'It destroys people - they can’t get a mortgage because of a parking ticket' No-one wants to return to their car to find they're being threatened with county court over parking, but how does the industry actually work? Many people have fallen foul of parking charges (Image: PA ) It’s a misfortune which has befallen many an unwitting motorist - you drive onto a private car park, park up and pay before driving off thinking all is well. Weeks later, post arrives through your letterbox. Private parking firms can often use aggressive and intimidating language in their correspondence with people they are pursuing, which can leave the recipient terrified of what will happen if they don't pay the charge. ‌ The letter through the door or sticker placed on a car makes demands for money and threatens county court action if you don’t pay up. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Despite its appearance, it is not a fine. Article continues below It is effectively an invoice for breaching a contract that you entered when you drove onto a private car park. If you receive a fine which is imposed by the council, then not paying it could eventually see you going to magistrates' court if you want to challenge it. In the case of a private company things are different. While it’s not technically a fine you can still end up in court, but a county court not a magistrates' court. ‌ Many motorists may not know the difference between going to magistrates' court for a council fine or county court for a private company. Understandably shaken by a scary letter threatening "court", many motorists might simply cut their losses and pay the charge, even if they were targeted for a simple mistake. And not without good reason. If you lose the case, it will will affect your credit score as it would have a county court judgement on it. This could impact things like mortgages or phone contracts. ‌ 'It's a racket' Ian Pedley however, is not one to roll over when it comes to private parking companies. Ian is a motorist from Manchester who has been on the sharp end of private parking firms, and has made a point of pushing back against “unreasonable” parking charge notices. “It’s a racket,” he said. “I’ve had several, and I’ve fought each and every one of them. If people just pay up it emboldens them.” ‌ Ian said he's been sent threatening letters, only for the case to be dropped at the last minute. “They’ve threatened me, and they’ve hunted me and there’s been a court date and I’ve been prepared to go to court, but it’s been one big bluff,” he said. Ian described what he calls the "five-minute trap". When you drive onto a private car park, a clock starts and you have five or ten minutes to find a spot and pay. ‌ He said: "When you’ve got a larger vehicle or you’re disabled and you drive in, there’s not always a suitable space. Some private tickets can look very similar to council ones (Image: Birmingham Mail ) “You have to have a look around, which might take a few minutes. If you don’t already have the app it means that you have to read the instructions, download the app, if you have enough signal, decipher how to use it, and then pay. All within a few minutes. ‌ "It’s unreasonable, it’s not realistic.” Threats are 'not empty' Unfortunately, the threats of court are not empty, warns an expert with experience in the industry. Tony Taylor has made it his mission to help people fight parking tickets, and warns people against simply ignoring the letters. “There are armchair lawyers who tell people to ignore them, there’s nothing they can do,” he said. “People believe them and next thing they know they’ve got a county court judgement on their credit. ‌ “I’ve known people who can’t get a phone contract or a mortgage because of a parking ticket. It destroys people.” Tony, from Wales, used to work for a private parking firm until he decided to blow the whistle on the industry. Explaining why, he said: "I was in charge of about 30 wardens. They wanted me to tell the wardens to issue as many tickets as they could outside a cancer ward, because people would overstay." ‌ The request was a turning point for Tony, who now describes himself as a "poacher turned gamekeeper" and uses his insider knowledge to help people fight their tickets. Since launching his new project, Tony claims to have won over 11,300 appeals and saved the public over half a million pounds in parking charges. Tony charges people £16 to fight their appeal, and has a success rate of over 90 percent in getting claims quashed. ‌ He's had success in challenging tickets when someone made a minor mistake like entering their reg number or a car park code incorrectly, or has fallen foul of the "five-minute trap". 'Underhand tactics' The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 gave parking companies the ability to track down the keeper of a vehicle to pursue parking charges. This means that a company can go to the DVLA to obtain details about who is connected to a car. This was the crucial change which means you ignore parking charge notices at your own risk, because the company is legally able to track you down. ‌ But just because you can't ignore them doesn't mean the notices are always fair. We spoke to another person who used to work in the private parking industry, who did not wish to be named. They explained that their job included attending county court to pursue people for payment. ‌ They said "underhand tactics" were sometimes used to try to get people to pay up. A county court ruling can affect your credit rating (Image: rossendale free press ) They said: “There are some firms out there that are one hundred percent predatory. There are some firms that will use underhand tactics to extort money from people." ‌ One such tactic is making the tickets issued by private car parks look very similar to those issued by councils, creating confusion, they said. Both letters are often bright yellow, but a 'penalty charge notice' is from a council, while if it says 'parking charge notice' on the ticket then you've fallen foul of a private company. Another tactic is the way the letters are written. An example is a letter from a debt collection agency employed by a parking firm which was shared with the M.E.N. Article continues below The letter tells the recipient that while they can appeal, the parking company can choose at any time to start legal action, pressurising them to act quickly. The former parking company employee said: “It's designed to frighten people into paying up. They use that language, they make the threats of court. "There’s a lot of people who will pay the charges to make them go away.”