Please help!

lurpdog101

Hi,
 last august, a car park local to where my 14yr old worked over summer changed their car park overnight to be run by ocean parking. 

in September, I received 3 parking notices from ocean on the same day, demanding £100 a time for 3 occasions,  for a max of 15 mins a time. At least 2 of those times driver couldn’t get out as there are zero disabled parking bays and space between cars was very tight and not enough space for them to get out anyhow. I wrote to them to appeal. I received a letter dated 7th October rejecting the appeal. I then received a letter dated 11th October from a debt collection agency saying they were collecting on behalf of ‘ocean and I had to pay £160 x 3!! Within 4 days of them sending a rejection, I find debt agency adding £180 to the total.

I received several more letters from said agency over the next 2 weeks…..then 3 letters dated 3rd November - so 2 weeks AFTER I’d started receiving the debt collection agency’s increased amounts - I received 3 letters from ocean parking reminding me to pay the 3 x £100! At this point I thought screw it and decided never to talk to the debt agency as thought they were fraud. 

Personal  life was very intense during that time, with depression and subject to ongoing issues with some neighbours which were taking my mind away from remembering these “fines”

anyhow, since then I’ve had about 25-30 letters from the debt agency, each one same sort of thing, “you’ve failed to make payment, we are advising our client to go to court but they’re still willing to settle out of court if you pay 3 x £160 etc etc ….each letter, same text, just new date for deadline.

today I received a letter from a so-called law firm associated with the debt collectors saying I hadn’t responded and that their client can take me to court up to 6 years after unless I pay £800 - yes that is correct. The extortionate £100 x 3 originally, which became £160 x 3 from the debt agency suddenly, out of nowhere jumped up suddenly to £800!!! 

What rights do I have ? What advice can anyone give? I still object to the original fines and my raising concern over no disabled bays etc went unanswered, however, for me, I’ve been thinking maybe call ocean and arrange a payment plan with them for the £300. 

Can anyone advise or help?

Trainerman

You will need to read the Newbies to understand the process, what to do when and how. People here will help and the success rate is very high.

To try and get a bit of perspective, you need to understand that these are not fines, they are invoices. That £800 is sheer scare tactics, designed to frighten you into paying. The bottom line is that you do not owe anything until/unless a Judge says you do,
Forget all the debt collector tripe about CCJs as it can not happen until a Judge says so.

However, they may well try the £300 odd in Court, so read , understand the process and get ready to defend that claim.DO NOT ignore a Letter before Claim/Letter of Claim giving you 30 days

D_P_Dance

 The extortionate £100 x 3 originally, which became £160 x 3 from the debt agency

They have added what appears to be an extra unlawful amount  of £180 for debt collection.

This amounts to double recovery and Judges all over the country are dismissing these spurious additions. Indeed some judges have dismissed entire claims because of this. Read this and complain to Trading Standards and 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 Excel v Wilkinson.pdf?dl=0

However, VCS appealed this so it may not apply in all cases, read this

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ntksx9g7177ahyg/VCS v Percy v1 Amendments (2).pdf?dl=0Also read this

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

Also this,

"Abuse of process – the quantum

13. In addition to the disputed Parking Charge Notice claim amount of £100, the Claimant has added a sum of £60 that is disingenuously described variously as 'debt collection costs', ‘additional charges levied to cover the cost of recovery’, ‘additional administration costs’, ‘debt recovery costs’, ‘initial legal costs’ and ‘recovery costs’. The added £60 constitutes double recovery and the court is invited to find the quantum claimed is false and an abuse of process as was found by District Judge Claire Jackson (now HHJ Jackson, a Specialist Civil Circuit Judge) in Excel vs Wilkinson: G4QZ465V, a similar case in which £60 had been added to a parking charge, heard in July 2020 (the transcript of which is exhibit XX-04). The Judge concluded that such claims are proceedings with 'an improper collateral purpose'. Leave to appeal was refused and that route was not pursued."

Please read the newbies and complain to your MP

Coupon-mad

I’ve been thinking maybe call ocean and arrange a payment plan with them for the £300. 

Absolutely not!  You owe nothing.

These were not real fines and there are rules and laws about parking management and clear signage, as well as the rights of disabled motorists.

The new Government Code of Practice and all the work that went into it in recent years wasn't done with the intention that people pay unfair parking charges.  Particularly not disabled people where the signage is unclear.

It makes me so sad when people think they have to pay because they don't know how to get it cancelled and think these are real fines.

Get your MP to help by complaining to the landowner and parking firm, and the BPA Trade Body.

Le_Kirk

A car park that changes its T&Cs should put up signs well in advance of the day they make the changes so that local people and those who have been using the car park for months/years had suitable advance warning of the change.  Was that true of this car park?

lurpdog101

Thanks for the help and comments everyone. I’ll write to MP and sorry for being a newbie and not reading the newbie section first! 

lurpdog101

Le_Kirk said:

A car park that changes its T&Cs should put up signs well in advance of the day they make the changes so that local people and those who have been using the car park for months/years had suitable advance warning of the change.  Was that true of this car park?

Thanks - that’s correct. Was literally an overnight change. No warning that would be changing hands, no warning thst they would be starting to record via anpr etc. 

Umkomaas

today I received a letter from a so-called law firm associated with the debt collectors saying I hadn’t responded and that their client can take me to court

Which law firm?  Have they given you a deadline by which to reply to them?

lurpdog101

Umkomaas said:

today I received a letter from a so-called law firm associated with the debt collectors saying I hadn’t responded and that their client can take me to court

Which law firm?  Have they given you a deadline by which to reply to them?

It is a letter from CST Law, unpaid debt reminder notice, where they’ve bumped it without any reason given to £800. Saying they’re acting on behalf of Debt Recovery Plus (the DCA) as agent of Andhor Security Serbives Ltd T/A Ocean Parking. 

It says the debt relates to one or more parking charges thst I am liable for. It states their client has the right to commence court proceedings against me to recover the debt for a period of 6 years from the date of the charge. 

They then quote Supreme Court case of Beavis v Parking Eye (2015) confirming the lawfulness of private parking charges under civil law. 

They go on saying their client would however like to resolve the matter amicably without court action as a claim would result in an increase in the amount sought from me in terms of statutory costs and court fees - that is on top of the £180 the DC`a already added and then the extra £320 that this company has added on top of that sum without rhyme nor reason. 

It states that their client would like to provide me with this opportunity to make full payment of the sum of £800 thereby avoiding court action and any increase in the amount claimed. 

Please contact Debt Recovery Plud in order to discuss payment proposal or make payment online. If I can’t make payment in full, it may be possible for DRP to agree a plan with me

then it ends with “if you do not pay by 18th March 2022, please keep Debt Recovery Plus Ltd updated as to your current address to ensure that any court documents are correctly directed to you. This is vital as a County Court judgement (CCJ) can have a serious effect on a person’s credit rating”

to me, that last bit sounds like a threat which is unlawful isn’t it? (On top of all the other unlawful things they’ve done)

lurpdog101

I can also add that, after looking in previous cases to do with CST law on here, I read that the DCA cannot ask me for any money as they do not own the alleged debt….as I have had no letters from ocean parking transferring debt to Debt Recovery Plus….which means, in turn, CST Law cannot demand or enforce as their “client” don’t own the alleged debt?

Umkomaas

Unless it's marked up as 'Letter Before/Of Claim', then ignore it. Scaremongering jacking up of the charge into Monopoly Money. At that level you could buy yourself a tank of petrol! 😁