QUOTE (Kickaha1968 @ Tue, 11 Sep 2012 - 12:41)
Hi - need help urgently please! Thank you very much for reading!
A few days ago I parked in the Leisure Park carpark at Stevenage. (It's located betwen the cinema and the station.)
I've parked there many times before with no problems. But, being a cautious guy, I checked the signs before leaving my car. I could see no mention of car park charges etc, so thoguht I was safe.
I waited at the steps to the station for my friend and then we went to McDonalds (also in the Leisure Park).
Afterwards we returned to the car and found a parking ticket from UKPC, demanding £90 (£60 if paid in 14 days.) It said the ticket issuer had "reasonable cause to believe the vehicle owner had left the site."
I was amazed, and returned to the sign to see that it is, in fact, against the rules to leave the site. I think what happened is that as my car was parked all alone near the station exit, the ticket issuer assumed I had !!!!!!ed off to London for the day or gone into town shopping. (I've parked in the exact same space before with no ticket, but when the car park was much fuller. It seems that the "reasonable cause" depends as much on whether there are other folk using the car park as anything else, lol.)
My first reaction was dismay, as I just don't have that kind of money handy. However, after reading some online forums I have begun to be hopeful I can get out of this ticket. Any advice gratefully received!
(The 14-day period ends on Thursday.)
Is UKPC a provate bunch or somehow affiliated to local authority? Should I pay, or ignore, or appeal?
Extra info which may or may not help my cause if I appeal:
1. The friend I was meeting is an M.E. sufferer, who often, though not always, finds walking quite difficult. This is which is why I parked near the station exit. (In fact the reason we were meeting at all was so that she could pass me all the proof-of documentation for her medical condition, so I could drive it to our university for admin purposes.) As it turned out that day she was having a good day.
2. While we were in McDonalds, we witnessed an assault and I made a 999 call to report it to the police. After doing so, I spoke with the branch manager to give her a heads-up in case she needed to preserve CCTV footage.
3. The ticket itself is a mess. The issuer got the name of the vehicle manufactureer WRONG. Also, the ticket has been misaligned when printed, so that my registration number appears in the DATE box, the maximum parking charge is shown as the lower figure, and the get-off-lightly charge actually has nothing, lol. Significantly, the reference number for the ticket has been superimposed on the title on both the main ticket and the payment stub, making it genuinely unreadable. (Really! I'm not just exaggerating.)
4. I've been to the UKPC website and found it has a rather nifty feature where you can view any photographic evidence they took. I was slightly concerned they might actually have a photo of me with my foot on the wrong side of a line at the base of the station steps, lol.... but the site reports no photo held for my registration number.
5. According to the UKPC website, "Unauthorised or inconsiderate parking, such as misuse of disabled bays, or overstaying the permitted time can cause considerable nuisance to other motorists and can result in economic loss for the land owner. In such instances, private car parking management companies can claim ‘reasonable cause’ and request that we release personal data so that they can trace the keeper of any vehicle contravening the parking restrictions."
It seems to me that as the carpark was deserted I could have gone to Mars and still not be liable to having my details legitimately requested.
Any and all constructive advice much appreciated! Thanks in advance!
I need help - the Facilities Management Company of this site claim that UKPC say the new UKPC signage showing charges of £90 charge and saying you WILL be charged if you leave site at all, have been displayed in the Car Park since August, which is not the case as I read a different sign on both 13th and 15th October. Can anyone else please back me up by saying they have also seen the other signs there more recently please. The one I saw had a Different logo at the top, was smaller than the UKPC ones and did not have charges shown on them and said 'may be liable for a parking fee). Thanks
His email address is: Matthew.Chambers@eu.jll.com