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I'm taking the militant approach - Will Parking Eye send bailiffs ?

I was hoping Parking Eye would give up chasing me for a ticket issued in Southampton this Summer, but they've issued me with a CCJ for £197. I've made no attempt to appeal, because that would be admitting liability. What happened was that I was forced to park in their controlled zone because the free short-stay spaces at the Red Funnel Ferry terminal were all occupied. The land is owned by ABP (Associated British Ports). ABP only issue the free spaces to Red Funnel as a good will gesture but since Parking Eye are effectively sub-contracted by them, I maintain that there should be more short-stay spaces. As I was on Red Funnel business, I had no intention of paying to park - and that's why I'm taking the militant approach to this incident. One final thing...this happened on a Sunday (although Parking Eye's charges still apply as if it's a weekday).


As regards the CCJ, if it impacts my credit rating I'm not bothered : I can live with this as I'm not planning to borrow anything in the next 6 years.


I've decided I'm going to be hard work for them to get me to pay up, and having read that Parking Eye are part of "Crapita" makes me more reluctant to pay them a single penny.


So, the question is: Are Parking Eye likely to take further court action to get me to pay up ? If so, what method do they use to recover the debt ?


I would consider writing to ABP (as the landowner) and/or the British Parking Association with an official complaint about Parking Eye, asking if those organisations could intervene and force PE to write off the debt, I may be lucky.
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Comments

  • pappa_golf
    pappa_golf Posts: 8,895
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    to late now , you could have easily fought and won it , but you buried your head


    a clue might be in your post "The land is owned by ABP (Associated British Ports."


    PE will probably not "send in the bailiffs " , but your credit (mobile phone contract etc) will be trashed for 6 yrs
    Save a Rachael

    buy a share in crapita
  • hoohoo
    hoohoo Posts: 1,717 Forumite
    If you wanted to take a militant approach you would have been far better off filing a defence and contesting the claim.

    That way, parkingeye, win or lose the case, would have lost money.

    Now they have the upper hand and can make life miserable for you at little cost to themselves.

    I think you are taking the wrong approach
    Dedicated to driving up standards in parking
  • fisherjim
    fisherjim Posts: 5,963
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    "I'm taking the militant approach..."

    Why on earth have you waited until now?

    "I would consider writing to ABP (as the landowner) and/or the British Parking Association with an official complaint about Parking Eye, asking if those organisations could intervene and force PE to write off the debt, I may be lucky."

    You should have done that in the first place, good luck!
  • bargepole
    bargepole Posts: 3,231
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    Tawny_Owl wrote: »
    As regards the CCJ, if it impacts my credit rating I'm not bothered : I can live with this as I'm not planning to borrow anything in the next 6 years. ...

    This may not be as simple as you think. Taking out a mobile phone contract, for example, involves a credit check.

    Also if you apply for any sort of bank account, even one which doesn't carry any form of overdraft or lending facility, your credit record will be checked.

    The same applies should you wish to change your utilities provider.

    You'll need to make sure you change nothing at all in the next 6 years to survive this.

    I have been providing assistance, including Lay Representation at Court hearings (current score: won 57, lost 14), to defendants in parking cases for over 5 years. I have an LLB (Hons) degree, and have a Graduate Diploma in Civil Litigation from CILEx. However, any advice given on these forums by me is NOT formal legal advice, and I accept no liability for its accuracy.
  • Fruitcake
    Fruitcake Posts: 58,110
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    Please will you just confirm that you have already lost in court and got a CCJ, not that you are being threatened with court.
    I don't understand why ignoring court papers makes you militant.
    If Bylaws apply then I don't understand why you would sleepwalk through this instead of telling parking lie to FRO. This would have been so easy to beat.

    If you do have a CCJ, and don't pay it, then the courts could send bailiffs round.
    I married my cousin. I had to...
    I don't have a sister. :D
    All my screwdrivers are cordless.
    "You're Safety Is My Primary Concern Dear" - Laks
  • So much that is wrong.
    Tawny_Owl wrote: »
    I was hoping Parking Eye would give up chasing me for a ticket issued in Southampton this Summer, but they've issued me with a CCJ for £197.
    ParkingEye cannot issue a CCJ, so what do you really mean? An actual CCJ from a court as a result of a default win would normally be more than this with PE.
    Tawny_Owl wrote: »
    I've made no attempt to appeal, because that would be admitting liability.
    Complete failure in logic there. The whole point of appealing is BECAUSE you don't accept liability.
  • Umkomaas
    Umkomaas Posts: 41,198
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    Since when has 'I'm taking the militant approach' meant doing nothing?

    A slap in the face for militants everywhere. :rotfl:
    Please note, we are not a legal advice forum. I personally don't get involved in critiquing court case Defences/Witness Statements, so unable to help on that front. Please don't ask. .

    I provide only my personal opinion, it is not a legal opinion, it is simply a personal one. I am not a lawyer.

    Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

    Private Parking Firms - Killing the High Street
  • The_Deep
    The_Deep Posts: 16,830 Forumite
    I very much doubt that the OP has been awarded a CCJ, the ticket was only issued this summer. I suspaect that he/she has been threatened with one.


    If that is the case, they should stop be silly and acquaint themselves with how to defend a court case.


    Defiance is fine for The Donald, but is OP worth £100 Billion?
    You never know how far you can go until you go too far.
  • Umkomaas
    Umkomaas Posts: 41,198
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    The_Deep wrote: »
    I very much doubt that the OP has been awarded a CCJ, the ticket was only issued this summer. I suspaect that he/she has been threatened with one.


    If that is the case, they should stop be silly and acquaint themselves with how to defend a court case.


    Defiance is fine for The Donald, but is OP worth £100 Billion?

    It's more like $3.7 billion.

    http://www.forbes.com/donald-trump/#2ca242da790b

    I must have told you 500 million times before TD - stop exaggerating. :)
    Please note, we are not a legal advice forum. I personally don't get involved in critiquing court case Defences/Witness Statements, so unable to help on that front. Please don't ask. .

    I provide only my personal opinion, it is not a legal opinion, it is simply a personal one. I am not a lawyer.

    Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

    Private Parking Firms - Killing the High Street
  • Many Thanks for all your replies. :-)

    In answer to your questions.....
    Not so long ago, the general advice was to ignore these private tickets, which are not PCNs. Fact. The only way they could actually get you to pay the fine is through a court and because this is a hassle they eventually gave up chasing you after sending you a few letters. I have experience of this !
    Fast forward a few years, and these private companies have "upped the ante" and are now proceeding down the court route.
    I'm probably stuck in the past, which is why I haven't appealed and hoping that Parking Eye would eventually give up (as they've previously done so).
    As regards filing a defence and contesting the claim, I do have a solicitor, my counterclaim would be that there weren't enough short-term parking spaces available. If I were to go down that route it would incur me extra costs, not to mention my solicitor's bill. I'm concerned that I wouldn't have enough evidence and it would be a big gamble.
    Re:CCJ
    There's another thread on this forum mentioning that someone had received a "Letter before court action" from PE. I have also received this one. Because I ignored this, I received a claim letter from the court. And because I ignored the claim letter, I received a Judgement for Claimant letter from the court. At the foot of the letter it states 'If you ignore this order your goods may be removed and sold, or other enforcement proceedings may be taken against you.....'
    The key word here is MAY. As I understand it, PE will need to apply to the court again to recover the debt. Then again, they MAY NOT because surely it is more hassle for them.
    That's where it stands at the moment.
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