Parking Ticket Advice

Orion21 · 30 Nov 2013 at 15:48

I recently received a parking ticket ("parking charge" in their terms) in a private car park for 'not parked correctly within the makrings of the bay or space'.

Where I was parked was not in a bay but alongside a bit of the car park road wide enough for 2 cars to easily pass. There were no yellow line markings that I would expect if you weren't allowed to park there. In addition I was only there for 10-15 minutes. In case it is relevant this is in Northern Ireland and was issued by UK Parking Control Ltd (UKPC).

They are trying to charge me £60 if I pay within 14 days, £100 if within 28 days after that they state they will attempt to get my details off the DVLA / DVA and take me to court / use debt collectors etc. Also I should point out there is no charge for parking there so they have lost no money through my alleged actions.

They state I breached their terms and conditions of parking on their client's land which they say were clearly displayed and say that I agreed to these through the act of parking there.

What is my best course of action to avoid paying this unreasonable ticket, should I ignore or appeal?

geekman · 30 Nov 2013 at 16:24

Best thing to do is post all the details in the "private tickets" section of fightback forums. They've saved me literally hundreds over the last couple of years: my most recent win was a private case like yours where POPLA ruled in my favour thanks to their help.

Be warned: people on other forums may tell you the best course of action is to ignore it - this is not necessarily good advice as the law has changed. Some tickets still can be ignored but it is well worth getting advice first.

Orion21 · 30 Nov 2013 at 16:45

From looking about I don't think POPLA applies in Northern Ireland or Scotland, so that might change things.

geekman · 30 Nov 2013 at 17:00

Orion21 said:
From looking about I don't think POPLA applies in Northern Ireland or Scotland, so that might change things.

I'm not entirely sure tbh, and that's why you're best off posting on a specialist forum. You're far more likely to encounter people who know the specifics of parking law on a site like fightback forums than you are on here.