CST Law - Letter before claim

danmcb10

Hello

Just wanting to get some advice. I received a letter today from CST Law relating to a parking fine from Jan 2020. The original fine was from Smart Parking.
All letters after the original fine were ignored and this is the first correspondence I've had for months. 
Having a look through the threads here it seems a lot of other people have been getting the same letter as well!
I have read the newbie thread and understand the advice there on LBC's - send SAR request etc.
My question is this - I live in Northern Ireland and understand there may be some law differences. Can anyone advise do I need to follow the advice in the newbie thread or do any thing differently? 

KeithP

danmcb10 said:

I have read the newbie thread and understand the advice there on LBC's - send SAR request etc.

My question is this - I live in Northern Ireland and understand there may be some law differences. Can anyone advise do I need to follow the advice in the newbie thread or do any thing differently? 

When you read the NEWBIES thread, did you see this?...

danmcb10

I did see that but wasn't 100% sure if it applied to the stage I'm now at with this. 
The fine was given in my work office car park - they have a 2 hour stay limit which I was over by about 15 mins!
I've spoken to my employer today who are going to approach the landlord and see if they can resolve it with him - fingers crossed!

danmcb10

My work were also under the impression that the fines are non-enforceable in NI.
I know for a fact there is quite a few people I work with have got the same fines, never paid them, got the same LBC letter as me and have just simply ignored it. Nothing has ever happened to any of them...
But I don't want to take that risk 

Umkomaas

Please read the thread linked below - a group one dedicated to the current rash of CST cases hitting doormats daily. Ordinarily we hardly ever see NI or Scotland cases on the forum, because if the PPC doesn't have proof of who the driver was, they have no prospect of legal success through any of their courts.

But lately, because of the desperation coursing through the private parking network as the result of a COVID-influenced 80% reduction in income, debt crawlers are now chancing their arm much more in NI and Scotland. 

We are advising those in England and Wales to ignore the CST approach unless they receive a court claim (we are still to see one to my knowledge) - E/W residents are more vulnerable because of potential keeper liability under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (Schedule 4), but in NI and Scotland you are much, much more protected. So you can just ignore this, only come back in any vanishingly unlikely (and silly) court claim by CST or the PPC they are representing. 

It's all in the group thread, make a nice cuppa and and have a long, slow read!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6166004/cst-letters-forum-group-thread/p1

danmcb10

Thanks, will come back if any issues.
My employer seems confident anyway they can sort it out with the landlord. 

1505grandad

Please make sure that you and your employer do not at any time refer to these speculative invoices as fines.

Coupon-mad

They won't sue you in NI anyway.

D_P_Dance

It is not a fine.  Read what Pete Wishart MP said recently in the House of commons about Smart Parking.

"I am sick and tired of receiving emails from people complaining about the behaviour of parking companies, telling me that they will never again visit Perth city centre because of the negative experience they had when they had the misfortune to end up in a car park operated by one of these companies. I have received more complaints about one car park in the city of Perth than about any other issue. That car park is operated by the lone ranger of the parking cowboys: the hated and appalling Smart Parking—I see that many other Members are unfortunate enough to have Smart Parking operating in their constituencies. It has reached the stage where one member of my staff now spends a good part of each day just helping my constituents and visitors to my constituency to navigate the appeals process.

…
The BPA does not have the ability to regulate these companies and has shown no sign whatsoever that it is trying to get on top of some of the sharper practices. The BPA gives a veneer of legitimacy to some of the more outlandish rogue operators by including them in their membership, allowing them to continue to operate. The Bill will oblige operators such as Smart Parking to amend their practices.++

Now complain to your MP?