Motorist angered by fine issued 30 seconds after parking
MOTORIST Andrew Oxley says he is prepared to go to court after refusing to pay a £75 penalty charge issued just 30 seconds after he parked his car.
The 29-year-old barman said he was on his way to the ticket machine when he was issued with the demand at Exeter’s Central station.
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The Echo has highlighted a string of cases where motorists claim attendants from a private parking company are too quick to issue penalty notices at the station.
Mr Oxley said he drove his car into a space and headed for a vending machine to buy a parking ticket.
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But to his shock and anger he saw a parking attendant taking a photograph of his car and was issued with an initial demand for £75.
He was warned by enforcers Premier Parking Solutions (PPS) that the charge would increase to £100 if it was not paid within seven days.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Mr Oxley, from Pennsylvania in Exeter.
“I pulled up outside the front of the station and made my way to the ticket machine.
“But then a woman parking attendant appeared and took a photograph of my car. I was away from my vehicle for 30 seconds.
“I’m refusing to pay the £100. The company can take me to court. The only thing I can say is that I must be the only driver in Exeter to be done for parking for leaving his car for a matter of seconds.
“I’ve worked it out that PPS are demanding £3 per second.”
He added: “I’m so angry and annoyed. As for paying, I’m refusing. I appealed to PPS but nothing has happened. I’m prepared to go to court.”
Mr Oxley said he was seeking legal advice, and added: “I have been told I don’t have to pay. This is not a fine, but a parking charge. But other people in the city have faced the same as me.”
Last week the Echo reported the case of Matthew Daniel, from Tiverton, who also parked at Central Station and was sent a £75 charge.
The 37-year-old father of two said he was charged for leaving his car for four minutes. He said: “They were obviously watching me. I was getting a ticket from the parking machine. It cost me £18.75 per minute.”
The British Parking Association told him it regarded the treatment as “massively unreasonable”.
Exeter City Council has previously enquired about adopting the station site from Network Rail so that its own staff can patrol it following a string of complaints from drivers.
No one from PPS was available for comment.But the company has previously said its enforcement is lawful and within its governing body’s guidelines.
Comments
by Mr. Oxley, Exeter
Thursday, March 17 2011, 7:08PM
“Hello, I am the one in the picture! I would just like to clarify that it really was about 30 seconds. As for the time it takes to write a ticket out, they didn't even write one. The lady just took a quick snap and scampered off. I got the notice in the post two weeks later. To add to the farce, the letter said if I paid within 7 days of the date of issue I would qualify for a discounted £75, but the letter was postmarked two weeks after the date of issue.”
by Tom, Huddersfield
Thursday, March 17 2011, 2:23PM
“PRIVATE PARKING TICKETS - DON'T PAY!
IT IS NOT A FINE! YOU HAVE DONE NOTHING ILLEGAL!
This is an information page for the thousands of people who receive "tickets" from private companies in the UK ever day at supermarkets, retail parks, and in any other privately-owned carpark.
We are NOT encouraging anybody to openly flout parking restrictions on private land, or to refuse to pay reasonable charges for parking. Landowners have a right to make reasonable charges for the use of their land.
For advice specific to your case, you should visit the forums at http://forums.pepipoo.com or http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/parking-traffic-offences.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=163
1. What you should know about these companies
It is important to remember that private parking companies (or PPCs as they are often called) have NO OFFICIAL POWERS - that's right, none at all! They give out their "tickets" on the basis that you have seen the signs in their car park and that you have therefore agreed to a contract obliging you to pay a certain sum of money.
2. What happens to people who don't pay?
In 99.9% of cases, absolutely NOTHING! The company pays the DVLA £2.50 to get your address, and then sends lots of threatening letters. In the main, these letters can be safely IGNORED. The only way the company can actually force you to pay is by taking you to the small claims court, which costs them even more money. And they are by no means guaranteed to win! And they practically never do.
The two main reasons for this (among others) are the following:
- Only the person DRIVING the car could ever have agreed to any such parking contract. The company can only get the Registered Keeper's address from the DVLA: you don't have to tell them who was driving.
-Many of these charges are so extortionately high that they constitute a penalty, which is unenforceable in a consumer contract.
3. Can they affect my credit rating?
NO! The only way your credit rating could be affected by ignoring private parking companies is if you were taken to court, lost, and then still refused to pay. But they will not take you to court.
IN SHORT
The vast majority of the time, you can safely IGNORE tickets from private parking companies, they are not official fines.
The vast majority of the time, you can safely IGNORE the threatening letters, including those from debt collection agencies.
You DO NOT have to pay a penny of your hard-earned money to these companies. Remember that the chances of being taken to court are very slim indeed.
DO NOT IGNORE COURT PAPERS!
If you receive real court papers from a private parking company (very rare) then you should go to http://forums.pepipoo.com or http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/parking-traffic-offences for help defending the claim. Do not be afraid to sign up and ask questions regarding any paperwork you are not sure about.
Don¿t believe the above? Watch a solicitor on Watchdog advising you what to do with the scam invoices.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAIcdi9niHA
THEY ARE NOT FINES
Only the Police, Courts or Council¿s can fine you. NOT a private company, please remember that.”
by Stopwatch, Isle of Wight
Wednesday, March 16 2011, 7:28PM
“The comment from Richard Bentley is strange. He is a signing expert, but I respectfully disagree with the advice given.
He is correct that this is not an official fine, but there is no way bailiffs will become involved.
Before the company had any power of enforcement they would have to obtain a county court judgment by suing for tresspass or breach of contract. From the account given there is no way they could win such an action as Andrew was not tresspassing or in breach of contract. He had not yet entered the contract as he had not bought a ticket - merely entering the land is not sufficient.
Costs will not become 'very very expensive'. The case would be allocated to the small claims track and costs would be strictly limited,a nd not payable at all unless the company won.
I think Mr Bentley is confusing a private ticket, with the enforcement powers of a council. This company has no such enforcement powers.,”
by Kevin, Exeter
Wednesday, March 16 2011, 8:57AM
“I was also clamped outside Exeter Central within 2 minutes of parking there. I had a 1 week old baby with me at the time and the clamp was being fitted by the time I got him safely inside the buggy & pram shop. I couldn't have got back to my car to display the parking receipt any quicker. The shop owners were so incensed that they very decently offered to pay the fine and deduct it from their rent. My own pleas to the clampers fell on deaf ears. They behaved like imbeciles.”
by Kevin, Exeter
Wednesday, March 16 2011, 8:52AM
“I was also fined for parking outside Exeter Central. Was issued within 1-2 minutes of parking. Had a 1 week old baby with me and the fine was issued by the time I got him into a pram and off the road. The shop that I was going into (sells baby goods) were so infuriated by the clamper's action that they, very decently, offered to pay the fine and take it out of their rent. My own complaints to the clampers fell on deaf ears. They acted like imbeciles.”
by martin, exeter
Wednesday, March 16 2011, 7:53AM
“John Foster. Are you telepathic or just a silly person? would you make the same inane comment if it had been you who had to pay an unlawful penalty?”
by Ken, Exwick
Tuesday, March 15 2011, 11:05PM
“I think a mass gloat-in at Central Station is in order on the final day before clamping is banned. I can't wait to see these crooks having to find a proper job.”
by John Foster, Exmouth
Tuesday, March 15 2011, 10:17PM
“Andrew Oxley looks like a guest on 'Jeremy kyle' and for sure if he had a lie detector on what really happened im sure he would fail !!!!lol!!!!”
by Jules, Exeter
Tuesday, March 15 2011, 8:37PM
“cant believe the Echo have put this ridiculous story on the front page of the paper!! With all thats going on in the world is this the best story you could have come up with !!
Also have to agree 30 seconds !! I would have thought it would take at least 5 mins to write a ticket and take photographs anyway.Get real !!”
by dave, exeter
Tuesday, March 15 2011, 8:11PM
“john foster of exmouth dont buy the echo then you grumpy old git”