ACE Security Services

JamesBro

Thanks again.

The charge they are asking for is £100.

They say, "the overdue charge will increase to £160 in the first instance of further action".

With maternity pay and a big mortgage round our necks, the last thing we need at the moment is hundreds of pounds to pay in a court hearing, which makes it very tempting just to call it quits and give up. I would hate to do that, but I'm worried about the future costs of a claim in court.

So, could someone tell me what the worst case scenario would be with regards to the costs I could be paying should it go the distance?

Also, I have been told the sign was in front of the car when it was parked. The sign reads "WARNING PRIVATE LAND" in large font and "Charge of £100" in large font. The actual text saying, "Vehicles must be parked wholly in a bar, display a valid permit", is very small. I'm wondering if this is still a decent enough claim? Most of the examples I see on the Newbies thread seem to be far stronger (such as actually displaying a permit, etc). Please advise on this. I have until Tuesday to decide.

Also, on the PADI website, here http://www.parkingappeals.info/companydata/Ace_Security_Services.html, it says Court Claim as "High" for this company. This also makes me think it'll get to that stage.

So two questions;

1) What's the worst case scenario, cost-wise?
2) Can a claim be as "weak" as mine and still win?

Thanks.
James

Redx

1) a typical loss in small claims court is around £175 and is the original £100 charge plus court fees and legal fees

court claims in the small claims court are limited in costs and so most of their added costs are objected to

2) you are asking for a legal eagle to give you a legal opinion based on the info you have put forward, without that legal eagle having see all the facts of the case, the landowner contract and all the evidence pertaining to the case

if you paid hundreds of pounds to a legal eagle to obtain all this info and evidence and for them to make a legal determination of your case in order to answer your second query above, feel free to do so

many people with strong cases have lost in court, and many "weak" cases have suceeded, its a lottery, known as judge bingo

if it goes the distance, a judge will decide the costs and will usse them as the judgment, so the final figure will be decided by the judge having heard both sides , including your objections to the claimants costs

that typical final figure could be around £175 , which needs to be paid within one month of the judgment date


that judge will also deal with any POFA2012 issues, what constitutes an appeal to a postal NTK, etc too

KeithP

Your latest post tells the world who the driver was.

Can I suggest you edit your post so that the sentence that starts "Also, I have been told..." reads more like:

Also, I have been told by the driver that the sign was in front of the car when she parked.

I have until Tuesday to decide.

What happens on Tuesday?

Redx

people who "blab" about what happened on the day tend to lose

this is why "pleading the 5th" goes down well in the UNITED SATES (new name for the USA since social media was invented , lol) - covfefe ?

Coupon-mad

What's the worst case scenario, cost-wise? ...the last thing we need at the moment is hundreds of pounds to pay in a court hearing,

But that doesn't happen, what on earth makes you think that? Only about 1% of people here lose and as Redx says, those rare losing parties typically pay only £150-£175ish, very similar to the £160 currently demanded. Small claims court doesn't allow huge costs add-ons unless you are unreasonable - which defending a claim, is not.

Can a claim be as "weak" as mine and still win?

Yes we see wins 99% of the time and your case is the same as all the others. Not weak.

JamesBro

KeithP wrote: »

Your latest post tells the world who the driver was.

Can I suggest you edit your post so that the sentence that starts "Also, I have been told..." reads more like:

Also, I have been told by the driver that the sign was in front of the car when she parked.

What happens on Tuesday?

Thank you.

Tuesday is the arbitrary deadline they have given for the fee to remain at £100 I believe.

But I shall ignore this demand and carry on to wait for the court claim.

Thank you.

JamesBro

Coupon-mad wrote: »

But that doesn't happen, what on earth makes you think that? .

Thanks as ever.

I was looking at Small Claim Court Q&As earlier and read that the initial claim fee and the hearing fee can amount to as much as £410+£325 at the maximum end. So I was checking to see how likely that is.

KeithP

JamesBro wrote: »

I was looking at Small Claim Court Q&As earlier and read that the initial claim fee and the hearing fee can amount to as much as £410+£325 at the maximum end.

Isn't that for a claim of £10,000?

abeltasman

Hi JamesBro,

I went through a similar situation with Ace. After filing my defence the case was passed to my local county court where the judge struck out their claim / found they had no cause of action.

Have a read over my thread, it should help.

Also don't worry about ACE too much. Once they pass the case on to Gladstone's all their correspondence becomes this cut and paste joke.