CST Law Letter Before Claim on behalf of Smart Parking - Advice needed

NI_need_help

Hi all,

Today my partner received the attached LBC from CST Law as the registered keeper of the vehicle the notice is for. We are based in Northern Ireland and I haven't seen any other letters like this one in the forums, so I'm not sure how seriously it should be treated nor what to do now.

We had received quite a few Smart Parking PCN letters, followed by the usual DRP letters, which we ignored since the advice on this website suggested we could do so since we live in NI.

A little while ago we did receive a similar LBC letter, but it did not contain as much information as this, and (I can't quite remember) it may have stated they were instructed on behalf of DRP, rather than Smart Parking.

We really do not know what to do. Is a court claim seriously likely in this regard?

Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

Redx

We never see court claims for Northern Ireland ! There is no POFA for Northern Ireland

My advice is to carry on ignoring the debt collector letters ( it says to pay DRPL , a debt collector who we all ignore , all over the UK , drpl are not worthy of any reply ) do not fill out those financial forms either , just get on with your Life

Do come back to this thread if a court claim arrives ( unlikely )

Coupon-mad

Yep, nothing will happen in NI.

patient_dream

As Redx says above ....

What you need to know is that in the normal CST fashion ...... they are lying to you.
They clearly show the ticket PCN number and they claim each ticket was £170 ?

Never has been a £170 parking charge and there never will be. IT'S FAKERY

Check out this thread 

CST letters' forum group thread

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

Now, in N.Ireland you have the consumer council
https://www.consumercouncil.org.uk/

They know all about Smart Parking and you can see what they do here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CiL0u4CYg0

D_P_Dance

IMO thir claim is doomed because of their exceesive greed, read this

They have added what appears to be an extra unlawful amount pf £70 to each PCN for debt collection. Judges have dismissed an entire claim because of this. Read this and complain to your MP.

Excel v Wilkinson

At the Bradford County Court, District Judge Claire Jackson (now HHJ Jackson, a Specialist Civil Circuit Judge) decided to hear a 'test case' a few months ago, where £60 had been added to a parking charge despite Judges up and down the country repeatedly disallowing that sum and warning parking firms not to waste court time with such spurious claims.   That case was Excel v Wilkinson: G4QZ465V, heard in July 2020 and leave to appeal was refused and that route was not pursued.  The Judge concluded that such claims are proceedings with 'an improper collateral purpose'.   This Judge - and others who have since copied her words and struck dozens of cases out in late 2020 and into 2021 - went into significant detail and concluded that parking operators (such as this Claimant) are seeking to circumvent CPR 27.14 as well as breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015.   DJ Hickinbottom has recently struck more cases out in that court area, stating: ''I find that striking out this claim is the only appropriate manner in which the disapproval of the court can be shown''.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/16qovzulab1szem/G4QZ465V%20Excel%20v%20Wilkinson.pdf?dl=0

Also read this

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6279348/witness-statements-2-transcripts-re-parking-firms-false-costs-recorder-cohen-qc-judgment-2021/p1
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.

Umkomaas

Other than a solitary case around 12 months ago, we see no NI court claims, but with19 tickets the odds on a PPC taking a punt in NI shorten. 

How come you've racked up so many tickets at the same location?   Are you regularly overstaying the time limits, or are you refusing to purchase a pay and display ticket?

Are you now avoiding the car park, parking elsewhere, or are you now complying with the requirements shown on the signage?

Do you believe there to be any further parking charges to come out of the woodwork?

NI_need_help

Thanks for everyone's input on this, I appreciate it.

Umkomaas said:

Other than a solitary case around 12 months ago, we see no NI court claims, but with19 tickets the odds on a PPC taking a punt in NI shorten. 

How come you've racked up so many tickets at the same location?   Are you regularly overstaying the time limits, or are you refusing to purchase a pay and display ticket?

Are you now avoiding the car park, parking elsewhere, or are you now complying with the requirements shown on the signage?

Do you believe there to be any further parking charges to come out of the woodwork?

One of us works at the centre in question. We hadn't realised the PCN change until the letters came through, and quite a few came through at the same time, which is why there are so many recurring notices for January and February. The other few times are because parking elsewhere was unavoidable at the time.

One of us now pays and displays instead. I am aware that a lot of other staff who work at the centre also regularly receive the charge notices, but I was not aware whether anyone else had received a letter like the one attached in my post.

I'm not sure about any further charges, but we haven't received a notice in quite some time.

Coupon-mad

You are likely to be safe, due to living in NI and anyway there is no 'keeper liability' in NI.

So, as long as you don't go replying blabbing about being a staff member and saying 'I parked' you will be OK.

Tell that to your colleagues too, no-one must phone up and make the mistake of admitting to driving.  It would be the first question they'd ask snd pretend to being prepared to listen to mitigation - hooking in the person and recording them.  No sending appeals.

Only contact them if you move house as ALL of you need to see all letters to be sure none of you get a claim.

But do pay and display.  Staff can't just ignore parking terms intended by the landowner.