O/T The Range Parking : Mon Jun 23, 2014 12:37 pm  

Off topic so i apologise. My girlfriend has received a parking ticket on the range carpark. Has anyone on here received one, I’ve told her to just ignore it?

Re: O/T The Range Parking : Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:02 pm  

I've had numerous parking 'tickets' from these parking shysters (not from Range, but they're all the same).

When you park on private land (such as a shop car park), the owner will try to impose on you a contract, which sets out their conditions of parking - these conditions are normally displayed on posts or walls around the car park. They will say that by simply parking on the car park, you agree to the conditions, ergo forming a contract between you and them. Contract law in the UK does not work like that. If they were to take you to court, the onus would be on them to prove that you had agreed to the contract prior to you parking your car there. Legal opinion is that they’d almost certainly fail to be able to do so. As a court case would set a precedent for all future such cases, these parking parasites don’t want to go down that route.

Instead, they’ll try to make the ‘fine’ seem official, and threaten gently that if you don’t pay now, the ‘fine’ will increase. If you don’t send them money, they’ll get more threatening in how they word their letter(s). Their aim is to recover as much as possible at this stage. If they aren’t successful, they may just give up (about half, in my experience, have), or they make out your debt’s been passed to a debt collection company, who get even more heavy in the wording, and crank the supposed amount owing up. In reality, these debt collection companies are just part of the same parking company.

And they have no more legal standing than some total stranger knocking on your door and saying “give me £100”. In order to give any legal justification to their claim that you owe them money, they must secure a judgement from the court. And, as I said earlier, they are never going to do this. They cannot blacken your credit history (cannot even record this faux debt against you, as they haven’t demonstrated in law that you owe them a single penny). The good news as well is that it's now illegal for these scumbags to clamp you.

I’ve never had a an instance of the parking parasites going beyond a couple of debt collection letters before they give up. However, if you do get a couple of debt collectors show up at your house, explain to them that you dispute that you owe any money to their client whatsoever and advise that if they visit your premises again, you will consider it harassment and call the police. Debt collection firms still employ scumbags, but they have more legislation imposed on them these days and need to follow certain guidelines or they’ll be in trouble.

Note that if you park on public highways, council car parks (or, as in Manchester, in council car parks sub-contracted to a private car park company), or (annoyingly) Network Rail (or rail company) car parks/land, the rules are very different and you cannot avoid the fine unless you successfully go through the appeals process.

Re: O/T The Range Parking : Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:10 pm  

who wants baliffs knocking on your door though?

just pay the fine (can we ask how much?) and don't park there in future? (women drivers eh)

Re: O/T The Range Parking : Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:11 pm  

Th'ump wrote:

I've had numerous parking 'tickets' from these parking shysters (not from Range, but they're all the same).

When you park on private land (such as a shop car park), the owner will try to impose on you a contract, which sets out their conditions of parking - these conditions are normally displayed on posts or walls around the car park. They will say that by simply parking on the car park, you agree to the conditions, ergo forming a contract between you and them. Contract law in the UK does not work like that. If they were to take you to court, the onus would be on them to prove that you had agreed to the contract prior to you parking your car there. Legal opinion is that they’d almost certainly fail to be able to do so. As a court case would set a precedent for all future such cases, these parking parasites don’t want to go down that route.

Instead, they’ll try to make the ‘fine’ seem official, and threaten gently that if you don’t pay now, the ‘fine’ will increase. If you don’t send them money, they’ll get more threatening in how they word their letter(s). Their aim is to recover as much as possible at this stage. If they aren’t successful, they may just give up (about half, in my experience, have), or they make out your debt’s been passed to a debt collection company, who get even more heavy in the wording, and crank the supposed amount owing up. In reality, these debt collection companies are just part of the same parking company.

And they have no more legal standing than some total stranger knocking on your door and saying “give me £100”. In order to give any legal justification to their claim that you owe them money, they must secure a judgement from the court. And, as I said earlier, they are never going to do this. They cannot blacken your credit history (cannot even record this faux debt against you, as they haven’t demonstrated in law that you owe them a single penny). The good news as well is that it's now illegal for these scumbags to clamp you.

I’ve never had a an instance of the parking parasites going beyond a couple of debt collection letters before they give up. However, if you do get a couple of debt collectors show up at your house, explain to them that you dispute that you owe any money to their client whatsoever and advise that if they visit your premises again, you will consider it harassment and call the police. Debt collection firms still employ scumbags, but they have more legislation imposed on them these days and need to follow certain guidelines or they’ll be in trouble.

Note that if you park on public highways, council car parks (or, as in Manchester, in council car parks sub-contracted to a private car park company), or (annoyingly) Network Rail (or rail company) car parks/land, the rules are very different and you cannot avoid the fine unless you successfully go through the appeals process.

That’s great!!! thanks a bunch for going in to alot of detail on this one. Everywhere i look the consensus is just to ignore it. I was just wondering if anyone received a fine from this particular car park.

Re: O/T The Range Parking : Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:12 pm  

Rommel wrote:

who wants baliffs knocking on your door though?

just pay the fine (can we ask how much?) and don't park there in future? (women drivers eh)

£60

Re: O/T The Range Parking : Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:16 pm  

Rommel wrote:

who wants baliffs knocking on your door though?

just pay the fine (can we ask how much?) and don't park there in future? (women drivers eh)

It's very rare that baliffs will be knocking on your door due to a parking ticket dispute, it's generally just a couple of angry letters.

Even if they do you just tell them you don't owe the money and tell them to leave.

Re: O/T The Range Parking : Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:17 pm  

http://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/1109 ... ry/?ref=mc

http://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/1109 ... ry/?ref=mc

Re: O/T The Range Parking : Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:18 pm  

Rommel wrote:

who wants baliffs knocking on your door though?

just pay the fine (can we ask how much?) and don't park there in future? (women drivers eh)

They're not bailiffs; they have no legal right to a penny. As I said, I've had numerous 'fines' from different private car parks. Not one has gone further than 4 or 5 letters, which are easy to ignore. Never a visit (although, when I was first looking into this a few years go, I found out that very rarely a visit will be made way down the line) There's only a handful of nationwide car parking companies, who shops, etc subcontract the car parking supervision to, so I've probably had letters from the company that manages The Range.

Don't pay!!! It just encourages them.

Re: O/T The Range Parking : Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:24 pm  

roader wrote:

http://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/11092481.Range_defends_parking_fines_after_Star_readers__outcry/?ref=mc

Can't really argue with the store regarding people using there car park to nip into town?

50 signs aroung the carpark as well saying you'll recieve a parking fine and still people use it? Sorry blondebomber i'm with the store on this? but £60 is steep?

Re: O/T The Range Parking : Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:26 pm  

Th'ump wrote:

They're not bailiffs; they have no legal right to a penny. As I said, I've had numerous 'fines' from different private car parks. Not one has gone further than 4 or 5 letters, which are easy to ignore. Never a visit (although, when I was first looking into this a few years go, I found out that very rarely a visit will be made way down the line) There's only a handful of nationwide car parking companies, who shops, etc subcontract the car parking supervision to, so I've probably had letters from the company that manages The Range.

Don't pay!!! It just encourages them.

You'll be moaning if you get clamped?