Many thanks for the response, Grumble Weadle. That was certainly my feeling about "cancellation" definitions. The EU regs do seem to contain a definition - it is true that all passengers were offloaded after the captain made his announcement; whether subsequently some passengers did eventually travel on that aircraft that day and with that flight number, I cannot tell. And no, unfortunately I am not in contact with anyone else from the flight - I dare say if I was really desperate, I could make an appeal through a local newspaper. I have sent BA a letter requesting compensation; would I be better waiting to hear from them, and perhaps contact the AUC before getting to the letter before action stage?

Last week I was booked on a British Airways flight one morning - after being sat on the aircraft for well over an hour, the captain informed us that the technical problem holding us back could not be fixed, and that as far as the airline were concerned, the flight was cancelled. We were all offloaded and had to rebook later flights etc. As I ultimately arrived at my destination over 3 hours late, I thought I had good grounds for a compensation claim (after all, the delay had cost me money) under EU Regulation (EC) 261/2004. However, on using the on-line claim form at ba.com I was told the claim was not valid as the flight was not cancelled! Indeed looking at flightstats.co.uk, the flight is indeed marked as "Delayed 404 minutes". Sure, the aircraft would have been flown back to Heathrow (the destination) eventually, but by this tactic it seems they could argue there are never any cancellations! I will be writing to BA formally, but in the meantime, are there any views as to whether I have a case for compensation? Thanks, FtBS

You are on rock-solid ground, and Central Ticketing know that. They are just trying to bully you into paying. This is contract law, and hence in court they can only insist on payment for loss - which as you had a valid permit is nil. I can't believe even a PPC gang would be stupid enough to take you to court over this. Have a nice weekend, and keep on ignoring. FtBS

Yes, it shows just how clueless these muppets really are. Was this the Beach Retail Park again, or do CT operate elsewhere in Aberdeen? FtBS

I'm afraid I'm with G&M here; I accept the spirit of humour intended by the OP but there are some very strange views expressed in this thread.

Help is easy - do nothing, and ignore all the rubbish they send you. Please note this is not a fine, but an invoice to a contract you did not agree to. The going rate for Central Ticketing from the Beach Retail Park is: 1 letter from CT themselves; one from Roxburghe debt collectors; and 2 from Graham White Solicitors. They are all bogus and should be ignored. Do not contact them in any way. Do not tell them anything. They are desperate for something to cling on to, to beat you with. Don't give them any rope and they can't hang you. Seriously, this is not the first time I have heard of people being ticketed for parking in the "wrong half" of the car park. I think they must be getting desperate to drum up business. It is absolutely scandalous. Incidentally, I strongly urge writing to your MP on this - and it should be your MP, not MSP, as I have found. I got a letter from the Scottish Parliament Transport Minister, via MSP, who sounded very confused - referring to it as a "fine"...and urging me to seek legal advice! FtBS

Try a freeware editor like Audacity. Record yourself saying "sausages" and copy-and-paste that in FtBS

Ok, thanks for the clarification. Since this is a private parking invoice, from what you're saying there is no way it can be "registered" at the County Court, yet the letter clearly states the bailiffs will be hammering on your door if it does happen. I assume the "may" in "may now be registered" gets them off the hook, but it still seems very dodgy to me. FtBS

That is unbelievable. I am assuming the act of registering (?) in the County Court (what does that actually mean?) by itself cannot "allow Bailiffs to remove household effects"?? Is there no recourse to laws on "harassment" here? I can only hope one day they pick on the wrong person and get their comeuppance. FtBS

That is a very good point. You have two car parks right across the road from one another. One ostensibly serves the retail park, the other is for the restaurants and amusements etc - although to be honest I don't know about the status of the latter. People use it to go to the beach, so I doubt there are restrictions on it (although I could be wrong!). But as has been said before, if you weren't aware of the content of the signs you weren't party to any contract. (At least that's my understanding...) And if they really wanted to honestly stop people from leaving the site on foot (without regarding this as a cash cow) there would be huge signs at the (pedestrian) exits warning you to go back if you have parked there!! Fred the Bulbous Squidge

Hello all (first post). Like Tookie43 a friend of a friend (ahem) of mine just received a ticket from Central Ticketing outside Asda (the Boulevard Retail Park one at the Beach) - having left the site to use a cash machine across the road as the one outside Asda wasn't working (!!). As said many times before, this site seems incredibly useful, thanks to the people who bother to post helpful information here - thanks all for everything I've read thus far. I'm considering writing to Asda HQ, local MP, even Standard Life (the landlord of the site) etc on behalf of my friend of a friend, who also spoke to an ASDA manager who seemed unkeen on Central Ticketing, and a different manager on the telephone even admitted that this was simply the landlord trying to increase his income... I've read some useful stuff about "entrapment" here on this site - such as, if there is a charge to be incurred on leaving the site on foot, why are there not big signs warning you of this when leaving "the location"? I want to mention that in the letters. The other point about that surely has to be how to define "the location"? Do they mean Aberdeen? Certainly most locals will call the whole area "the beach". My FoaF is a bit nervous about having to sit tight ignoring the pile of letters that may follow - are we all sure that in Scots Law in a Sherrif Court silence won't be counted against, as unreasonable behaviour? Thanks! Fred the Bulbous Squidge