What to do - parking fine dispute
Discussion
So back in December 2017!! My wife was called out to her place of work one evening, she parked in a pay and display car park (I was with her as it was late at night) and the P&D machine was out of order, would not take payment, this display on the machine stated as much (I told her to take a photo jut in case). We were there 30 mins or so in total.
As you can imagine she received a parking fine from the cameras on site, she contacted the parking company with the evidence of the defective machine but they said she should have called to make payment (it's in the T&C's on the sign apparently).
Anyway, I told her to ignore them given the machine was defective, it's late a night, no lights about etc.
She's now received a further letter from a debt recovery firm... 18 months later asking her to pay £150 or be taken to court, I'm still saying stand your ground given the defective machine but she's worried.
Any help would be appreciated.
As you can imagine she received a parking fine from the cameras on site, she contacted the parking company with the evidence of the defective machine but they said she should have called to make payment (it's in the T&C's on the sign apparently).
Anyway, I told her to ignore them given the machine was defective, it's late a night, no lights about etc.
She's now received a further letter from a debt recovery firm... 18 months later asking her to pay £150 or be taken to court, I'm still saying stand your ground given the defective machine but she's worried.
Any help would be appreciated.
I'm not a lawyer but I have tangled with 3 parking companies through work. The pepipoo website seems to be the font of knowledge on this so check there. Perhaps find out if you can still appeal to the regulatory body, if you can this might get is squashed.
My experience was I dispute every ticket and I have never paid them a penny. I did however receive many threatening letters. Ticket 1 was for staying at a Mcdonalds for hours on end. In fact I had got coffee on the way to a job then nipped back for lunch. Their camera system though I had been there from when I first entered at 7am to when I left the second time about 3pm. I sent them a copy of my invoice for my time on site and they begrudgingly dropped it.
Ticket 2 was disputed because I had bought two parking tickets and their system was only showing the first one. Ticket 3 was disputed because I was actually parked opposite the car park not in it. In both cases they replied to my letter of dispute with template letters basically saying "we got your letter, pay anyway" I would reply saying, I'm not paying for X reason until you confirm the second ticket/comment on the map and pics I sent you". They would reply saying "yeah, pay anyway". I would reply saying see previous letter.... after a while they pass it on to a debt collector.
I would reply to the debt collector saying that I believe they shouldn't have been instructed to pursue me because I was still awaiting a proper response to my letters (see enclosed copies). They would sometimes go back to the parking company and sometimes not, they would bluster about going to court so I would reply that I want to sort it out but I need my letters replying to properly first.
Eventually they stop writing to you. Its a bit of a faff but I was in the right and didn't want to be pushed around. Especially as they used dodgy tactics like not sending a first request for payment then claiming they did, one company even sent their replies to a different address for a while!
My experience was I dispute every ticket and I have never paid them a penny. I did however receive many threatening letters. Ticket 1 was for staying at a Mcdonalds for hours on end. In fact I had got coffee on the way to a job then nipped back for lunch. Their camera system though I had been there from when I first entered at 7am to when I left the second time about 3pm. I sent them a copy of my invoice for my time on site and they begrudgingly dropped it.
Ticket 2 was disputed because I had bought two parking tickets and their system was only showing the first one. Ticket 3 was disputed because I was actually parked opposite the car park not in it. In both cases they replied to my letter of dispute with template letters basically saying "we got your letter, pay anyway" I would reply saying, I'm not paying for X reason until you confirm the second ticket/comment on the map and pics I sent you". They would reply saying "yeah, pay anyway". I would reply saying see previous letter.... after a while they pass it on to a debt collector.
I would reply to the debt collector saying that I believe they shouldn't have been instructed to pursue me because I was still awaiting a proper response to my letters (see enclosed copies). They would sometimes go back to the parking company and sometimes not, they would bluster about going to court so I would reply that I want to sort it out but I need my letters replying to properly first.
Eventually they stop writing to you. Its a bit of a faff but I was in the right and didn't want to be pushed around. Especially as they used dodgy tactics like not sending a first request for payment then claiming they did, one company even sent their replies to a different address for a while!
Who issued the ticket, and who is chasing you?
Some threats need to be taken more seriously than others at the moment. I currently have 4 court claims on my desk for old tickets, some issued 2 years ago.
Also it is worth asking the parking company for a Subject Access Request to get chapter and verse on what has happened so far as this far down the line, I doubt you/your other half will still have the original paperwork.
Anecdotally, if you do this, it apparently makes them less likely to pursue a claim, on the assumption that you have enough knowledge to ask them for the data, and have time to scrutinise it.
It's not something I myself do though as we record copies of everything as it arrives and is sent out
Some threats need to be taken more seriously than others at the moment. I currently have 4 court claims on my desk for old tickets, some issued 2 years ago.
Also it is worth asking the parking company for a Subject Access Request to get chapter and verse on what has happened so far as this far down the line, I doubt you/your other half will still have the original paperwork.
Anecdotally, if you do this, it apparently makes them less likely to pursue a claim, on the assumption that you have enough knowledge to ask them for the data, and have time to scrutinise it.
It's not something I myself do though as we record copies of everything as it arrives and is sent out
Freakuk said:
So back in December 2017!! My wife was called out to her place of work one evening, she parked in a pay and display car park (I was with her as it was late at night) and the P&D machine was out of order, would not take payment, this display on the machine stated as much (I told her to take a photo jut in case). We were there 30 mins or so in total.
As you can imagine she received a parking fine from the cameras on site, she contacted the parking company with the evidence of the defective machine but they said she should have called to make payment (it's in the T&C's on the sign apparently).
Anyway, I told her to ignore them given the machine was defective, it's late a night, no lights about etc.
She's now received a further letter from a debt recovery firm... 18 months later asking her to pay £150 or be taken to court, I'm still saying stand your ground given the defective machine but she's worried.
Any help would be appreciated.
What do they expect to do if you haven't got a phone, dead battery or no signal? Good luck.As you can imagine she received a parking fine from the cameras on site, she contacted the parking company with the evidence of the defective machine but they said she should have called to make payment (it's in the T&C's on the sign apparently).
Anyway, I told her to ignore them given the machine was defective, it's late a night, no lights about etc.
She's now received a further letter from a debt recovery firm... 18 months later asking her to pay £150 or be taken to court, I'm still saying stand your ground given the defective machine but she's worried.
Any help would be appreciated.
Vipers said:
What do they expect to do if you haven't got a phone, dead battery or no signal? Good luck.
Indeed - I believe this is commonly cited under "frustration of contract" - there was the intent to pay and adhere to the terms, but due to a faulty machine, it wasn't possible. Another valid and possible defence point, but if the parking company and debt company atre not currently active in court claims, this will go away with a letter explaining why they are in the wrong.Unless it's BW Legal, who will plough on regardless of the facts if their client tells them to.
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