Parking fine

[dr_john]

Called in at a local pub a couple of weeks ago for a swift pint, they had installed a private parking company, unknown to me, yesterday I got notice of £100 fine or £60 if paid within 14 days.

I have no defence, it was me, my car, but it is infuriating that a sunny Sunday afternoon pint has cost me £65. From the evidence in the notice I was on the premises for less than half an hour. I’ve talked to the pub landlady but she is unwilling to help at all.

I have heard that if one ignores such demands they will eventually give up and go away.

Any experiences amongst you lot?

[MarkE85]

I’ve joined this site on Facebook for advice. You can try asking for advice on there. The upshot is , you have to read every parking sign and really be careful where you park. I got fined once and I never went back to that car park. The way I looked at it was they will lose money eventually because I will never spend money with them again.

Private parking tickets - help and advice.

[MarkE85]

Only other thing I would say was , don’t ignore it , you could end up in court !

[pvr]

Pepipoo.com for info

What were you supposed to do - register your car at the bar or so?

[Chippie]

I don’t suppose you paid for your drink with a debit/credit card, if you have a receipt or bank statement then perhaps they will take that as evidence that you were using the pup and not just parking

[dr_john]

Pepipoo.com for info

What were you supposed to do - register your car at the bar or so?

Yes exactly, there is an iPad mounted on the wall, but who takes notice of such things when there are lots of other notices on the walls

[dr_john]

I don’t suppose you paid for your drink with a debit/credit card, if you have a receipt or bank statement then perhaps they will take that as evidence that you were using the pup and not just parking

Yes, debit card. Thanks for the suggestion, it may come in useful

[dr_john]

Only other thing I would say was , don’t ignore it , you could end up in court !

I did hear that they don’t go that far as taking out a private prosecution would not be worth the trouble and expense. However, am I bold enough to put it to the test?

[Pondrew]

I wouldn't give them a penny!

I would write back to the parking company and explain the circumstances; that you were using the patrons car park for it's intended purpose.
I would also write to the pub owners and explain the same.

If you used the pub car park purely for using the pub then no-one is going to take you to court. They may threaten it but they won't do it.

[buzyg]

What did/does the parking sign say?

[Pondrew]

This story reminds me of when I had my car clamped by a private company in a car park once. I refused to pay to get it released, so they refused to release it.
After about an hour of 'negotiations' I said I was calling the Police, as they were effectively holding me against my will (I used the word kidnap). I also said I had a battery angle grinder in the boot (I didn't) and would cut it off myself.

I didn't pay them a penny and the car was released. They weren't very happy about it, which made very happy!

[sars]

This is surely an easy one if it was free parking on the pub premises and parking is for patrons use only. You were a patron and can prove you were a patron. Send a reply back to the private parking company with the proof of purchase, be safe and send it signed for delivery. If they take it to court, you can prove you were a patron and there was no obvious notification on method of registration to park

[MarkE85]

Best thing is to take a picture of the parking notice and post it here.

[Hilly30si]

Not Euro Park by any chance

[TitanTim]

Surely the pub isn't charging its customers to park on their premises? I've not come across that one before if that's the case. If it was free parking for customers as Sars says just a case of proving you were a customer. If the parking wasn't free then what a cr*p pub.

This is happening alot in my town where people are being fined on privately owned shopping car parks where its a 1 hour stay only and are receiving fines if they are 1 minute over the hour. CCTV is logging their arrival and monitors how long the stay is and when they leave the car park. There is one car park where the sign for time limited parking has been deliberately hidden so its not immediately obvious so lots of people are receiving fines.

I would echo being careful ignoring the fine as they could issue a summons or you end paying more the more you ignore it.

And you wonder why retail areas and town centres are dying, there's no incentive to visit these places. In a nutshell this country is rubbish and getting slowly worse.

Tim.