Penalty Charge Notice from NI

Domscard

What, if anything, can be done to someone from Donegal who has obtained one of the above demands in the post as a result of overstaying their welcome in a car park in Northern Ireland (by only a few minutes over the ticket :rolleyes:)? The charge to pay is £60. It warns of clamping or a civil debt as a result of non-payment - is this relevant to a resident of the republic?
While I can't imagine a crack force of parking attendants sneaking over the border to clamp a southern car at home do they keep lists of defaulters and nobble them the next time they park somewhere in the north, even paid up? Any other follow-up likely? Person weighing up their options against losing £60 needs to know

mmcm888

Just pay it. Saves you having to worry and you get £60 worth of 'good vibes' for having done the right thing.

m.

smashey

Isn't there an agreement in place now whereby these can be pursued on both sides of the border?

Domscard

mmcm888 wrote: »

Just pay it. Saves you having to worry and you get £60 worth of 'good vibes' for having done the right thing.

m.

Ha Ha - not me, thankfully, but I can't see myself convincing this person about the value of 'good vibes' at £60.

Domscard

smashey wrote: »

Isn't there an agreement in place now whereby these can be pursued on both sides of the border?

I think you're right - just wondering how they would pursue it under the circumstances?

Andrew33

I think the cross border cooperation applies to police related offences like speeding etc, I'm not sure a private company in charge of a car park would have the same access, they are probably chancing their arm. I'd ignore it unless its an official writ.

BTW, how did you get out of carpark if you overstayed? This gets stranger the more I think about it. Are you telling US the truth?

Domscard

Andrew33 wrote: »

I think the cross border cooperation applies to police related offences like speeding etc, I'm not sure a private company in charge of a car park would have the same access, they are probably chancing their arm. I'd ignore it unless its an official writ.

BTW, how did you get out of carpark if you overstayed? This gets stranger the more I think about it. Are you telling US the truth?

Parking ticket bought was for one hour only - she came back 10 minutes after the expiry time to find a notice on the car. Ignored this and the registered owner got the demand in the post 2 months later. This particular car park has no exit barriers - just the ticket machines.

Andrew33

Domscard wrote: »

Parking ticket bought was for one hour only - she came back 10 minutes after the expiry time to find a notice on the car. Ignored this and the registered owner got the demand in the post 2 months later. This particular car park has no exit barriers - just the ticket machines.

Completely ignore their demand, unless the carpark is run by local council in NI I would question the legality of a car park company having access to your home address.

.17hmr

Domscard wrote: »

What, if anything, can be done to someone from Donegal who has obtained one of the above demands in the post as a result of overstaying their welcome in a car park in Northern Ireland (by only a few minutes over the ticket :rolleyes:)? The charge to pay is £60. It warns of clamping or a civil debt as a result of non-payment - is this relevant to a resident of the republic?
While I can't imagine a crack force of parking attendants sneaking over the border to clamp a southern car at home do they keep lists of defaulters and nobble them the next time they park somewhere in the north, even paid up? Any other follow-up likely? Person weighing up their options against losing £60 needs to know

i would pay it too for the next time you could get clamped towed and have extra charges to pay to get the car back,so 60 pound aint that bad,thats my two cents .

muffler

Andrew33 wrote: »

Completely ignore their demand, unless the carpark is run by local council in NI I would question the legality of a car park company having access to your home address.

Im assuming the OP is referring to a car park owned and operated by the local council. These are different from the parks where you put the ticket in a machine on the way out and pay the appropriate fee. What happens is that you buy your ticket on the way in - you estimate how long you will be there and buy a ticket for the appropriate period. Tickets can be bought for 1, 2, 3. and 4 hour durations I think and are displayed on the inside of the front window of the car with the time and duration clearly shown.

If you overstay your welcome and are unlucky enough to have a traffic warden doing the rounds then a fine will be imposed.

.17hmr wrote: »

i would pay it too for the next time you could get clamped towed and have extra charges to pay to get the car back,so 60 pound aint that bad,thats my two cents .

Id agree. You run the risk of having the car clamped if they spot it again at any time in the future. Its a hard pill to swallow but it may be prove a healthy one at the end of the day.

sesna

mmcm888 wrote: »

Just pay it. Saves you having to worry and you get £60 worth of 'good vibes' for having done the right thing.

m.

I despair for this website.

theblueirish

for future reference, if this happens again just wait for someone to come back to their car and ask them for their ticket, I am sure they would give it to you. photo copy it and send it back with the notice showing you were parked legally at the time.

In this case I would write to them and ask them to provide proof that you were there as you have never been the said town.

Worked for me when I was caught in Bundoran a few years ago and was contacted by the companies UK branch.

Beware if it was issued by the "red coats" as they take pictures of the car illegally parked.

smashey

theblueirish wrote: »

for future reference, if this happens again just wait for someone to come back to their car and ask them for their ticket, I am sure they would give it to you. photo copy it and send it back with the notice showing you were parked legally at the time.

In this case I would write to them and ask them to provide proof that you were there as you have never been the said town.

Worked for me when I was caught in Bundoran a few years ago and was contacted by the companies UK branch.

Beware if it was issued by the "red coats" as they take pictures of the car illegally parked.

Not too sure about this. In Strabane for example, they take photographs of the vehicle and any ticket displayed at the time.

mmcm888

sesna wrote: »

I despair for this website.

Elaborate?

Domscard

muffler wrote: »

Im assuming the OP is referring to a car park owned and operated by the local council. These are different from the parks where you put the ticket in a machine on the way out and pay the appropriate fee. What happens is that you buy your ticket on the way in - you estimate how long you will be there and buy a ticket for the appropriate period. Tickets can be bought for 1, 2, 3. and 4 hour durations I think and are displayed on the inside of the front window of the car with the time and duration clearly shown.

If you overstay your welcome and are unlucky enough to have a traffic warden doing the rounds then a fine will be imposed.

Id agree. You run the risk of having the car clamped if they spot it again at any time in the future. Its a hard pill to swallow but it may be prove a healthy one at the end of the day.

You're right with that Muffler - it was a council carpark in Strabane. But do they really clamp on a future occasion? Has anyone heard of this happening? This particular instance is a wee bit complicated as the driver who ignored the original ticket and the registered owner are not one and the same, making for quite an interesting difference of opinion.
I thought I would see if anyone knew what was actually likely to happen in an effort to alleviate the tension about the decision, rather than a moral 'pay' or 'don't pay' scenario. From what I've heard, many people (in the past, anyway) have simply scrapped the original fine notice left on the car - I've seen people just throw it away on the street I used to wonder why I bothered to pay, but I feel vindicated now. I'd still like to know if they follow up on ROI fines - and how - just so I know.

sesswhat

Can't say for sure if they follow up but more information in this press release, including the FAQs at the bottom.

In theory they can also pursue people who were persistent offenders even before the agreement came into place on March 3rd.

Domscard

sesswhat wrote: »

Can't say for sure if they follow up but more information in this press release, including the FAQs at the bottom.

In theory they can also pursue people who were persistent offenders even before the agreement came into place on March 3rd.

That's very interesting - thanks. The 'offence' happened in early March - what luck :rolleyes: Hard to know whether everyone will be made an example of or not. These people are definitely not persistent offenders - they've never had any kind of ticket, North or South, but one of the pair is adamant they won't pay. I think they feel picked on because of the Donegal car and after reading that article, I'm left wondering ... We're talking minutes over the time here - and I was a witness. I don't know how many times I've seen cars just not bother buying any ticket at all.
Personally, I much prefer the barriers/pay as you leave carpark so that you don't have to estimate and get it wrong - very easy to do when you're shopping. If nothing else, it's a heads up for everyone else shopping in Strabane. I think I'll stick to shopping at Asda myself and avoid the town - definitely will be avoiding the town if I'm a passenger in that particular car again :pac: