NCP Court Action

Matt246

Hi, I wonder if you could help me.

I received a Claim Form from Northampton County Court, issued by NCP claiming £1,707.88 for 15 parking tickets that remained unpaid from an Essex railway station car park.

All the tickets have been issued to a car of which I am the registered keeper but not always the driver.

I have had a good look through this forum and many others and it would seem that these tickets are a bit of a scam. I am happy to pay face value on moral grounds but nothing more. However as I was not the driver I'm not sure they can even take me to court.

It seems unusual for them to take this action and I wonder if it is just a ploy and if they will actually defend it.

If anyone can advise me or perhaps give me the name of a Solicitor that can I would be very greatful.

The Solicitors on the claim form are Sharp Young and Pearce LLP. I have applied for a further 28 days to respond.

Many thanks

Matt

worried_jim

I am sure that someone will advise you about the legality of the tickets- I am not to sure if this is a "fine" as not a council car park, but there may be by-laws.

Here is some company information-

Sharp Young and Pearce LLP- http://www.youngandpearce.co.uk/legal-recoveries-and-collections.htm

Young&Pearce have a strong association with Nottingham based online commercial debt recovery business, Legal Recoveries & Collections Limited.


LRC is the result of a management buy-out of the commercial debt recovery business that was previously part of national law firm Eversheds. The Eversheds senior departmental management team played an integral part in the development of the online service and took key positions in the management of the new company.

Cutting edge technology

LRC provide a groundbreaking internet based debt recovery service which provides real time access to cases 24 hours a day. LRC offers access to view letters generated on each file, payments and financial information. Clients are able to review files and direct future action to process debt claims with maximum efficiency. No other debt recovery specialist offers a service combining detailed debt analysis, recovery and legal counsel online.

LRC acts for clients to provide a one stop, pro-active commercial and consumer debt recovery service. Where court proceedings are necessary, they will work in association with Young&Pearce.

Find out more about LRC by visiting their website at https://www.onlinerecoveries.com

Or contact:

Andrew Newsome (director): Tel: 0115 9111530 Email: andrewnewsome@legalrecoveries.com.

Claire Clark (director): Tel: 0115 9111522 Email: claireclark@legalrecoveries.com.


Legal Young & Pearce 58 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL 0115 959 8888 info@youngandpearce.com
Young & Pearce is a trading name of Sharp Young & Pearce LLP, a Limited Liability Partnership registered in England & Wales, partnership number OC363812. References to partners are references to members of Sharp Young & Pearce LLP. A list of members is available at our registered office - 6 Weekday Cross, Nottingham, NG1 2GF Site map / Search

peter_the_piper

Get on over to pepipoo.com and post there as well. Do not answer private mail/emails form anyone without a long posting history on both these sites. Alexis is the best one to contact.

ManxRed

If these were byelaws tickets then the OP would have a summons to a Mags Court.

A claim from Northampton indicates it is a civil claim brought in respect of private (non-byelaw) tickets.

Go to PePiPoo and post up under the Private Tickets forum. They will want to see the particulars of claim, best to scan the claim form and scrub it of your personal details and any identifiers and post it up. The experts there will help with your defence.

This is the first NCP claim I've seen.

Stephen_Leak

Mind you, for 15 tickets for (from NCP's point of view) £1700+, I'm not really surprised that even they would get a bit miffed and reckon that the court fee was a good investment.

I would suggest that an offer of the unpaid parking charges in "full and final settlement" would be a very good idea.

Do NCP own this car park?

I know that things have changed in the meantime, but we don't want another Parking Eye vs. Smith, do we?

notts_phil

You really need to msg Alexis asap .

I have emailed Alexis. So you may get a message from him , but do start a topic on pepipoo

Obviously you not being the driver will form part of your defence.

Half_way

Do any of these tickets fall under railway by laws?
were they issued by NCP, and are they payable to NCP, or a rail company?
were they issued as a result of non payment, or for some other reason?

Its also useful to scan ( then edit out your details) and post the calim form online to both here and pepipoo.

Coupon-mad

First NCP claim I have ever seen. They do not issue Railway Bylaws tickets, only fake tickets called PCCNs.

But you were not driving. Can you prove where you were from work logs on some of those dates?

Do not name who was driving, it's not something you have to know or say.

I think even if a judge asked me, in your shoes, I would say that 'I do not know as these dates span several months and the car can be driven by anyone with third party insurance, I have already said I was at work and proved it. With respect to all, it is not for me to furnish information to prepare NCP's case for them. A basic requirement of a Small Claim is to ensure it is directed that the right person and that is NCP's issue, not mine. They have directed their claim at the wrong person. As the law currently stands, a registered keeper is not responsible for a private invoice issued by a parking company. They will have to start again and pursue the driver on each occasion, if they think they have a case.'

But there's more to defending this than that so please send a pm to Alexis. The case should be struck out.

esmerobbo

The only other case I have seen regarding NCP is were they had the car towed as it had unpaid multiple tickets on it.
Gaining so many tickets is always a risk as a claim would be more viable, however its the driver they should be claiming against.

WageSlave1_2

Stephen_Leak wrote: »

I would suggest that an offer of the unpaid parking charges in "full and final settlement" would be a very good idea.

I know that things have changed in the meantime, but we don't want another Parking Eye vs. Smith, do we?

Or maybe, if the driver (and let's not give any hint as to who that person might be) wanted to pay then payment of 15 days worth of the actual daily parking charge (plus £2.50 for the DVLA fee? - plus £25 for the court fee payable to issue a claim with a value of £300 or less??) might actually be made by postal order. Could just write the relevant dates and possibly even the railway station's name on the back of the postal order. Send the postal order off to NCP's head office either without a covering letter or one that lacks the sender's name and return address and says only something like "I want to make payment of the parking charges owed plus something to cover costs. Postal order enclosed". Keep copies of the postal order and any covering letter. Job done.

I assume the post office will have a way of telling whether any given postal order has been cashed or presented for payment?

Matt246

Wow. What a great deal of useful information. Many thanks.

I have to say that getting so many parking tickets is crazy and within reason people should pay what they owe but £75 worth of tickets to £7k is ridiculous.

I park at a private car park not far from the station so it's easy enough for me to show I park elsewhere.

Does anyone think it would be possible to come to an agreement with them now the action has started if so should I contact their solicitor or NCP directly.

Again, thanks for the advice