Court action from parking company!

Samz90

I am writing this on behalf of my sister. She has a number of tickets (14) for parking in an residents only car park in Bournemouth. Due to a number of circumstances the tickets have not been paid.

Having only just moved to Bournemouth the car was still registered at my parents address. Any letters that came from the parking company stacked up at my parents address for months until my sister returned to visit. This is when the seriousness of the situation came to light.

The first ticket she received resulted in a court summons. She still had enough time to defend the case and wrote a letter defending the parking charge with the help of a template. She foolishly sent this to the parking company - not the court!

The result - The case was ruled against her and she was ordered to pay £450 or risk a CCJ.

Being a student, my dad offered to pay the bill for her. He was unware that Gladstones solicitors were still seeking to recover £1400 for the other tickets which have not gone to the court stage yet.

My sister knows she was in the wrong for parking in a residents only car park. Her friends used a similar car park close by and boasted about how they didn't really receive any parking charges and if they did, they just ignored them and nothing happend.

I have spoken to a solicitor on the phone about the case who said we need to appeal but I feel that she may have missed the boat and needs to employ somebody who can fight the case.

At this point my Dad, who contacted Gladstones, was pressured and threatend with baliffs to pay the remaining monies owed. He made a payment of £650 with two more monthly payments due.

My whole family are trying to help her sort this out. She knows she was in the wrong and ultimately owes them a certain amount. But I feel the charges are unjust considering the amounts.

I am asking for any help with this matter. Is there anyone with a good legal knowledge of these matters? I understand that the money that has already been paid is gone. I just hope my Dad doesn't have the pay the rest of the fines for her as I know he doesn't have the savings to do it.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thank You.:)

Redx

they are not "fines" nor did anyone receive any "summons"

they are parking charge notices, which are actually "speculative invoices" and the court papers were an MCOL from the central government handling office in Northampton

its important to get the correct terminology when dealing with legal matters

hope this helps and I sugegst you edit post #1 and use the correct words (invoice + MCOL)

I doubt that anything can be appealed as there are deadlines for court appeals (if the judge granted it) and the invoices have to be appealed promptly , usually within 21 days for IPC members

so if its been a while , no appeal can be sought

no bailiffs can attend without a court order, and they only have the one they won in court if the bill wasnt settled within 28 days , which results in a CCJ (did the judge give leave to appeal ? or not ? )

Coupon-mad

payment of £650 with two more monthly payments due.

Did they sign a document committing to that payment plan? What did it say, what did they put in writing to agree this?

Samz90

No was no right to appeal for the first ticket so we have accepted that it's a lost cause. But we want to to try and put a stop to the remaining tickets.

Nothing has been put in writing as far as we know.

Is it worth employing a solicitor to look at the case?

Thanks

Coupon-mad

Samz90 wrote: »

No was no right to appeal for the first ticket so we have accepted that it's a lost cause. But we want to to try and put a stop to the remaining tickets.

Nothing has been put in writing as far as we know.

Is it worth employing a solicitor to look at the case?

Thanks

A solicitor will be unlikely to be familiar with private parking law and as she was parking where it was prohibited, she should have used a better defence and actually followed the simple instructions on the Court form...which does NOT say send the defence to the claimant.

The remaining PCNs may well result in another claim, which she could at least defend to stop them adding on random sums to inflate them above the £100 each they were.

But you haven't answered:

Did they sign a document committing to that payment plan? What did it say, what did they put in writing to agree this?

Also, what exactly has the £650 cleared? The court judgment one plus two other PCNs, or what? How much are they expecting to be paid now and what was put in writing agreeing to pay it?

Coupon-mad

No it isn't theft!

And they've paid £650 which is ridiculous - they don't need any more reminders that she mucked this situation and the defence up - and parked in exactly the sort of way that justifies the existence (Text removed by MSE Forum Team) who then pursued them. They know that. Telling them to pay more is unfair, albeit they are between a rock and a hard place and will probably be sued for the rest.

I'm sure the driver will never park like that again - like you I wish some people wouldn't but it's not the norm, just the selfish/naive 'let's blag it' attitude that some people have, whatever their age. We all know this is rare, no-one is supporting her parking but we are offering constructive advice.

The_Deep

No it isn't theft!


Not strictly in a legal sense, but it is depriving someone of the use of something which belongs to them, albeit temporarily, and perhaps forcing them to pay for parking elsewhere.

And I can assure you that it is far more common than you make it out to be, especially where no PPC is installed.

Coupon-mad

But they have coughed up £650 already and learnt an expensive lesson. I think even with your views on 'bilking', isn't it fair to let this one lie.

The_Deep

No CJ this was deliberate and flagrant abuse on several occasions. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

Coupon-mad

Who is CJ? Great...Super...!