Letters to the Editor

Private parking companies are overstepping the line

I commend your article regarding challenging private parking tickets (Fleet News, May 28).
These private parking companies (PPCs) suddenly seem to be everywhere and drivers are receiving tickets on the flimsiest of excuses. 

I am currently fighting one where one of my drivers has been ‘fined’ for parking outside his own home, despite showing a resident’s permit. 

I have another where the driver stopped at a nationwide DIY retailer and has been fined for overstaying the limit. 

The company in question has rejected our appeal despite my driver having a receipt from the store. Our leasing company paid this fine on our behalf, and I am currently submitting a claim through the small claims court to have the fine refunded.

Experience has taught me that these PPCs operate on a numbers scam; for every 10 tickets issued maybe half will pay up. 

They operate using misinformation and intimidation tactics, quote incorrect road traffic laws and design their tickets so to appear like official police and council tickets. 

This is effectively fraud and these ‘tickets’ are nothing more than invoices. They cannot fine you because they have no legal authority to do so.

There is no ‘appeals process’ because they are a business.

My advice is to simply file and ignore these PPC tickets. After four or five scary-looking letters the PPC will give up and go away.

Fleet co-ordinator
Name and address supplied

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Clarification on car clubs

I read your article ‘Car clubs v daily rental’ (Fleet News, June 18) with interest. The piece was well research and written. However, I would like to clarify a couple of points in the article. 

With regard to duty of care, the article suggests that car club vehicles are checked at best ‘once a month’. WhizzGo checks the vast majority of its fleet on a weekly basis and as a minimum every single car is checked fortnightly. 
These checks include oil levels, lights, tyres and washer levels. We also clean the cars inside and out at the same time. This not only fulfils our duty of care requirements set out by the Car Plus accreditation that governs car clubs, but surpasses it. 

I also note that within the cost comparison box you do not make reference to the fact that the car club prices include an allocation of free mileage. In WhizzGo’s case this is 40 free miles per booking. Traditional car rental does not include this and so the price comparison is a little unfair.

Liam Grant
Marketing director, WhizzGo Europe

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From the forum

So yet again, for every mile I drive on company business it is going to cost me money – how ridiculous is that? I have complained to our senior management about the new AFR rates but they will not consider a change in company policy. When this situation happened before I received compensation of 0.01 pence per mile paid into my salary, but this turned into an administrative nightmare. I was also advised that it could be regarded as a benefit-in-kind by the tax man!  steve_b1966

This is a total farce – nobody should be legitimately out of pocket while performing driving duties for work.  Leam Reject

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