I've just been sent £170 fine for not paying a parking ticket … six years ago
I have received two letters from National Parking Enforcement Ltd (NPE) demanding £170 for failing 'to correctly use a pay & display machine' in a car park six years ago. It doesn't specify what I did incorrectly – I'm guessing I made a typo when entering my car reg because the buttons on the machines are so faded and Os and zeros look identical.
I'm told I face court and a damaged credit rating if I don't stump up.
ML, Fakenham
It looks as though NPE is hurrying to collect the money before the clock runs down. Private parking operators have to issue a ticket within 14 days of the alleged contravention if sending by post.
If it's taped to your windscreen and you fail to pay, the operator has an additional 56 days to send a notice to your home address. You say you never received any notice and were unaware of the alleged debt until the legal threats arrived.
Private parking charges are not legally enforceable without a county court judgment, and the statute of limitations bars court action once six years have passed.
The demands you received were sent days before the six years were up, and the deadline has since expired. Moreover, NPE has failed to provide evidence that you breached the terms and conditions.
When you demanded details and proof of what you had done wrong it repeated, robotically, that you had used the machine incorrectly. It declared to me that it could not discuss cases with a third party, and refused to answer if, and when, it issued a parking charge notice and why it did not follow up earlier.
I believe a court would take a dim view of this, even if it agreed to hear the case, so you could probably ignore it. But if you are worried, I suggest you write to NPE stating that you will not pay unless it provides all those details by a specific date.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
39 minutes ago
- BBC News
Donald Trump doubles US steel and aluminium tariffs to 50%
US President Donald Trump has signed an order doubling tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from 25% to 50%.The move hikes import taxes on the metals - key inputs in everything from cars to canned food - for the second time in three has said the measures, which come into effect on Thursday, are intended to secure the future of the American steel industry. However, critics say the protections could wreak havoc on steel producers outside the US, spark retaliation from trade partners, and come at a punishing cost for American users of the metals. Hours before he hiked the duties, many firms directly affected could scarcely believe the plan was moving forward, hoping it would turn out to be temporary or some kind of negotiating as Trump moved forward with the deal, the UK was granted a carve-out from the measures, leaving duties on its steel and aluminium at 25%, a move Trump said reflected its ongoing trade discussions with the US. "Always the question with Mr Trump is, is this a tactic or is this a long-term plan?" said Rick Heuther, chief executive of Independent Can Co, a Maryland-based business, which brings in steel from Europe and turns it into decorative cookie tins, popcorn boxes, and other said he had put investments on hold and feared the abrupt changes, and price increases would lead his customers to turn to alternatives such as plastic or paper boxes. "There's a lot of chaos," he said. The US is the biggest importer of steel in the world, after the European Union, getting most of the metal from Canada, Brazil, Mexico and South Korea, according to the US his first term, Trump imposed tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium, citing a law that gives him authority to protect industries considered vital to national security. But many imports ultimately escaped the duties after the US struck trade deals with allies and granted exemptions to certain imports at the request of ended those carve-outs in March, saying he was unhappy with the way the protections had been weakened. At Friday's rally at the US Steel factory, he said wanted to make tariffs so high that US businesses would have no alternative but to buy from American suppliers."Nobody's going to get around that," he said of the 50% rate. "That means that nobody's going to be able to steal your industry. It's at 25% - they can get over that fence. At 50%, they can no longer get over the fence." Reaction in the UK and Europe As of May, imports and the rate of raw steel production in the US had changed little since last year before Trump raised tariffs, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute. But steel imports fell 17% in April, compared to March. And businesses selling the metals into the US said they expected Trump's latest announcement to lead to an even more dramatic drop. Trump's moves in March had already prompted Canada and the European Union to prepare to hit back with tariffs of their own American products. On Tuesday, Olof Gill, spokesperson for economic security and trade for the European Commission told the BBC the two sides were engaged in intense talks to try to make progress toward an agreement. "We're negotiating hard to try and make good deals," he said."We really hope that the Americans will roll back on this latest tariff threat, as they have done on others, but that remains to be seen." In the UK, Trump's announcement put new pressure on the government to pin down the trade deal in the works with the US, which had been expected to provide some protection from the March metals tariffs. Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Paris on Wednesday. His office said it was "pleased" that the trade talks had protected UK steel from the latest duties. "We will continue to work with the US to implement our agreement, which will see the 25% US tariffs on steel removed," he said. Gareth Stace, director general of UK Steel, which represents steelmakers, told the BBC that his members had already seen orders cancelled and delayed as a result of the 25% tariffs put in place in March. He warned that a 50% tariff would be "catastrophic" for UK exports to the US, about 7% of overall exports."The introduction of 50% tariffs immediately puts the shutters up," he said. "Most of our orders, if not all of them, will now be cancelled." Economists said the US economy is also facing damage, as prices rise as a result of the new measures. A 2020 analysis estimated that Trump's first term tariffs created roughly 1,000 jobs in the steel industry, but cost the economy 75,000 jobs in other sectors, such as manufacturing and York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, said that she expected to see even more extreme job losses this time. "Some of the strongest evidence is against tariffs on intermediate inputs like steel and aluminium, finding they are much more harmful because they increase the cost of production in the United States," she said. "It's just very foolish to double down on this type of tariff in particular." Chad Bartusek is director of supply chain management at Drill Rod & Tool Steels, a small, family-owned manufacturing business in Illinois, which brings in about 800,000 pounds of Austrian-made steel each year, at specifications he says are not produced in the US. Mr Bartusek said he was currently waiting on three containers worth of steel rod, which would have entered the US without duties at the start of the of last week, he had expected to pay tariff costs about $72,000. Instead, he is looking at a tariff bill of almost $145,000. "I woke up Saturday morning, looked at the news and my jaw dropped," he said of Trump's announcement. Mr Bartusek said business had been steady until a few weeks ago. But his firm raised prices earlier this year by 8% to 14% to help cover the new cost of the tariffs. Now customers have been ordering more cautiously and he has had to cut back hours for workers. "It's one punch after the other," he said. "Hopefully, this settles down quickly."
The Sun
40 minutes ago
- The Sun
Shoppers gobsmacked after bizarre Land Rover smash leaves one motor mounted on top of another
YOU can't park there madam! Supermarket shoppers are gobsmacked after a car park prang left one motor mounted on top of another. The smash is said to have happened when a woman in a Land Rover reversed into another car, flipping it over and hitting a silver VW Beetle. 4 4 Others pointed out it looked like a modern sculpture. Former Army aircraft technician David Bowden posted pictures on social media, adding: 'It's all happening in Falmouth Sainsbury's. 'It is amazing, like a bit of modern art, or a collapsed game of Jenga.' Mark Carveth joked: 'The winner of the 2025 Turner prize is a sculpture from Falmouth.' Dawn Chittock said: 'Would make a great Specsavers advert.' The incident happened at a Sainsbury's supermarket in Falmouth, Cornwall, on Saturday. A tannoy went out in the store asking for the driver of the blue car to attend the car park - where they were in for a shock. The vehicles were all recovered and no one was hurt. Two people were in one of the vehicles at the time of the crash, but both got out of the vehicle uninjured. Cops said the drivers swapped insurance details at the scene. A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "We were called to Sainsbury's, Falmouth, car park at around 1.30pm on Saturday 31 May following a report of a three vehicle collision. "Only one vehicle had occupants but both got out of the car uninjured. All vehicles were recovered and insurance details swapped." A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: "Emergency services attended an incident in the car park of our Falmouth store on Saturday afternoon. A small section of the car park was closed for a couple of hours and we're sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused." 4 4
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Love Island star's SHOCK EXIT as they leave the villa ahead of upcoming series after citing 'personal reasons'
Love Island star Kyle Ashman has left the show ahead of the launch episode next Monday. ITV have confirmed the 23-year-old from Stafford has chosen not to enter the villa and has decided to leave the show for personal reasons. It comes amid The Sun's reports that Kyle was involved in an machete attack in February when masked thugs stormed a wake and hacked at a dad with a blade. Kyle was one of two arrested by police but he was released with no further action and he has now confirmed he had no involvement in the incident, but has chosen to leave the ITV show regardless. Kyle told MailOnline: 'I fully cooperated with this police investigation and made it very clear that I had no involvement in this incident. 'I am not a violent person and any suggestion otherwise is a mischaracterisation.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Meanwhile ITV added: 'For personal reasons, Kyle will not be entering the Love Island Villa as planned.' The Love Island line up was announced on Tuesday so Kyle's departure will have plunged the show into chaos ahead of Monday's launch episode. The Sun have revealed they alerted bosses on Kyle being questioned in the attack but ITV said they were unaware of the incident and he was not flagged during the contestant checks. The incident on February 28 saw the victim, 38, nearly lose his arm after he was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment and kept it for around two weeks. Another mourner was reportedly glassed, one hit with a metal pole, and two people were run over by a car during the 15 minute attack at the The White Eagle Club in Stafford. Sources said the victim was attacked by three balaclava-clad thugs over an alleged £3,000 debt. He was injured by a blade that left him with a deep gash and has suffered tendon damage and is now unable to drive. Police confirmed yesterday that after the matter had been investigated Kyle and another individual were released with no further action only last month. The incident on February 28 at The White Eagle Club in Stafford saw the victim, 38, nearly lose his arm after he was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment A show source told the publication: 'ITV were entirely unaware of Kyle's past and, as he was not charged, it was not flagged as part of Love Island's stringent DBS checks. 'It's only right he can now return home to the UK to share his side of the story and therefore bosses took the decision that it was best for him not to enter the villa.' Staffordshire Police said on Monday: 'A 22-year-old man, from Stafford, was arrested on suspicion of wounding and affray. Another man, also 22 and from Stafford, was arrested on suspicion of affray. 'Both were questioned in custody and bailed with conditions while our enquiries continue.' Kyle, who works as a water operative, doesn't have a strong social media presence with just one Insta pic on his profile. Prior to his announced departure, Kyle said he was looking for 'someone that's fun, confident and just themselves'.
