Please Help- Incorrect CCJ's

peach7931

Just been browsing my credit file, and I am shocked to find out I have a CCJ issued. I have brought up the details of the CCJ and I THINK- its from an old car parking fine.
In the 1st half of 2018 I received a car parking fine and wrote back to them explaining that it was a genuine mistake- was not aware it is a paid parking meter, and also if we could negotiate on the price as I simply could not afford to pay it ( had to quit a well paid job due to health). A few letters were sent back and forth and then did not hear from them (around May I think). Moved home in July, still had my old car till November 2018.
But did not hear any further about the car fine, or that it has proceeded to go to court etc.
I was planning to ring the number on the CCJ tomorrow to explain the situation- Is this the right thing to do?
In total panic and confused! Please help.

worried_jim

peach7931 wrote: »

Just been browsing my credit file, and I am shocked to find out I have a CCJ issued. I have brought up the details of the CCJ and I THINK- its from an old car parking fine.
In the 1st half of 2018 I received a car parking fine and wrote back to them explaining that it was a genuine mistake- was not aware it is a paid parking meter, and also if we could negotiate on the price as I simply could not afford to pay it ( had to quit a well paid job due to health). A few letters were sent back and forth and then did not hear from them (around May I think). Moved home in July, still had my old car till November 2018.
But did not hear any further about the car fine, or that it has proceeded to go to court etc.
I was planning to ring the number on the CCJ tomorrow to explain the situation- Is this the right thing to do?
In total panic and confused! Please help.

You need to post this in the parking fines thread here-

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=163

[Deleted User]

Ideally (morally) you should pay it

Nasqueron

The CCJ issued means you are far too late, you need to get a set aside (which you will have to pay for) based on the address change - I assume you updated the DVLA when you changed address and then pay off the debt.



Your mistake was admitting any fault to the parking scammers, for future reference, post on the parking ticket forum as soon as you get one of these invoices (they are not fines unless issued by a council)

System

Nasqueron wrote: »

Your mistake was admitting any fault to the parking scammers

Grow up, calling them that just makes you look immature.

[Deleted User]

Yes obviously scammers.

Even though the OP admits they parked wrongly and didn’t pay the meter...

Nasqueron

Tarambor wrote: »

Grow up, calling them that just makes you look immature.

Parking companies ARE scammers. They have been caught out lying, committing fraud (such as faking date stamps on cameras - caught out by shadows etc). Others have had the right to access DVLA information removed due to misuse



Here is Torbay MP Kevin Foster:

"Various interesting practices and excuses are used for things such as why a barrier cannot be put in place so that people know, before they leave, that they have not paid and can avoid getting one of these fake fines in the post.
“They are made to look like fines, but they are not - they are invoices.
He said: “Companies in this industry are like bloodsuckers in many cases. The reality is that the current system of regulation is absolutely hopeless. It is like putting Dracula in charge down at the blood bank.

Giles Watling MP called a similar system in his constituency

an outrageous scam.

Pete Wishart MP, a co-sponsor of a parking bill intended to crack down on their behaviour met with a parking company boss he had previously called the

lone ranger of parking cowboys

Sajid Javid MP stated

For too long drivers have suffered from unjust fines at the hands of dodgy parking firms

Sir Greg Knight (who introduced a bill to enforce a proper independent regulatory system rather than the current system of a "regulator" funded by parking firms) stated

unscrupulous rogues are undermining the whole sector with bad practice. Some dodgy operators are engaging in practices such as deliberately unclear signage, ticketing people whist they are getting change or when parking payment machines are out of order. Currently there is no legally binding code to prevent this

Invoices are repeatedly sent out by these scammers even though they know the charge is unenforceable due to breaches of their own rules on grace periods (including the right to enter the car park, read the terms of service and agree to them or leave if not) which are often enforced by ANPR against their own terms, quality/quantity of signage. Other examples include people going into a car park, finding all the machines are out of order and leaving, only to get a ticket and a system where you had to press a yellow button to signify a night ticket, even though the ticket had the time stamped on it.

dealer_wins

Maybe we need parking lessons in the national curriculum made compulsory.

Nasqueron

!!! wrote: »

Yes obviously scammers.

Even though the OP admits they parked wrongly and didn’t pay the meter...

You say that like it's black and white. You don't know if, for example, the signs meet the legally required standard (some don't) or if they were deliberately placed to make it hard to catch out naive motorists.


See CS036 PCMUK v Bull et al B4GF26K6 or CS035 UKPC v Masterson B6QZ4H3R as examples where people successfully defended their supposed incorrect parking because the parking signage did not meet the required legal standard to be enforceable. The naive attitude that if you get a parking invoice from one of these firms, you have done wrong is why they make so much money and why the government is (finally!) legislating against this industry with their kangaroo court appeals system.