F'sticks - Parking Charge!

[Batcher]

Why didn't you use RingGo on your mobile to pay just after you had left the station when you realised you hadn't paid?

[vwdan]

Why didn't you use RingGo on your mobile to pay just after you had left the station when you realised you hadn't paid?

Ah, I think that may be the misunderstanding SimonMac is having. That was exactly my intention which is what I do every time, but I forgot - I remembered when I stepped BACK out of the station having been away.

Irritatingly, they didn't issue the ticket until 3pm yesterday so I'd have been fine if I'd have remembered at any point before then!

[quackhandle]

I was reading a newspaper article the other day on the company owners of these parking shysters how they have 3 houses, room for a pony, etc. The hotel I was staying at said the elderly get really frightened into paying up. I then noticed that on the car park itself there isn't any coin machines and you have to pay by mobile.

qh

[NorthWestPerm2Contr]

Gah - knew I'd forgotten to pay the very second I walked out of the station. It's a private firm so I have zero intention of paying their insane fees, but still annoying that I've got to deal with it now. £100 charge (or £60 if paid within 14 days)! I think not.

Anyone got any recent experience?

U don't have to pay it, u just need to follow the procedure. I just won a case on the basis of genuine pre estimate of loss. Basically it's an invoice and not a fine as they have no right to fine u. They have to give details of the costs which are used to justify the invoice and they never can so you will always win.

I won against excel parking services in stockport just recently and didn't have to pay a penny. Go to money saving expert forums or message me privately for the full procedure.

[d000hg]

£100 is ludicrous - although if clearly displayed I'd be inclined to suggest "it wasn't on purpose" isn't really much of an excuse

However offering to pay the normal fee seems pretty daft too. I would have offered a reasonable fine amount like £20.

Good luck, appealing to a person can work well. BUT, the enforcement company surely takes a cut so will not want to let it drop and may not allow the owner to take your money directly?

[MarillionFan]

Gah - knew I'd forgotten to pay the very second I walked out of the station. It's a private firm so I have zero intention of paying their insane fees, but still annoying that I've got to deal with it now. £100 charge (or £60 if paid within 14 days)! I think not.

Anyone got any recent experience?

You type of people make me sick. Park for free, fook everyone else, not paying, not my fault blah blah. I bet you park in disabled spots as well. ****.

[vwdan]

You type of people make me sick. Park for free, fook everyone else, not paying, not my fault blah blah. I bet you park in disabled spots as well. ****.

Did you get a Blue Badge for your disorder, then?

[SpontaneousOrder]

Pay their losses incurred. 2 pounds fifty or whatever. Just like you'd have to pay for violating your contract with agency.

[vwdan]

However offering to pay the normal fee seems pretty daft too. I would have offered a reasonable fine amount like £20.

Good luck, appealing to a person can work well. BUT, the enforcement company surely takes a cut so will not want to let it drop and may not allow the owner to take your money directly?

You don't start negotiating where you want to end up! If they come back and call it quits for £20 then, yeah, I'll probably just pay it. I know I could probably push it to the nth degree and force them into taking me to court, which they probably wouldn't bother with, but I don't actually mind paying the normal charges as they're actually very reasonably.

Can't comment on the others taking a cut - but I spoke to them and they explained that the appeals process simply "vetted" the appeals and passed it through to the land owner. So, IMHO, they shot themselves in the foot there by admitting it's not their decision to make. I spoke to someone at the Land Owners office and while he initially wanted me to use the process, he eventually relented and gave me a head office e-mail address. Plus, they're local so if they piss me off too much I'll go down for a chat.

[SpontaneousOrder]

citizens advice:

The cost of the ticket is too high

When you are issued with a parking ticket, landowners can only claim compensation for losses they have suffered because you parked where you shouldn’t have or stayed too long. For example, they can claim for lost income if you blocked a space someone else could have used and paid for, but only where the car park was full and there were no parking spaces left. They can also claim compensation if you stayed too long didn’t pay the right amount or didn’t pay at all.

Unenforceable penalties

If the charge seems too high, you can ask for a breakdown of how the losses are calculated when you are challenging payment.

If the amount charged is more than the landowner’s loss it is known as an unenforceable penalty. If the case goes to court the court should only order you to pay the landowner’s actual losses.

The costs a parking company could claim for in court

And:

What will a company claim for?

A parking company can claim back their losses because you parked where you shouldn’t have or stayed too long.

For example, if a company takes you to court, they will want to claim for things such as:

the full cost of the time you were parked – for example, if you stayed in a car park for two hours but only paid for one or did not pay at all
court costs – the claim fee and reasonable travel costs
administration costs for issuing the Parking Charge Notice (parking ticket) and any further correspondence they sent you
lost income – for example, if you were blocking a space in a car park that someone else could have used and paid for. To claim for this they would have to show that the car park was full and that you took up the only space left
compensation if you've trespassed on land you weren't meant to park on in the first place.

Acknowledge your mistake, offer the cost of the ticket and ask for a breakdown of costs for anything above that, as you think that 60 pounds is totally unrealistic.