after visiting relations in Huddersfield yesterday, the wife had me call
at the B&Q warehouse in the leeds road retail park,
as the sales were on it was very busy and i couldnt find anywhere to park.
after driving round a bit i found a space but the cars either side were
parked badly [due to bays being very tight] so i went with the flow and parked
between them and managed to squeeze out of my door.
when we returned to the car there was a yellow bag stuck to my windscreen
with a parking charge notice inside from a company in sheffield asking
me to pay them £60 for not parking correctly in the space. [my nearside
wheels were on the bay dividing line]. anyway i thought the ticket was just
some prat having a laugh so i shoved it in my pocket and went home.
but after speaking to a few people in the club last night i now dont know
what to think. a woman i spoke to got one in “next” car park in Halifax on
boxing day. she paid by phone yesterday. everybody else seemed to think
the same as me, that is its a private car park so they cant make you pay.
the reason im not sure if its a scam is they want your credit card details
for payment and the phone number has small print saying a premium
rate of 50pence a minute applies plus they dont give an address to pay in person just a P.O box no for cheques.
just wondered what you guys think ?
does it sound legit ?
should i pay up?
what can they do to me if i dont pay ?
has anyone else heard of private parking tickets?
I agree with DennisF go to back to B&Q speak to
the manager and get a writen answer also if it is
a scram ask the manager what B&Q action are
takeing as this is not a way to win or keep customers,
Sounds iffy to me too although in Staples car park in Derby they have got 2 officious dark skinned types who would look more at home holding Mike Tysons robe.
All that for a few sheets of carbon paper They prowl the carpark looking for anyone silly enough to forget to pay the parking fee. If you buy something you can get the parking fee back, I have a better idea,. I just dont go to Staples
I wouldnt pay it for straddling a bay dividing line. Call yourself a driver?
Tell them to go forth and multiply! Then if they get all sniffy, supply them with the name and address of your Solisitor. According to English law, the only peolpe who are able to issue a fine are appointee’s of the court, (Magistrates, Police officers etc, etc) Not some jumped up ■■■■ in a car park. The only thing they can do is issue you with court procededings to settle the matter.
Tell them to grt stuffed, 1, You wern`t parked illegally . 2. Ask them to provide photographic proof of said offence. 3 Tell them if no photo evidence can be provided you will be pursuing them in court for all costs incurred by yourself. Also send a copy of the letter to BnQ.
don’t pay it and see what happens.
why spend your time trying to find out if it’s genuine or fake?
i’m sure you have plenty of other things that are more important to get on with.
if they contact you again then save the letter and when the next letter comes that is identical don’t even open it - drop in the mailbox as not known at this address.
THANKS for the replies
i hadnt thought about data protection laws. surely the DVLA cant go giving out drivers names and address`s to
private car park opperators.
anyway i suppose i will find out soon enough cos theres no way im
giving my card details over the phone to these muppets.
Tramper:
Tell them to go forth and multiply! Then if they get all sniffy, supply them with the name and address of your Solisitor. According to English law, the only peolpe who are able to issue a fine are appointee’s of the court, (Magistrates, Police officers etc, etc) Not some jumped up [zb] in a car park. The only thing they can do is issue you with court procededings to settle the matter.
Ah but they might have called it a penalty charge…
This gets round this little lacuna, however your advice is good just ignore it. They may get heavy threatening debt collection agency’s and court action but stick to your guns and its likely they will drop it.
The bailiffs can only remove goods to the value of with a court order. Given these circumstances its unlikely they would want to go to court let alone argue for an order.
scaniaman2006:
most companies over here now use 0870, or 0990, premium rate numbers
08 numbers aren’t premium rate numbers. They are either free, 0800, local rate, 084, or national rate, 087. It’s the 09 numbers that are premium rate and have silly charges.
Does the ticket have details of the appeals procedure printed on it? It should have, all legit parking tickets do, and if it doesn’t then that would point to it being a scam. The fact it is a premium rate phone call also points to it not being legit. Were there any notices in the car park regarding fines being issued for ‘improper’ parking? There has to be as they cannot issue tickets without first warning you that by not parking between the bay lines you may incur a penalty. You say there is no option to pay any other way but by credit card or cheque, what about people who have neither? Where are the details so they could pay, they can’t expect you to send cash through the post.
They prowl the carpark looking for anyone silly enough to forget to pay the parking fee. If you buy something you can get the parking fee back, I have a better idea,. I just dont go to Staples