Hi everyone, Im on a contract with 3 in my 14th of 18 months. Ive been abroad and noticed that I had been charged for texts and mins that when I took out the contract would have been included under the '3 at home' policy. Since reading these forums I now know that the terms and conditions changed etc and a few months ago I probably was notified although I cant remember this at all. I just want to know my standpoint on this, as apparently they stated that as long as I contact them within one month of being notified I could cancel the contract, but obviously ive missed this period. Thanks for any advice, Tom

Yes. I do agree to the need of parking permits, just not when they are actively looking for tiny infringments to make money. Thanks for all your responses, Ill post up what happens next.

Ive just noticed that the car park of the student flats i live in is also run by this company with the same signs up. There is no council affiliation. When I moved in I paid £150 for a permit for the year. Does this mean that I could have not paid and just got ticket after ticket after ticket and ignored them all?

I also just found this on their website: "Although the Wheel Clamp is our primary enforcement tool, the issuing of a PCN, although a softer approach, is not the easy alternative to clamping or the symbolic gesture it may be for other parking enforcement companies. Whilst other companies may threaten court proceedings to recover unpaid charges, Vehicle Control Services do pursue all unpaid PCN's through to a Court Summons. We obtain vehicle keeper information from the DVLA and adhere to the DVLA's Voluntary Code of Practice on the release and use of information to enforce parking restrictions on private property and use the latest bespoke IT systems which allows us complete control over every step of the procedure. As a result of this we can tailor our service to the precise needs of the individual client." I know its probably just all talk but the fact they specifically mention that they do persue all to a court summons?

Attached in a zip is a close up of the parking signs, they are prominently displayed. This is thier website. VCS Parking Enforcement Specialists I was speaking to my friend who lives at the flats i got ticketed at and she said that in all the corridors of the flats, the official advice for visitors is to put a notice in the window of the car. There is no pay and display or visitors permit system, so if they are going to clamp visitors anyway its a complete nonsense! Evil! Parking sign.zip

ill post up the pics of the sign i took today when i find the cable for my camera. thank you all very much for your help and taking the time to reply. I will keep posting as things happen - and donate some of the money I would have paid to CAG of course!

Queens Medical Centre. The flats where I parked are very close. There is a gardener who is employed by the flats management but must be getting backhanders from the parking company as its he who phones them up to say "theres a car i dont recognise without a permit!" and theyre down in a hearbeat to ticket.

thanks for the quick reply. I can only see Penalty Charge Notice. Couldnt scan but its exactly the same ticket as in this thread: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/parking-traffic-offences/123586-pcn-vehicle-control-services.html Hope this helps.

Hi all, I would really appreciate your advice to a bit of an odd situation! I parked at a friends flat (Nottingham) where the car park is controlled by "Vehicle Control Services LTD" and is a "Parking Charge Notice". There were plenty of signs up etc but there is no pay and display and no visitor permits. My friend told me its sufficient to put a notice up in the window of your car saying "Visiting Flat 4" which I did. I was early to her house and she wasnt dressed yet so I went for a stroll and 20mins later my friend rang me to say there is a ticket being put on my car, and I ran back and just as I arrived the attendent finished writing the ticket. He then stuck it on my screen and I began to move my car. He then took a photo (I was in the car so I assume there will be my face in the photo). I have a few issues: 1) Im not going to pay as I was legitimately visiting someone (It is a car park next to a hospital so they are big on enforcement) and after looking at this forum I am just going to ignore all correspondence - correct!?!?! 2) The ticket says: Driver Present: NO, Filmed: YES However, technically, I was sitting in my drivers seat when the photo was taken and this will be shown in the photo. I know that there wasnt a photo taken before this as the attendent said to me: "wait while I take a photo". Therefore the driver present should be: YES. (He had filled out the filmed: YES part of the ticket before he had done it). Is this a legit argument to present to them? 3) Its an £80.00 charge within 7 days or £120.00 thereafter - Isnt that mentally expensive?!!!! This was in Notts and even in London you get two weeks to reduce it to £40!! 4) How are visitors supposed to visit!!! There is no visitor permit system or pay and display! Sorry for the long post but bit of an odd situation perhaps. These people make me so angry! To ring up thier phone info service is 50p per minute!!! I was about to pay online and came accross this forum and now I am not going to pay. So grateful for any advice.