I have fallen foul of ACPOA, who run the car park next to St Albans City Station. Last Friday SWMBO and I were due to return late from London and didn't fancy a long walk to the car afterwards. I am unfamiliar with the car park, never having been in it before. (In general, I avoid car parks, especially if money is involved.)
I parked early afternoon, bought the £3 ticket, displayed it correctly, went to London. On our return, the Parking Enforcement Notice had been attached to the windscreen. The notice claims I have failed to display a valid permit.
On my return this evening - it is a Sunday and plenty of spaces were unoccupied, including the one I used and the neighbouring ones - it's evident that I parked in a Priority Parking area. There is some not very clear lettering on the tarmac nearby. Some of the bays (including the ones adjacent to the one I used) have a blue plaque identifying the bay as Priority Parking; the one I used does not have one. I have taken several photos to establish this.
My initial reaction is to get combative with ACPOA, point out I paid in good faith, blame insufficient signage and be prepared to make my case in court should it get that far.
What say my learned friends?
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Sounds as thought have a good case. Do you still have your ticket? Fight the bar stewards, you might lose but the delay and work you can cause them with give them a pain Good Lock
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The current advice on pepipoo is to ignore it but keep the letters.
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>> My initial reaction is to get combative with ACPOA, point out I paid in good
>> faith, blame insufficient signage and be prepared to make my case in court should it
>> get that far.
Bad approach, in fact the worse approach.
>> What say my learned friends?
Ignore them.
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Ignore....don't even let them know you exist.
Ted
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I recently won an appeal but had cast iron CCTV proof my car was not in a car park when they said it was. They have now fitted ANPR cameras in that car park, (sorry folks).
In any other case I would go along with "Ignore them".
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 9 Dec 12 at 21:09
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>>They have now fitted ANPR cameras in that car park,
>>
I was in LHR Term 3 carpark again this morning.
The ticket spat out at the entrance has the cars registration on it ( from an ANPR camera at the entrance).
There was an X Type Jaguar there with, what I assume, was a warning ticket or a parking ticket in a plastic envelope stuck on the windscreen in the middle of the drivers view.
Anyone have any idea what was in progress ? An £xxx bill to date ?
The car did not appear to be clamped, at least on the drivers side.
If it is a long stay it could have been stolen? I assume they would check re ownership etc / security risk ?
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One of our local ones has been in the paper recently. Issuing tickets willy-nilly. They are now after folks who might have a wheel fouling a white line. One guy complained about a £60 'invoice ' 'cos his wheel was on a white line and there was nothing to obstruct next to him...not even a bay.
He paid up, of course...smells like some sort of extortion to me....' Demanding money with menaces ' used to be a crime. The sad thing is, that particular shopping centre is gradually dying, being in close proximity to the massive free Trafford Centre.
The traders don't want UK Parking there......only the owners seem to think it's a good scheme.
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And you had a bad day at the railway station? :
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-20631987
Last edited by: Fullchat on Sun 9 Dec 12 at 22:01
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Sorry about the delay in getting back to this - I've been super-busy.
Thanks for the advice. However, I'd like to elaborate on my thoughts now the law has recently changed regarding liability for parking charges levied by the likes of ACPOA.
As I understand it, the registered keeper of the vehicle concerned will be deemed liable unless evidence is provided that the driver on the occasion in question was a different individual.
In my case, if I do not pay, matters could proceed in one of two ways: ACPOA get my details from the DVLA, send letters, but in the end take no other action; or, they pursue a civil case to recover their costs (which must be reasonable) in the courts.
AFAIK, there are no examples of the second scenario so far.
I am contemplating the (arguably unlikely) second scenario. If things do go down this route, then I'm wondering whether any earlier lack of response from me (asserting my purchase of a ticket as evidence of my good faith and blaming insufficient signage) might do my case some harm.
Or, to put it another way, why shouldn't I point out these things now, stating my unwillingness to pay and refuse to respond to any further communication? They will establish my name and address from the DVLA anyway.
Last edited by: FocalPoint on Wed 12 Dec 12 at 10:38
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>> ACPOA get my details from the DVLA,
Assuming they're still allowed to and not under a ban at present:
tinyurl.com/d5dafen
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>>Or, to put it another way, why shouldn't I point out these things now, stating my unwillingness to pay and refuse to respond to any further communication? They will establish my name and address from the DVLA anyway.
Same reason you should never click the "unsubscribe" link on spam emails.
It confirms that the details they have are vaild, that there's someone there to talk to and in this case, worth sueing.
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>> and in this case, worth suing.
>>
Not cost effective, there are plenty who are frightened into paying up.
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"Same reason you should never click the "unsubscribe" link on spam emails.
It confirms that the details they have are vaild, that there's someone there to talk to and in this case, worth sueing."
Point taken, though on Pepipoo it is pointed out that if you appeal it costs the parking company money; that it is an attractive thought. That, and other advice to be found here:
tinyurl.com/cpld2yj
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Parking ticket - ACPOA - Meldrew
