Don't start worrying about minutia. Send the letter I posted above, which informs them to contact the driver. It intentionally doesn't name the driver, that's the point! They are well versed with these letters now, and know what the score is don't worry.
Parking Fine
- Thread starter LEK-89
- Start date
I have TPFT and am insured to drive other peoples cars.
Only if your insurance documents state you can! I've got DOC cover and am insured TPFT on my first car.
+1 in sending them the letter in the first reply.
Best thing you can do is ignore it. If you contact them in any way, expect a tirade of threatening letters over the next few months.
I speak from experience here, I had a ridiculous fine from parking on campus in Cornwall (something to the tune of 100quid from a private parking firm). Luckily for me I was driving my girlfriends car at the time so she got the letter demanding payment. I proceeded to send off one of the standard replies stating that she was not the driver and was under no legal obligation to disclose who it was. All is well for around a month until she recieves a letter informing her that they 'may' take court action against her if she does not pay. At this point I'm out of the country and so she panics a bit and calls them up explaining that she was not driving. The guy apparantly gets pretty aggressive on the phone and says that if she does not disclose who was driving that they will get the police involved (lol).
Naturally i absolutley get it in the neck the next time I speak to her. We hear nothing for another month or so untill she gets another letter stating that bayliffs will be around to the house within 72 hours if payment is not made immediatley via phone. The fine has also been reduced to 80quid now for some reason, more paletable perhaps and makes some people more likely to pay. The joke is the letter was dated 5 days prior to the day we recieved it and needless to say nobody turned up.
Bassically they are chancers and will try a host of differing tactics in an attempt to get you to cough up. Just don't buckle as they do not have a legal leg to stand on. If you feel like wasting some of their money and time however, feel free to send off some letters and give them your phone number.
I speak from experience here, I had a ridiculous fine from parking on campus in Cornwall (something to the tune of 100quid from a private parking firm). Luckily for me I was driving my girlfriends car at the time so she got the letter demanding payment. I proceeded to send off one of the standard replies stating that she was not the driver and was under no legal obligation to disclose who it was. All is well for around a month until she recieves a letter informing her that they 'may' take court action against her if she does not pay. At this point I'm out of the country and so she panics a bit and calls them up explaining that she was not driving. The guy apparantly gets pretty aggressive on the phone and says that if she does not disclose who was driving that they will get the police involved (lol).
Naturally i absolutley get it in the neck the next time I speak to her. We hear nothing for another month or so untill she gets another letter stating that bayliffs will be around to the house within 72 hours if payment is not made immediatley via phone. The fine has also been reduced to 80quid now for some reason, more paletable perhaps and makes some people more likely to pay. The joke is the letter was dated 5 days prior to the day we recieved it and needless to say nobody turned up.
Bassically they are chancers and will try a host of differing tactics in an attempt to get you to cough up. Just don't buckle as they do not have a legal leg to stand on. If you feel like wasting some of their money and time however, feel free to send off some letters and give them your phone number.
I've just been back to the car park now where I had the fine on.I Read the whole parking notice and the only thing that they could fine me on is being parked there for over 1 1/2 hours, and there parking rules ally 24/7. Also the fact that no notice was left on my car what so ever at the end of the night, how pathetic. If I do get in contact with them tomorrow then I will argue the fact that no notice was left on my car at all, according to my dad they should legally leave a notice on a violating car. I will argue it on the phone but I no doubt that they will feed me b/s saying "oh how can you prove it then, maybe we did leave leave the notice but your lying to us, oh the notice must have blown your the car by the wind" etc.
Liam
Liam
Browncoat, they can not send out bailiffs unless they have a CCJ against you. For this to happen, they'd have to have established that you are the driver, that you do have a liability, and that you have refused to pay.
Disputing a debt is NOT a refusal to pay. Once a debt is disputed it is unlawful to pursue payment, send letters, threats and/or issue court action. If they continue to threaten you, you can send them a letter basically telling them to back off, or else. They must abide by this, they have no choice. Don't worry, don't let them threaten you.
Disputing a debt is NOT a refusal to pay. Once a debt is disputed it is unlawful to pursue payment, send letters, threats and/or issue court action. If they continue to threaten you, you can send them a letter basically telling them to back off, or else. They must abide by this, they have no choice. Don't worry, don't let them threaten you.
Do NOT phone them. Keep everything in writing. Send the letter in my first reply, above. Then forget it. Should they attempt to pursue it, remind them that pursing a disputed debt is an offence, and can be construed as harassment under The Administration of Justice Act 1979 and others. They won't bother you again. Don't be drawn into communications, don't be threatened. Relax!
Soldato
- Joined
- 12 May 2005
- Posts
- 12,631
Would adding the term "you got pwned!" in the letter be ok do you think?
Back on topic I think it's good people can get good advice here, most people would simply cough up without a second thought.
Thanks for your helpful reply! I will only write to them with the template that Rainmaker supplied.
Hilly, I am not ignoring Rainmaker at all. I am just considering my options carefully,
Sorry I got the Parking company wrong again! It is actually ParkingEye.
Thanks again Rainmaker!
Liam
Last edited:
Rainmaker, thanks for the confirmation on that. I was pretty un-phased by it all however my girlfriend was pretty unsettled by it , as I'm sure some others would be, and I had to work hard to convince her not to pay. Nobody likes the thought of bailiffs turning up at your house and so I imagine they manage to convince a fair number of people to pay with their empty threats.
Lek as mentioned just send off that letter and class anything else they send you as junk mail.
Lek as mentioned just send off that letter and class anything else they send you as junk mail.
You waste your time. Bin the letters and they'll go away. If they call you just tell them to take you to court and hang up.
If I came up to you in the street and handed you a ticket saying you owe me £40 would you send me a letter to dispute it or would you ignore me and walk on?
If I came up to you in the street and handed you a ticket saying you owe me £40 would you send me a letter to dispute it or would you ignore me and walk on?
Actually if they do ring you, just say 'Hang on a minute I'll get him', then proceed to leave him hanging for as long as his patience lasts while you go off and do something else. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. They will soon tire of ringing you. They are only likely to ring however if you make the mistake of getting in contact with them first. So I wouldn't worry.
Rainmaker is 100% spot on with his advice, I am a member of the consumer action group, and confirm I have been in the same situation.
DO NOT CALL THEM. EVER.
Send the letter as advised, (recorded delivery) and they will probably send you 4 or 5 more letters over the comming months threatening court action, bailifs etc. IGNORE them completly.
Some are quite well worded and can be unsettling if you do not know your rights.... its all conjecture and threats.
Then after a while they will give up.
This is different to a council or police ticket, where you are as keeper legaly bound to disclose the driver. Tickets from private companies are merely invoices for alleged breached contracts, and you as keeper of the vehicle have no obligation what so ever to disclose who was driving.
They cannot lawfully persue you unless they can prove you were driving, and you are the only person who has the ability to tell them - so they ae stuck, and have to resort to nasty letters.
DO NOT CALL THEM. EVER.
Send the letter as advised, (recorded delivery) and they will probably send you 4 or 5 more letters over the comming months threatening court action, bailifs etc. IGNORE them completly.
Some are quite well worded and can be unsettling if you do not know your rights.... its all conjecture and threats.
Then after a while they will give up.
This is different to a council or police ticket, where you are as keeper legaly bound to disclose the driver. Tickets from private companies are merely invoices for alleged breached contracts, and you as keeper of the vehicle have no obligation what so ever to disclose who was driving.
They cannot lawfully persue you unless they can prove you were driving, and you are the only person who has the ability to tell them - so they ae stuck, and have to resort to nasty letters.
Last edited:
You don't, you simply aknowledge you are the keeper, and advise them to persue the driver... the rest is their problem.
My advice is similar to what I posted in a thread about the same thing only a couple of days ago.
1) Go out, and go to a nice Indian restaurant. Order the hottest, most stomach churning curry you can see on the menu. Then once you've eaten it, go back for seconds. Fill yourself right up.
2) Spend all night strapped to the bog. Instead of using standard Andrex, wipe away the fiery remains with the letter from them.
3) Pop said letter in an envelope, attach first class stamp and send to the parking company.
4) Profit.
1) Go out, and go to a nice Indian restaurant. Order the hottest, most stomach churning curry you can see on the menu. Then once you've eaten it, go back for seconds. Fill yourself right up.
2) Spend all night strapped to the bog. Instead of using standard Andrex, wipe away the fiery remains with the letter from them.
3) Pop said letter in an envelope, attach first class stamp and send to the parking company.
4) Profit.