Parking Fine

[AdidasDublin]

My girlfriend visited a local shopping centre today and inadvertently parked in a disabled bay. The aforementioned parking bay was covering thick in snow and due to this she did not see the disabled parking sign on the floor.

My girlfriend explained she did not see the sign due to the snow to the information desk but they werent interested, they said she would have to pay the £50 fine

Now my question is: Can a private car park fine you for parking? Can they trace you via your registration details on your car as i thought only the police and civil law enforcers could do this? Does she have to pay this fine?

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Pedantic point:
It's not actually a fine; it's a 'civil penalty charge'.

By parking your vehicle on a private car park you're entering into a contract with the operator of that car park in respect of any charges for parking which are clearly displayed. If you park in an area (or for a period of time) where (or when) you should reasonably have expected to have to pay a charge, the car park operator can take you to court, if necessary, to obtain payment.

DVLA is permitted to release details of the vehicle's registered keeper under such circumstances:
http://www.direct.gov...ourVehicle/DG_4022066

[Buenchico]

There are plenty of websites which will try to tell you that such penalty charges are not enforceable but some people have found, to their cost, that they are:
http://www.rochdaleon...alty-in-landmark-case

However it should be noted that car park operators can only pursue the DRIVER of a vehicle for payment of the charge, whereas the information supplied by DVLA relates to the REGISTERED KEEPER of the vehicle. (Unlike, say, speeding fines there is no obligation upon the registered keeper to reveal who was actually driving the vehicle). Some people maintain that it's possible to avoid payment of such charges by simply stating that someone else was driving the vehicle. (Whether that would work or not would, if the case came to court, depend upon whether the court believed - on the balance of probabilities - that your statement was true).

You MIGHT also be able to contest the charge on the grounds that the 'disabled parking' markings were obscured but a court might rule that (given the presence of signs warning about parking charges) your girlfriend should have taken greater care to check where she was parking.

Chris

[Purple_Popple]

Any 'private' car park can put up any signs they wish. As for not seeing a disabled sign on the floor as it was covered, were there no signs on the wall to also alert you to the fact that these parking spaces were for disabled drivers only ? You could try to contest it as if there were no other signs then you may have a chance..it is a similar scenario to people who get clamped willy nilly on private roads etc....hard to prove that they are in the wrong I guess, but fight it....good luck. Of course you can be traced by police etc from your registration plate, that is why so many drivers get 'done' for lack of tax etc simply by a policeman using a hand held device.

[NazNomad]

I parked a Land Rover in the centre of a car-park flooded with about 10'' of water. Nearest dry 'useable' space was 50 yds away.

When I got back, there was a warning-ticket stating I was ''parked outside the lines''.

He got the ''are you taking the pish?'' speech, lol

[Whickerman]

There are very active columns in the Sunday Times InGear mag on this issue, and they do state that if you declare you weren't the driver it cannot be enforced (you are under no obligation to tell a private company who was the driver). Also it's a civil matter rather than any criminal matter. Do heed Chris' posts above though.

[New Judge]

Yes, the advice given in some quarters is misleading. Simply declaring you were not the driver will not necessarily succeed. If you want to run the defence that you were not the driver you will have to give evidence (under oath) to that effect. You will then be liable to cross examination and you may be asked such things as “Were you the driver?” “How many people are insured to drive your car?” Of course you do not have to answer but, as in a criminal matter, the court can draw such inferences as it sees fit from your refusal to do so. In addition the burden of proof in the County Court is quite low. The plaintiff (the parking company) has to prove the matter “on the balance of probabilities”. That is it has to be more likely (50.1%) than not.

The forums that suggest it is easy to avoid the charges either by ignoring the correspondence or running the “Not the driver” defence are deluding their correspondents. These parking concerns are usually large organisations and they will not allow it to be known that they will not enforce their charges at the first sign of resistance, as the Rochdale case demonstrates. You could end up with a CCJ against you and that will cause you a load of hassle when you apply for many financial services.

[north star]

reasons for not paying are here

http://forums.pepipoo...f0b2684d&showforum=30

Plus, see the 'Watchdog' clip here

http://forums.pepipoo...x.php?showtopic=51193