UKCPS / Miah Solicitors (Ignored ticket, solicitors letter received)

The_Deep

I think that it is also on here, I have brought it to the attention of OPs and I rarely visit ppp.

fairleee

I've been dealing with UKCPS, and now Miah. First letter was their bog standard template demanding £275, including £150 in "legal fees". I sent a reply stating that these fees were unenforceable, and asking them to explain them/prove that the fees had actually been incurred. Got a response back which (amazingly) wasn't a template, but full of bluster and evasion, and instead asking me to pay £200. I sent them another response, reminding them that as this would be a small claim, they are not entitled to legal fees, and that as there is nothing extraordinary about this claim, there is not a chance in hell that a judge would uphold their fees. I asked them to explain the fees again, and I reminded them that both parties have a duty of transparency - i.e., they are obligated to answer your questions. Haven't heard anything back since then, although that was only a little under 3 weeks ago.

My advice would be, don't bother engaging with Miah about the actual details of the claim. Challenge them on the fees alone - it is unlikely in the extreme that they are going to want to go anywhere near court where they will have to explain to a judge why they think they are entitled to a £150 fee for a £100 parking ticket from a PPC, particularly when you consider that they have likely committed fraud by claiming that these fees have been "incurred" (i.e., charged to their client), when this clearly hasn't happened. They are trying to bully and scare you, and a judge is going to take a very dim view of that.

So yeah, as to what the letter should like like, I'd advise something like,

"To whom it may concern,

Re (case reference)

I am writing to acknowledge your letter (dated x), the contents of which have been noted.

Firstly, I strenuously deny that I am liable for any debt to your client as alleged, or at all.

Secondly, I note that your letter includes a claim for £150 in legal fees, which you state have been incurred by your client. I remind you that, as the sum demanded is less than £10,000, this is a small claim. As as result, you have no entitlement to recover legal fees. This fee is highly disproportionate to the sum in question and I assure you the court would find against you on this basis, bearing in mind both parties' duty to mitigate costs [ don't include this bit, but mitigation of costs means that parties are under a duty to keep their costs as low as possible. It is not reasonable to demand £150 in fees for sending a simple letter].

I therefore ask you to explain yourself, and these fees. What work have you done for your client to warrant a £150 fee for sending a simple template letter? What makes this claim so extraordinary as to warrant legal fees higher than the claim itself? Given that you claim these fees have been incurred, I also ask you to confirm that your client has been invoiced for this fee, and has paid it. I draw your attention to section 2 of the Fraud Act (2006). If you know that these fees have not in fact been incurred by your client, then your letter is guilty of fraud by false representation.

I remind you that parties are under a duty of transparency; as such, I require a response to these reasonable questions. Please be aware that, should your client decide to commence with legal proceedings, this correspondence forms part of their pre-court conduct, and I believe the judge would take a very dim view of any attempt to evade answering my concerns.

Yours faithfully,
[x]

Please be aware, I am not a lawyer! I've adapted this from my own correspondence that I've been sending off, and I did get a solicitor friend to glance over it, but it should not be taken as legal advice or whatever.

The_Deep

If they fail to reply report them to the SRA, the longer the paper trail the worse it becomes for them.

beryl1914

Sorry Redx I am not very good with iT so would not be able to start my own thread, however I did have a go following advice.
The Deep thanks for you advice I will do this today as time is ticking away for my 14 days from Miah. Thanks again for both your advice

PPC_hater

beryl1914 wrote: »

Sorry Redx I am not very good with iT so would not be able to start my own thread, however I did have a go following advice.
The Deep thanks for you advice I will do this today as time is ticking away for my 14 days from Miah. Thanks again for both your advice

almost correct , so let me edit it


that should read


"time is ticking away for Miah solicitor's "

beryl1914

Farleee thank you so so much you are an answer to my prayer. So I will now send a response to the exact same letter you received. Let's hope we both can get this cancelled. I am not very good with IT as I said above so thanks again for your advice and letter

The_Deep

You have all the time in the world OP, Miah can do nothing except write scary letters, which will cost the PPC, not you.


If you are not PC literate, write a letter, they carry more weight than electronic communications anyway.i

beryl1914

Thanks for the quick response I am ok with emails but will write a letter as well

beamerguy

The_Deep wrote: »

Thanks for your quick response and I will send Miah solicitors an email to include as follows: I challenge this PCN as the keeper of the car and will complain to the landowner if this matter is not blah blah blah

And they will ignore it.

Concentrate on Miah, ask them in what capacity they are acting, as a debt collector or as a solicitor. Ask them for a breakdown of their charges, copy their correspondence to the SRA.

Ask the SRA if Miah's fees are acceptable, ask them whether they think that the tone of the letter is intimidatory, ask them if Miah are behaving in a solicitory manner. Go after the messenger, they have most to lose.


There is an excellent get stuffed letter from Gan to Miah on here, look for it.

The Deep is 100% right, Miah is a firm that needs to answer questions they don't want to answer, A full breakdown request is vital as any legitimate solicitor will provide a breakdown, if not then the SRA is the next approach. Miah is well know here, they bounce off debt collectors and PPC's to attempt to extort money.
Professional solicitors do not want to get involved in Rachmanism
To see all about Miah, do a google search "The Miah Solicitors"
Do read this as well
http://www.parkingticketsfines.com/ukcps-and-the-miah-solicitors.html

Whilst here, do please sign the petition so the PPC's can be properly regulated
This petition has grown by 400 in just a day .... tell all your friends to sign
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/111925

beryl1914

Thanks again for your quick response. I have now sent my email to the debt recovery of Miah solicitors so await a reply. I have noted the excellent advice from this link. I will definitely get my friends and family to sign this petition as one day some pool soul will have a heart attack from their letter demanding extortionate fees