Hi KewUser and any one else who is being conned by UKPC Ltd ...I know it's hard to ignore them, but they are totally in the wrong and against BPA Code of Conduct..they simply are not allowed to charge so much. They dare not take court action because they know the judge will have a field day with them and probably investigate them and if that happens I'll be happy to back you up with my file to give the judge as proof of the disgusting way they con motorists. I want you to take a few minutes to read this which is printed on BPA website: Welcome to the British Parking Association Ref: BPA 340 Date: 18 April 2007 BPA Initiative to End Rogue Ticketing Rogue companies which issue parking tickets on private land will be driven out of the market thanks to an initiative set to be enforced later this year. From October 2007, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will release vehicle registration information only to those companies which are members of an Accredited Trade Association. The British Parking Association (BPA), which is to become the first Accredited Trade Association, said today (18 April 2007) at Parkex, Europe’s largest parking industry fair, that the initiative will prevent motorists receiving high-priced, unregulated tickets. As it has the responsibility of being the only parking organisation with official DVLA accreditation, the BPAhas also announced that it will be launching its own Approved Operator Scheme, backed by a Code of Practice for Parking Enforcement on Private Land and Unregulated Car Parks. Members that do not comply with the terms of this Code (see notes for terms) could have their BPA membership initially suspended, and possibly terminated (dependent on individual circumstances of complaint). Transport Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman said: “This initiative will help us clamp down on unscrupulous people who abuse the system to make money out of innocent drivers. I fully support the Approved Operator Scheme and welcome the fact that the BPA is DVLA’s first Accredited Trade Association.” Part 2 of the Code, introduced today, extends the scope of the successful ‘wheel-clampers’ Code introduced at Parkex in 2006 and aims to standardise the industry’s approach to ticketing on private land and introduce a level of fairness for the consumer 'Under the Code guidelines, standard charges for a parking ticket issued on private land should not exceed £75, and the maximum charge shall not exceed £150. Early payment discounts are recommended for a period of 7-14 days and all details of charges should be included on signage.' There's loads more to help the motorist if you research their website. So please ignore UKPC and keep writing, telephoning and emailing Jane Hicks at BPA saying you have a complaint against a member of their association and don't give up until she replies. I suggest you write something along these lines: "..Under BPA's Code guidelines, standard charges for a parking ticket issued on private land should not exceed £75, and the maximum charge shall not exceed £150. I understand the Competition and Retail Pricing laws allow the BPA to set recommended fee limits, however in the case of UKPC Ltd fees that far exceed these recommendations are being charged against BPA's Code guidelines (attach copy of parking tickets etc). I would appreciate you personally investigate UKPC Ltd as being non-compliant with its Code and Approved Operators Scheme and seek robust justification as to why this Operator is able to harass and extort money from innocent motorists in this very unethical manner. I assume the BPA will take every step possible to ensure all its members behave and operate in a fair, compliant and reasonable fashion and agree that these charges are unenforceable under your current guidelines. I look forward to your reply by return. I suggest you also lobby your MP and copy him in on all correspondence. Again, lets see how you get on with this and keep me posted. GA

DONT PAY IT!!! UKPC ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CHARGE THIS AMOUNT-I HAVE ALREADY TAKEN THEM TO THE CLEANERS OVER THIS AND GOT MINE CANCELLED, A LETTER OF APOLOGY AND HAD THEM INVESTIGATED BY THE BPA, TRADING STANDARDS, 3 MPS AND THE DTI!! !-FIRST WRITE BACK BY RECORDED DELIVERY STATING YOU ARE DISPUTING THIS AND HAVE REPORTED THEM TO THE BPA (BRITISH PARKING ASS-THEIR GOVERNING BODY)THEN EMAIL BPA marked for the attention of Jane Hicks (Membership Director) at this address: jane.h@britishparking.co.uk WITH A COPY OF THEIR NOTICE AND CHARGES- UKPC HAVE ALREADY BEEN WARNED ABOUT CHARGING SUCH UNREASONABLE PRICES WHICH ARE ILLEGAL AND TOTALLY AGAINST THE BPA GUIDELINES. I CANT BELIEVE THEY ARE STILL TRYING TO GET AWAY WITH THE SAME TRICKS!!! HOPEFULLY WITH YOUR EVIDENCE THE BPA WILL AT LAST TAKE AWAY THEIR LICENCE AND STOP THEM FROM OPERATING!!! KEEP ME POSTED AS I'M RIGHT BEHIND YOU ON THIS GA XXX

Hi fellow victims!! Does anyone live around the Harlow area and has had one of these parking tickets- the local paper (Harlow Herald) wants to write a follow up on previous parking problems in the area and needs to talk to local people -here is the email Joanna.Fletcher@archant.co.uk to write to. (your personal details will be protected if you want) The more people who are aware of these parking scams the quicker we can find justice and stop it happening again. Get writing!

let us know how you get on

Hiya You should take a look at this site as it deals with the legal aspects we are saying and makes a lot of legal sense: McDonalds Car Park in Potters Bar UKPC seem to be targeting motorists all over the UK and making a lot of money from this highway robbery. I strongely suggest everyone write to their MP's and the British Parking Association (BPA) in order to gain as much public support to stop them abusing the system. They are acting illegally and against the BPA Code of Practice, the DVLA Voluntary Code and against most Criminal and Traffic laws that are out there to protect the public. We can either all join in and stop this or turn a blind eye until next time they target us or someone we know. The choice is yours. G A

I would try and speak to the managers of the stores and see if they can get Euro Car park to cancel the parking fee on your behalf. Be firm but polite and tell them exactly what happened, that you have proof of receipts and there was a mistake made. GA

Hi Jojo Is it a Council run car park or private? What is the name of the parking company? Did they put a notice on your car at the time? Are there signs(go and photograph them) stating you must park wholly in a bay and the consequence if you don't? What evidence have they got of the car not parked properly in a bay? Have they stated in writing the extra daily £3 interest they will charge? GA

Success at last Thanks guys I've followed the advice written on various posts regarding private car parks. I today got a letter from UKPC Ltd stating they have reviewed my parking notice and arranged for it to be cancelled!!! They even apologised ........great for me.....but that's not good enough for all you guys out there still fighting and still worrying about these crooks extorting money from you illegally. I'm determined to get justice for everyone who's been unfairly caught up in these scams and will do my best to take it as high as possible and get this company investigated so it doesn't happen to anyone else ever again. Watch this spot!!!! All I can suggest is to please write to your MP's, the DTI, BPA and the DVLA and enclose all correspondence...more and more people should stick up for their rights and not be bullied by these fraudulent threats. There are new laws coming out now to help us. Look at this site http://www.landor.co.uk/parkingreview/images/bill2.pdf this confirms basically everything we are saying -the way most of these companies operate are illegal and will be stamped out. Let me know if you need any help and in the meantime will keep you all posted!!! GA xxx

:cool:I was thinking the same -sue them for compensation and then get them to pay back thousands of pounds to people who were unfairly fined-they'd be bankrupt in seconds. Can you imagine how many people would want their money back? Been doing loads of research today and was sent this: www.parkingappeals.co.uk which is launching in a few days. Neil Herron, the guy behind it did a great article in the newspaper a couple of years ago-look this up as well: http://neilherron.blogspot.com/2005/10/rebellion-grows.html#c113025228516239292 I'm hoping he's gonna do what we were talking about -a one-stop site that will gather enough cases to come forward and get it to a higher level..let's wait a couple of days and view his site... you could always email Neil at metricmartyrs@btconnect.com The press seems keen on running a follow-up article and will need people to speak up - how do we get to all the others on this forum to join in? Let me know what you think GA

LET'S JOIN FORCES TO FIGHT THESE CROOKS I'm trying my best with all the contacts I've got and they are looking into things at a higher level than we can....will keep you posted..that's all I can disclose for now!!! We all need to stand together in this and get a petition of cases between us all so we can present it when the time comes and produce it as hard evidence. What we need at the moment is some kind of site that will attract people to write in with their details, including those who had been bullied into paying up through their threats. This blackmailing is going on up and down the country. For the mo Deafsteve I think this site might help convince you that UKPC Ltd will not go as far as court...they could lose everything if the judge decides against them. It will only take one case to be ruled against them and these guys will be out of business before you could blink. Ask your self Would they risk so much just for one fine? Judge warns 'unreasonable' banks BBC NEWS | Business | Judge warns 'unreasonable' banks Its exactly the same ..... Any ideas how we can set up something to get to the public-I'm not a computer buff? GA

Hi Peep Why don't you write to your MP to help you..and send all correspondance. There's a lot of discussions going on in Parliament at the moment to stop these parking companies abusing the system and the more the MP's know about individual cases, the more likely they'll work together in stopping this continuing. This is happening on a national scale and these companies are making a fortune out of innocent motorists who don't know their rights or understand the law. Basically if the DVLA was to be stopped from selling our information to these companies, these crooks will go out of business...so the more noise we all make the better. Another idea might be to phone or write to the owner of the land and see if they can get the parking company to waive the fine for you. You never know they might be sympathetic knowing it was a genuine error on your behalf. Some parking companies allow their clients the right to cancel a parking notice..it might be a way to you putting a closure on this? By the way what was the name of the Parking company? Good luck aand try and hold on in there little peep -I've done so much research on these companies, that I've yet to see any of them take someone to court. As Rob correctly states they will have to explain to the judge how they calculate their charges. Same as bank charges, these penalties are unfair and excessive. I'm in the process of getting top legal advice on this and will report back when this is to hand.

Yep I agree -OK Well as a Guardian Angel ....let's see how high we can take this with 'Powers from Above'.....need you guys to help....Is there any way we can get enough people who have been unfairly fined to write in?????

UKPC LTD (AKA UK Parking CROOKS Ltd!!!) Absolutely!! Hasn't anyone contacted Watchdog or some other TV show about exposing these crooks???

hi rob have you tried complaing to the BPA?

PS….Did you also know that commission is paid from UKPC Ltd to their clients (McDonalds in my case) with every successful notice served and paid under their warden patrol service? UKPC Ltd freely advertise this commission on their website: http://www.ukparkingcontrol.com/wardenpatrol.aspx What a very good source for generating an extra stream of income for McDonalds, especially when customers are wrongly ticketed for eating in their restaurants? GA