morphy wrote:
Newbie wrote:
Has anyone else been fined for parking at the BP garage at Gatwick.Three of our drivers have.You don't know anything until about two weeks after when you get a nice letter saying you were over the limit of half a hour and must pay £150 quid or £70 if paid within fourteen days.Yes the signs are put up now,but i'm sure when i was parked (after filling up and spending money for a coffee and a bite to eat),they were not there.

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It's the same at heathrow at McDonalds now.Is this a complete rip off or what?????., Where do you park now if you have to wait from a drop off to a pick up........It's getting cheaper to park in the NCP car park rather then risk £150 .
I must be in the wrong trade...i know i'll buy a bit of tarmac at Gatwick and put up a couple off video's and charge you lot £150 a go for daring to park on it...
Also are the car parking charges a rip off,how can you park, find you customer and get back to your car within half a hour?????

you are more likely to cross over to the next price band...

funny that i received a similar ticket, but ive checked my records and im pretty sure i was parked in the overheight section of gatwick south ncp,
ive had problems in the past with my tourneo taxi light being smashed in the normal multi storie so i wont park in there no more.
im awaiting the so called photogaphic evidence so that i can see what the ticket is about before getting any of my cash

Following on from my post earlier today please find enclosed a letter that Ive sent to BP Head Office and the leeches CIVIL ENFORCEMENT LTD apparently the ticket was for me being parked in the bp garage at 3 in the morning even though i purchased refreshments, food etc and then went in the short stay to meet my punters. ive copied most bits from another site (thanks for that).....
Dear Sir/Madam
Please find enclosed a letter that I think is appropiate and is almost legal extortion on behalf of BP, even though I seem to remember purchasing food and refreshments from the station as The only reason I would enter your land is to eat, drink, spend a penny or purchase your Diesel as a last resort if im not any where near another station.
Apart from that I certainly wouldnt bother trying to park on a freebie on your land which I can prove by showing YOU copies of god knows how many short stay NCP parking receipts if necessary.
I can appreciate that you may have a parking problem but I enter your site solely for the purposes mentioned above and dont like receiving intimating letters like this for my trouble.
And based on this I certainly wont be raising your profits any more unless extreme circumstances call for such.
As to why I even have to bother wasting my time I could give you 150 good reasons in fact £150.00 worth to be precise.
Why not Enforce your strict parking regulations if you have any, with an enforcement officer rather than letting a sub contractor whom works for BP try to demand money from paying customers.
Yours Sincerely
Mr G Mxxxxxxxx
Enc
Mr G Mxxxxxxxx
34 XXXXXXXX Road
Email:
john@XXXXXXX.co.ukDear Sir/Madam,
Following legal advice please find enclosed below:
I am writing with reference to PCN number 24xxxxxxxxx which you recently issued directly to my home address without prior warning.
I have since taken legal advice regarding this private PCN and have several legitimate grounds on which to contest its validity. These are outlined as follows:-
The PCN simply states that my vehicle was parked at Gatwick North Connect on the 17/08/2006 from 02:04:25 until 03:07:49. It then states that therefore I am responsible for the payment of this PCN in accordance with the terms and conditions prominently displayed at the entrance and around the car park. There is no statement on the PCN explaining either the terms and conditions I am supposed to have agreed to or in what way I have specifically breached any such terms and conditions. So there appears to be no basis for the charge other than being present at the petrol station between those stated times.
The PCN format itself quite obviously purports to be of an official nature with a misleading title “Civil Enforcement Notice” in bold red font. This document is nothing more than a notice from your company sent unsolicited to my personal address. It is also of a threatening and intimidating nature with comments such as “Failure to pay the amount due within 28 days will result in Civil Enforcement Ltd forwarding your account to a debt recovery agency and you will incur additional costs” written in large capital letters and clearly aimed to cause alarm. It would be interesting to see how the police would view such documentation if I made a complaint of attempted extortion, blackmail and deception.
Your PCN refers to a car park, when in fact I was actually using a petrol station. I think you will agree it is not customary to be charged for parking when using the facilities of a petrol station in a normal manner and I was totally unaware of any of the terms and conditions you say were prominently displayed in the “car park”. I do not recollect any such notices.
Your conduct in this instance is in direct breach of the DVLA code of conduct pertaining to the enforcement of parking restrictions on private land. Specifically, point 3.2 of the code states:- “Notices giving full details of the parking contravention and the proposed course of action to be taken by the enforcer should be placed in a prominent position on the ‘offending’ vehicle without causing it damage. Vehicle keepers should be made aware that their name and address will be requested from the DVLA”. No such notice was ever placed on my vehicle but you clearly obtained my personal details from the DVLA without my prior knowledge in order to send your PCN to my address. Under these circumstances I will consider writing a strong letter of complaint to the DVLA regarding your abuse of this system. If pressed they may decide to withdraw your company’s right to obtain vehicle keeper information.
From a legal standpoint, I understand that private charges can only be based on contract. You will have to prove in court that I agreed to a contract, agreed to park under the terms of the contract, that I agreed to pay a charge if I breached the contract, that I actually did breach the contract and that the charge is both fair and not an unenforceable penalty charge which is not a reasonable estimate of your loss. I deny that such a contract ever existed and I believe this is an unenforcable charge.
I hope you will now agree that not only is this an inappropriate penalty, but you are also in breach of the code of practice as stated by the DVLA. I am sure your company would have due regard for its reputation for operating both ethically and within regulation, particularly as you are effectively representing the interests of a high profile company. I now expect a full written apology and notification in writing that you are going to withdraw your charges with immediate effect.
Your failure to respond appropriately to this letter within the next 7 working days will result in the following actions on my part. I will report your company to the DVLA for your failure to comply with the code of practice. I will report your company and BP to the office of fair trading. I will write a strong letter of complaint to both my local MP and contact the local press. I will write a strong letter of complaint to BP (your client) regarding your conduct and methods used in an unlawful attempt to extract money. I will report this entire incident to the police for nuisance and harassment and for attempting to extract money using threatening documentation purporting to be of an official nature.
You should also take note that further threats for money will most certainly be reported to the police under the protection of harrassment act 1997.
Regards
Mr G MXXXXXXXXX