Notice of Intended Litigation(3rd letter from CP Plus )

BirnamBear

I know-I've read the sticky. I just need some MSE reassurance and someone to tell me to stay calm and hold my nerve.;)

Lone_Ranger_2

Stay calm and hold your nerve.

AltheHibby

What he said ^

fil_cad

There is six letters in the scam three off cp plus, then three off Debt Recovery Plus the last one off DRP giving you a DISCOUNT if you pay up, just ignore after the last begging letter off DRP im affraid you will never hear from them again

Plushchris

Yeah, or to put it another way, hold your nerve and stay calm

Stephen_Leak

BirnamBear wrote: »

I know-I've read the sticky. I just need some MSE reassurance and someone to tell me to stay calm and hold my nerve.;)

Hello, I'm Stephen and I'm your "re-assurer" for the evening.

Firstly, the legal stuff.

Only councils, the police, train operators and Transport for London can impose legally enforceable fines or penalties. A private parking company (PPC) or an individual can't. Even PPCs call their tickets “Parking Charge Notices”, not “Penalty Charge Notices”. In law, they’re called “speculative invoices”.

Any warning signs are usually so badly positioned and worded, that they won’t have created a fair and legally binding deemed contract between the car park owner and a driver entering the car park in the first place. See The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1997 and Excel Parking Services vs. Cutts, Stockport, 2011, 1SE02759, the Peel Centre case.

All the car park owner (CPO) can claim from a driver in damages for any breach of contract is what they’ve lost as a result. If this is a free car park or they paid, this is £0.00. Asking for more has been judged to be unreasonable and therefore an unfair contract penalty under the terms of The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1997, which is not legally enforceable. See Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co. Ltd. vs. New Garage & Motor Co. Ltd., House of Lords, 1914 and countless cases since.

What should I do now?

We don’t condone not paying or overstaying in a pay car park. If you do owe the CPO anything, then you should write to them, offering this in “full and final settlement”. Also advise them that they are "jointly and severally liable" for the actions of their agents, the PPC, and that any further actions have been judged to constitute harassment under the terms of The Protection from Harassment Act 1997. That ought to make the CPO call off the PPC and, hopefully, realise the potential cost of doing business with them.

Don’t appeal to the PPC. They always reject them. What’s in it for them to let anyone off? Actually, there is something in it for them: information. They need to know the identity of the driver of the vehicle involved at the time, because that’s who the alleged contract was with. If they don’t know who the driver was, they have to make do with chasing the registered keeper.

With windscreen notices, an appeal letter will tell them your name and address, and maybe who was driving at the time. If they don’t know who the driver was, they have to buy the details of registered keeper from the DVLA. With postal notices, they’ve done this already. But they still need to know the identity of the driver.

They sometimes say that they have the right to ask for this information. This doesn’t mean that you have to tell them.

However, even if you’ve written and told them who the driver was, it doesn’t make their actions any less unlawful. It just means that instead of harassing the registered keeper, they can now harass the driver.

What will they do to me?

The PPC, then a debt collector and then a solicitor will send you a series of letters. The debt collector and solicitor are usually also the PPC, but using different headed paper. These letters will threaten you with every kind of financial and legal unpleasantness imaginable, to intimidate you into paying.

But, they can't actually do anything, for the same reason that a Nigerian e-mail scammer couldn't sue anyone who didn’t pay them.

What should I do then?

Continue to ignore everything you get from the PPC and their aliases. It does seem counter-intuitive to deal with something by ignoring it. Eventually, they will run out of empty threats, and stop throwing good money after bad.

There, how do you feel now? Do you want fries with that?

BirnamBear

Thanks all -Now decided to " Man Up ":D

bondy_lad

hold your nerveeeeeeeeeee,,its a scam,,all parties who send you threat o grams are involved in this scam, they all want their share of any money you foolishly part with,,my advice,,,hold your nerve,,from what,ime not sure, but certainly not this SCAM,,there you go jobs a good un.

McKneff

I bet you will miss all these letters when they stop coming:D

saffsmum

Its not easy is it? I have just had my third letter from MET and popped on for similar reassurance. Feel much better now though - so it looks like its the debt recovery lot next... bring it on.

Stephen_Leak

saffsmum wrote: »

Its not easy is it? I have just had my third letter from MET and popped on for similar reassurance. Feel much better now though - so it looks like its the debt recovery lot next... bring it on.

I never underestimate the courage it can take to stand up to these people.

As others say, just check the letters on the "sticky" posts, and treat it like like a game of "Snap!".

If you don't get a full set this time, you have to drive through ANPR camera controlled car parks more than once until you get another ticket and get another go.