Board logo

parking ticket from mcdonalds....
richard thomas - 17/1/12 at 04:21 PM

can't believe it...spent an hour and 3/4 in local maccy's with missus drinking coffee and chatting.....parked in the maccy carpark...couple of days later got a letter through the door from UK Parking Control Ltd with pics of car numberplate recognition and in/out times stating that I had overstayed beyong the advertised limit and demanding a £100 fine....which is reduced to £50 if payed within 14 days.....

Anybody had experience of this? I am very reluctant to pay this, not sure what action they might take if i don't...doesn't mention any further action if I don't pay on the letter....


scootz - 17/1/12 at 04:24 PM

I'd bin it... but then again, I'm an argumentative b*****d!


Humbug - 17/1/12 at 04:26 PM

Was there an advertised limit?


richard thomas - 17/1/12 at 04:29 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Humbug
Was there an advertised limit?


I a pretty sure there was, but didn't consider it at the time...wasn't planning on being in there hat long....just happened....didn't pass it a second thought at the time, especially as we were in the establishment....


monkeyarms - 17/1/12 at 04:32 PM

It is an unenforceable invoice. Ignore it and any subsequent letters. Do not telephone or write to them or agents acting for them.

See http://www.pepipoo.com/

[Edited on 17/1/12 by monkeyarms]


paul the 6th - 17/1/12 at 04:41 PM

Do not contact them, do not respond to them, do not pay them, just file the letter away and keep it safe for the next 6 months. They will send follow up letters with extra costs added each time (£25 for a 2nd letter, £45 late payment charge etc) and then you'll start getting letters from a company like roxburghe debt collectors (capital letters in red writing). I think I had around 4 letters from the parking company and 3 'final demand' letters from roxburghe debt collectors threatening that non payment may result in court action...

Then everything stopped.

If it's a police or council parking ticket then you MUST pay it - if it's one of these ridiculous ltd. companies like the one you have mentioned then they can't legally enforce it. I had the same experience with LDK parking & security services limited who manage the car park at Whitby train station (I had paid & displayed but was parked against a kerb instead of in a space) as well as many lidl, McDonald's and business carparks.

If you acknowledge the letters they will know you're reading them and that you're likely to be scared into paying them. If you ignore their letters they eventually give up because they'd have a very hard time arguing their case in court (look for LDK PARKING on the consumer action group website).

[Edited on 17/1/12 by paul the 6th]


owelly - 17/1/12 at 04:42 PM

I've had several letters from a private parking enforcement agency (Parking Eye) and they too sent a letter showing the car going in and out of the car park. After much tweb research, I've decided to ignore the letters.
There's plenty of info but as long as it's not a council owned car park, then the 'penalty' is un-enforcable.
So far, I've had three threatening letters and the 'fine' has gone from £50 up to £100 and they've threatened me with the next step which is a debt collection company. The only person collecting any debt from me will be a bailiff that has been appointed by a court. The Parking Agency can only take me to court to recover the cash value my overstay accrued. As it was a free car park, that's nothing so they'll never take it to court.
I'm sitting tight.


adithorp - 17/1/12 at 04:48 PM

Agree with the above. They can charge you to use the car park on entry or exit, they can clamp you and charge for release, they can remove your car and charge for release... but they can't fine you.


richard thomas - 17/1/12 at 04:50 PM

Thanks for all advice....as it was/is free carpark, I haven't robbed them or caused them to lose revenue so far as i can see....can't see a court of law backing this one.....?


MakeEverything - 17/1/12 at 04:54 PM

quote:
Originally posted by scootz
I'd bin it... but then again, I'm an argumentative b*****d!


+1 (Im saying me too, not i agree with you that you are!!)


MakeEverything - 17/1/12 at 04:56 PM

On another interesting note, how difficult would it be to look up webcams of public areas, and take photos to scam people like this into paying up? Maybe worth reporting them to an ombudsman or the police.


emsfactory - 17/1/12 at 05:05 PM

Just bin it. I had the same from parking eye. After looking on the web I knew what the letters would look like before I got them.
Had 4 in total. Been a year since the last one.


jossey - 17/1/12 at 05:08 PM

quote:
Originally posted by monkeyarms
It is an unenforceable invoice. Ignore it and any subsequent letters. Do not telephone or write to them or agents acting for them.

See http://www.pepipoo.com/

[Edited on 17/1/12 by monkeyarms]


AS ABOVE.

DO NOT SIGN NO NO NO NO


I got one and binned it and then sent a letter saying i wasnt driving see below.....


Reference: {Either your vehicle registration or the letters own reference}


Dear Sirs,


Thank you for your letter dated [DATE OF LETTER], I confirm that I am the registered keeper of the vehicle {YOUR REGISTRATION MARK}.


I respectfully request that you take this matter up with the driver of the vehicle at the time in question.


It is my understanding that I am not obliged to provide driver information to anyone other than the Chief Constable or Cheif officer of Police.


Yours faithfully.


xxxx

[Do not use your usual signature or best of all, only print your name]


Surrey Dave - 17/1/12 at 05:12 PM

Had similar deal with Morrison's , my mumwho's quite old and slow went shopping in Morrison's , it really did take her over 2 hours to do the shopping consequently she recieved a parking ticket through the post.

I called the store manager and explained that she was actually shopping with them at the time and not just using the car park, they obviously had some liason with the parking company and the fine was waived, they said that she should have gone to customer services at the time the parking ran out and notified them that she was still in the store.

If you were genuinely sitting in McD's car park consuming their products I would contact the manager at that branch.


I wouldn't want to wait and worry for months about the outcome.


Proby - 17/1/12 at 05:15 PM

Been there and had it too. From McDonalds and Mrs had one from Tesco (came addressed to me as the cars registered to me). Stick it in a drawer and ignore it. They pestered me for 12 months, then eventually gave up! They can't do jack poo as it's a request/invoice NOT an enforceable fine!


Dazzer - 17/1/12 at 05:34 PM

How do these people get your name and address just from your reg number thought that was only the Police that could get that information.


fesycresy - 17/1/12 at 05:38 PM

An hour and three quarters in Maccy D's ?

You fat fcuker


richard thomas - 17/1/12 at 05:41 PM

quote:
Originally posted by fesycresy
An hour and three quarters in Maccy D's ?

You fat fcuker


Aye!


PSpirine - 17/1/12 at 06:39 PM

Agree with all of the above regarding ignoring the actual Ltd company notice.

However, I personally would go and speak to the Maccy D's branch. They usually have little to nothing to do with the issue of these tickets (the Ltd company collects the CCTV info and issues tickets automatically). Having dealt with McD management in the past, I am fairly certain that they will ensure the "penalty" gets dropped to keep you as a customer.

And you don't need to give out any personal information to have that conversation.

It would save an awful lot of bother and potentially abusive debt collector phone calls. May not matter to you but might upset your missus/kids if they happen to answer the phone.


rb968 - 17/1/12 at 06:47 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Dazzer
How do these people get your name and address just from your reg number thought that was only the Police that could get that information.



I'm afraid the DVLA do a roaring trade on providing your details to such companies or a small fee.

Rich


macc man - 17/1/12 at 07:05 PM

Our local Aldi store has a Parking Eye scheme and there is a sign to advise customers to see the manager if you forget to enter your reg number. This should sort out most of these disputes.


scudderfish - 17/1/12 at 07:10 PM

quote:
Originally posted by PSpirine
Agree with all of the above regarding ignoring the actual Ltd company notice.

However, I personally would go and speak to the Maccy D's branch. They usually have little to nothing to do with the issue of these tickets (the Ltd company collects the CCTV info and issues tickets automatically). Having dealt with McD management in the past, I am fairly certain that they will ensure the "penalty" gets dropped to keep you as a customer.



And you might get a free burger out of it


iank - 17/1/12 at 08:08 PM

quote:
Originally posted by rb968
quote:
Originally posted by Dazzer
How do these people get your name and address just from your reg number thought that was only the Police that could get that information.



I'm afraid the DVLA do a roaring trade on providing your details to such companies or a small fee.

Rich


£2 a shot I believe


rusty nuts - 17/1/12 at 08:34 PM

Get in touch with your local newspaper and give Mcdonalds a bit of bad publicity?


Ninehigh - 17/1/12 at 09:02 PM

quote:
Originally posted by rusty nuts
Get in touch with your local newspaper and give Mcdonalds a bit of bad publicity?


That's been done before, iirc Maccies stated that the fine would be waived as the 2 hour rule was to stop people parking there for a 80p burger then bog off into town all day


iank - 17/1/12 at 09:33 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Ninehigh
quote:
Originally posted by rusty nuts
Get in touch with your local newspaper and give Mcdonalds a bit of bad publicity?


That's been done before, iirc Maccies stated that the fine would be waived as the 2 hour rule was to stop people parking there for a 80p burger then bog off into town all day


Counter productive getting them in the papers as when they waive one it makes other people that see it think they are enforceable. They AREN'T!
They'd (MickyD not the bottom feeding lawyers) would have to take you to court and prove their losses, which on a free car park isn't going to be easy and not close to what it would cost them in lawyers just to issue a writ.


JoelP - 17/1/12 at 10:30 PM

On a similar theme, i recieved a bill from the council for 2 or 300 pounds to remove a load of flytipped rubbish from the front of a house i own, i basically told them i wouldnt pay it until ordered to by a judge, and never heard back from them (2 years now).

You can safely take this approach without fear of a ccj, because if you do lose in court you can pay immediately and not get a ccj on your record.


morcus - 18/1/12 at 04:30 AM

You might find this funny but I seem to be only one from the other side of the fence as I work in management at a McDonalds.

I Don't know anything about what will happen if you don't pay it or any of that side of it but if you were there and you tell the store in question they should just email the parking people and have it cancelled. If your not going to pay it any way you've got nothing to lose from trying.

Most (If not all) McD's Carparks are owned by a different company that sets all this stuff up and all stores should have signs up saying what the terms are and telling you what to do if your in the carpark legitamitly for longer than the time stated.

As someone else has already said, these systems have become popular for a reason, alot of people abusing carparks owned by businesses which has a negative effect on customers and profit. I used to frequently visit a small tesco store in the town that until it got one of these systems always had an empty store and a full carpark because people were parking there and getting the train to london, and In my store we used to frequently have people leave there cars all weekend while they took coaches to Europe, taking away parking when we really need it for our customers. It's not a money making sceme, it probably costs more than they make out of it.

Poeple do frequently stay longer than the set time, all it takes is an email to the company (Our computer has a form letter, so all you need is the reg number, make model and colour entered) and it's all fine and saves all the hassle.

It probably doesn't make the slightest difference, but the specific system has been changed in the south east, I can't speak for other regions, and the company has changed. I doubt this means they'll take a different aproach and start summoning people to court.