Notification of Court Proceedings PS&P

lakemp91

I received a windscreen parking ticket for parking on a university campus a while back, for not displaying a valid ticket. They sent numerous letters chasing the money up and I was advised to ignore them, which I did.

They passed the case onto PS&P, a debt collection agency I believe, who have been mentioned in numerous threads on here.

I have had a few letters about 'final warnings' etc but this last one has me slightly concerned... It is titled 'NOTICE OF COURT PROCEEDINGS'.

It reads...

As you have failed to make payment of money owing to Car Parking Partnership, as previously requested, we are starting LEGAL ACTION through the County Court.

Seven days from the date of this letter, we intend to apply for a summons to be issued against you for non payment of £111.

YOU SHOULD BE ADVISED THAT:
1) Due to Court Costs and interest, your debt will increase on a daily basis.
2) A County Court Judgement will be issued
3) If the CCJ is executed, a BAILIFF will attend your property and remove your possessions.

I really don't want a CCJ against my name. Any constructive prompt advise will be much appreciated...

The_Slithy_Tove

No-one can simply "issue" a CCJ. It's all nonsense.

James_N

lakemp91 wrote: »

I received a windscreen parking ticket for parking on a university campus a while back, for not displaying a valid ticket. They sent numerous letters chasing the money up and I was advised to ignore them, which I did.

They passed the case onto PS&P, a debt collection agency I believe, who have been mentioned in numerous threads on here.

I have had a few letters about 'final warnings' etc but this last one has me slightly concerned... It is titled 'NOTICE OF COURT PROCEEDINGS'.

It reads...

As you have failed to make payment of money owing to Car Parking Partnership, as previously requested, we are starting LEGAL ACTION through the County Court.

Seven days from the date of this letter, we intend to apply for a summons to be issued against you for non payment of £111.

YOU SHOULD BE ADVISED THAT:
1) Due to Court Costs and interest, your debt will increase on a daily basis.
2) A County Court Judgement will be issued
3) If the CCJ is executed, a BAILIFF will attend your property and remove your possessions.

I really don't want a CCJ against my name. Any constructive prompt advise will be much appreciated...

Here is some advice (sic).

This company could take you to court. First, however they have to do things right, and they have not so far.
Depending on the date you received this (it may have been up to five years plus ago and you need to tell us when it was), it may or may not have been the right thing to ignore it. There is also the slight chance that this all happened in Scotland, where you would have been right to ignore.
However let's go on the idea that this was fairly recent, and that you are in England or Wales:
Ignoring was the wrong thing to do, but it's too late for that now. What you have is a frightener chaser letter from a debt collection agency. These people have NO POWERS over you. Their letters and possibly their calls are designed to make you give up and pay their ever increasing and made up charges.
Here is what to do. Contact the dept collector. tell then the debt is DENIED, and that they should pass the account back to the parking company. Also tell them that their contacts are causing distress to you. INSTRUCT them to stop contacting you. Don't take no for an answer.
You can also contact the parking company and tell them that any action will be defended. Come back here for help if you need help to defend this. An appeal to the parking company could be still possible if you were not the driver.
Otherwise this plays out in one of two ways.
1 They give up
2 They really DO take you to court. TO do that they need to:
a) issue a compliant letter before action and follow the directives - these include offering and adhering to alternative dispute resolution. Very few parkign companies have a clear idea what correct letters before action involve. Some skip this vital step - and blow their chances out of the water in ignoring it.
b) actually issue real court papers (not pretend ones with words like MAY or COULD take you to court). Check here if papers are real. Do not ignore something that could be from the court.
c) defend themselves against the several points of defence that posters on here and http://www.pepipoo.com wil help you with
d) actually turn up in a court of YOUR choice
e) satisfy a judge that they are entitled to the money, being the people with an interest in the land
f) satisfy a judge that the amount claimed is not a penalty
g) satisfy a judge that all their signs and procedures are legit and above board, etc

EVEN IF they are able to do all the above and WIN (vanishingly unlikely if you do this right and get early help) then they probably won't get the sum they ask for. EVEN IF they win, all you need to do is pay immediately (14 days). You will be no worse off than now, you WILL NOT have a CCJ and they won't be able to add on all sorts of other costs on a whim.

Lets be clear: ONLY A COURT CAN GIVE YOU A CCJ. That ONLY happens if THEY WIN and YOU DON'T pay in 14 days.
NO PRIVATE COMPANY CAN GIVE YOU A CCJ and NO PRIVATE COMPANY can send bailiffs Only a court can do that and ONLY after you fail to pay a court-directed payment - they might try a speculative debt collector who pretends to have bailiff powers, but now you know better you won't fall for that will you.

Coupon-mad

Same as the other day:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4777053

...same as last year:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4101777

Nothing to panic about. A debt collector cannot start legal proceedings.

lakemp91

Thanks James for your help. I will take the action you have advised and update this thread when something comes of it.

Firstly, this was around 6 months ago and in England. Secondly, I went travelling over summer and have been living away from my parents recently so my mail takes a while to reach me, hence why I am late chasing things up. Thirdly, I am the owner but wasn't actually the last person to drive my car. It was a good friend of mine, but I don't really want to get him involved. He used to live at uni but he's now graduated and moved away, so there is the option that I could give his name and uni address. But it would probably worry him more than necessary so I'd prefer to sort the matter out without him if possible.

HO87

lakemp91 wrote: »

Thanks James for your help. I will take the action you have advised and update this thread when something comes of it.

Firstly, this was around 6 months ago and in England. Secondly, I went travelling over summer and have been living away from my parents recently so my mail takes a while to reach me, hence why I am late chasing things up. Thirdly, I am the owner but wasn't actually the last person to drive my car. It was a good friend of mine, but I don't really want to get him involved. He used to live at uni but he's now graduated and moved away, so there is the option that I could give his name and uni address. But it would probably worry him more than necessary so I'd prefer to sort the matter out without him if possible.

That extra detail helps.

The fact that you are the owner but not the driver means that in order to sue you successfully (as the registered keeper) CPP will have to prove that they have acted within the terms of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA).

That is not to say that they couldn't revert to the way the law stood prior to POFA - and indeed as it still stands (POFA has supplemented the law not restricted it) and attempt to sue you using the assumption that "on the balance of probabilities" you were the driver - and you may well be able to prove that you weren't without recourse to you friend. However, even the more aggressive private parking companies have been loathe to pursue people on that basis. Keep in mind that regardless of what CPP and their debt collector lackeys have said or may say you are under no obligation whatsoever - legal or otherwise - to name him.

It is extremely unlikely that PS&P have been formally assigned the debt by CPP - the only mechanism by which they could ever launch proceedings in respect of CPP's parking ticket on their own account. As has already been suggested, debt collectors have a habit of stretching the truth mightily thin in their attempts to get money out of your pocket. Just remember that debt collectors only get paid when they collect money from you and without the hint of cash they'll slink away.