I'm doing research for a dissertation about the private parking industry and wondered if any of you have ever received a ticket from a private parking company [i.e. not council or police ones]? By 'ticket' I mean something that's either stuck on the car window, and/or letters that arrive afterwards asking for payment.
If so, would you be so kind as to spend around 1 minute doing my quick survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3KX2TFJ
It's totally anonymous and doesn't ask for or store any personal details. It's really to get an idea of how the public respond to these things.
Many thanks! (and thanks to Gavin for letting me post this)
Have you ever received a Private Parking Ticket?
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Dr Lobster*
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- Joined: Sat 30 Aug, 2003 20.14
i have never had a private parking ticket, but for what it's worth to you... i wouldn't pay it and i'd ignore any correspondence received. my brother in law got a private parking ticket when his overstayed in a hospital car park when his son was born - they do go give up eventually harassing you eventually, although the letters he had were very naughty and looked like they were from the council (think they were termed 'county enforcement notice').
i remember there was a private parking company sticking tickets on cars where it thought the owners were trying to scab some free parking in the local retail park and walk into town. far enough, but the retail park is quite large and spans several over roads so although you can be seen walking towards town you could quite legitimately be visiting another area of the retail park (with parking enforced by the same company, btw).
there were several people in the paper saying how it was so unfair they had a £100 parking charge... but why the feck did they pay it? i wouldn't.
i also remember reading about a guy who had to pay about £300 to have his car unclamped... it would surely be cheaper to cut the lock on the clamp and pay for a new lock than pay the "fine"?
i remember there was a private parking company sticking tickets on cars where it thought the owners were trying to scab some free parking in the local retail park and walk into town. far enough, but the retail park is quite large and spans several over roads so although you can be seen walking towards town you could quite legitimately be visiting another area of the retail park (with parking enforced by the same company, btw).
there were several people in the paper saying how it was so unfair they had a £100 parking charge... but why the feck did they pay it? i wouldn't.
i also remember reading about a guy who had to pay about £300 to have his car unclamped... it would surely be cheaper to cut the lock on the clamp and pay for a new lock than pay the "fine"?
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I think private parking enforcement in general is a very questionable thing, arguably it either should not be legal at all, or at the very least should be very strictly regulated.
Being that council-employed traffic wardens (sorry, 'civil enforcement officers') allready issue some extremely dubious tickets where procedure isn't followed and laws get ignored, I can't see why it should be legal for some pikey in an Astra van with a couple of clamps he's bought off ebay to start his own clamping business where he goes around clamping cars (and sometimes towing away and impounding them), only releasing them after payment according to a tarrif which has been plucked out of the air and seemingly where there is no proper appeals process.
With public parking enforcement, pretty much every penalty is a ticket, clamps are only very rarely used (usually for things like expired tax disks). Clamping is only so popular in private enforcement because the enforcement company would otherwise never be able to extract any money as they'd never manage to prove in court that it is legitimately owed.
A private parking ticket is unlikely to be worth the paper it's written on - but I'd certainly have a good laugh and send them some strongly-worded letters asking them to prove the penalty is owed and watch the scare-machine of nasty letters get sent to you - probably more fun than writing to debt collectors or TV Licencing!
Being that council-employed traffic wardens (sorry, 'civil enforcement officers') allready issue some extremely dubious tickets where procedure isn't followed and laws get ignored, I can't see why it should be legal for some pikey in an Astra van with a couple of clamps he's bought off ebay to start his own clamping business where he goes around clamping cars (and sometimes towing away and impounding them), only releasing them after payment according to a tarrif which has been plucked out of the air and seemingly where there is no proper appeals process.
With public parking enforcement, pretty much every penalty is a ticket, clamps are only very rarely used (usually for things like expired tax disks). Clamping is only so popular in private enforcement because the enforcement company would otherwise never be able to extract any money as they'd never manage to prove in court that it is legitimately owed.
A private parking ticket is unlikely to be worth the paper it's written on - but I'd certainly have a good laugh and send them some strongly-worded letters asking them to prove the penalty is owed and watch the scare-machine of nasty letters get sent to you - probably more fun than writing to debt collectors or TV Licencing!
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Gavin Scott
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I wonder how different the law is in Scotland with regard to this.
Wheel clamps are outlawed here (although I've seen a couple of them - but only when the police tow a vehicle on a flat-bed); so I suspect private parking ticketing is similarly different.
That said, the private car park to the rear of my office is run by "Town and Country Parking" and its patrolled regularly.
They have ticketed several cars belonging to staff and clients, even where I have furnished them with the relevant permit to display on their dashboard. Every time this has happened I have challenged the ticket by letter and had the penalty charge rescinded.
So I answered the questionnaire as "no, I haven't paid a ticket I have received", although I wasn't able to qualify that decision in the web form.
I've also successfully argued against a number of council tickets for my boss - even in cases where she really shouldn't have gotten away with it; but a well worded letter often goes a long way.
Wheel clamps are outlawed here (although I've seen a couple of them - but only when the police tow a vehicle on a flat-bed); so I suspect private parking ticketing is similarly different.
That said, the private car park to the rear of my office is run by "Town and Country Parking" and its patrolled regularly.
They have ticketed several cars belonging to staff and clients, even where I have furnished them with the relevant permit to display on their dashboard. Every time this has happened I have challenged the ticket by letter and had the penalty charge rescinded.
So I answered the questionnaire as "no, I haven't paid a ticket I have received", although I wasn't able to qualify that decision in the web form.
I've also successfully argued against a number of council tickets for my boss - even in cases where she really shouldn't have gotten away with it; but a well worded letter often goes a long way.
Clamping and demanding a fee for release is classed as "extortion" in Scottish law hence why the only clamps you see are the DVLA ones where they have not paid road tax and are about to be put on a lorry to be crushed. Private parking control is limited to tickets only.
"He has to be larger than bacon"
My understanding is that, and I may well be wrong, if a private parking firm takes you to court they can only claim damages. Which for a parking space would only be a couple of quid rather than the £100 they demand in their letters.
I've never had one of these letters, if I did I'd just ignore it.
I've never had one of these letters, if I did I'd just ignore it.
I actually have received a Private Parking Ticket. It was for a Soliciting comany, where my appiontment ran over, and it wasn't exactly hard to ignore the letters after, as they were very anonomoyous. The solicitors didn't seem to have contact with the company, so there was no problem there.
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Nick Harvey
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You got a parking ticket whilst out soliciting?
Serves you right! Pay it and have done!
Serves you right! Pay it and have done!
Yes, I did actually. Ironically, I was at the Solicitors sorting out an accident where someone clipped the wing mirror on my car. She wanted to make a big scene, I just wanted it to go all away, as she made me put a claim on my insurance.