McD's

[Gazza]

yep - i had a Stansted McD 'parking ticket' sent to my home from some dodgy parking enforcement company. I am the registered keeper, but was not the driver.

The whole design of the 'fine' letters is threatening  wrt bailiffs and adversely affecting your credit rating.

Ive had a chat with a legal adviser: ignore them, they have no legal basis hence the scare tactics are their only lever, togerther with the implied escalation (ie the sooner you pay the cheaper it will be).

You'll get a red 'final notice' followed by a fake-looking debt collection agency letter, then a further warning of a solicitor follow-up.

Ignore it all. They are playing a numbers game: Im sure a lot of people will pay when the wife is giving it: "i don't want the baliffs taking our new telly!". Don't be one of the ones to be threatened into sending off your hard-earned cash.

[Fat Albert]

Council parking tickets have the backing of civil legislation requiring you to disclose who the driver of the vehicle was at the time of the offence.

Private parking companies have no such legal status and are subject to contract law

I will post two sample letters to send to these companies, one on receipt of the initial letter/letters, one on receipt of the fake collection company letter that will follow

[Fat Albert]

Parking Company

Name & Address

Ref: Parking Charge Notice ABC01234567 dated 9/9/08

Dear Sir

I have received today a Notice to Owner of intent to issue court proceedings referring to the PCN detailed above. It seems that you have got my details from the DVLA and I confirm I am the keeper of the vehicle in question. You need to take this matter up with the driver concerned.

In the meantime I absolutely deny your claim that the amount claimed, or any amount at all, is due to you from me.

To enable me to consider your claim, please advise of the following:

1. What evidence do you hold that shows I was parking in your car park? If you hold documentary evidence please provide copies of the same. As a private car park, any claim you have lies in contract and not in Statute.

I could only be contractually liable if I personally parked a car in the car park. Mere evidence that a car registered to me was parked in your car park does not prove that it was the case that I parked it.

2. What are your charges for parking in your car park? If there are no charges then what are the contractual terms that you (or your client) apply in relation to this car park?

3. Please provide me with a copy of any ticket you claim to have issued?

4. Please advise me how it is alleged I have breached any purported contract. In anticipation of receiving the documents requested above I would make the following comments:

i. As your claim lies in contract it represents a claim for damages for breach of that contract. Your penalty charge of £NNN bears no correlation to the damages you have allegedly incurred.

ii. In light of the damages you have claimed, your claim represents a penalty charge and is consequently not recoverable in contract law.

iii. It is my view that any contractual terms you rely upon to claim your penalty charge are unfair and consequently unenforceable pursuant to the Unfair Terms and Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

Please refrain from any further contact regarding this matter unless and until you have answered each of the points above and where appropriate provided copies of the documents referred to.

Yours faithfully

etc.

[Fat Albert]

Collection Company

Name & Address

Dear Sir

Re: Your letter dated 5th Dec 2008 Ref ABC01234567 Parking Company Name

This alleged debt is in dispute. I have written to your principal, so far they have failed to substantiate their claim.

In the circumstances please refer this matter back to your client.

Any further correspondence from you in relation to this matter may result in a complaint to the authorities under the Protection From Harassment Act 1997.

Yours faithfully

[Fat Albert]

Their letters are generated by a computer system, if you reply as above they will almost certainly not take you to court, as their raison d'etre is to make a quick buck without incurring any costs.

They know that Judges take a dim view of private companies harassing individuals if they go to court without providing answers to the reasonable questions above.

If they provide those answers they will lose any profit on the transaction.

They'll bin it.

[samcooke]

A management type who works for a large retailer who operate from out-of-town type retail parks tells me they [the retailer] make tens of thousands of pounds from these fines.

[lippydave]

Their letters are generated by a computer system, if you reply as above they will almost certainly not take you to court, as their raison d'etre is to make a quick buck without incurring any costs.

They'll bin it.

As appropriate as the return letters you've posted are.....

It would be far nicer to write back as follows...

Dear Sirs,  

   I am not impressed by your ill-concieved , poorly executed, illegal parking fine scam. Your attempts to extort money by imitating legal documentation are laughable.

    Whilst you may be successful in intimidating people of the same intellect level as yourselves, most people with an IQ above 50 will regard you (as I do),with loathing, venomous, disgusted, contemptuous hatred.

Please feel free to gratify those of us in civilsed society by f8cking off and dying...

Incidentally failure to respond to this letter may result in a financial penalty of £120 pounds.....

Or I may just be full of sh&t, just like your pathetic illegal extortion attempts....

F*ck you,

A Right-minded individual....