[Albion] £100 parking fine question

[Neil]

Party of us ( 5 cars) park in Lewes Station Car Park to go by train to London and all pay for a days fee.
One of us gets a fine for not paying and its one of those that you type in your registration number.
We bought all the parking tickets one after another and they are saying we didn't pay.
we parked there on 12th Dec and they send the fine out on 8th Jan , 27 days later!!
Who keeps their ticket that long afterwards and how can we prove that we paid for it. Maybe they put a wrong letter down by mistake but they must have CCTV . Can we ask for a printout of the cars paying as they were paid all at the same time?
Tried ringing the parking firm but no answer so what should I do , should I just not pay.
How can I prove it that I paid and where do I stand legally?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Did you pay cash or by card?

 

[Neil]

Did you pay cash or by card?

cash

 

[dejavuatbtn]

You could write to them with your registration number and ask them if they would mind checking their data for that or a similar number. You can only ask!

 

[Springal]

If you don't have a receipt or the car parking ticket you're a bit screwed.

As bad as the app is, I'd suggest using Indigo (Southern parking) in the future as at least it stores the transactions for you etc.

There may be some way to get out of this legally by using old bylaws etc, http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=127400

Do not make contact with them to say you did pay etc though, otherwise it'll make it difficult to claim against

 

[Arthritic Toe]

Don't pay. Whatever the legalities of it, £100 is just completely unreasonable.

 

[Paul Reids Sock]

Don't make the mistake of contacting them claiming it was 'one of the group' to then admit to it being you when asking whether you should pay or not!

I am sure that they have to provide evidence of it, equally, if there were 5 of you and they are willing to witness the fact you did pay then it would be difficult for them to proceed to court and win (I would assume). Isn't it lady Seagull that usually knocks these out of the park?

 

[CheeseRolls]

Last January I received an Indigo penalty for non-payment at Three Bridges station. Like yours I paid cash and the ticket turned up weeks later. I sent a templated response, which I tweaked to admit my car was there and that the parking charge was paid in full, but avoided telling them it was me driving. They of course rejected this and pointed me to the ANPR pictures, showing my car entering and leaving. I then refused to accept their arbitration service, which is nothing of the sort, insisted I had paid in full for the day and told them I would not respond to any further communications. I have had a solicitors letter, which adds their charges to the fine and nothing since.

There is some talk of government legislation to outlaw this practice, it can't come soon enough.

 

[Official Old Man]

I love the 'one of us gets a fine' (wasn't me guv, honest).
Followed by 'How can I prove I did pay'.
Interesting one this though. They have to prove you didn't pay or you prove you did. How long do you keep a ticket for (at least two months in my car, somewhere).

 

[peterward]

Party of us ( 5 cars) park in Lewes Station Car Park to go by train to London and all pay for a days fee.
One of us gets a fine for not paying and its one of those that you type in your registration number.
We bought all the parking tickets one after another and they are saying we didn't pay.
we parked there on 12th Dec and they send the fine out on 8th Jan , 27 days later!!
Who keeps their ticket that long afterwards and how can we prove that we paid for it. Maybe they put a wrong letter down by mistake but they must have CCTV . Can we ask for a printout of the cars paying as they were paid all at the same time?
Tried ringing the parking firm but no answer so what should I do , should I just not pay.
How can I prove it that I paid and where do I stand legally?

Just be clear of your position, unless your "fine" is from a council or the police it's not really a fine. It's an invoice with some threatening words intended to make you pay said invoice.

Was the car park private non council land? If so, the only way it becomes enforceable is the other side of a court order. Even if they threaten to pass it to debt collectors there's nothing they can do without a court order and that order can only be pursued by the company who issued your "invoice" (faux fine).

If you Google this you'll find endless threads on money saving expert of all sorts of people who got "fines" (invoices) for infringements on private land. Consensus is generally don't pay, you may choose to ignore it completely, the threat letters will probably increase, but until court order and you losing they can't do anything. MSE has a couple of car parking templates including one from the British parking association (code of conduct), who most private companies are signed up to......

I'd personally write explaining you paid, this is their error and not yours and under no circumstances will you be paying again. If they do not fix their own error and stop harassing you for something youve already paid for, you will be going to court with witnesses and will seek recovery of all your time costs if they seek to pursue this vexatious and false invoice. .... Make it crystal clear they're getting nothing unless by court order and don't hold back......

Happened twice to me and both times they backed down. They're after low hanging easy fruit, they won't risk hundreds in costs for £100. Good luck and don't pay

 

[CheeseRolls]

Just be clear of your position, unless your "fine" is from a council or the police it's not really a fine. It's an invoice with some threatening words intended to make you pay said invoice.

Was the car park private non council land? If so, the only way it becomes enforceable is the other side of a court order. Even if they threaten to pass it to debt collectors there's nothing they can do without a court order and that order can only be pursued by the company who issued your "invoice" (faux fine).

If you Google this you'll find endless threads on money saving expert of all sorts of people who got "fines" (invoices) for infringements on private land. Consensus is generally don't pay, you may choose to ignore it completely, the threat letters will probably increase, but until court order and you losing they can't do anything. MSE has a couple of car parking templates including one from the British parking association (code of conduct), who most private companies are signed up to......

I'd personally write explaining you paid, this is their error and not yours and under no circumstances will you be paying again. If they do not fix their own error and stop harassing you for something youve already paid for, you will be going to court with witnesses and will seek recovery of all your time costs if they seek to pursue this vexatious and false invoice. .... Make it crystal clear they're getting nothing unless by court order and don't hold back......

Happened twice to me and both times they backed down. They're after low hanging easy fruit, they won't risk hundreds in costs for £100. Good luck and don't pay

Railway land most likely and covered by a separate by-law, it is a subtle exception.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Party of us ( 5 cars) park in Lewes Station Car Park to go by train to London and all pay for a days fee.
One of us gets a fine for not paying and its one of those that you type in your registration number.
We bought all the parking tickets one after another and they are saying we didn't pay.
we parked there on 12th Dec and they send the fine out on 8th Jan , 27 days later!!
Who keeps their ticket that long afterwards and how can we prove that we paid for it. Maybe they put a wrong letter down by mistake but they must have CCTV . Can we ask for a printout of the cars paying as they were paid all at the same time?
Tried ringing the parking firm but no answer so what should I do , should I just not pay.
How can I prove it that I paid and where do I stand legally?

If you're on Facebook there is a group called FIGHT YOUR PRIVATE PARKING INVOICE, which has loads of advice, plus a guy called Tony Taylor who will fight your appeal for £10 and wins something like 95% of cases. Anyway, the group lets you post what happens and you'll get loads of advice.

What you shouldn't do is just not pay. The first step is to appeal, but you cannot just ignore it.

They have 6 years to take people to court, and they on many occasions they do choose to do this - it isn't always backing down. So you need to make sure you following the correct process yourself if you are going to not pay and appeal.

 

[LadySeagull]

If you're on Facebook there is a group called FIGHT YOUR PRIVATE PARKING INVOICE, which has loads of advice, plus a guy called Tony Taylor who will fight your appeal for £10 and wins something like 95% of cases

Jeez, no he doesn't! AVOID AVOID AVOID!

Tony Taylor is an ex UKPC employee and doesn't know what he is doing half the time. Awful Facebook drivel.

What you shouldn't do is just not pay.

In fact, you can with this one.

The first step is to appeal, but you cannot just ignore it.

There is no appeal, no POPLA, and you can ignore it.

They have 6 years to take people to court,

Not with this one, they have 6 MONTHS only, and THEY (SABA) cannot take people to court over railway byelaws penalties.

Party of us ( 5 cars) park in Lewes Station Car Park to go by train to London and all pay for a days fee.
One of us gets a fine for not paying and its one of those that you type in your registration number.

We bought all the parking tickets one after another and they are saying we didn't pay.
we parked there on 12th Dec and they send the fine out on 8th Jan , 27 days later!!

Who keeps their ticket that long afterwards and how can we prove that we paid for it. Maybe they put a wrong letter down by mistake but they must have CCTV . Can we ask for a printout of the cars paying as they were paid all at the same time?
Tried ringing the parking firm but no answer so what should I do , should I just not pay.

How can I prove it that I paid and where do I stand legally?

Ignore it until it times out after 6 months, after lots of willy-waving in template scary letters from ZZPS and QDR.

THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS A PARKING CHARGE NOTICE. IT IS EASIER! SABA CANNOT SUE AND DO NOT HAVE 6 YEARS!

 

[BensGrandad]

Good to see you on NSC Lady Seagull and still on the ball giving advice. Have you managed to get around to answering your PMs yet as you posted that you had a backlog?

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I'd just like to point everyone to the new sticky. I've been in discussion with Bozza and he has suggested something that might help everyone ( I need the time to do it though ! ). In the meantime if you need assistance then use Money Saving Expert's forum ( easy to google ) or PMs. Whatever you do NEVER pay !!!!! Just remember every single one of these companies are run by scum.

 

[Beagle]

I received a text message from a solicitors representing a private parking enforcement company. They are saying I was sent letters that I have never received. They wanted to charge me £170 so I refused saying that I had no notice of this until the text message. I have now received a letter/Claim form for the county court totalling £252.06. The 'County Court' mark is not a stamp, just a photocopy. I do not dispute parking in the loading bay but had no notice until they hiked it to £170. Letter states it will affect my credit rating etc, do I pay or send a letter to the court explaining the circumstances?

 

[LadySeagull]

I received a text message from a solicitors representing a private parking enforcement company. They are saying I was sent letters that I have never received. They wanted to charge me £170 so I refused saying that I had no notice of this until the text message. I have now received a letter/Claim form for the county court totalling £252.06. The 'County Court' mark is not a stamp, just a photocopy. I do not dispute parking in the loading bay but had no notice until they hiked it to £170. Letter states it will affect my credit rating etc, do I pay or send a letter to the court explaining the circumstances?

You go to MSE and read the NEWBIES sticky thread post #2 and then post a new thread about your claim (yes, it is a real claim, but MSE win 99% of them, with no risk to your credit rating even for the odd 1% who lose and pay).

If your local court is Worthing, Brighton or Lewes then I always offer to go along to advise and to speak for Defendants if they wish, but the D has to attend as well (because I am not a solicitor). A hearing is really interesting and exhilarating when you win!

They cannot claim £170 by the way. But you will find all that out from MSE forum. If you want to send me a pm as well, I promise to catch up with them this weekend!

Just seen the sticky thread and if Bozza allows this, I would like to say ''hello'' to the unnamed individuals and their unnamed company:

Parking "fine" / PCN payment assistance and help

Not for the first time, NSC has been contacted with regard to discussions on these pages relating to a specific company and local individual involved in the parking industry.

Whilst I'm fully supportive of those looking for help with these matters, can I please request that you do NOT mention the company involved, nor the individual(s) behind those organisations in your posts.

By all means, when help is forthcoming, use direct one-to-one messaging to elaborate on specific details as required.

Good luck fighting the good fight!

Nice. Parking firms always read forums and complain to try to stop people like me. I've been doing this for more than 10 years. Seen it all.

The bits I quoted were already in the public domain in a newspaper report which named the hereafter unnamed individuals. However, I don;t think the above post relates to the same company anyway. Other parking companies are available.

Best advice is as Westdene Seagull says - take such questions to MSE (and pm me if you are friendly/a victim).