Wednesday, March 01, 2006

BBC Watchdog now on the case of private parking scam companies

BBC WATCHDOG
28 February 2006
UK Parking Control Ltd


Text from the Watchdog website;

Parking is becoming a much cleaner business. Private parking enforcers are moving away from clamping. Instead they're using modern technology.
We received complaints about a company called UK Parking Control Ltd (UKPC) of Uxbridge, Middlesex. The directors previously ran Denver Security Services Ltd, a company offering clamping services. UKPC is hired by private landowners to manage parking. They no longer clamp, they just issue tickets.
See the complete story here

Thanks to
http://www.parking-ripoff.co.uk/

16 comments:

Kelly said...

This company runs the our local surgery car park. There are signs all over it stating that by parking you agree to pay £170. The surgery states that if you have an appointment you can register your vehicle and you don't have to pay the charge.
When we registered our car the woman in front was bemoaning the fact that she'd had to pay them some money as 'she'd forgot to press enter on the terminal when she logged her car'. We were extra careful entering our details and the machine confirmed we were registered. Surprise, surprise - two weeks later we got a charge from this company. We're writing back to appeal but I'd be interested to see what happens. I wouldn't be surprised if this company tries it on as some people will just pay up.

Anonymous said...

i got a ticket for no reason. i wasnt parked unauthorised nor did they tick a box indicating an offence, i have appealed twice now asking what i have done wrong and failed to recieve a reply!! my costs are going up every 14 days moral is find the attendant coz u wont get no joy in writing!!

Anonymous said...

UK Parking Control Ltd. Wrongly issued me a fine for parking in a private parking space solely for the use of customers entering that specific store. I went into that store did not make a purchase got back into my vehicle and then left premises. Only to find that I was issued a parking fine. When I went back to the store the owner who I had initially spoken to in person when I first visited their premises. Said I remember you parking your car here but do not recall you coming into my store.

My fines are increasing I complied with regulations and still I get penalised.

Anonymous said...

I have paid my parking fine. I was issued two tickets for the same fine. They are hounding me to pay twice for the same parking offence.
They have ignored my letter also.
What do I have to do to get through to them? They are now threatening me with legal action.

Unknown said...

i got a ticket from ukpc parking control at aston moss but i did not recive a letter within 38 days then i got a letter after that and it said my paring ticket had gone up (its a scam other people have recived this)
any comments email me ethirebratt@yahoo.co.uk

Anonymous said...

I see that UK Parking Control are no taking the opportunity to rip of customers at a retail park in Galashiels in Scotland, they have been invited there by B&Q.
Several complaints have been made on behalf of victims by the local SMP. The MP has also tried to get a resopnce from them and gets no reply. They also pointed out that the DVLA have been happy to hand over what you would thin was private information to this scum!
Well Done B&Q...you sure score high employing this sort of muggers...may be they should send the store security into the carparks!

Anonymous said...

I worked for this company and yes there are a joke making people redunant when tickets start to fall.People should stand together and fight back its all about money and nothing else.

Good luck everyone........

Unknown said...

Vehicle not displaying valid permit. Brunel University,12.06 23/feb/2010. Unfortunately for them my car was 250 miles away at this time! Picture had unreadable number plate, and despite only black & white photo car was wrong colour! They are guilty of attempted theft by deception.

Unknown said...

I just received a fine from them for parking without a valid permit. However I have taken a picture of the parking bay to demonstrate the large 'V' painted on the floor indicating a visitors bays. I used there online appeals which said that appeals are responded to in writing within 5 days. No response was received and now they are threatening debt collection. These people need to be stopped as i am sure that many poeple pay the bill out of fear. This is no more then robbery. Why should they get rich out of ripping people off when the rest of us try hard to make an honest living.

Anonymous said...

I got a ticket a few months back parking on a grass area down a private round, there was no parking and others also parked on the grass. There was no signs stating the fact and the grass was damageed over the years of period of use. they wanted me to pay £35 for illegel parking, i knew none the wiser and payed up, if i knew not to pay the money thieving gits i woundn't off.

Anonymous said...

Signs from this company have just appeared near our property. We live in a small newbuild development and have done for a year and had no issues with parking. Now signs have appeared states £90 fines will be issued for anyone parking without a permit or in a bay. We have not been issued with permits or letter notifying us of this change. Who would have employed this company as we live on private property

Anonymous said...

it's well worth researching the allegations that they have made against you. Ultimately as it is private property, all they can do is to sue you for their loss, as a result of improper parking if that's what they are claiming your offense to be.

The sum total of that would probably be, say, £2.50 per hour. Hardly a sum worth going to court for.

Furthermore, they can't claim costs against you because in the small claims court such costs aren't awarded against such small sums.

So the total that they could sue you for would be about £5. Maybe you could offer to settle out of court for said sum.

It is worth remembering that parking on yellow lines does not constitute illegal parking on private land.

Anonymous said...

I dont own a car it wasnt my vehicle which recieved a parking ticket yet UK Parking Control Ltd keep sending me threatening letters to pay the fine! I find in unbelievable they cannot go via the DVLA, as the promote on their poster, to trace the owner.

Anonymous said...

I visited Curry-PC World Mega Store, Dudley yesterday with my Registered Blind Friend, to Purchase an I.Pod, this we did at a price of £287.64p.

As my Registered Blind Friend,usually never leaves home , he usually buys such items from Amazon.com, and it was only because we happened to be travelling past Curry-PC World Mega Store, that we happened to go in, to compare prices, My Blind friend was reluctant to visit the store, as we were on route to Birmingham, New Street, so that I could make arrangement with the railway Porters to put him on the train, to return to his home in North Wales.

As the stores car park was empty, at the Curry-PC World Mega Store,in Dudley I parked as close to the entrance doors as possible, this was because he is Blind, we used a disabled space for that reason, My friend has his blue badge, but this was not displayed as we were in the private car park of Curry-PC World Mega Store, not on the Public Highway.

We both went in, met Luke,Currys saleman, he sold us an I.Pod and adjusted the price lower to match the price we could have purchased this from on Amazon, final price paid £287.64p.


We departed with our purchase and was about to drive off, for Birmingham New Street, when my friend suggested we should buy an adaptor for the car, to connect this I.Pod to the in car entertainment Centre, if we had departed, this incident would not have occurred, however we went back into the store, at this stage we are now existing purchasers and customers, we spoke to Luke once again, and asked him to come and look at our car to see if there was a device we could purchase from him.

When we went out to our car, the Parking Warden had put a Fine Ticket on the Window screen, the Parking Warden was aware that we were customers at Curry-PC World Mega Store, we were with one of their salesmen, Luke.

We were unaware that we needed to show the Blue badge, in Curry-PC World Mega Store car park, we went back in to the store, needless to say Curry-PC World Mega Store, lost a £58 sale for the device for our car, following this incident, we were quite upset, we got in to our car and drove to Birmingham New Street, I saw the Railway staff who took over the care of my Blind friend, from myself, and I departed to drive to my home in the South.

The fine in a yellow plastic envelope , fixed to the car window screen looks like the ones issued by a Parking Warden, under the Road Traffic Acts.

We saw no warning parking signs in Currys car park, if we had, most likely we would not have stopped.

All I can say is that we must spread the word, companies who operate retail stores who are engaging these Parking wardens,should be boycot, pressurise MPs and local councilors, I have written to UKPC and submitted my Blind friends blue badge, if they do not cancell the fines and cahse me, I will consider an harrasment action against UKPC.

I am pleased we have a blog like this,and if I can support anyone else being persecuted by these bully tactics, I will be pleased to do anything that I can.

Davlyn said...

I have just received a parking ticket today 3/12/11 from UKPC having parked on a spare piece of pavement whilst shopping at the Metrocentre, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear. There was absolutely no parking spaces anywhere, due to everyone Christmas shopping. The ticket stated I was not parked within the white bay markings which was completely true, I was parked on the pavement - someone drove off it and I drove onto it. UKPC have as much chance of me paying the fine as a big pink pig floating across my car windscreen. My sister and niece have receive tickets from UKPC on many occasions over the years and after the initial one was issued to my niece (coincidentally around the Christmas shopping period), she researched the private parking fine phenomenon and realised that they were illegal and un-enforceable. She has received a total of 4 tickets (so far!) and my sister 3 tickets, neither of them have paid the fines and they were never contacted any further by UKPC. I fully intend to follow suit. DO NOT PAY THESE PARASITES, USE PEOPLE POWER. IF NO ONE PAYS THEY WILL GO OUT OF BUSINESS. THINK PEOPLE, THINK.

Anonymous said...

I just received probably the fourth letter i have had from ukpc after receiving a ticket from a retail park in aylesbury. Never had to display a ticket when visiting wickes before, so never even registered the signs and 10 mins later had a ticket for not displaying a ticket that is free and 'allows' free parking. Why would any reasonable person who knew about the system not display a ticket?!? Anyway am now receiving letters from Debt Recovery Plus Ltd who are threatening to issue county court proceedings. Based on all the online advice i'm just ignoring all correspondence.

Blog Archive


only search Neil Herron Blog