Peugeot 207 - Parking Charge Notice On Private Land

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Thu 25 Jul 2013 21:08
Peugeot 207 - Parking Charge Notice On Private Land - becca86

This morning I drove my car from the underground carpark at the building where I live and which I have a permit for, at which point my daughter decided she was desperate for the toilet! As my fob has stopped working I couldn't re-enter the carpark so I parked in the common area, put my hazard warning lights on and ran inside. I was gone perhaps 5 minutes at the most, and when I returned there was a 'Parking Charge Notice' attached to my windscreen which stated I had 14 days to pay £65 for parking in the common area. The enforcer was taking a photo of my car so I explained my situation to him - he simply said that as I was a resident I should know better!

I then rang the company (ATC Bristol), explained to them what had happened and asked if there was any way they could be lenient. The guy on the other end of the phone laughed and said "Needing the toilet is hardly seen as a valid reason to park where you shouldn't." I have 14 days to pay or the charge rises to £100, should I ignore this? Can they enforce the fine? Or do I have grounds to appeal?

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Fri 26 Jul 2013 17:43
Peugeot 207 - Parking Charge Notice On Private Land - Palcouk

Under the new legislation, voted for by our MP's, the registered owner can be chased for the penalty.

Its a civil matter so they would need to take civil action to recover.

A 'comfort break' is not a legitimate reason, just as stopping on a clearway for the same reason is not

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Fri 26 Jul 2013 18:28
Peugeot 207 - Parking Charge Notice On Private Land - daveyjp
Get over to pepipoo. Lots of good advice and if you play the game you won't be paying a bean. You will however end up costing the company at least £27, assuming they are members of the BPA.
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Fri 26 Jul 2013 19:08
Peugeot 207 - Parking Charge Notice On Private Land - FP

"A 'comfort break' is not a legitimate reason..."

Arguable, as we are dealing with parking on privately-owned land and hence contract law. Stopping on a clearway or a motorway hard shoulder to relieve oneself is a different matter completely.

Edited by FP on 26/07/2013 at 19:18

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Fri 26 Jul 2013 19:39
Peugeot 207 - Parking Charge Notice On Private Land - becca86

Thanks for all the advice. Having done some research it looks as though they are not members of the BPA. Does this change things?

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Sat 27 Jul 2013 14:17
Peugeot 207 - Parking Charge Notice On Private Land - FP

I believe I am correct in saying that parking companies that are members of BPA are obliged to deal with appeals at their own cost.

As has been suggested, I would tend to rely on advice from www.pepipoo.com - and it seems pretty clear that if you take a firm line with private parking companies over trivial infringements (and that is what yours was) you will not have to pay. These people rely on scare tactics and when push comes to shove there's not much they can do.

Edited by FP on 27/07/2013 at 14:18

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Wed 4 Sep 2013 22:44
Peugeot 207 - Parking Charge Notice On Private Land - becca86

Just to update - I spoke to a lovely chap via pepipoo who suggested I ignore the notice and that if the parking company contacted me I should get in touch with the DVLA as they are not members of the BPA and therefore would have obtained my contact details illegally. His advice was that all I would be liable for would be their losses so perhaps 50p for the time I was parked there? Needless to say I haven't heard a peep from them!! My advice... if the company is absolutely NOT registered with the BPA then they cannot legally obtain any of your details from the DVLA - ignoring the fixed penalty notice is your best course of action. These companies rely on people panicking at the though of a £100 fine and coughing up the 'reduced rate' of £60.

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Wed 4 Sep 2013 23:50
Peugeot 207 - Parking Charge Notice On Private Land - Avant

Many thanks for taking the trouble to come back and update us.

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Thu 5 Sep 2013 00:21
Peugeot 207 - Parking Charge Notice On Private Land - FP

I'm glad you feel more reassured.

However, I would suggest that you keep all the documentation you have received and any that arrives from now on. There is just the sllim chance that you have not heard the last of it.

I'm hanging on to the PPC charge notice I had slapped on my screen last December, but I'm 99.9% certain I won't hear a thing now.

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Thu 5 Sep 2013 17:34
Peugeot 207 - Parking Charge Notice On Private Land - Brit_in_Germany

If you are a resident, why would they need to go via DVLA to get your contact details?

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