Is there a time limit for private car parks to take you to court?

[Munch77]

Hello, I wondered if anyone knows how long MET and euro car parks have to take you to court once all letters have been ignored by the motorist?

 

I received a euro car parks ticket for an incident on 5/9/15 when I had sat in the car for 10 mins or so as I was not feeling well (I have a medical condition). My ticket was for staying longer than than the hour's ticket I paid for by that 10 minutes. I ignored all the letters, the last being on 31/12/15 from their debt company giving me a' last chance to pay to avoid court proceedings'.

I also received a MET ticket for an incident on 12/9/15 when I had 'overstayed' at a large McDonald's I spoke to the manager saying I was in the restaurant the entire time giving them business as can be proven by their CCTV. i was not a driver using the car park to wait for airport passengers as others are doing there. He agreed to cancel the ticket but I carried on getting letters. Last letter was a final reminder on 3/12/15.My friend had also driven and out at the same time but she did not get a ticket.

 

Am i safe to assume any time limit is over for the car park companies as it has been over 6 months since both incidents?

 

Thank you in advance.

[gregs07]

6 years. It's like debts.

[Munch77]

Thanks gregs07. i wish I hadn't asked now! I assumed if nothing heard within 6 months I'd be in the clear. A bit like the Police having 6 months to serve you with a notice for a driving thing..

[silverfox1961]

Hi and welcome to CAG

 

I assume you have just ignored all the letters from the car parking companies.

 

Does the Euro Car Park state how long you stayed? 70 minutes or longer?

 

It sounds like the McD's member of staff didn't bother contacting MET to cancel the ticket which is why you are being chased however, if McD's did contact them then you can challenge them on this if it ever got to court.

 

Unfortunately Gregs is correct, they have up to 6 years to chase you but I am yet to see that happen,

[Munch77]

Thank you silverfox1961. I did ignore the letters - I rang McD when I continued getting letters (despite having gone in and spoken to the manager who agreed to cancel) and was told they'd email the company but didn't know what else to do as they had no contact number. After that I had no more letters.

Euro car parks said my entry time was 13.10 and exit 1431. So 20 mins over, not 10 as I had recalled.

[Munch77]

Is there something about these companies needing to wait 28 days to send a notice to you, if it is earlier then DVLA are in the wrong re some data protection thing? I certainly received my notices before 28 days.

[silverfox1961]

It sounds like in both of these cases ANPR was used rather than a windscreen ticket. With Automated Number Plate Recognition they have to write to you within 14 days.

 

If it was a Windscreen ticket the company have to wait 28 days before contacting the keeper of the vehicle.

[silverfox1961]

Just had a quick check and both of these companies took nobody to court last year nor in the first 3 months of this year so I would continue ignoring until either a Letter Before Action/Claim or court papers arrive.

[Munch77]

Thank you for doing that, really helpful. I shall do as you say!

Both were ANPR not windscreen tickets.

[ericsbrother]

They usually pass it on to a dca, who will then send you some scary letters and leave things with a threat of doom if you dont pay. Although they have 6 years to make a claim it would be rare to leave the matter more than a year as there is a comparison with council parking tickets which cannot be issued or chased up after acertain time as it would be unreasonable to expect people to remember the dates and events. As this is a standard the private parking industry would be hard pushed to argue that peopl'e memories are better for their shinanigans than they would be if they got a real parking ticket so it could well be argued that the same time limit would apply and if not, they would produce the person who slapped the ticket on your car as a witness and get them to describe their working day in detail a year after the event. Not going to happen is it?

[Munch77]

Thank you ericsbrother, you make a good point. I will have to hang on for another six months altho even havung to recall info in a year's time will be a challenge as my medical condition affects my memory!