Request for advice

[Virgil]

I have been asked to assist with a PCN received in a private car park.
This car park is shared by Social Services, an NHS Dental Surgery and at least one commercial company.
There is lettering over the entrance saying "Private car park" that to my certain knowledge has been in place for over a decade.
Until recently various bays were signed "reserved for xxx" or "please park in allocated bays" so that, for example, dental patients didn't obstruct visitors to the other companies and vice versa. The car park used to be regularly jammed full.

Now that most occupants of the buildings have moved out, the car park is less than 20% full. I understand that enforcement commenced a couple of months ago.

I have visited and photographed the new signs erected.
I don't know how much a reasonable person is expected to wade through before being allowed to "give up" and disregard a notice but the first offence warned about is "parking in an unauthorised manner" which is exceedingly vague, the second is "failing to display a valid tax disc" with is rather moot given that they are no longer issued and in any event I would assume only the DVLA could impose a penalty in regards to this (and it would surely not apply somewhere that is not a public road?) and it is only by persisting beyond notices that are about as relevant as "here be dragons" on a medieval map that we get to something enforced "parking without a valid permit".

As there are only a couple of days left before the "grace period" expire, if the ticket is ultimately enforceable then I think they would rather pay. If on the other hand the approach of "no contract" can be taken with certainty that there will be no costs of the ticket, debt collectors and the like then clear advice would be appreciated as to when this should be done and how (with suggested wording etc). Given the current state of court cases (Beavis etc) I am not sure where the recipient stands.

I will try and upload a copy of the sign and PCN but at present the server is not letting me.

Thank you in advance
V

[BGB]

Private tickets are unenforceable.  If your friend can before the deadline for appealing to the parking company then appeal. It can be anything, such as "the charge is unfair, does not represent a genuine pre-estimate of loss, is not proportionate or commercially justified".

The aim is not to get it cancelled at this stage, as it will not be, but to get a POPLA code.  With this and NoToMob support a win for your friend is almost garaunteed.

[DastardlyDick]

Which Parking Company is it? Some are more willing to "do" County Court than others.

[Ewan Hoosami]

I'm a little late to the party but as BGB says, your friend should not pay this. If the appeal has not yet been submitted, then concentrate on submitting it from a third person perspective. e.g. "Neither the driver nor the registered keeper were aware of any restrictions at the time of the parking event. You must now cancel the parking charge or supply a valid POPLA code by return."

Never communicate with weasels in first person. If a registered keeper says something along the lines of, "When I parked…………" or "I was only parked………..", he or she has admitted to being the driver and therefore weakened their position.

If your friend has only a windscreen ticket then wait for the notice to keeper before responding.

Going solely on the small amount of info in your post, I see an immediate challenge in that there was no entrance signage to alert users of terms and conditions.
3JD00565 ParkingEye v Rogers (Colchester, 6/12/13). The judge ruled the lack of entrance signage meant no contract was in place and dismissed the case.

M'self and m'learned mates will have plenty more for you once we have seen the sPeCulative iNvoice and shitty signage. (it's always shitty). If you are still struggling to upload, try a hosting site and linking to it.

http://tinypic.com

[Virgil]

Pictures! (With apologies for the delay)
As I mentioned above, the notice does seem to assume the right to "fine" for things that I believe are reserved for the DVLA to enforce.

[BGB]

This mob appear to be a bunch of ex-clampers who are not in an Approved Trade Association. 

Note that the person issuing the ticket is apparently a Director of the company. 

https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/martin-allsopp/b6/19a/1b7

If you have not provider any driver/keeper details then do NOT do so.  They cannot get them from DVLA.

[Ewan Hoosami]

This is indeed a one man weasel band ex-clamper knuckle dragging buffoon shyster scumbag. As BGB says, he is not in a weasel club so my advice previously stands to wait for a NTK.

BGB is of the opinion that it will not arrive but I have long suspected that some of these shysters get details via the back door. The payment details on the speculative invoice are via paymypcn.net which is a trading style of SolutionLabs Ltd. These weasels provide a weasel outsourcing service and are members of The IPC. We shall now await the passage of time.

Don't be alarmed as there are now several grounds on which to refute the sPeCulative iNvoice (should it arrive).