Civil Penalty Notice - Is this valid?

[happyBoy]

Hello Everyone,

My first ever notice / alleged ticket and hence my presence here on this forum.

Must say this looks like a treasure mine of info and support. On to the details then....

 

Our car was parked on a street adjacent to a Cineworld (as were about a dozen more) and the side of the road where the cars were parked, did NOT have a double yellow line or any other form of notice / signage denoting parking restrictions. The opposite side of the road has a double yellow line.

 

After about 2 hours, on returning to the car, there was a 'notice' stuck to the car (all the cars parked at that time I think) - this notice mentions the following:

 

CIVIL PENALTY NOTICE

Notice No. xx-xxxxxx

 

Date:----------- Time: ------------ First Seen: ------------

Location: ------------

Contravention Code: for list of contravention codes, see reverse.

 

Veh. Make:----------- Model:---------

 

Reg. No: ------------- Colour: --------

 

Road Fund Lic: ---------------- Expiry: ---------

 

Issued official No: -------------- Signed: ----------

 

This vehicle was parked at the location stated at the specified time in breach of the terms and conditions advertised. A CIVIL PENALTY CHARGE OF GBP 100.00 IS NOW DUE. If payment is made within 10 days the charge will be reduced to 50.00

 

 

TOWN AND CITY PARKING LTD

 

WARNING

IT IS AN OFFENCE FOR ANY PERSON

OTHER THAN THE DRIVER

TO REMOVE THIS NOTICE.

 

Please see inside for notice details.

--------------------------

And the contravention code 'I' = Restricted Area.

 

Having looked around the street a bit more (its a cul-de-sac), there is one notice and the enterance of the street on the 'opposite' side of the road, mentioning something about 'Authorised or Permit Holder parking only'. Not something one would typically see, since the side of the road where the sign is put up, has a double yellow line running along it.

 

Any suggestion regarding the right course of action on this so called Civil Penalty Notice (CPN) for 50 Pounds please?

Thanks.

[lamma]

ignore it. read the stickies about PPCs. with that wording they have zero chance - "Civil Penalty" no such thing. its a [problem]

[happyBoy]

ignore it. read the stickies about PPCs. with that wording they have zero chance - "Civil Penalty" no such thing. its a [problem]

 

Thanks Lamma - just wanted to ensure:

1. If such a demand is legit in the first place?

2. If it is AND if I do have some sort of liability - can they claim any amount they see fit (50 / 100 etc.)?

 

I will see if I can post images of the street and the signage etc. as well if that helps.

Cheers.

[crem]

As well as Lamma's point about the "penalty", they may find it difficult to clarify what "offence" is committed by someone other than the driver removing the notice.

[happyBoy]

Crem - thanks.

 

Folks - for those of you who have more experience / knowledge of this topic (and ideally specific idea of Town & City Parking Pvt Ltd) - do you know what the typical sort of comms one should expect now? Also, how likely are they to requisition RK details from the DVLA to begin some sort of correspondence?

 

Another observation I have made from reading through all the posts here is that there seems to be no fixed amount each company charges. They vary anywhere from 20/40 to 50/100 - not sure if this is location / locality dependent?

 

Also - has there ever been a class-action / public interest litigation against these companies and their scare tactics - especially given the fact most of what they try and do is questionable?

[crem]

Another observation I have made from reading through all the posts here is that there seems to be no fixed amount each company charges. They vary anywhere from 20/40 to 50/100 - not sure if this is location / locality dependent?

 

I think they use the "how much do you think we can try and get away with" calculation.

[Al27]

Civil Penalty Notice - Is this valid?

 

The term alone is an oxymoron, so no.

 

It's basically an attempt to sound legit, but with the added get-out clause of the word 'civil'. The law doesn't work like that though - private companies cannot impose penalties.

[ceebee]

Was this on a private road or a highway ' Local Authority road'. Be interesting if it was a public highway and you passed the details to the Local Authority

[happyBoy]

Ceebe - will check on if the road is private or public. Would be even more aghast if they were doing this on a public road - at least my assumption is there might be some sort of claim / contract they (T&C PPC) might have in place to govern the parking on the road - but you never know.

Will aim to post signage pics and details later today.

 

Thanks everyone for all your quick responses till date!