Dont pay and ignore the letters. It cant be inforced
By using a space at a private car park, you have entered into a civil contract - police won’t take you to court for not paying.
Argue your case and stand your ground if you get a ticket – fewer than 5 per cent of cases are taken to County Court. If they are, most are found in the motorist’s favour.
Citizens Advice adds: 'A parking operator has no power to recover a parking charge without first taking court action. The company may continue to send requests to pay and you can continue to ignore these unless they decide to take you to the small claims court.
'If the parking operator does take you to court, you may be able to defend the action, for example, on the grounds that you did not park in breach of the parking rules and/or that the fee being demanded is unreasonably high.’
Under The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, landowners can hire third-party parking attendants to hand out charges, though they can no longer clamp.
What these private firms do not advertise is that they are not legally allowed to fine or penalise drivers for misusing private land – they can only impose a charge for potential losses or damages. And if you refuse to pay, the only way they can get the money off you is to pursue you through the civil courts.