UKPC parking invoice - tesco Faraday retail park,Coatbank Street, Coatbridge. ML5 3SQ scotland

[CUDLYDUDLEY]

Hi everyone. very interesting reading concerning this company. I was a victim of this company last night at a local retail centre. On return to my car there was one of those stickers on the screen. It claimed i had parked outside the marked bay. My car was parked in an end bay next to a large pavement (big enough for another car). I was not stopping anyone else parking or in any way blocking the pathway. In actual fact my tyres where just on the flat curb stones by no more than an inch. I found the git who issued the ticket who said "you can appeal", "I have photographic evidence!". And thanks to your postings on this site APPEAL I WILL, they ain't gettin a penny!!! Incidentally my husband was driving who is'nt the registered owner. Awaiting the charge notice.

[Barnsley Boy]

Do not "appeal" - gives these [problematic] far too much respect. If you must communicate use Bernie's templates here:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/parking-traffic-offences/119802-private-parking-tickets-template.html

 

They are short and sweet and, most importantly, give away no information.

[raydetinu]

I have had similar disbutes with Parking eye in Aldi supermarkets, just write back Not Valid and if they continue to correspond and threaten all sorts of things you will get legal advice for harrasement. I dont hear from them again.

[pin1onu]

What is your problem with the appeals process? These are legitimate companies and their processes should be respected.

 

Referring to them as "[problematic]" is clearly a defamatory comment.

Troll Alert

[Andy7807]

Not had time to go through all the posts on this thread, just an update...from the first part of the thread...UKPC PCN Feb last year, usual letters from UKPC and Hunter Forrest, told Hunter Forrest to revert back to UKPC I'm not paying....heard nothing since

[sarah1985]

Hey im sarah and I got a UKPC fine on 3 weeks ago and only just received my charge through the post, will they go away if I ignore it??? Help ppl!

[Barnsley Boy]

Sarah 1985,

 

No one here has heard of UKPC taking anybody to court so you should be fine. These firms are however very persistant, you will get lots of letters, perhaps 5 or 6 in total. UKPC use a debt collector, Hunter Forrest, who may start writing to you after letter 2 or 3. Don't worry about debt collectors, they have NO powers.

 

Bernie the Bolt has compiled a series of template letters to help bat these "fines" [not fines at all, merely unsolicited invoices] back to the private parking companies.

 

They are here:

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/parking-traffic-offences/119802-private-parking-tickets-template.html

 

The upside of using these is that, if it came to it [which it won't with UKPC], you can demonstrate to a court that you acted reasonably throughout the dispute and tried to resolve matters. The downside is that you may well get more correspondance than you would otherwise have done. The big companies such as UKPC, Euro Car Parks & Excel always threaten court but never follow through. Other companies such as UK PAO and AS Securi-T occasionally fly kites, issuing court papers but don't turn up when a defence is filed.

 

It really is your call. Me? I would use the templates but there again I'm awkward and enjoy winding up the [problematic]. If you just want a quiet life it is a much closer call.

 

The main thing to remember is DON'T PAY! These private tickets are scams. Please feel free to post further if you are unsure about anything.

[jb0503]

Hi Everyone,

 

Same story, different location - this time, Barbican Leisure Park in Plymouth.

 

I parked up and left the site to take a couple of photos of the sunset before returning 10 mins later to find a "charge certificate" for £80 (£40 if paid within 28 days). I noted that the company would contact the DVLA for my details. Upon discovering that my car was still registered at a previous address, hurriedly contacted the DVLA to rectify this and rang UKPC to inform them that the charge would need to be forwarded to my current address (extremely worried that if I did not receive it then I would be liable for the higher charge!).

 

Once the fine arrived, I wrote to appeal stating that I had proceeded to use the facilities in the Leisure Park.

 

This thread makes for very interesting reading and wish I had found it sooner. I fear I may have shot myself in the foot by writing to UKPC and admitted that I was driving but had used the facilities after my apparent and unwitting misdemeanor.

 

All the posts on here seem to cite some clause that (if I understand it correctly) UKPC are only targeting the owner/RK of the vehicle. Certainly my letter from them following my appeal is identical to those received by other victims.

 

Can I use the same templates kindly provided here? If they know that I was the driver and have my address, is it too late to fight back?

 

A speedy response to this would be hugely appreciated as the probation period is ticking away!! In fact, having been given 28 days to pay during which time if I appealed then the reduced fine would be retained until the outcome of the appeal, they have written to say that the appeal failed and the fine should be received by them within 7 days of their letter. Today is the 13th day since said "offence" and I don't want to get clobbered with £80.

 

Any suggestions would be a massive help to clarify my now very confused mind!!

 

Thank you and best regards.

[SMARTIES1]

Hi jb0503,

 

I am at the stage where I have had a second letter from the debt collectors Hunter Forrest. Most of the advice given on this forum is "DO NOT PAY". I have gone over the specified time scale after each request, so I wouldn't worry about that.

 

I am sure you will obtain help shortly. Good luck.

[pin1onu]

Can I use the same templates kindly provided here? If they know that I was the driver and have my address, is it too late to fight back?

Welcome to the forum.

 

There are two template letter stickies. One is for If You Wrote First. It takes a slightly different approach. If you haven't paid its not to late to fight back.

 

Have a read of this guide on Private Parking Charges and then have a look at these templates - What To Do If You Wrote First. They are both listed in the stickies section at the top of this forum.

 

If you have any questions post back.

[jb0503]

Thank you for your advice.

 

I have compiled a letter using the "if you wrote first" template disputing the fine.

 

I shall wait to see what happens but I think as most people already know, there will be another letter followed by correspondence from the debt collectors.

 

I will try and keep the forum up-to-date with progress and any further advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks again,

 

JB

[bimbler]

Well, it has taken them 2 months to send the first letter (parking charge issue - Jan 26, enforcement notice - Mar 25) which I suppose is their way of making sure that if you were using the cap park legally you'd lose any evidence... damned shame that I kept those reciepts

 

Now going to send off one of the first of Bernie's standard reply letters (thanks), along with a copy of the reciept... hmmm, do you suppose that I might win my "appeal"??? ;-)

[Barnsley Boy]

Bimbler,

 

Not heard of too many people winning a UKPC "appeal", you could always be the first.

 

Don't be too disheartened if you get a "unfortunately, your appeal has been rejected".

[gillybeans]

Barnsley Boy

 

Have had another letter from UKPC increase cost to £115.24 due to the intervention of Hunter Forrest & Co and 7 days to contact HF re payment.

 

I take that since by last letter was a cease and desist that I should just ignore it until we get taken to court:rolleyes:

[Barnsley Boy]

gillybeans,

 

You sent them a letter saying "either take me to court or stop harrassing me". They have responded by involving a separate debt collector who adds monies on for no legal reason and says "pay up or you may get taken to court"

 

What Planet are these people on? Any third party should see that the PPC has acted unreasonably.

 

Yes, continue to ignore Hunter Forrest - no point in wasting a stamp on them., but put in a complaint to Trading Standards for UKPC ignoring your reasonable requests to either "put up or shut up"

 

Quote "Administration of Justice Act 1970" & "Prevention of Harrassment Act 1997"

 

You should be able to get an email contact for your local trading standards office here: Trading Standards Central - Trading Standards and Consumer Protection information for the UK

[jb0503]

Morning Everyone

 

Not directly related but relevant and interesting reading all the same

 

New traffic penalties ensure drivers come first in parking disputes - Times Online

 

Still waiting to hear back from UKPC.

 

JB

[cazcounty]

gillybeans,

im at the same stage as you,just got my '£115.24 due to the intervention of Hunter Forrest & Co and 7 days to contact HF re payment' letter this morning.

as far as im concerned id rather go to jail than pay the fine!

mine was totally illegal on UKPC's part.

i was parked in b&q legally for under 2 hours and the first i knew of any fine was 1 week later when a letter dropped through the door with a picture of my car parked perfectly between the lines?????? (bored or under pressure parking attendant springs to mind).of course i appealed and got no where,i even offered to pay the fine instantly on the production of any evidence from UKPC (of course this letter was never replied to!).today i have sent UKPC & Hunter both a letter (recorded delivery) stating that i am perfectly willing to go to court to settle the matter.

i also sent a letter tp the manager of b&q stating that i will be calling for him to give evidence in court of the operating practices of the company he employs to run his car park!

my only worry on the whole matter is that some baliffs will turn up and take the car?

can anyone tell me if this is possible without first hearing the case in court.

thanks

[Zamzara]

my only worry on the whole matter is that some baliffs will turn up and take the car?

can anyone tell me if this is possible without first hearing the case in court.

thanks

 

It's not possible for a ticket from a private company.

[cazcounty]

thanks for that zamzara,

thats the one niggling doubt out of my mind now.

cheers

[cabriochris]

After reading the various emails I wrote to UKPC stating I was not the driver at the time etc, received various correspondence back which I used the standard letters to reply and ask them for proof and legislation etc. My last letter was a ‘cease and desist’ letter asking them to back up the proof or leave me alone. The point I am up to now is that I received a letter which read like this:

Notice to owner

Please be advised that according to our records the recent parking penalty, detailed above remains unpaid and has now been passed to our nominated collection agents Hunter Forrest & Co based at ……………….

Following non payment of this offence details of the register keeper were requested from DVLA etc etc.

Due to the intervention of Hunter Forrest & co the outstanding sum of £120.24 is now payable.

Accordingly we request that you either remit full payment to them within the next seven days or that you contact Hunter Forrest to discuss the situation and your proposals for payment.

Please be advised that no further communication are to be made to our offices, all enquires to now be directed to Hunter Forrest on telephone number ……………. Our offices recommend that you make contact with them within the next seven days as failure to act now may result in further action being taken to recover this debt which could incur further charges to yourself.

My question is do I write back to UKPC and say you still have not resolved my previous queries? Write to Hunter Forrest now or just ignore it for the time being and wait for Hunter Forrest to write to me directly?

[cazcounty]

haha chris,

same as my letter (except as youve been charged £5 more!!!)

ive just had time to read through every post and the excellent legal post on the site (you REALLY need to read that,its brilliant) and i will defo not be parting with a penny until a judge tells me to!

if i had discovered this site a few weeks earlier i prob wouldnt have replied in the first place to anything off ukpc,but armed with their laughable 'evidence' and photos of the car park signs i am dying for them to take me to court! the only letters i will be writing now are to trading standards complaining of ukpc business practices and maybe report them to the police for harrassment!

i did send my final 3 letters to ukpc,hunter forrest and the manager of the b&q store (telling him i would be calling on him to give evidence) asking them to take me to court. i will not be replying to anything else other than a court date letter now.

good luck.

[gushoneybum]

Hi, all this info is great! But - can somebody please tell me how these people are legally able to get our personal details from DVLA for princely sum of £2.50? Is this not breaking some sort of confidentiality law? I don't understand how if what they are doing is illegal in giving us these 'invoices' they are then able to access confidential details. Please help!!

My daughter will be hearing from these people soon.

[SMARTIES1]

Hi everyone,

 

I have received a letter from Hunter Forrest, saying that my case has been put on hold for 30 days while the appeal is being heard...... unable to close this case completely unless stated otherwise by our client UK Parking Control.

 

I haven't heard of anyone else receiving this kind of letter...... is this the norm. Is is the beginning of a back down? Can I finally put this to rest (I am now in my 4th month of dispute).

[pin1onu]

Hi everyone,

 

I have received a letter from Hunter Forrest, saying that my case has been put on hold for 30 days while the appeal is being heard...... unable to close this case completely unless stated otherwise by our client UK Parking Control.

 

I haven't heard of anyone else receiving this kind of letter...... is this the norm. Is is the beginning of a back down? Can I finally put this to rest (I am now in my 4th month of dispute).

Looks like it might have gone quiet. I'd keep the documentation just in case they try it on.

[Barnsley Boy]

Smarties1,

 

Just re-read through the threads. UKPC said that you lost the appeal now there's another one?

 

I think this is the beginning of the end. Hunter Forrest are a "proper" debt collection company. They have to take some sort of notice of the Office of Fair Trading guidelines on debt collection. They only get a percentage of actual payments. It is not worth their while notching up complaints to trading standards and OFT just for flogging a dead horse.

 

I'm not accusing you of being dead horse you understand, but you will take my meaning.