Parking fine in Mac donalds

[bundleone]

My son took his two children to McDonalds on his access day with them,because he stayed longer than 90 minutes he has recieved a £50 fine, they photo you when you arrive and when you leave.He didn't leave the restaurant at all, is this legal?

[ojread2]

is what legal?

How did he take that long to eat his meal?

[boxtops]

of course it is - if he parked for more than 90 minutes, he's over the limit.

[ummmm]

Yes it's legal. Was it one of those with a soft play area?

[TheWinner]

What do you mean? He didn't leave the restaurant? is he hiding in there? I don't understand the question.
Can you be more specific?

[venator]

You can be sure there was a prominently displayed sign somewhere, but it may be worth checking - you could have a chance if not...

[venator]

and furthermore, don't they have kids' parties in some MacDonalds? Surely these take more than 90 minutes?

[TheShakeperian]

It is NOT a fine it is an excess parking charge. The company that issued it can not legally enforce it.
Only a council or local authority issue fines via the magistrates court. These notices are carefully designed to look like a fine but they are not. Just ignore it, they will keep writing and the letters will get quite threatening but as they can not take legal action you should just bin them.

[sir.prize]

bundleone - here's your answer

[TheShakeperian]

Read this by Moneysavingexpert and do as it says BIN IT
http://forums.moneysa...wthread.php?t=1918527

[Buenchico]

TheShakeperian:
When entering a car park a driver automatically enters into a legally binding contract with the operator of that car park which obliges him to pay for parking at the rate displayed on the signs. Failure to pay the bill arising from that contract is just as enforceable through the civil courts as a failure to pay any other bill:
http://www.oldham-chr...alty-just-judge-rules

[TheShakeperian]

Buenchico, play the link posted by sir.prize .

[AlBags]

But it wasn't a parking charge displayed .. was it?
It was an excess of some kind .. a ruddy cheeky kind too.
Do as others have done .. ignore it first .. then write back with a small offer if they pester you again.
The other thing to do is to check to see what's actually displayed (and where) in the car park.

[sir.prize]

Private company Parking Charge Notices are not enforceable by the court.

http://www.chad.co.uk...ines_illegal_1_701811

http://www.thisismone...t-parking-ticket.html

[sir.prize]

PENALTY Charge Notices issued by the Police or Council ARE enforceable and must be paid.

[ubasses]

Telegraph always advise to send a cheque for small amount by way compensation for breach of contract. If they want to take it further they have to take you to court, which they never do as the court would only award a small amount of compensation. You also have the right to dictate tat you want a court local to you and at a time convenient to attend. If they keep harrassing you advise that you will be reporting them to police as they are breaking the law.

This does not work for street or council car parking penalty tickets.

[ojread2]

All these different opinions, links to say pay it, links to say don't - if you want to take the chance of not paying OP (or rather your son) go for it

[TheShakeperian]

There was a case where one of these private parking charge notices was upheld by the county court and damages against the driver were awarded.
As the damages awarded can not be more than the actual amount of cash that the excess parking cost the parking company they were awarded a nominal £1 .
As court fees were over £1500 and had to be paid by the complainant (the parking company) no company is likedly to try it again.

[TheShakeperian]

I actually got one of these for parking in a Hotel car park and yes I did use the Hotel as a customer. I actually asked the company to take me to court as I knew I would have to pay a £1 maximum. I was intending to ask them for evidence and cause as much cost to them as possible, however I never had a reply and never had another letter.

[jno]

and when you've told the parking company where to get off, write McDonald's a stiff letter too, pointing out the folly of threatening to charge their customers £50 for parking.

[New Judge]

As with most matters legal, all cases are subject to individual circumstances. However in general, it is not correct to say these charges are unenforceable. These are not criminal matters but as Chris says they are civil debts and can be dealt with in the County Court.

As I said, all cases are judged individually, but in general the claimant has to show who was driving the car when it was parked (action against the registered keeper if he does not admit to being the driver has been shown to fail) and there is also a requirement to show that the driver knew of the potential charges. In this case, bundleone, it seems that both these conditions have been fulfilled.

The suggestion, AIBags that this was not a charge is probably incorrect. The notices usually say something like “Up to two hours – Free; Over 2 Hours - £80”. As Chris says, when you park you agree to those charges. And if you fail to pay you could face legal action. There will always be instances where all the conditions for enforcement of the debt have not been met and these are often cited as examples where these debts are “not enforceable”. But as the Oldham case shows, parking companies can and do use the courts to recover unpaid fees.