Advice on Payment Charge Notice - should I pay

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Thu 22 Nov 2012 22:06
Advice on Payment Charge Notice - should I pay - gdunlop33

Seeking advice on what to do about a payment charge notice my wife received recently while driving my car - I am the registered keeper.

Several days ago my wife shopped at the local Asda store. There are no parking restrictions in force so she was able to park the car and enter the shop without obtaining a ticket. On returning to the car, she found an adjacent vehicle had damaged the passenger door and left the scene. Following this incident, she left the Asda car park at 2.00pm and drove a short distance to a retail park, arriving at 2.05pm. Having not used this car park for several years, and upset by the damage to the car, she failed to notice the parking restrictions in force and did not obtain a ticket, instead entering one of the retail outlets directly. Had she obtained a ticket, she would have been entitled to a period of free parking at the site. She left the retail outlet at 2.20pm - with a receipt for goods purchased - and left the car park.

Later that evening I found a Parking Charge Notice attached to the windscreen. This was issued by Premier Parking Services (PPS) at 2.08pm - three minutes after my wife arrived at the retail park. The notice states the 'Reason' as No Valid Ticket Displayed and 'Time vehicle was first seen in contravention' is marked N/A. One can only assume PPS enforcement staff look for people who do not purchase a ticket and apply charge notices without any attempt to inform them of their breach of contract. The £100 charge is payable within 28 days, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. I understand that new legislation renders me, the registered keeper of the vehicle, liable for the charge and additional costs if payment is not made within the maximum 28 day period. I also understand that should I fail to pay, the matter may eventually go to court.

I'm not totally clear on what effect recent legislation has, and would like advice on what to do next. It would appear I can either

a) Pay the £60 charge and be done with it,

b) Contact PPS and pay a small amount as final settlement on the grounds that £60 is a wholly disproportionate charge, and state I will not respond to any subsequent letters or demands for payment.

c) Say nothing and pay nothing, then ignore all related correspondence unless it is addressed from the county court

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Fri 23 Nov 2012 07:53
Advice on Payment Charge Notice - should I pay - Dwight Van Driver

If signs were present at site and clearly visible then it would seem your options are (a) or (b).

If brave and willing to take a chance that they will not process through to County Court option (c) but they do have the lurrre on their side.

dvd

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Fri 23 Nov 2012 12:58
Advice on Payment Charge Notice - should I pay - FP

As I understand it, those of us who are interested in these matters are awaiting the outcome of the first case where someone brave enough has opted for (b) and has stuck to their guns (because you can assume that the parking companies will not negotiate over the charges they are attempting to levy), or has opted for (c) and fought the case in court, either on the basis that the signage was inadequate, or the charge disproportionate (preferably the latter).

The outcome might establish some kind of precedent, but until then we are without guidance.

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Fri 23 Nov 2012 13:43
Advice on Payment Charge Notice - should I pay - gdunlop33

Thank you for your replies above.

I don't particularly like the idea of being a test case, but I guess that's what the parking management companies are relying on. Presumably there are no standards on the amount that can be levied - my local Waitrose has similar parking restrictions but the charge is £30 if paid within 14 days.

I will write to all the outlets at the retail park and the land owner to inform them of this episode, and will not be patronising any of these retailers ever again.

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Fri 23 Nov 2012 18:29
Advice on Payment Charge Notice - should I pay - Duncan112

PePiPoo has several useful threads on this www.pepipoo.com/ and it would seem that most of these "tickets" are hopelessly flawed, have a look and post your ticket in the appropriate forum if you're still not convinced.

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