CPMS to MIL - county court summons

Jamieatkin

Hi everyone,

I received a county court summons with MIL as the claimant. This was for a PCN from back in February 2014 and at the time the advice was to ignore them, which I did.

I filed a defence with them and used contract law in order to do so stating that the "fine" should not be punative and reflect lost etc (I was clutching at straws)

MIL collections contacted me the other day and asked if I wanted to settle out of court, I was at work, the guy was rude and all he would agree on was taking off the £25 court fee and wouldn't budge on the £150 debt collection fee. I declined his offer then I receive another letter stating that MIL collections have registered their interest to have the hearing in Truro.

I have an N180 form which I can fill out myself and actually request Manchester where I live I think.

What the hella even going on though, how has it even managed to get this far? And what do I do next? Apparently there is a mediation service but I'd rather not pay it, not through greed but through principal. How much are hearif fees?

I have an added worry because I go travelling around South America August 4th and won't be back until October 1st.

I filed a defence because I was under the influence that they were only bluffing but it seems their intentions are to go all the way, I've also been saving for a house and will be looking to get a mortgage next year. Should I just pay the bloody thing?
Please help!

Northlakes

Your hearing should be at your local court and you should request that. You can always ring the court (probably Northampton) to get some advice. You do need to do things timely.

From what I have read MIL have no case at all but are pushing things to the limit just to get you to pay up.

THESE THINGS ARE SERIOUS THEY WILL NOT JUST GO AWAY

Suggest you do some urgent reading, Gan on Pepipoo has done a lot of work on these chancers.

bazster

Jamieatkin wrote: »

I received a county court summons with MIL as the claimant. This was for a PCN from back in February 2014 and at the time the advice was to ignore them, which I did.

It was not, at least not on here.

Jamieatkin wrote: »

I filed a defence with them and used contract law in order to do so stating that the "fine" should not be punative and reflect lost etc (I was clutching at straws)

You've missed the most important leg of your defence, which is this: Car Park Management services (CPMS) Ltd. was incorporated on 18/06/2014 i.e. it didn't exist in February 2014. Accordingly you cannot possibly have any debt to that company so they couldn't have assigned anything to MIL.

Jamieatkin wrote: »

MIL collections contacted me the other day and asked if I wanted to settle out of court, I was at work, the guy was rude and all he would agree on was taking off the £25 court fee and wouldn't budge on the £150 debt collection fee. I declined his offer then I receive another letter stating that MIL collections have registered their interest to have the hearing in Truro.

This gives away their true intent: they are simply trying to intimidate you into paying. If they call you again just hang up, and if they call you at work and give clues to any of your colleagues as to why they are calling write to them and formally warn them that they are risking a harassment claim against them.

Jamieatkin wrote: »

I have an N180 form which I can fill out myself and actually request Manchester where I live I think.

Yes you can and should do that. I very much doubt they have the slightest intention of sending someone to Manchester

Jamieatkin wrote: »

What the hella even going on though, how has it even managed to get this far? And what do I do next? Apparently there is a mediation service but I'd rather not pay it, not through greed but through principal. How much are hearif fees?

You don't pay the court fees unless you lose (they're not large anyway).

Jamieatkin wrote: »

I have an added worry because I go travelling around South America August 4th and won't be back until October 1st.

So write to the court and tell them this a.s.a.p. If it's still with Northampton write to them and tell them, although they may reply that you need to inform your local court once it's been allocated there.

At the same time formally request the court to strike out the claim on the basis that you have now discovered the party MIL alleges they bought the "debt" from didn't exist at the time the "debt" was allegedly incurred and hence cannot have assigned it to MIL. Accordingly the claim discloses no cause of action (you can get a copy of the company's incorporation details from the Companies House website).

Again they might reply that you should take it up with your local court after allocation, or they might say you need to pay an application fee. Either way try again with your local court after allocation.

Jamieatkin wrote: »

I filed a defence because I was under the influence that they were only bluffing but it seems their intentions are to go all the way, I've also been saving for a house and will be looking to get a mortgage next year. Should I just pay the bloody thing?
Please help!

They almost certainly are only bluffing and if it does go all the way to a hearing they will probably not show up, so start preparing a costs schedule to show the judge. You should be able to get around £100 out of them.

Edna_Basher

As reported on a Pepipoo thread earlier today, the MIL / CPMS saga seems to have taken another farcical twist.

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=98867&st=60&start=60

It seems that erstwhile sole trader Lesley C and her charming hubby have taken their Fisher Price letter-writing kit out of the toy box to conjure up a retrospective Notice of Assignment between CPMS (sole trader) and CPMS Ltd [sic].

You really couldn't make it up if you tried.