Parking Ticket Not even in the area

[Belle427]

We received a letter for a parking offence yesterday from a company called park watch and looks legit.
The offence was in Oldham and we live in South Wales.
I can guarantee the car wasn’t in Oldham on the offence date but our local police have advised us we have to prove we were not there.
This is bizarre and we thought it was a scam and am now not sure what to do.
Do we write to the company and appeal really not sure what to do, request photographic evidence?
Thanks for any help.

[pavarotti1980]

Belle427 said:

We received a letter for a parking offence yesterday from a company called park watch and looks legit.
The offence was in Oldham and we live in South Wales.
I can guarantee the car wasn’t in Oldham on the offence date but our local police have advised us we have to prove we were not there.
This is bizarre and we thought it was a scam and am now not sure what to do.
Do we write to the company and appeal really not sure what to do, request photographic evidence?
Thanks for any help.

Write to the company and say

I am responding as the registered keeper (if you are) and that the vehicle was not in the location at the time of the alleged breach. If you reject this appeal please provide me with a POPLA code

Regards

XXXXXXX

[Cold]

Belle427 said:

but our local police have advised us we have to prove we were not there.

Don't rely on the police for legal advice. They sometimes (often?) have an awful understanding of some things.

[Belle427]

Cold said:

Don't rely on the police for legal advice. They sometimes (often?) have an awful understanding of some things.

Yes they were useless, the wife being the mini detective she is has punched in our reg on the Dvla website with one of the last letters changed and it comes up with a white Nissan which ours is.

[bimsb6]

Belle427 said:

Cold said:

Don't rely on the police for legal advice. They sometimes (often?) have an awful understanding of some things.

Yes they were useless, the wife being the mini detective she is has punched in our reg on the Dvla website with one of the last letters changed and it comes up with a white Nissan which ours is.

Errr what does that prove ?

[Matt_E_Mulsion]

It's probably as simple of a mis-read of the number plate by the parking company.

[Superleg48]

There must have been cctv or anpr camera or a warden, who these days always photograph the offence. Simply confirm your details and request photographic evidence of the alleged offence. If they decline to provide this, request they take you to Court. They will have to prove their claim and this requires evidence. If you were not there, then they won’t have any. Also, it cannot be too hard to prove you could never have been there that day.

[Foss62]

Belle427 said:

We received a letter for a parking offence yesterday from a company called park watch and looks legit.
The offence was in Oldham and we live in South Wales.
I can guarantee the car wasn’t in Oldham on the offence date but our local police have advised us we have to prove we were not there.
This is bizarre and we thought it was a scam and am now not sure what to do.
Do we write to the company and appeal really not sure what to do, request photographic evidence?
Thanks for any help.

What made you go to the Police? I would have thought that the first thing you would do was phone the company that sent the letter and explain it to them.

[texaxile]

You can ask for a subject information access request , which they have to comply with by law, or alternatively go to the FAQ section of MSE for guidance on how to deal with it.:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay....

[Belle427]

There are lots of scams around these days so that’s why we didn’t contact the company.
I will write the letter as suggested earlier and report back with the response.
Thanks for the input.

[hunton69]

If you have never been in their car park why should you have to do anything.
Why should you have to appeal surly you only have to appeal once a company proves that you have done something wrong that warrants an invoice.
Does it mean that any random company can send an invoice to someone threaten them with taking them to court if they don’t pay and you have to respond

[55palfers]

Send them an invoice for £100 for replying to their letter

[anonymous-user]

There's a possibility your car may have been 'cloned'. Happened to me back in 2016 on a BMW 320, I lived in Leeds and some numpties in Croydon had been racking up speeding parking tickets. Plod visited me to let me know it has been happening.

Either way, engage with the PPC and do your best to prove you weren't there. They're just doing their job and obviously there's been a mistake. Trying to be smart or obnoxious will only drag things out and create more hassle and wasted energy.

[anonymous-user]

hunton69 said:

Does it mean that any random company can send an invoice to someone threaten them with taking them to court if they don’t pay and you have to respond

Yes anyone is entitled to take anyone else to court for sums deemed owing for whatever reason they like. Whether they have a leg to stand on though is another matter.

Bear in mind it will be up to the parking company as protagonists in the case to prove you were there, and not for you to prove you were not. That said, a simple letter to them telling them you were not there should put an end to the process.

[martinbiz]

janesmith1950 said:

There's a possibility your car may have been 'cloned'. Happened to me back in 2016 on a BMW 320, I lived in Leeds and some numpties in Croydon had been racking up speeding parking tickets. Plod visited me to let me know it has been happening.

Either way, engage with the PPC and do your best to prove you weren't there. They're just doing their job and obviously there's been a mistake. Trying to be smart or obnoxious will only drag things out and create more hassle and wasted energy.

The OP certainly does not have to prove that he was not there. OP I would ask the PPC to provide photographic evidence if only for you to make sure your car has not been cloned which is unlikely, far more likely to be a misread on the plate

[silverfoxcc]

OP

do as pavarotti says.and never say who was driving. just say you arewriting as the registered keeper.the less you tell them the less they can catch you with.all they want is money and a simple thing like a misread wont stop them

[Nimby]

silverfoxcc said:

OP

do as pavarotti says.and never say who was driving

This - as described quite well on Pepipoo. The original contract (from the signs in the car park) is formed with the driver. They can only transfer liability to the RK if they comply 100% with the Protection of Freedom Act 2012, and apparently very few do.

The RK is not required to tell them who was driving, so if they don't know, and don't comply precisely with POFA, they can't do anything.

[Matt_E_Mulsion]

How have we got to the point of not revealing who the driver was to the parking company? There was no driver because the car wasn't there. I think everyones getting a little ahead of themselves. OP, contact the parking company and just explain that it wasn't your car and could they check their photos and ensure they have read the reg number right.

[pavarotti1980]

Matt_E_Mulsion said:

How have we got to the point of not revealing who the driver was to the parking company? There was no driver because the car wasn't there. I think everyones getting a little ahead of themselves. OP, contact the parking company and just explain that it wasn't your car and could they check their photos and ensure they have read the reg number right.

We have got to this point because it is written in the legislation (POFA 2012) that the registered keeper is not obliged to name the driver of the car for a private parking ticket/invoice

OP just needs to respond with the text of my first post and not engage any further with the parking company other than that

[anonymous-user]

pavarotti1980 said:

We have got to this point because it is written in the legislation (POFA 2012) that the registered keeper is not obliged to name the driver of the car for a private parking ticket/invoice

OP just needs to respond with the text of my first post and not engage any further with the parking company other than that

If the OPs car wasn't there in that day, he has little to fear from the PPC. Why put up the shutters and start talking about third party appeals when you could pick up the phone and have a conversation with the PPC, or send them an email with some human language that sounds reasonable and a genuine attempt to solve the issue promptly?

This paranoia around PPCs and psuedo lawyerity (I made that word up) when responding to them is just conflict for the sake of it.

Something has gone wrong. The OP needs to calmly and politely explain to the PPC why he is not responsible for the ticket. It does not need to be a game or complicated or gladiatorial.