parking fine, not police or council

estebanrey · 16 Jul 2012 at 16:30

MacRS4 said:
A Bailiff needs court sanctioning to exercise their powers, and even then for civil debt you don't have to let them in. Sure they can gain access if they can get in without damaging anything (like through an open window as per the example), but they can't just bust your door down. Once they've been in and marked your goods they can though.

Sorry but that's pretty much what I said :S

MacRS4 · 16 Jul 2012 at 16:31

Yes for a Bailiff, no for a debt collector. Not sure why this is so hard to understand? A 'Debt Collector' has no power at all, not in the slightest.

Debt Collectors can't but if you leave an opening wide enough for them to get in then they can, be it an open window or a door on the latch.

No it isn't - you stated Debt Collectors have this power. They don't.

MacRS4 · 16 Jul 2012 at 16:33

Ok, let's try and simplify:

Let me clarify, a bailiff representing a private debt (like this one or credit cards etc) can enter your house through and open window or if you have invited them in already but cannot force their way in otherwise.

A bailiff representing a government or council debt can break in and do what they want.

This is true although 'do what they want' is a bit open ended.

Debt Collectors can't but if you leave an opening wide enough for them to get in then they can, be it an open window or a door on the latch.

This is not true.

estebanrey · 16 Jul 2012 at 16:40

MacRS4 said:
Yes for a Bailiff, no for a debt collector. Not sure why this is so hard to understand? A 'Debt Collector' has no power at all, not in the slightest.

No it isn't - you stated Debt Collectors have this power. They don't.

MacRS4 said:
This is not true.

Jesus wept, I thought I'd cleared this up already.... :confused:

estebanrey said:
Sorry this is a semantics argument over the job title when my point was really about the type of debt.

Let me clarify, a bailiff representing a private debt (like this one or credit cards etc) can enter your house through and open window or if you have invited them in already but cannot force their way in otherwise.

A bailiff representing a government or council debt can break in and do what they want.

It's where the debt comes from that enforces what they can do, I should have used 'baliff' instead of 'debt collector' who cannot walk in without your permission under any circumstances.

I've admitted I used the wrong term in my attempt to split a government debt from a private one, what more do you want, blood?

MacRS4 · 16 Jul 2012 at 17:12

MacRS4 said:
You guys are mixing up debt collectors and bailiffs. Court appointed bailiffs have powers, private debt collection companies don't. They certainly can't break in at all in the slightest.

Blood? No, not really - just that the above point stands

No-One · 16 Jul 2012 at 17:16

They've sent you a photo of your car so send them a photo of a cheque

Pish · 16 Jul 2012 at 17:23

so they clock the car as it arrives, and clock when it leaves, take pictures while it is parked and then send you pictures to your home with demands for money. If I did this in the office with some people im sure it would be considered illegal, how can they get away with it?

spankingtexan · 16 Jul 2012 at 17:49

Mat said:
Send them a letter back with some pictures of something interesting to brighten up their day

Pictures of his behind..... absolutely

Slade2 · 16 Jul 2012 at 19:22

There is a guy who is attempting to sue the member of state for transport at the moment due to him requesting in writing that his details are never given out by the DVLA. (this is part of the data protection act and its your data so I believe this is possible) He was later given a `ticket` by one of these companies and is now suing the guy at the top becuase you cant sue the DVLA for giving out his data when he has written and forbidden it. Its all in aid of putting a stop to these rather unscruplious companies.

Haggisman · 17 Jul 2012 at 09:18

Pish said:
so they clock the car as it arrives, and clock when it leaves, take pictures while it is parked and then send you pictures to your home with demands for money. If I did this in the office with some people im sure it would be considered illegal, how can they get away with it?

They don't actually take pictures of your car when it's parked. It's usually a couple of still frames from CCTV on the entrance, showing your entry/exit times.

So even if they could prove it was you driving, they don't have any proof that you actually parked. For all they know you could have been driving around the car park the whole time.

-Ad- · 17 Jul 2012 at 09:20

Haggisman said:
So even if they could prove it was you driving, they don't have any proof that you actually parked. For all they know you could have been driving around the car park the whole time.

A very good point. I'd like someone to write a letter to them stating this and post up the replies

ubersonic · 17 Jul 2012 at 09:48

Like people said just bin/ignore it, the only ones you should ever worry about are ones from the police/council or a motorway service station.

MacRS4 · 17 Jul 2012 at 09:59

ubersonic said:
Like people said just bin/ignore it, the only ones you should ever worry about are ones from the police/council or a motorway service station.

Why single out these? They're still private?

ubersonic · 17 Jul 2012 at 10:13

MacRS4 said:
Why single out these? They're still private?

Service stations are still private but have an extra inconvenience factor, they usually have the big signs about "free parking for 2 hours then you get fined" however if you actually read them as opposed to just ignoring them out of habit which im sure a lot of people will they also have a bit that basically says vehicles with outstanding fines will be clamped on sight when returning to any of the service stations operated by the chain (i.e welcome break, moto, roadchef).

As I do a lot of motorway miles and use service stations regularly I personally would cooperate with a ticket from them despite them just being private simply because the potential agro would cost me more in time than the fine would, not that I ever stay at a station for the >2hrs needed for a ticket but still they would be on my list of ones not to ignore with police/council.

Haggisman · 17 Jul 2012 at 10:59

ubersonic said:
Service stations are still private but have an extra inconvenience factor, they usually have the big signs about "free parking for 2 hours then you get fined" however if you actually read them as opposed to just ignoring them out of habit which im sure a lot of people will they also have a bit that basically says vehicles with outstanding fines will be clamped on sight when returning to any of the service stations operated by the chain (i.e welcome break, moto, roadchef).

Which as far as I know they aren't actually legally allowed to do. They're only legally allowed to take action against a breach of contract which is currently occurring.

MacRS4 · 18 Jul 2012 at 00:45

ubersonic said:
Service stations are still private but have an extra inconvenience factor, they usually have the big signs about "free parking for 2 hours then you get fined" however if you actually read them as opposed to just ignoring them out of habit which im sure a lot of people will they also have a bit that basically says vehicles with outstanding fines will be clamped on sight when returning to any of the service stations operated by the chain (i.e welcome break, moto, roadchef).

As I do a lot of motorway miles and use service stations regularly I personally would cooperate with a ticket from them despite them just being private simply because the potential agro would cost me more in time than the fine would, not that I ever stay at a station for the >2hrs needed for a ticket but still they would be on my list of ones not to ignore with police/council.

That's interesting - the reason I ask is that I tend to use Travelodge's a lot, and I've lost track of the number of tickets I've had for overstaying at the services. I usually only receive 1 letter, and then they give up? I must have had 5+ of them. Most of them from Reading when their machine was bust (one in the hotel where you enter your registration).

dowie · 18 Jul 2012 at 00:58

estebanrey said:
Debt Collectors are only powerless if you don't let them enter your premises. Once you've let them in, they can not only execute debt recovery but can come back at a later date and do it. Even if you leave window open which they can get through it's enough for them to claim they've gained entry and can then start taking stuff.

not true in this instance

the 'fine' is simply a private company trying it on, they can't attempt to collect on it nor can they attempt to gain entry or remove your property based on this 'fine'

they are completely powerless

Unicorn · 18 Jul 2012 at 01:01

I get them from ParkingEye etc from local mcdonalds etc afew times.. bin them

One · 18 Jul 2012 at 01:19

GrimsbyLAD said:
I get them from ParkingEye etc from local mcdonalds etc afew times.. bin them

Binning the tickets is the correct course of action, however you should also try to follow the rules of the parking lot, it is after all privately owned land.

peanutismint · 7 Dec 2013 at 12:36

Pish said:
so its obviously going to get ignored. However I was annoyed that they have sent me pictures of my car, have obviously bought my details or been sold them by the DVLA and are expecting money.
Added to the fact that the driver was using the shop who hire these prats, just made my grumpy monday slightly more grumpy. Company is g24 Ltd (dont think they are competitors)

Nothing I can do i guess, just thought I would whip up a thread for other's to contribute too, I also got annoyed when I googled this and saw possibility of debt collection agencies.

@Pish - Did you ever hear back from them? I just got a similar letter today with timestamped photos of my car driving in/out. I'm sure there are probably signs up all over the car park but I didn't see any. I'm wondering whether to ignore it or just pay up.....??