UK Private Parking ticket on rental car

John G

Hello, looking for advice.

I rented a car from one of the main rental companies last week in Stansted. During my travels I got a parking ticket (£60) from a private car park. It was a pay car park and I was 20 mins late coming back. I've 14 days to pay or it goes up to £100. I was intending paying to avoid the hassle.

On the way home I lost my wallet complete with credit card and parking ticket. I can't track down the name of the car park to pay the ticket. I tried identifying it though Google street view, Google search, even phoned the local council. All I know is that car park has a history of preying on tourists.

My question is should I alert the rental company to the ticket or just sit tight or are there any other options? Does the fact that this was a private car park matter?

I'll definitely be in the UK again and don't want to have this come back to haunt me next time I rent a car. I've had my credit card reissued so I can't be billed automatically. Suggestions welcome.

afatbollix

50/50 if the car park will go after you.

It will cost the car park to legally go after the car rental company. If they do they will email you asking to pay + a admin fee.

Most of the car parks are ran by cow boys who just hope you pay up. Thats why they say pay £50 now before it goes up to make sure people will just pay as its easier than the hasstle.

slimjimmc

Some info regarding private car parks in GB. A £60 charge sounds excessive particularly when any charge must be proportionate to the displayed rates and the overstay.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/money-saving-tips/10995722/Do-you-have-to-pay-car-park-fines.html

easygoing1982

afatbollix wrote: »

If they do they will email you asking to pay + a admin fee.

Im not 100% sure but i think if the rental company is obliged to pay they will just pay and automating put that charge to the credit card they have on the system when you got the car

theteal

If it was your own car I'd tell you to ignore/forget about it. Private car park operators have literally no authority over here. They'll send letters/threats/offers for a few months that will eventually dry up if you simply ignore them.

The fact that its a rental makes it a bit more complicated. The rental company will be contacted and may just pay out subsequentally passing the charge on to you. I would guess they'll add a small processing fee to the fine too making it in their interest to process the fine for you.

dingding

You could probably give your new credit card details to the car hire company.

whomitconcerns

John G wrote: »

I've had my credit card reissued so I can't be billed automatically.

This makes no difference they can still bill your previous card as you had an agreement with them based on the card in place at the time

TopTec

If it was a private car park and not one run by a local council then the ticket you received is not a 'parking ticket' or 'fixed penalty ticket' it is an invoice for services received.

While it is true that most of the small operators don't have the resources to chase payments there are a few large companies that will. This would mean them paying the DVLA in Swansea for the details of the owner of the vehicle and then writing to them to establish the driver at the time of the service provided.

It is up to the operator to decide whether pursuing the car rental company for the driver details is economical or not.

I would read the small print on your rental contract to see what the policy is regarding a parking charge.

TT

John G

Thanks for all the replies. There are certainly a lot of insomniac legal eagles out there!

The more I read into this the more interesting it is. Unfortunately I am a participant rather than an interested observer.

There's an interesting link below.
http://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/company-lease-hire-cars/

I'm suspicious that I'll get caught with a £100 bill + admin fee (€200!!) in a few weeks and there's no way around it unless I fight it. Interestingly it seems like the charge is against me as an individual rather than the car (under contract law) but that the rental car company will likely pay up (Hertz) to avoid a fight.

Suggestions still welcome.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

doublej

If you have been issued with a new credit card then the old one has been cancelled; Hertz would be unable to recover the fine and depending upon their policies, may write to you and ask you to pay or may provide your details to the car park operator.
Hertz would be entitled to refuse to hire a car to you if you are the type of person that causes them an additional cost.
You have tried to meet your obligations but you will most likely need to reimburse Hertz in the event of they being pursued

Fiskar

John G wrote: »

Hello, looking for advice.

I rented a car from one of the main rental companies last week in Stansted. During my travels I got a parking ticket (£60) from a private car park. It was a pay car park and I was 20 mins late coming back. I've 14 days to pay or it goes up to £100. I was intending paying to avoid the hassle.

On the way home I lost my wallet complete with credit card and parking ticket. I can't track down the name of the car park to pay the ticket. I tried identifying it though Google street view, Google search, even phoned the local council. All I know is that car park has a history of preying on tourists.

My question is should I alert the rental company to the ticket or just sit tight or are there any other options? Does the fact that this was a private car park matter?

I'll definitely be in the UK again and don't want to have this come back to haunt me next time I rent a car. I've had my credit card reissued so I can't be billed automatically. Suggestions welcome.

regardless of parking cowboys, pay the bill ASAP, as the car rental company will apply a charge 4 times larger when it gets to them and then is passed to you. I wouldn't want to be watching my CC statements for it.

whomitconcerns

doublej wrote: »

If you have been issued with a new credit card then the old one has been cancelled; Hertz would be unable to recover the fine and depending upon their policies, may write to you and ask you to pay or may provide your details to the car park operator.
Hertz would be entitled to refuse to hire a car to you if you are the type of person that causes them an additional cost.
You have tried to meet your obligations but you will most likely need to reimburse Hertz in the event of they being pursued

A new card does not necessarily mean a new account. So unless op changed banks also I think they would still be able to charge based on the pre-existing agreement on old card.

John G

Thanks for all the feedback from a few months ago. I just wanted to let you know what happened....nothing!

As I had hoped there was no charge on my new credit card and no contact made by the rental car company looking for payment to be made. From other articles I linked to earlier these private operators are relying on people appealing their fines and through the appeals process providing further personal information. They then use this additional information to go after the individual. It might be a different situation if I was a UK resident but it's been roughly 7 months so I don't think I am going to hear from the car park at this stage.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.