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Parked in a taxi bay in Tesco and received a fine from a private parking company, UK Parking Control
I parked in a taxi bay in a Tesco car park which was poorly marked and only indicated by a very small sign on a wall which I did not see. I received a ticket from UK Parking Control. Am I compelled to pay this by law and how much will the fine be?
You have committed no offence and UK Parking Control will attempt to enforce their invoice under contract law, so say enforced by their signage which should detail their conditions of parking and be prominently displayed.
Enforcement is only possible through the County Court but the reality is that invoices at these levels (£40-£70 is normal, increasing by around £50 for every letter they send you) is not cost effective and they instead will send endless debt collectors letters threatening "imminent" action. This can be extremely irritating. Under no circumstances should you get involved in their "appeals" process as these are largely a sham - comprising a person from UK Parking Control deciding whether you should pay UKPC money.
Instead you should either resolutlely refuse to respond whatever letter they send you -- they will give up in the end -- or use the Roadside Lawyer's private parking ticket service whereby a solicitor will deal with them on your behalf.
Full details are available at:
http://www.roadsidelawyer.co.uk/parking
