A heads up, parking tickets and Bailiffs! - Page 2

Studio25 · 29-05-2009, 00:42

I was parked in Burnley a few weeks ago and saw I had a parking ticket when I came out 15 minutes late to move my car. It was a fair cop- I thought "Oh well, no point shifting it now" and went back to my shooting.

When I came out the ticket had gone. I queried it the following day and sure enough a ticket had been issued. I waited 'til the last minute before paying, as it occurred to me that there's no mechanism in place to protect people from tickets blowing off or being removed maliciously. I was lucky as I'd seen the ticket, briefly. I didn't get anything by post in the two weeks between getting the ticket and paying that told me the ticket had been issued.

It used to say on tickets that it is an offence to interfere with them (probably still does) but that's no good if the offender isn't caught interfering. their guilt transfers to the oblivious parker...

accyman · 29-05-2009, 00:42

personaly i think its disgusting to be charged to park anywhere public , we pay road tax

also toll roads are disgusting and also use of those roads comes under road tax as well as far as im concerned

i believe tickets should be given for parking offences like on yellow lines etc but to cahrge for parking on a public road is ludricous and also if they must fine you they should not be allowed to add charges and involve bailifs

Neil · 29-05-2009, 08:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by accyman

personaly i think its disgusting to be charged to park anywhere public , we pay road tax

also toll roads are disgusting and also use of those roads comes under road tax as well as far as im concerned

i believe tickets should be given for parking offences like on yellow lines etc but to cahrge for parking on a public road is ludricous and also if they must fine you they should not be allowed to add charges and involve bailifs

I agree with not charging to park on the road. I also agree with limited parking times to stop people who work in town parking all day so shoppers can't park for 1/2 an hour. You have to have fines to prevent people from over staying but I do not agree to using bailiffs because of the ridiculous charges they add. The Council should have their own enforcement team to issue and collect these fines and not use private thugs.

MargaretR · 29-05-2009, 10:10

If that bailiff is a registered 'accredited person', he has police powers as shown in the police Reform Act 2002
http://www.acpo.police.uk/asp/polici...20apr%2007.pdf
Page not found | Home Office

The Police Reform Act 2002 (“the Act”) introduced a system whereby persons who are not police officers may exercise certain police powers. Under Section 40 of the Act it is stated that the Chief Officer of any police force may, if considered that it is appropriate to do so (for the purposes set out in Section 40(3) of the Act), establish and maintain a scheme to be known as a “Community Safety Accreditation Scheme”(CSAS).

(1) Any person who assaults: -

(a) a designated person in the execution of their duty,

(b) an accredited person in the execution of their duty, or

(c) a person assisting a designated or accredited person in the execution of their duty, is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on, summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both.

(2) Any person who resists or wilfully obstructs: -

(a) a designated person in the execution of their duty,

(b) an accredited person in the execution of their duty, or

(c) a person assisting a designated or accredited person in the execution of their duty,
is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on, summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale or both.

(3) Any person who with intent to deceive: -

(a) impersonates a designated person or accredited person

(b) makes any statement or does any act calculated falsely to suggest that he is a designated person or accredited person,

(c) makes any statement or does any act calculated falsely to suggest that he has powers as a designated person or accredited person that exceed the powers that he actually has, is guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both.

1984

MargaretR · 29-05-2009, 10:41

It looks as though the links I have given don't work
They were pdf files accessed from the home Office police site after googling
Police Accreditation Scheme
Citizen-Focused Policing | Home Office

The links work in my post in the other thread
http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/f...tml#post717335

derekgas · 29-05-2009, 12:21

Thanks for all that Mattylad and Margaret, I will peruse these later, Studio 25, your post, together with my experience, makes me beleive that they purposely dont inform you, that way the charges automatically increase without your knowledge, and because they dont register the post (even though they charge £11.20 for the letter), they are bound to make more money, Neil says he thinks the council should use thier own bailiffs, I beleive they tried this once, but the council office was inundated with the complainants, in person, at the counter because there was no other way of contacting them, and I think the council still get a large percentage of the proceeds. I am glad I started this thread, it is getting interesting.

katex · 29-05-2009, 14:20

I appear to be about £1.50 out, however, these are the charges ... they wll have charged you a further £11.20 letter charge plus VAT for Marston's letter too :-

Marston Group - Debtors help - Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) - Magistrates' Courts - Distress Warrants - Schedule of Fees and Charges

Bailiff's charge:-

£225.00, letter from bailiffs £11.20 + VAT = £13.16 + £87 fine + £1 debit card payment = £326.15. Can't find the other £1.50 ? .. even if the VAT on the first letter had not been charged which would have been £1.96.

Still what's £1.50 eh ?

If you have a complaint against this particular guy, then it is best to go straight to Marstons as recommended :-

7. How can I complain about Marston or one of their employees?

People may be unhappy that they have had to deal with a bailiff company and/or an Enforcement Officer however this is not a reason for complaint. The option to deal direct with our client (the creditor) is always available prior to the debt being passed to ourselves.
Our aim is to collect the debt on behalf of our client in a professional, polite, discrete and effective manner. If we fail to do this then we want to hear from you. If you are unhappy about the way in which you were treated by one of our staff, or if our communication(s) did not get the message across clearly, then we want to hear from you as soon as possible. We are trying to provide the best possible service to debtors and to our clients and listening to your concerns (and acting on them) is one way of improving our service.
We would prefer that you complain to us in writing so that we are able to have the fullest details for our investigation. If this is difficult then we will take the details over the phone however it may be harder for you to remember all the details and therefore we may have to contact you again to ask you for more information.
All complaints are recorded and, if we are not able to address your complaint at the time, are subject to a full and thorough investigation.
Written complaints should be sent to the Customer Care Manager, Marston Group Ltd, PO Box 308, Waltham Cross, EN9 1ZN, or emailed to [email protected]
Following our investigation you will be sent a detailed response that, where relevant, will include what actions we have taken/intend to take.
Please note - making a complaint will have no effect on the debt that you owe or the charges that you have incurred

Best of British ... x

derekgas · 29-05-2009, 14:45

Thanks Kate, you are a gem! x

katex · 29-05-2009, 15:07

Just remembered VAT is 15% now.. LOL, so this is nearer if they hadn't added VAT to the first £11.20 ... still .10p out .. still, would never have made an accountant...

jaysay · 29-05-2009, 16:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by katex

Just remembered VAT is 15% now.. LOL, so this is nearer if they hadn't added VAT to the first £11.20 ... still .10p out .. still, would never have made an accountant...

Ya but you make up with it in other ways kate