Parking Fine for "Breach of Contract"

JJJ111

I have been sued by a law firm for parking at car park for a retail park and leaving the site. In the correspondence leading up to issuing the claim they alledged that I had "accepted" some "terms and conditions" and by leaving the site I am in breach of those terms and conditions.

It was the first time I went to the park, I have no idea what they are talking about and replied to them twice explaining this. All I got back was standard, computer generated letters and then they went to court.

In the "Particulars of Claim" on the court papers it just says:

“The defendant is pursued as the driver of the vehicle for breach of the terms on the signs (the contract). Reason:Driver Left Site Designated For Customer Parking Only”

I wrote filed an "Acknowledgement of Service" and wrote to the law firm asking them to provide more detail as to what the terms are and how I agreed to them but they have not bothered to respond.

They are claiming £263 which seems ridiculous given it was a Sunday morning and the car park was virtually empty.

The question is what do I do next?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

timbotambo

I suggest using this different forum instead, they will be able to help, but will need a lot more info that what you have provided https://www.ftla.uk/

Aylesbury_Duck

JJJ111 said:

I have been sued by a law firm for parking at car park for a retail park and leaving the site. In the correspondence leading up to issuing the claim they alledged that I had "accepted" some "terms and conditions" and by leaving the site I am in breach of those terms and conditions.

It was the first time I went to the park, I have no idea what they are talking about and replied to them twice explaining this. All I got back was standard, computer generated letters and then they went to court.

In the "Particulars of Claim" on the court papers it just says:

“The defendant is pursued as the driver of the vehicle for breach of the terms on the signs (the contract). Reason:Driver Left Site Designated For Customer Parking Only”

I wrote filed an "Acknowledgement of Service" and wrote to the law firm asking them to provide more detail as to what the terms are and how I agreed to them but they have not bothered to respond.

They are claiming £263 which seems ridiculous given it was a Sunday morning and the car park was virtually empty.

The question is what do I do next?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

That was almost certainly a mistake, because you've acknowledged receipt and identified yourself as the driver.

Follow the advice given on the more specialist forum.  They may help you wriggle out of it.

It may be a ridiculous sum, but looking at this from the other point of view, you parked on someone else's private land and wandered off to do something somewhere else.  I'm not justifying the tactics of these private parking operators, but you can see the sense in some of the rules and restrictions to stop the sort of abuse of the facility you're allegedly guilty of.

HillStreetBlues

I've requested this thread moved to the Parking tickets, fines & parking form
Private invoices like this it what they deal with.
P.S. It's not a fine as you will be told

Ergates

JJJ111 said:

I have been sued by a law firm for parking at car park for a retail park and leaving the site. In the correspondence leading up to issuing the claim they alledged that I had "accepted" some "terms and conditions" and by leaving the site I am in breach of those terms and conditions.

It was the first time I went to the park, I have no idea what they are talking about and replied to them twice explaining this. All I got back was standard, computer generated letters and then they went to court.

Private carparks will, generally, have signage up about the terms of use for the carpark.  This will normally say things like how long your can stay there, and if it's for customers of a particular store/service only etc.   Assuming the signage is correctly done (which it sometimes isn't) then these *do* constitute the terms of use for the carpark and by parking there, you *have* accepted them.

What you have recieved isn't a "fine" as private companies don't have the right to issue fines - despite their attempts to make it appear that way.   What this is, is an invoice.  Essentially an unpaid bill that they will pursue you for.

Coupon-mad

Oh dear. Some wrong advice given above due to this not being posted on the right board. This isn't something FTLA need to deal with.

We defend parking court claims every day!

Now your query is on the parking board where it belongs, please show us (URGENTLY) a redacted photo of the claim form and tell us on what date you acknowledged the claim?  Your MCOL History will have that information.

You have limited time to defend a claim.  Show us that claim form (redacted of data, claim number & the MCOL password of course).

JJJ111

Coupon-mad said:

Oh dear. Some wrong advice given above due to this not being posted on the right board. This isn't something FTLA need to deal with.

We defend parking court claims every day!

Now your query is on the parking board where it belongs, please show us (URGENTLY) a redacted photo of the claim form and tell us on what date you acknowledged the claim?  Your MCOL History will have that information.

You have limited time to defend a claim.  Show us that claim form (redacted of data, claim number & the MCOL password of course).

Hi CM, MCOL says "Your acknowledgment of service was received on 05/09/2024". Attached is the claim form.

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

JJJ111

KeithP said:

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Hi Keith, it's 22/8/24

KeithP

JJJ111 said:

KeithP said:

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Hi Keith, it's 22/8/24

With a Claim Issue Date of 22nd August, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 24th September 2024 to file a Defence.

That's just a few days away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence but please don't leave it to the last minute.

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Don't miss the deadline for filing a Defence.

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website. Once an Acknowledgment of Service has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.

JJJ111

KeithP said:

JJJ111 said:

KeithP said:

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Hi Keith, it's 22/8/24

With a Claim Issue Date of 22nd August, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Tuesday 24th September 2024 to file a Defence.

That's just a few days away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence but please don't leave it to the last minute.

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Don't miss the deadline for filing a Defence.

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website. Once an Acknowledgment of Service has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.

Thanks Keith, much appreciated. How come I can't use the MCOL site?