Page 7 of Smart Parking Limited also trading as Town & City Parking- Parking Charge Notice

Quote:
retrogeezer says...
"oh right, I thought everyone used tps these days! :)"
For all the good it does I've been registered on the TPS for ages but so few calls now originate in the UK it's largely pointless. Plus for these *rseholes they probably want you to complain as it's another avenue to fight you down.


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Now, what I`m with isn`t it, and what`s `it` seems weird and scary

Just an update, I have received two reminders and today received a letter from a debt agency, which apparently quotes the piece of legislation which allows them to charge me. Felt a bit anxious when I read it, but rereading this thread helped!

Are you sure it quotes actual legislation relating to parking? I bet it doesn't!

Can you post a piccie? With ALL private and identifiable information removed obviously.

There is no legislation that allows a private company to impose arbitrary fines, for any purpose. All they can do is claim interest on debts after a certain amount of days, and of course this isn't a valid debt.

I bet the leglislation they quote is from some parking trade organisation, which is of course not leglislation at all.


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Thank you for your reply and sorry for the delay. It quotes Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 which refers to the recovery of unpaid parking charges. It says that they believe these conditions have been met, and that the charge is due to be paid. I have today received another letter threatening court action and if I look at www.debtrecoveryplus.co.uk I will find a list of court judgements obtained against people who have not paid. All a little alarming to be honest!

Found this on the link to the Dept Transport Guidance, ironically enough from the dept agency's page. This backs up your point that as it was a free space, they can only claim loss of business.

What are the main laws relating to parking on private land in England and Wales, and the charges that can apply?

A driver who is invited to park on private land and pay a fee does so under a contract with the landholder. Any terms and conditions which either party wishes to enforce against the other are therefore be subject to the laws of contract. Where a car parks on land where parking is not invited, the laws relating to trespass may apply.

A parking contract must set out the terms that apply, including the fees payable. It must also clearly set out the charges that apply if the terms of the contract are broken – for example, by parking for longer than the time paid for.

Charges for breaking a parking contract must be reasonable and a genuine pre-estimate of loss. This means charges must compensate the landholder only for the loss they are likely to suffer because the parking contract has been broken. For example, to cover the unpaid charges and the administrative costs associated with issuing the ticket to recover the charges. Charges may not be set at higher levels than necessary to recover business losses and the intention should not be to penalise the driver.

If the terms and conditions of parking contracts seek to impose charges for different types of breaches (eg for straddling two bays compared to overstaying in one bay), or for the same breaches in different car parks, consideration should be given to whether the level of loss is likely to vary accordingly.

Schedule 4 also provides for parking charges in England and Wales to be recoverable from the registered keeper where a person trespasses on private land by parking a vehicle on the land without permission. In those circumstances a landholder must be able to show he or she has suffered a loss

Quote:
Racsam says...
"Schedule 4 also provides for parking charges in England and Wales to be recoverable from the registered keeper where a person trespasses on private land by parking a vehicle on the land without permission. In those circumstances a landholder must be able to show he or she has suffered a loss"
The bold bit being the key point.

They really rely on scare tactics to extort money that they have no right to obtain. Low lifes!

The main point here is they threaten court action if you don't pay, and they threaten it over and over again. If they had a good case, they'd just threaten you twice and then take you to court.

But of course they'd lose if they did that, so it's a lot more profitable for them to just send threatening letters.

I forget how long it's been since my mum last received a letter, but I think it's been 12 months now.


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Yes, I think you are right, am continuing to ignore and will keep you updated. Thanks for your continuing support.

I'd recommend anyone being hounded by these shirtbags to double check they are not the type to apply to Northampton Bulk Handling Centre. 

Having similar fun with parkingeye. Initially I was going to ignore their letters until I came across a forum post that says they DO take people to court. So I appealed which was rejected. I've since appealed to POPLA.

What annoys me with both PE and POPLA is apparently they 'don't do' mitigating circumstances so just went with the usual 'Has the Landowner suffer a loss?' etc....

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Quote:
dusty321 says...
"Initially I was going to ignore their letters until I came across a forum post that says they DO take people to court. "
But do they win? And on what grounds? It's also possible that the forum posts are not from genuine people, or that they didn't contest it and just paid the moment they got a court letter, or what they thought was a court letter.

/me googles

Ah it seems they put in a claim in the small claims court, which is exactly what anyone can do (even you) who believes someone owes them money which they haven't paid.

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/showthread.php?41674-Parking-Eye-Court-papers-recieved-from-Northampton

I think it costs about £100 to file such a claim.

The law is pretty clear on the whole thing, but it's up to you to be brave enough to stand up against these low lifes (I appreciate this is scary and I don't blame you for caving and paying at some stage, it shouldn't be your responsibility to defend yourself from these charlatans).

You do have to be prepared to go the whole way if need be, armed with the right contract law, and a good understanding of the facts.

Some bright young lawyer starting a new firm should take up this cause, get themselves on TV a bit collecting as many plaintiffs as they can, and then get a mass refund that puts these companies out of business.


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Further reading!

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?390479-REceived-Court-Papers-From-A-Private-parking-Speculative-invoice-How-To-Deal-With-It-HERE

and

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?397146-Parking-Eye-court-summons


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