the point, if he had parked for more than 2 hours with a barrier system, he would have paid £2.80 or whatever upon exit, rather than the disgusting amount on the "fine" from the parasite company, no signs required, and he would have been happy to pay I would guess.

 

[little al]

Giraffe, what is the name of the parasite company?

 

[BensGrandad]

This thread has shown that more and more people are becoming aware of the practice of these 'cowboy' ticket attendants etc.

If only more could be done done to the other group of parasites with their heavy handed attitude Bailiffs.