Can I do ParkingEye for harrassment?

Can I do ParkingEye for harrassment?

Author
Discussion

ChemicalChaos

Original Poster:

10,360 posts

159 months

Monday 15th September 2014
quotequote all
An interesting case this:

I help out with a voluntary restoration group that is based at Speke Aerodrome, Liverpool. This is now a Crowne Plaza hotel, with ANPR-protected pay and display parking controlled by ParkingEye.
The members of the group have all registered their cars with the hotel to be exempt from having to pay, so we can freely drive in and out and park during the days when we are working there. I am not sure how this process works, though I think the hotel sends the reg numbers to ParkingEye to put on an exemption database. However, the process seems to be a bit hit and miss, as whilst some group members are fine, others (like me) end up with a PCN a few days after each visit. This is the fourth time I've had to email the hotel now to get one quashed for my car, and each time they assure me that my details are supposed to be exempt. Evidently they arent, or they wouldnt keep having to contact ParkingEye for me to get them cancelled.
Not only is this very annoying for me, but I would assume that the hotel staff have beter things to do than endlessly ring up and get people's parking charges cancelled.

As it seems to be a failure by ParkingEye to actually check their own databases before sending me an endless stream of threatening letters, would I have grounds here to get someone legal on my side, and issue them with a cease and desist notice (or whatever the equivalent is nowadays)? I would find it most immensely satisfying smile

photosnob

1,339 posts

117 months

Monday 15th September 2014
quotequote all
ChemicalChaos said:
An interesting case this:

I help out with a voluntary restoration group that is based at Speke Aerodrome, Liverpool. This is now a Crowne Plaza hotel, with ANPR-protected pay and display parking controlled by ParkingEye.
The members of the group have all registered their cars with the hotel to be exempt from having to pay, so we can freely drive in and out and park during the days when we are working there. I am not sure how this process works, though I think the hotel sends the reg numbers to ParkingEye to put on an exemption database. However, the process seems to be a bit hit and miss, as whilst some group members are fine, others (like me) end up with a PCN a few days after each visit. This is the fourth time I've had to email the hotel now to get one quashed for my car, and each time they assure me that my details are supposed to be exempt. Evidently they arent, or they wouldnt keep having to contact ParkingEye for me to get them cancelled.
Not only is this very annoying for me, but I would assume that the hotel staff have beter things to do than endlessly ring up and get people's parking charges cancelled.

As it seems to be a failure by ParkingEye to actually check their own databases before sending me an endless stream of threatening letters, would I have grounds here to get someone legal on my side, and issue them with a cease and desist notice (or whatever the equivalent is nowadays)? I would find it most immensely satisfying smile
Put crap defences in and make them generate POPLA codes. When it starts costing them a pile of money then they will soon stop.

Red Devil

13,055 posts

207 months

Monday 15th September 2014
quotequote all
I have no idea about a harrassment claim but you need to speak to the hotel manager and get him/her to sort it out with PE. And if that doesn't produce results, e-mail the Parking Pranster. He'll love it.

I take the previous poster's point but why should you have to go to the time and trouble trouble of faffing around with POPLA? There are more important things to be doing with your time and energy.

Edited by Red Devil on Monday 15th September 22:27

remkingston

472 posts

146 months

Monday 15th September 2014
quotequote all
Unless their email ends in .gov just ignore them.

What do you actually gain from trying for harassment?

marshalla

15,902 posts

200 months

Monday 15th September 2014
quotequote all
remkingston said:
Unless their email ends in .gov just ignore them.

What do you actually gain from trying for harassment?
What does the USA have to do with it ?

ChemicalChaos

Original Poster:

10,360 posts

159 months

Monday 15th September 2014
quotequote all
remkingston said:
Unless their email ends in .gov just ignore them.

What do you actually gain from trying for harassment?
I think youll find that all UK government stuff ends in .gov too.

As for what I gain? I gain not having a puffed-up letter pushed through my door every week which then causes me to spend 5 minutes composing an email to the already-busy hotel staff

KFC

3,687 posts

129 months

Monday 15th September 2014
quotequote all
ChemicalChaos said:
I think youll find that all UK government stuff ends in .gov too.
.gov = USA

.gov.uk = UK

remkingston

472 posts

146 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
ChemicalChaos said:
remkingston said:
Unless their email ends in .gov just ignore them.

What do you actually gain from trying for harassment?
I think youll find that all UK government stuff ends in .gov too.

As for what I gain? I gain not having a puffed-up letter pushed through my door every week which then causes me to spend 5 minutes composing an email to the already-busy hotel staff
Don't worry about emailing the hotel. Just ignore them:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php...

It's a scam anyway. They don't care and probably make regular money off of people not realising this.

aw51 121565

4,771 posts

232 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
There is a recent example where someone (in vague terms wink ) won their POPLA appeal and has now been issued court papers by Parking Eye... PE's admin appears to be less then 100% efficient hehe and PePiPoo are ordering popcorn as we speak wink !

As upthread, a soft appeal to PE (any old stuff such as "we have the permission of the hotel management to park there") to get the POPLA code - then a 'hard' appeal to POPLA along the lines of "this parking charge isn't a genuine pre-estimate of anyone's loss for this alleged contravention" as well as "PE don't have sufficient interest in the land to offer a contract to park" plus other stuff garnered from PePiPoo, moneysavingexpert and - especially - parkingprankster (google all three, PE are in need of as many good pummellings as people can manage wink ).

If it was your own parking space (as per your tenancy agreement or leasehold) in a complex of flats, you'd be able to take them to the cleaners for trespass (and several hundred groats per some accounts) after giving them due warning (a suitable letter) at the blink of an eye - but as described you'll probably have to be happy settling for costing them £27 (+VAT? That's a point to debate smile ) for the POPLA code plus something for them getting the RK's details from DVLA...

Get your pleasures where you can, eh? wink

y2keable

116 posts

131 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
KFC said:
ChemicalChaos said:
I think youll find that all UK government stuff ends in .gov too.
.gov = USA

.gov.uk = UK
Nope

crossy67

1,570 posts

178 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
My sister got fined £60 for stopping on the road to the airport to let my wife get into the car, no opening of the boot, just a passenger getting in. The fine arrived showing her stopped for 20 seconds. I haven't seen ho the fine was off as I haven't been home for ages but I suspect this shower of ste.

Here's a hypothetical question for you. I live abroad, I visit home and hire a car which I leave somewhere Parking eye or the likes has bagsied. What happens to their made up fine, would I get chance to contst it or would the hire company just take the charge off my credit card and I'd have to lump it?


Ekona

1,652 posts

201 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
y2keable said:
KFC said:
ChemicalChaos said:
I think youll find that all UK government stuff ends in .gov too.
.gov = USA

.gov.uk = UK
Nope
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.gov

I know wiki isn't infallible, but a google for .gov brings up a whole bunch of .gov.uk domains belonging to the UK government and their various departments, so it would appear that .gov is US-only.

marshalla

15,902 posts

200 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
y2keable said:
KFC said:
ChemicalChaos said:
I think youll find that all UK government stuff ends in .gov too.
.gov = USA

.gov.uk = UK
Nope
ICANN -who ought to know said:
Why is .gov not mentioned above? How can I register a .gov domain name?

The .gov registry does not currently have a contract with ICANN. The .gov top-level domain is operated by the United States General Services Administration. For more information on registering names in .gov, see http://www.nic.gov.
See here : https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/about-e5-201... and here : https://www.dotgov.gov/portal/web/dotgov

Apologies to all for opening this can of worms, any chance we can get back on topic now ?

Sorry, don't know what came over me there - this is PH, as you were.

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
aw51 121565 said:
...

If it was your own parking space (as per your tenancy agreement or leasehold) in a complex of flats, you'd be able to take them to the cleaners for trespass (and several hundred groats per some accounts) after giving them due warning (a suitable letter) at the blink of an eye ...
As with so much that is posted on those ranty park and speed sites, this is nonsense. Think about it for a minute - the company's claim for megabucks fails because it has suffered no or minimal loss. By the same token, the trespass has caused no or minimal loss, and so you get no megabucks.

In answer to the OP, this is not harassment and is best ignored.

In answer to another poster, these tickets are not "fines". No private company can fine you. They are demands for payment pursuant to an alleged contract. The demand is usually excessive because a breach of the contract has not caused anything like the loss claimed.

KFC

3,687 posts

129 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
y2keable said:
KFC said:
ChemicalChaos said:
I think youll find that all UK government stuff ends in .gov too.
.gov = USA

.gov.uk = UK
Nope
laugh

Do enlighten us then.

elanfan

5,516 posts

226 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
OP - my wife was getting threatening letters from the people who 'police' Aldi car parks. I looked into it and ended up asking the Supermarket manager for the name and address of their company secretary as I intended to report him to the Police for Harassment. I understand that this is an arrestable offence.

I'm sure Gerard will come along and correct me as I'm bound to have got it wrong - but there was something in I think the Administration of Justice Act 1970 where if one party consorts with another to cause harassment then they are just as guilty. in this case the supermarket were consorting with the parking company.

I used the above on the Supermarket Manager and my ticket was cancelled 10 minutes later.

If it is possible to use this to get the Parking Eye Co Secretary arrested it would be great - can't say they don't deserve it in your circumstances as they have multiple chances to get it right.

Also why don't you send them an 'invoice' for all the time you have had to waste. Make a schedule of the number of tickets you have had, itemize the time you have spent on each put a reasonable rate for your time, add a little for the harassment and tell them you will issue a money claim on line if they don't pay you.

Hol

8,364 posts

199 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
ChemicalChaos said:
An interesting case this:

I help out with a voluntary restoration group that is based at Speke Aerodrome, Liverpool. This is now a Crowne Plaza hotel, with ANPR-protected pay and display parking controlled by ParkingEye.
The members of the group have all registered their cars with the hotel to be exempt from having to pay, so we can freely drive in and out and park during the days when we are working there. I am not sure how this process works, though I think the hotel sends the reg numbers to ParkingEye to put on an exemption database. However, the process seems to be a bit hit and miss, as whilst some group members are fine, others (like me) end up with a PCN a few days after each visit. This is the fourth time I've had to email the hotel now to get one quashed for my car, and each time they assure me that my details are supposed to be exempt. Evidently they arent, or they wouldnt keep having to contact ParkingEye for me to get them cancelled.
Not only is this very annoying for me, but I would assume that the hotel staff have beter things to do than endlessly ring up and get people's parking charges cancelled.

As it seems to be a failure by ParkingEye to actually check their own databases before sending me an endless stream of threatening letters, would I have grounds here to get someone legal on my side, and issue them with a cease and desist notice (or whatever the equivalent is nowadays)? I would find it most immensely satisfying smile
I have highlighted your problem.

You are working on the assumption that the parking company have received an official notice from the hotel.

Ask your hotel to confirm how it actually works and that they HAVE registered you as being exempt.


My guess is they have done so for some, but not all.

photosnob

1,339 posts

117 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
elanfan said:
OP - my wife was getting threatening letters from the people who 'police' Aldi car parks. I looked into it and ended up asking the Supermarket manager for the name and address of their company secretary as I intended to report him to the Police for Harassment. I understand that this is an arrestable offence.

I'm sure Gerard will come along and correct me as I'm bound to have got it wrong - but there was something in I think the Administration of Justice Act 1970 where if one party consorts with another to cause harassment then they are just as guilty. in this case the supermarket were consorting with the parking company.

I used the above on the Supermarket Manager and my ticket was cancelled 10 minutes later.

If it is possible to use this to get the Parking Eye Co Secretary arrested it would be great - can't say they don't deserve it in your circumstances as they have multiple chances to get it right.

Also why don't you send them an 'invoice' for all the time you have had to waste. Make a schedule of the number of tickets you have had, itemize the time you have spent on each put a reasonable rate for your time, add a little for the harassment and tell them you will issue a money claim on line if they don't pay you.
If that was feasible would one of the thousands of solicitors or police officers who have been ticketed not have gone for it?

eybic

9,212 posts

173 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
remkingston said:
Don't worry about emailing the hotel. Just ignore them:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php...

It's a scam anyway. They don't care and probably make regular money off of people not realising this.
The rules changed in Oct 2012, they can and will pursue.

anonymous-user

53 months

Tuesday 16th September 2014
quotequote all
elanfan said:
...

Also why don't you send them an 'invoice' for all the time you have had to waste. Make a schedule of the number of tickets you have had, itemize the time you have spent on each put a reasonable rate for your time, add a little for the harassment and tell them you will issue a money claim on line if they don't pay you.
Such an invoice would be pointless, and verges on FOTL wibbliness.