Monday, 1 December 2014

ParkingTicketAppeals changes companies

The web site http://www.parkingticketappeals.org.uk/ has apparently changed hands.

Yesterday, the company on the about page was Parking Ticket Appeals Limited, company number 08981061, incorporated 7/4/2014. The secretary is Ricky Gater and sole director Kiera Prince.

Today, the company on the about page is Parking Ticket Appeals Service Limited, company number 08994668, incorporated 14/4/2014. This company appears to have one shareholder, Ricky Gater, and one director Ricky Gater.

The Prankster contacted the new company to enquire about current customers of the old company, and the new company liability to pay the parking charge under the guarantee if their appeals fail. Ricky Gater told the Sunday Times that that company was processing 400 appeals a week, and as appeals can take 2-3 months, there may be up to 5000 active customers.

Although not replying directly to The Prankster's questions, a spokeperson for the company stated;
"It should not be lost on yourself that liability as previously explains lies with the company and liability cannot be transferred to another company"
The Prankster does not consider this an appropriate duty of care to previous customers, and has therefore removed all links and recommendations from his website to the company.

Happy Parking

The Parking Prankster


23 comments:

  1. Very poor treatment of customers. I perceive the liability issue as follows: the driver/keeper, as the case may be, is responsible for appealing/paying the parking charge. The appeal company has a contractual arrangement with the appellant. If the appeal company walks away then the appellant will still be pursued but will have no recourse against a 'dead' company. If this is the case then someone has a bit to answer for.

    ReplyDelete
  2. PTAS will lose a lot of credibility in my eyes if they stiff the customers who have already paid for the service.

    Winding down to avoid a liability is one thing but not continuing with work you have already been paid for, especially when that work takes literally 3-5 minutes per case, is simply unacceptable.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Update: I have spoken to a representative of PTA (PTAS?) this morning who has confirmed that all outstanding appeals will be handled as normal and that no customers will be let down in that respect.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is good news, although that still leaves the liability issue.

      Delete
  4. If the company was processing 400 appeals per week & each appeal may take up to 3 months then there may be up to 400x13=5200 active customers not the 400 claimed. Mr Gater has either been mis-reported or his maths isn't up to much.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Disappointed that you have removed the comment about your own involvement with a similar company Mr Prankster without any response.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I removed it to annoy the poster. I have answered it in the MSE thread

      Delete
    2. Just to clarify, it would appear that you think TDA over at MSE is the poster whose post you removed. Not the case.. ;)

      Delete
    3. Here is the MSE thread for those interested http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5125381

      Even people who do not post in MSE can still read in MSE.

      Delete
  6. I paid for this service earlier, then read this post (oops). Does anyone have reason to believe the company is now ineffective and won't handle my appeal properly or at all? I'm not as worried about the £16 as I am about trusting them to deal with it and then finding I've missed all the POPLA deadlines, etc. when they haven't done anything.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is no feedback to suggest the new person is any less competent than the old person.

      Delete
    2. An efficient service so far, they sent off my appeal to the operator within 24 hours, which was promptly rejected within a few hours. Operator sent through letter with popla code which I have forwarded to the company. Will keep everyone posted, am happy so far.

      Delete
  7. I paid the £16 fee to Parking Ticket Appeals on 5 November 2014 but have heard nothing from them whatsoever. (I did receive PayPal conformation that the fee had been paid.) Any idea how I can find out if my case is being dealt with at all since I have now received a 'final' demand from the 'penalty' issuers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Contact the parking company to see if they received an appeal. If not, ask for a paypal refund. See if the parking company will accept a late appeal

      Delete
    2. Heard back from G24. They tell me it's now too late to appeal. )Which I guess they would...) However, an email I received from PTAS tells me that an appeal WAS lodged (but that they are happy for me to seek a refund via PayPal). Now I'm just confused. Would POPLA know anything? For what it's worth it was a 22 minute overstay resulting in a £75 charge.

      Delete
  8. I have paid £16 on two occasions in December and only now they are telling me they have ceased trading. What do I do? I have already got a letter back from each company demanding over £130 each or be summoned to court.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 1) Claim your money back from paypal
      2) Ask for advice on moneysavingexpert or pepipoo
      3) You can email me the parking charge notices and follow up letters if you like for my advice

      Delete
  9. I have paid £16 on two occasions in December and only now they are telling me they have ceased trading. What do I do? I have already got a letter back from each company demanding over £130 each or be summoned to court.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Was conned by PTA. They took my money in November but am still getting pursued by Parking Eye. PTA have now gone to ground, web site shut and phones down. That means I've lost £16 with them and now have to pay an inflated £115 fine. CON MEN

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should be able to get your £16 back by filing a paypal complaint. ParkingEye will usually negotiate back down to £100, or of course you can defend in court. keep an eye on the Beavis case.

      Delete
    2. Hi have also been ripped off by PTA. In October last year VCS ltd sent me a demand following a visit to Robin Hood Airport to view the Vulcan Experience. I got lost and intended to pull into the Ramada Hotel car park to consult the map but as the car park had barriers I had to reverse and do a 3 point turn. During this time a mobile camara took 3 photos over a 15 sec period during which they say I stopped ( I was infact positioning myself for a 3 point turn. The initial 'fine' was for £60. I appealed to VCS but of course they rejected it. I then handed the case over to PTA who failed to hand in my appeal and then I have learnt they have gone out of business. I am not realy worried about the £16 as I will most likely get it back from paypal however my charge has now gone up to £168 after being pasted from VCS to ZZPS to a solicitor - OH what fun!!

      Delete
  11. Was conned by PTA. They took my money in November but am still getting pursued by Parking Eye. PTA have now gone to ground, web site shut and phones down. That means I've lost £16 with them and now have to pay an inflated £115 fine. CON MEN

    ReplyDelete