grmc

And by private, I mean NOT a council issued or police issued ticket.

If you have, would you do a mate of mine a huge favour and complete this VERY short survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/3KX2TFJ

It takes less than a minute, there is no personal information required and it will help him with his dissertation research.

Thanks!

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Done, and I wasn't if you see what I mean !

dunx

Turbotits

iTrader: (2)

Im still getting letters for one lol from mcdonalds which ive chosen to just ignore

grmc

And also to those of you who have contributed so far; I see the survey counter is going up!

I knew I could rely on the guys at scoobynet.com to help a buddy out!

Graham

grmc

Yes, Turbotits, possibly a wise move.

However, whereas most of them are not enforceable, it really does depend on the circumstances.

The cowboys won't ever resort to a court summons - they'll threaten it, and all sorts of other stuff, but never carry the threats out.

However, if the operator decides to push it to a court summons then it's generally because they have a good legal case. More and more cases are being lost by motorists as time goes on.

I guess the simple answer is "don't park where you shouldn't"

Turbotits

iTrader: (2)

Have to say i agree

Although in my case i was on a break at work and had eatern there, then happened to fall a sleep in the sun while watching the world go by and overstayed my 55mins lol

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Done. Can we see the results?

TX.

PS

I park in same place every day & don't buy a ticket. Every now & then I get a parking ticket. I ignore it. I get 4 letters, always the same every time. I now have about 20 x 4 sets of letters over a period of 2.5yrs

grmc

Thanks guys for the boost to the reviews - I think around 60 of you have completed the survey so far, boosting the total to over 100. My buddy is overwhelmed and appreciates your continued support.

I will post the final results here as soon as the survey finishes. However, it's looking so far like a fairly consistent 60% of people pay up for fear of reprisals, although of those refusing to pay, not a single one has seen a court summons.

My friend and I are both in the final stages of our law degrees and it's interesting how companies lie and deceive people to get their own way - not just in cases of car parking, but also where your consumer rights are concerned.

Many of you here spend £1000s extra on parts for your cars, but will humbly accept the typical wriggle of "oh, it's out of warranty" when your expensive component breaks on day 366. What you probably don't know, is that the Sale of Goods Act protects buyers (in Britain only - sorry to everyone else) for as long as a JUDGE thinks the part should work for. There have been cases of the courts forcing replacements of TVs six years after purchase. SoGA also makes all that money you spend on "extended warranties" literally money for absolutely nothing - you already have that protection in law.

You have more rights than you are probably aware of, yet if you don't stand up and ask for them to be applied, the chances are they never will be....

dunx

iTrader: (3)

In my case I didn't drive my car in, but did drive it out. Several minutes too late ! Their own video would merely confirm this fact, so I ignored it. The last contact after six months "trying" was at Xmas 2009.

So the contract was with the driver, not the owner.

Sod 'em.

dunx

grmc

True, the contract is indeed with the driver and not the owner.

The problem is, the person who intends to sue for the breach of contract can have the owner of the car forced by the courts to disclose the details of the driver at the time. It's called a Norwich Pharmacal order (after the first instance of its use) and its very powerful.

It's legal, and if ignored by the owner of the vehicle it can prove VERY costly for him/her.

So, it's sort of like the equivalent of the Hobson's choice the new road traffic act amendments give you when your car has been spotted by a camera. Admit it, snitch, or suffer an even worse fate.

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

Done. Well my wife was in Sainsbury's carpark in Brighton. Ignored all correspondence and after a while the threatening letters stopped coming