PCN Parking tickets when out the country
Discussion
Dear PistonHeads Community,
I am seeking advice...
5 Weeks ago I went on Holiday for a week. I booked a meet and greet parking company (£80) to collect my car and return it to me when I arrived back 7 days later.
When the company returned my car it had a puncture and they literally dumped my car in the wrong area of Heathrow airport where I occured a parking fine of £25.00. The guys were very hostile and subsequently, I decided to just change the tyre, pay the parking fine and put the whole thing down to a bad experience. (I didn't want anything else to do with them).
5 weeks later, I received 6 individual PCN parking tickets for my car which was parked in a permit area without a permit. In a nutshell, the company drove my car out of the airport, went to a parking permit residential area, and left my car there for a week.
Completely unaware, I now have £660 fine from Hillingdon Borough Council. I have submitted evidence to say I had paid and used a meet and greet company, that I was out of the country, and was not the owner of the vehicle at the time so am not liable. I provided contact details of the individual and company who were responsible for my car (Enigma Pasrking Services) and that they should incur the charges.
Hillingdon Borough council have stated that because the company have not paid the fine, the liability goes back to the registered owner.
I am now at a crossroad, do I appeal again, stating the facts, it will go to an impartial adjudicator, if I lose, my fine doubles, or, do I just pay the fine and move on?
I have a police crime report number, I have contacted citizens' advice and registered the incident with companies house but since then, the company has filed for liquidation/administration having only operated for 6 months. There is no way they will pay the fine. Instead, they will likely set up another company in a few months with a new director and do the same again to someone else.
My argument is that if the company in question had obtained a speeding fine, or ran someone over, I would not be liable as I was not the driver and out of the country, yet for these parking tickets, I am?
Any advice would be much appreciated as I don't have £600+ and I think it is unfair and wrong that innocent people full victims of this.
If you think I should pay, learn from the mistake and move on then so be it, however, if you feel I have a case or an argument, then I would welcome your honest suggestions.
Thank you for taking the time to read my issue.
JLC
I am seeking advice...
5 Weeks ago I went on Holiday for a week. I booked a meet and greet parking company (£80) to collect my car and return it to me when I arrived back 7 days later.
When the company returned my car it had a puncture and they literally dumped my car in the wrong area of Heathrow airport where I occured a parking fine of £25.00. The guys were very hostile and subsequently, I decided to just change the tyre, pay the parking fine and put the whole thing down to a bad experience. (I didn't want anything else to do with them).
5 weeks later, I received 6 individual PCN parking tickets for my car which was parked in a permit area without a permit. In a nutshell, the company drove my car out of the airport, went to a parking permit residential area, and left my car there for a week.
Completely unaware, I now have £660 fine from Hillingdon Borough Council. I have submitted evidence to say I had paid and used a meet and greet company, that I was out of the country, and was not the owner of the vehicle at the time so am not liable. I provided contact details of the individual and company who were responsible for my car (Enigma Pasrking Services) and that they should incur the charges.
Hillingdon Borough council have stated that because the company have not paid the fine, the liability goes back to the registered owner.
I am now at a crossroad, do I appeal again, stating the facts, it will go to an impartial adjudicator, if I lose, my fine doubles, or, do I just pay the fine and move on?
I have a police crime report number, I have contacted citizens' advice and registered the incident with companies house but since then, the company has filed for liquidation/administration having only operated for 6 months. There is no way they will pay the fine. Instead, they will likely set up another company in a few months with a new director and do the same again to someone else.
My argument is that if the company in question had obtained a speeding fine, or ran someone over, I would not be liable as I was not the driver and out of the country, yet for these parking tickets, I am?
Any advice would be much appreciated as I don't have £600+ and I think it is unfair and wrong that innocent people full victims of this.
If you think I should pay, learn from the mistake and move on then so be it, however, if you feel I have a case or an argument, then I would welcome your honest suggestions.
Thank you for taking the time to read my issue.
JLC
If your vehicle was taking without consent, would you still be liable for parking charges?
Surely this is taking a vehicle somewhere without owners consent no? Your contract with them was for them to park it in Heathrow? So personally I would fight it all the way and report it as a crime too.
Don't pay a penny. But I don't know the law.
Surely this is taking a vehicle somewhere without owners consent no? Your contract with them was for them to park it in Heathrow? So personally I would fight it all the way and report it as a crime too.
Don't pay a penny. But I don't know the law.
Write again, this time making sure you describe yourself as an innocent victim of a scam, and providing evidence of the winding up of the company you entrusted with your car, explaining that you would like a review based on compassionate grounds, having taken steps and actually paid for your car to be legally parked and thus you should not be penalised for having done the right thing because of the actions of a criminal setup.
You may well be a bit out of luck. Citizens Advice: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/p...
Is it one PCN where it's crept up to 660, or ten?
Is it one PCN where it's crept up to 660, or ten?
Do a Section 75 chargeback for your parking fees. If you book a flight which is cancelled or the company goes bust, you can claim back the cost of the holiday and any associaed costs such as replacement flights to get you home. In this instance I would try to reclaim the fines from your card issuer. They may be resistant to the idea and you might have to invoke their complaints procedure.
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