Private Parking fines

Ignore everything. Do not pay it. It is a scam. The "ticket" was given by a private parking company (PPC). These "tickets" are unenforceable. You only have to pay one if it is given at a council car park, or by a police officer. In NO other circumstances is the ticket enforceable.

DO NOT pay.
DO NOT reply in any way to the company.
IGNORE all correspondence.

Usually they will send you a few more letters, with increasing menace and desperation, then all communication will stop.

They know they can't take you to court. These PPCs make a profit on 80% of people paying straightaway out of fear, without realising they don't have to.

This applies to all PPCs - Athena, Excel, Europarking, CP Plus, the list goes on...

Check PePiPoo: Helping the motorist to get justice and http://www.consumeractiongroup.com/forum for more details. If Watcher comes on here, he will back this up.

The signs in supermarket/service station car parks are meaningless in law. It is basic contract law - if you overstay on private property, you owe them damages for breach of contract, the breach is by how long you have overstayed. E.g. if a car park is £1 an hour and you overstay by half an hour, then the most they can claim is 50p, not the £80 they tell you. This is why they never take anyone to court and just rely on threatening leters full of lies.

Think of it this way - their car park is to them what your driveway is to you. If someone parks on your driveway, it is rude and annoying, but you cannot fine them, and any signs you put up have no basis in law. The same goes for PPCs.

As the car park you stayed in was free, then you owe them no damages, as they made no loss.

Ignore the ticket and all further correspondence. Do not bother appealing, it is not a real appeals process, they just automatically reject all 'appeals' and send them straight back.

They are NOT the police, the courts or the local authority - they can't just fine people.

Next time you to Morrisons, don't worry about being back in 2 hours, because any ticket they give you is meaningless, it's just an invoice for a service you didn't order, and you have no legal obligation to pay it. Don't get conned.

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junior said:

My annoyance here is that this fine was between the hourse of 1am-5am. The car park was empty and i was not depriving anyone of a parking space. I was also following the guidance issued by the over head signs telling me to "Take a break when tired". In doing so i have got an annoying fine and possibly 4 more on the way.

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junior said:

I know this subject has been covered loads on here but i thought i'd get the most up to date info.

I have recieved a letter informing me i have been fined £50 by a company called CP Plus.

About 6 weeks ago i stopped at Toddington services for a sleep as i was feeling tired and don't like driving when tired. It was about 1am and i left about 5am. Unbeknown to me the maximum time allowed parking free of charge is 2hrs and they have ANPR cameras on the entrance and exit.

What is worrying me more is that i have stopped off here for a snooze 4 more times since. So i guess i have 4 more of these fines about to drop through my post box.

I can honestly say that i knew nothing about the parking restrictions at the time and was more interested in getting off the motorway and sleep to think about time restrictions. Now i know the score i will go back to lay-by's which always feel unsafe.

My question is: Can i ignore them or do i have to pay it? (and the 4 others that i'm sure will arrive soon). i'm sure i've read on here people saying that unless it is a council parking fine, they are un-enforcable and the advice has always been to ignore them. Is this correct?


Edit: I am not one of these people who cant admitt to doing wrong and try to get out of things. If i'd been caught speeding i'd pay up. If i'd been caught outside churchill square in a disabled bay, i'd pay up.

My annoyance here is that this fine was between the hourse of 1am-5am. The car park was empty and i was not depriving anyone of a parking space. I was also following the guidance issued by the over head signs telling me to "Take a break when tired". In doing so i have got an annoying fine and possibly 4 more on the way.

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junior said:

I know this subject has been covered loads on here but i thought i'd get the most up to date info.

I have recieved a letter informing me i have been fined £50 by a company called CP Plus.

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junior said:

My question is: Can i ignore them or do i have to pay it?

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Programme_Seller said:

This information seems a bit conflicting.
We all recognise now from your previous posting that these are not fines (fake PCN) but an invoice with an invitation to pay, this is how you previously described them and in the past you have said to ignore them and not to enter into any correspondence or dialogue with them.
But this latest advise you give is to not ignore them ?? what has changed since this was last discussed on these boards?

Also you now seem less confident as to a positive outcome for the OP.
...and if you win at POPLA (with help with that wording, you should do) they have to cancel them. Even losing at POPLA

Has the balance of the law now falling towards the parking companies? as previously you were adamant that there was no basis in law in that they could ever win if it ever goes to court.

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Programme_Seller said:

This information seems a bit conflicting.
We all recognise now from your previous posting that these are not fines (fake PCN) but an invoice with an invitation to pay, this is how you previously described them and in the past you have said to ignore them and not to enter into any correspondence or dialogue with them.
But this latest advise you give is to not ignore them ?? what has changed since this was last discussed on these boards?

Also you now seem less confident as to a positive outcome for the OP.
...and if you win at POPLA (with help with that wording, you should do) they have to cancel them. Even losing at POPLA

Has the balance of the law now falling towards the parking companies? as previously you were adamant that there was no basis in law in that they could ever win if it ever goes to court.

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Westdene Seagull said:

But just in case you're not :

1. POPLA costs the PPC £32.
2. If the motorist wins then it's binding on the PPC.
3. If the PPC win then it's NOT binding on the motorist.
4. The invoices still hold the complete lack of legality that they previously did.

SO in short appealing will help the PPC scum go out of business.

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SeagullSongs said:

I've been wondering, do you work part-time for a private parking company?

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Programme_Seller said:

Get it now, by appealing it actually cost them money, i'm good with that.
but previously it was drummed into us they cannot win as all they can claim is losses, ie if £1 an hour and you overstay by 2 hours they can only claim £2 for which is not worth there while taking to court and it all to do with intimidation.

but.............. even you have written" If the motorist wins" Before it seemed clear cut, they could not win, but now it as if its not so certain, this is why i was asking if something had changed?

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