Private Parking Ticket

A question about : Private Parking Ticket

On Saturday, whilst at the match, my car received a parking ticket from a private company called County Parking. It was parked on private land that is a small industrial unit, totally unoccupied on a Saturday afternoon. At the time of parking there, the driver looked for signs but didn't see any. The driver noticed that some parking bays were marked as 'private' so chose one that wasn't.

Driver returned to the car 2.5 hours later to find the ticket. It was then that the driver noticed a sign high up on a wall above the car, so high that you had to crane your neck to see it and the text was not fully legible to the driver.

I have seen snippets on here and large articles on Pepipoo.com that suggest I, as the RK shoudn't pay. I am a little nervous about just ignoring the ticket.Does anyone out there have actual experience of doing just that? Can anyone sum up for me in simple easy to read terms what procedure I should follow and back that advice with a case study?

Any help gratefully received.
Thank you

Best answers:

• When you ignore it they send more letters. Eventually, you may find one coming from the county court and/or bailiffs.
• Thanks to all. I am still waiting to see if anyone on here has actual experience of the situation I am in.
• You'd be better asking if anyone has ever heard of a private car parking company taking anyone to court. Nobody I've spoken to has.
• Bargepole has an important point, don't on a public forum, admit to getting a parking ticket , that you were the driver, (disclaimer: I'm not saying the OP has done this, just warning him and everyone else, never to do it) and be careful about naming the company that issued the ticket (they use google too).
  In your case, the basic defence is never reply to any of their letters. If they ever decide to take you to court, the court will write to you to let you know. Obviously if that happens it is time to take action. And never tell them you were driving or the name of the person who was driving.
  What you could/should do now, is return to the area, and take photographs of the entrance to the private land, of the route you took, and of the parking space (to show on photo that the signs are not visible) then photo the sign as it appears high up and thus showing it to be easily missed. Keep the photos for a rainy day, incase they take you to court in the next 6 years.
  There is a case of Vine v Waltham forest. Which held that the driver has to see and understand the signs for there to be a contract made. So by the sounds of it you have a good chance of a win if they do take you to court. In court they would first have to prove that you were the driver (internet threads like this one can contain information to support that). Having done that they would have to show that you could not have missed the sign(s) and that the wording was clear (to you). They would then have to show that the ticket was lawful and did not amount to a penalty, and legitimately was only to cover their costs.
  BTW, I heard that in order for a company to get your details from an internet post they would first have to ask the forum host for the IP address, then ask the Internet service supplier to identify you. Both of whom should refuse and demand a court order, that forces them to release the information. I heard the court order has to come from the high court. So Bargepole's story about a PCC getting an award of Ј150 would suggest the PCC would have lost a lot of money in the process to get that Ј150 award, hardly worth it.
• Wig; Bargepole's story says that the defendant, Mrs Hetherington-Jakeman, was awarded the Ј150, not Excel.
• I got your stories mixed up. After reading the 2nd story again, I see they only printed off the forum thread, and did not have ISP evidence.
  If there is enough information in the posts & username then they could just print off the thread, and present it as evidence to identify the driver up to the judge to decide if there is enough evidence.