APCOA Parking Ticket Help

[Doc883]

The wife received a parking ticket (parking enforcement notice) at the Livingston Designer Outlet in March for parking outwith her designated bay (due to the car next to her doing the same hence a knock on effect down the line. Land Securities lease the land from the council and operate a free car parking service. The car is registered in my name and I wasn't with her at the time. After some t'internet research the weight of opinion prompted my decision to ignore them. This was based on a similar case I researched which went along the lines of no Scottish trespass law, no procedure whereby any privately owned parking control company may lawfully impose penalty charges upon any vehicle owner parked in private property and the fact they have no powers under any Road Traffic legislation to force a vehicle owner to declare who was driving at the time.
I have so far had 2 letters with the 2nd threatening to pass the case to their lawyers although neither letter was sent registered or recorded delivery.
I'm tempted to re-hash a parking rebutal letter detailing the above in more detail and tell them where to get off or should I continue to ignore being as they have no proof I received either the ticket or any reminder or the threatening letter.
Anybody had a similar scenario or any Scots Legal experts able to offer advice

[ikarl]

I would ignore but best bet would be to post your question on Pepipoo,.... it is a forum that helps with speeding and parking offences etc

[tut]

Had one for a Supermarket at Xmas, ignored it and never heard anything.

tut

[BiggestNizzy]

As you said there is nothing they can do, I would ignore it.

[philthy]

ignore completely, make no contact with the company.

Myself and laura have racked up a fair few of these and never had any comeback from filing them in the bin.

[ABZ-Elise]

I've never had a parking ticket stuck to my window, someone else must have removed them before I get to my car ...thats my excuse anyway.

[Doc883]

I would ignore but best bet would be to post your question on Pepipoo,.... it is a forum that helps with speeding and parking offences etc

Just checked on Pepipoo so cheers for the heads up
The debt collection company Roxburghe and their purported Solicitors Graham White have their own topic on the forum. Looks like a call centre operation with a single solicitor namely "Michael Sobell" who works for Hackney Council Housing Department, work that one out. Quite a reputation for issuing a string of letters, final demands and threats of court action. The wife is a little troubled by it all but as far as I'm concerned I'm not going to engage in any contact so they can sook my plums

[j2 lot]

Thats the spirit

[BiggestNizzy]

Quite a reputation for issuing a string of letters, final demands and threats of court action. The wife is a little troubled by it all

That is how they work x% will know the law and not pay but the rest will pay up as long as more people are paying than it is costing they make money and will continue to keep doing it.

[tut]

In the old days we would have shot them, but tis not PC anymore.

tut

[cla5h]

I think I remember reading that in theory it could go to court, but the company could seek damages only for any loss they'd suffered, i.e. the loss incurred by being unable to rent that parking space for the duration of your stay.
In the majority of cases this 'loss' is going to be negligible, and nowhere near the fixed penalty.

Not sure if this was under English law or if it also applied up here.

[mwmackenzie]

I think I remember reading that in theory it could go to court, but the company could seek damages only for any loss they'd suffered, i.e. the loss incurred by being unable to rent that parking space for the duration of your stay.
In the majority of cases this 'loss' is going to be negligible, and nowhere near the fixed penalty.

Not sure if this was under English law or if it also applied up here.

Hehehehe.. not much loss on a free parking space

[kevham]

Land Securities lease the land from the council and operate a free car parking service.

Just a minor correction - Land Securities own the land. The council has no interest/control over it. APCOA were employed to enforce the new charges that Land Sec were planning on introducing before the recession. Those charges seem to be on hold indefinitely.

My understanding is that they could, in theory, take the driver to court for breach of contract as they probably have their terms and conditions displayed somewhere. However, as has already been pointed out, they don't need to because plenty of folk are mug enough to pay up. I doubt whether they would be succesful in a civil prosecution anyway because they cannot force you to reveal who the driver was and they almost certainly cannot prove it. The whole activity is unregulated and IMHO verging on extortion.

Of course, in a publicly owned car-park with an off-street car parks Order made under the Road Traffic Regulation Act, it's a different matter (but no car parks in Livingston are currently subject to such an Order.)

[token]

PM sent

Brian

[pete]

ignore completely, make no contact with the company.

Myself and laura have racked up a fair few of these and never had any comeback from filing them in the bin.

I followed this advice and haven't heard 'owt for a year or so. My oh my the letters do get angry after a while though, ignore consumer direct on this one though they seem to take more of a moral stand rather than a legal one.