All your parking fine questions answered by an expert
Every Tuesday we get an expert to answer your Money Problems – but this week we are doing things a little different.
After consumer expert Scott Dixon, aka the Complaints Resolver, tackled a reader’s parking dispute last month, we were inundated with other questions about parking fines.
Read all the latest Money news here
So, we decided to ask him to tackle five problems.
‘I received a parking notice claiming I was there from 11am to 6.30pm – I entered at 11am and left in a few minutes, I returned at 6.30pm and also left in a few minutes, now I have a fine. What can I do?’
Dixon says this scenario is known as “double-dipping” and is a well-known common error with ANPR systems, where only the first entrance and last exit of multiple visits are counted.
“The parking operator has access to the ANPR camera system, as they rely on this evidence to pursue you for a parking charge notice. Their business model is to extract money from you, hence why they have been economical with the truth on your appeal,” he adds.
He explains that evidence is key with appeals and says Sharad could use shopping receipts, dashcam footage and a mobile phone with Google location tracker to help him make his case.
“I suggest you contest their original response and appeal as keeper of the vehicle providing approximate entry and exit times for each visit and say they should check their data log, including the error log, for matches or near matches of your vehicle registration and cancel the charge,” he adds.
In another avenue, he says he could lodge a formal complaint with either the British Parking Association or the International Parking Community, as well as the DVLA and the Information Commissioner’s Office.
“Being a member of the trade association allows them easy access to the DVLA keeper database if they have reasonable cause,” Dixon says.
“In your case, they clearly did not have reasonable cause.”
‘I alerted relevant authorities about a change of address – a previous fine went to an old address and I missed the court date and now have a bad mark on my credit report. What should I do?’
Dixon says she must “act fast” to resolve the issue and decide what course of action to take.
“This hinges on the reason why the parking charge notice was issued and if you have a realistic prospect of defending it,” he adds.
He set out three things she needs to do to try to fix the problem:
- Contact the DVLA to get your details updatedSubmit a data subject access request to the private parking operator to retrieve all paperwork. Once you have all this evidence, you can…Decide to either pay the outstanding amount or apply for it to be set aside
On the court judgment, Dixon says there are two options to consider.
The first, if you think the parking charge notice was issued unfairly, you can apply for it to be set aside.
“To set aside a County Court Judgment (CCJ) you need to contact the court that issued the judgment and complete application notice N244 to explain why you believe the judgment should be set aside enclosing a £303 court fee,” he said.
“You will have to attend a private hearing at the court to explain why you do not owe the money.
“Also write to the parking operator and explain why you did not respond in time and reasons for the delay in applying for the CCJ to be set aside.”
If you think the parking fine was issued fairly, Dixon suggests paying the outstanding CCJ and debt.
“Paying within a month will remove the CCJ from your credit report,” he adds.
“I suggest you periodically check your credit file once the debt has been settled and write to Experian to add a Notice of Correction to add further information to an entry on your credit report, so lenders can consider the context of the CCJ.”
‘I had a doctor’s appointment and was there for 33 minutes. They’re trying to charge me £170.’
Dixon’s first piece of advice is to speak to the practice manager, who might be able to cancel it.
“Ask for proof in writing that they will cancel it so you can advise the parking operator to cease and desist harassing you,” he says.
“Hopefully this will resolve it, as I’m sure they do this for staff members and other visitors who have been accidentally caught out.”
He adds that third party debt collectors issue demands for £170 after the first and second stage appeals have either been ignored or have failed.
‘Should I top up my national insurance?’
“You can safely ignore any debt collector letters before a court hearing. These debt collectors are ‘strangers to the debt’ and don’t own the debt or have any powers to enforce it,” he says.
“Watch out for a ‘letter before claim’ or ‘letter before action’, which is the last stop before a case goes to court. This will need a response. Parking operators rely on motorists ignoring this so they can get a County Court Judgement (CCJ) rubber-stamped in court.
“If this goes to court, you will need to provide sufficient evidence to dispel their case, although all is not lost if you don’t have this.”
‘I didn’t manage to park and purchase my ticket within 20 minutes of entering the car park.’
Dixon first asks if there is a reason it took so long to park.
“If you can prove why it took you longer than 20 minutes to buy a ticket when you entered the car park, this will be good evidence to prove that the contract was ‘frustrated by impossibility’ due to an unforeseen event through no fault of your own,” he says.
Unclear signs are the most common reason for appeals on unfair parking charge notices.
Dixon says: “If that’s the case, it can be said you were unable to read the signs and terms and conditions, meaning the contract was frustrated through no fault of your own.”
He adds that a two-pronged approach could be helpful in dealing with this issue.
First, look on Google Reviews to see what others say about this car park.
“You may find a common theme from what other users say, which can reinforce your points and case on appeal,” he says.
“Second, go to the retailer with proof of purchase and ask them to cancel it for you and get proof in writing. Supermarkets are particularly good with this, so speak nicely to customer services if that’s the case.”
‘Can Euro Car Parks enforce a parking charge?’
It’s a common myth that parking charge notices can be ignored, is Dixon’s first bit of advice.
“You do so at your peril, as you risk it being pursued and a County Court Judgement being made against you. This will severely impact on your ability to get any form of credit for years to come,” he says.
When you park in a car park space managed by a private parking operator, you are entering into a contract based on the terms and conditions stated on signs in the car park, which is private property.
“Euro Car Parks will have written authority to manage and enforce the terms and conditions of parking by the landowner for the car park,” Dixon says.
“If you break these terms which are displayed on signs around the car park, such as not paying or overstaying, the parking operator can issue a parking charge notice for an alleged breach of contract.”