Parking Ticket

[jacko1066]

Hello Peeps,

Im after a bit of advice please.
I recieved a parking ticket from the very nicepeople at NCP car parks.
I am staff and had permission to park at the train station and clearly had my parking permit displayed in my windscreen.
I have appealed but for some reason it has been rejected as today I have recieved a final reminder for a fee of £75.

Whats changed to day is that I looked at the registration of the car that they have put on the letter and they have got it wrong, they have put a different letter in it to what it should be.
So I checked all the paper work I have got and they have made the same mistake on all of it, and also got the colour wrong!!

So im wondering, if they have written the wrong registration down, am I liable to pay it?
Cause the registration of the car they have got a. doesnt belong to me, b.wasnt in the car park c. will not come up on the dvla database as vauxhall corsa!!

Have any of you had a similar experience?

All the best
Steve

[southey]

I would take it up with your employer as to why your permit is no longer recognised by NCp.

[Imagedude]

Send a reply stating that the details are wrong but do not send the correct details.

[Itzal]

Send a reply stating that the details are wrong but do not send the correct details.

Agreed, and demand an explanation. People get off for exactly this reason.

[jacko1066]

Send a reply stating that the details are wrong but do not send the correct details.

Thats pretty much what I have done this moorning, I have spoken to there customer services and told them they have the registration and colour of the car wrong, Im pretty sure the dont believe me though!!

If I refuse to pay it, and they take me to court, can they actually claim off of me?
I am gonna contact my boss monday, last time this happened to a work mate they tried to say his permit was in the 'wrong' place, thats why they gave him a ticket!!
I am very tempted just to leave it and see what happens, cause like I say tha isnt the car!!
Cheers for the help so far
Steve

[Imagedude]

Also send them a fine for £75 for admin costs for the return letter. State that there is a sign, clearly displayed, above your letter box stating that all letters containing incorrect details will result in said fine. Your fine will probably be just as legally valid as theirs.

[bushwacker bob]

.............and let us know what happens

[Dogoak]

We had a similar situation in February, long drive back from France and stopped for an hour or so's doze at a motorway services. Woke up 5 hours later and got going again, a week later we had a letter with a fine for staying over 2 hours! Hadn't seen any signs stating the free duration, it was dark, wet and I'm more concerned about driving carefully than reading small, non road signs.

Had a look around on the net and the advice was, that it wasn't enforceable, and that they will send us letters threatening bailiffs, court, etc; Well that's what happened and after 3 letters, we've heard nothing.

I'm not sure if NCP is the same in regards to the above, but at a guess, as they have the details wrong they have shot themselves in the foot. As the others have said, write to them stating 'not me' and 'I do not expect to receive any more correspondence, etc;'
Maybe this site.................http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...affic-Offences or something similar would be the place to go.

I have to admit to being a bit livid about my situation, the only place you can stop on a Motorway is at a services, there are lots of signs stating 'Tiredness Kills, Take A Break'. I expect there were some signs at the services but the lettering would not be of the size you could read on a wet night just after you have come down from motorway speeds and are concentrating on direction signs and other vehicles. The first letter had photo's of entry and exit and a nice black and white chequered border that made it look like it had come from the Police, very clever.

I hope you get this sorted, power to the people!

[British Red]

If they claim the permit was in the wrong place, they need to provide evidence that:

a) the location the permit is supposed to be displayed has been communicated to you and is in the "terms of use"
b) Photographic evidence that the permit was not in the correct place on the date in question

I suggest that you go to court - wrong reg and wrong colour should be enough to prove they aren't observant - whic then shows they may not have noticed the permit.

Red

[jacko1066]

If they claim the permit was in the wrong place, they need to provide evidence that:

a) the location the permit is supposed to be displayed has been communicated to you and is in the "terms of use"
b) Photographic evidence that the permit was not in the correct place on the date in question

I suggest that you go to court - wrong reg and wrong colour should be enough to prove they aren't observant - whic then shows they may not have noticed the permit.

Red

This is pretty much what m thinking!!
Turn up in court in my work uniform with all my work I.d and pictures of my parking permit and pictures of my car!!
I think the mistake I made in te first instance is that when I filled out the form online I gave them my address and phone number, thinking about it, if I had just of left it they never would have found me!!
I was trying to tell them I was staff and stuff just to save them work!!

Love the idea of billing them though lol
Cheers
Steve

[ged]

... Love the idea of billing them though lol ...

It's not a joke. You CAN bill them for your wasted time, stationery, postage, legal advice, stress and whatever else you can think of that's justifiable and a Court can enforce that if it's reasonable.

They'll never take it to Court, they know they'd get thrown out by the judge if they've got the car reg. and colour wrong.

You have nothing to worry about.

[roger-uk]

If they got the reg no wrong then how did they get your address.

I always ignore private and council car parling tickets just don't ignore the traffic warden or police ones - They will enforce it

[jacko1066]

If they got the reg no wrong then how did they get your address.

I always ignore private and council car parling tickets just don't ignore the traffic warden or police ones - They will enforce it

They got my address because when I got the ticket I called them up and they told me to go online to dispute it, which because I am allowed to park there thats exactly what I did, and there was a part of the form where you had to put your name and address and phone number!!!
Thats what Im annoyed at, if I had read the ticket properly they would have never have been able to trace me!!
Its a railway station car park so not enforced by police or parking warden.
Cheers
Steve

[swright81076]

It will not go to court. The only parking offences that can are local council ones with genuine traffic wardens.

I had the same thing a few years ago with a company called parking eye. Their telephone staff are so rude. I was so close to turning up at the offices and unleashing hell, however I found that these Micky mouse outfits (ncp and so on) cannot legally enforce anything, especially when they have the incorrect details.

I too saw the info on consumer action group website. I wish I had thought of sending them a bill re wrong details.

Good luck and don't bow down to their threatening tactics.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[rik_uk3]

Also send them a fine for £75 for admin costs for the return letter. State that there is a sign, clearly displayed, above your letter box stating that all letters containing incorrect details will result in said fine. Your fine will probably be just as legally valid as theirs.

Not really for most of that.

You can put what you like over your letter box but it means nothing.

Your line manager is first port of call, get the error sorted and then take things further if needed.

[Andy BB]

No reason you can't put in a claim to them for administration, wasted time, mental distress at the threats etc, and notify them that any court action - which of course they won't pursue - will involve additional costs on your behalf (transportation, loss of wages, legal representation and so on) which you will also expect to be reimbursed for. Threats work both ways!

[sandsnakes]

If a case is wrongly presented and you have clearly informed them of such you can claim costs at the magistrates court. Thw magistrate (who usually hates parking scams) can award you the costs. You can claim for loss of earnings for a day, transport, postage and any time spent seeking advice. Have this all clearly presented and typed out for the magistrate with appropriate proofs. You may not get the entire sum, but most likley if it goes to court you will get the days loss of earnings. Any communication with them must be done by registered post as someone has to sign for it and they cannot claim 'server error', 'who us, we never recived that!' Also get the persons name you speak with on the phone record date, time duration and conversation.

You can get all your money back plus much, much more if they are stupid enough to persist.

S

[British Red]

On a point of law - you can't put up a sign levying a £75 charge after the letter was delivered. You cannot impose contractual obligations after the event.

In addition if claiming mental distress, you need to show what fiscal loss that it cost you as UK law does not offer punitive damage. To claim damages you need to be able to prove actual loss.

Tell them to get lost or you will see them in court.

Alternatively pursue a claim against them for your time - do so in your local small claims court. Keep all records of conversations, paperwork etc. Best first bet would be to request all records that they have on you under the Data Protection act - they legally have to provide this. If you can then show that the reg and colour are wrong, that you notified them of this (they have to provide phone recordings), etc. you can elgitimately claim back phone call costs, travel costs and a fair hourly rate for your time. You will need to provide an itemised claim and proof of each line. If they don't show up a judgement is likely to be recorded against them in their absence.

Red

[Imagedude]

Have this all clearly presented and typed out for the magistrate with appropriate poofs.
S

Are we allowed to call people poofs these days?

[rik_uk3]

Are we allowed to call people poofs these days?

Hopefully not.

[Lister]

If they have the details wrong then the ticket is unenforcable, same goes for Traffic Wardens, if they've put down details of a non-existant car then the ticket can not be enforced. You often see this defence used in London against TfL and their bus-lane cameras (the wrong camera/unit number displayed on the photographic evidence, thus rendering the evidence/proofs invalid, along with the offence)

With regards to the pass, If the signs around the car-park do not stipulate how to display the pass then they can not use that as an excuse, they can try and refer to a service agreement or what-not but that will not wash in court as you just counter that with "and what about first-time visitors/users of the car park, how to they know how to display the pass?"

[Lister]

On a point of law - you can't put up a sign levying a £75 charge after the letter was delivered. You cannot impose contractual obligations after the event.

Problem there Red, from the OP POV, how do you prove the sign was not present/put up after the event without before/after pictures? (If it's a supermarket/public car-park, you could try finding it on StreetView and seeing if a Google Car has snapped it (san signs) while passing (you might find the picture datestamped too) and using that as a "before" snap.)

[sandsnakes]

Are we allowed to call people poofs these days?

Why, would you like too?

[santaman2000]

...With regards to the pass, If the signs around the car-park do not stipulate how to display the pass then they can not use that as an excuse, they can try and refer to a service agreement or what-not but that will not wash in court as you just counter that with "and what about first-time visitors/users of the car park, how to they know how to display the pass?"

Don't the parking passes over there have the display instructions printed on them somewhere?

[British Red]

Problem there Red, from the OP POV, how do you prove the sign was not present/put up after the event without before/after pictures? (If it's a supermarket/public car-park, you could try finding it on StreetView and seeing if a Google Car has snapped it (san signs) while passing (you might find the picture datestamped too) and using that as a "before" snap.)

I was referring to the suggestion that the OP erect a sign over his own letterbox after the letter was delivered. You cannot impose contractual terms after the event. Nor can you impose terms without making the other party to the contract aware of them in advance.

[tartanferret]

Yet another Mickey mouse operation !

A bit of a read for you !

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=2105923

[Mesquite]

Yet another Mickey mouse operation !

A bit of a read for you !

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=2105923

That's an interesting read

[jacko1066]

Yet another Mickey mouse operation !

A bit of a read for you !

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?t=2105923

Great read!!! Thanks very much!!!
Looks like the correct action is just to completely ignore it!! They appear just to be scammers and actually have as much legl right to go round and ask for money off of people as you and I!!
Thanks for the help everyone,

All the best
Steve