Moorside LBC - any advise/reassurance greatly appreciated

yaderzkaya

Hello, 

I’ve got 10 days left to respond to a Letter Before Claim from Moorside Legal. I’d been putting it off because I was just going to pay it, but a friend suggested I look into it properly and check out this forum first.

The amount they’re asking for is £340, but there’s no breakdown of which tickets it’s for. The only ones I can think of are from last year, when I was staying as a legitimate visitor at an apartment block that had resident parking spaces. I had a visitor pass to park there, but at some point I lost it. While the landlord was sorting out a replacement, I kept parking there and ended up with a few fines — I think 3 or 4. Did ask landlord to get in touch with parking company and cancel as it was out of my hands in terms of replacement permit, however, he also was useless. 

I think I appealed them at the time, but I can’t remember the details. I never paid them though, and I believe the appeals were either rejected or not followed up.

Do I have any legal leg to stand on here? I’m not looking to risk getting a CCJ or going through the whole court process just to end up paying more in fees on top of the original fines. Would appreciate any advice or reassurance. 

I also do not know if any personal circumstance information can help if I chose to take it to court ie, unemployment? 

Anyway, the clock is ticking, any advise would be greately appreciated. I am also diggesting the newbies thread but there is nothing around being a legitimate visitor, and not displaying a pass which to be fair, is on ALL the signage. Also, I no longer go there nor have associations to the apartments. 

Gr1pr

Do not pay,  regardless of what anyone says,  you definitely dont owe what they are asking for  !

Follow the advice in the second post in the newbies sticky thread in announcements near the top of the forum by coupon mad and email the LoC template response to Moorside 

Then await the inevitable N1SDT court claim pack from the CNBC in Northampton using MCOL to arrive in the post 

There were no fines,  just invoices from a private parking company   ( magistrates issue fines,  but are not involved in private cases  )

You can get help with the template defence in announcements near the top of the forum,  when the claim is issued 

You definitely wont get a CCJ if you follow our advice here 

yaderzkaya

Gr1pr said:

Do not pay,  regardless of what anyone says,  you definitely dont owe what they are asking for  !

Follow the advice in the second post in the newbies sticky thread in announcements near the top of the forum by coupon mad and email the LoC template response to Moorside 

Then await the inevitable N1SDT court claim pack from the CNBC in Northampton using MCOL to arrive in the post 

There were no fines,  just invoices from a private parking company   ( magistrates issue fines,  but are not involved in private cases  )

You can get help with the template defence in announcements near the top of the forum,  when the claim is issued 

You definitely wont get a CCJ if you follow our advice here 

I just found photo of the original tickets which were £60 each - 3 of them total all issued by PCM March 2024... 

So once I respond to them via email which I also found on this forum.. And then follow the advice, will there genuinely be a legitimate court appearance to do with this? Or do most cases just get closed? 

I have succesfuly avoided parking fines before but it NEVER got to this stage, so definitely feels rather scary 

Gr1pr

They are usually £100 , not £60

Not all cases get to a hearing,  in your local civil court 

You still haven't got any fines,  just 3 civil invoices 

£340 sounds like 2 tickets,  not 3, at £170 a pop

The Moorside Legal letter tells you who their client is

yaderzkaya

Gr1pr said:

They are usually £100 , not £60

Not all cases get to a hearing,  in your local civil court 

You still haven't got any fines,  just 3 civil invoices 

It was reduced to £60 if paid within whatever time they set out. 

I have just re- read the post in the newbies thread where there's a template to email them. It details two questions at the bottom, 

''1. Am I to understand that the additional £70 represents what you lot dress up as a 'Debt Recovery' fee, and if so, is this nett or inclusive of VAT? If the latter, would you kindly explain why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT?

2. With regard to the principal alleged PCN sum: Is this damages, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking?''


They do not really make any sense to me and I am reluctant to include them as I do not believe they apply to me. However, want to follow advise to a T. Do I ask what the charges are about as there are genuinely no details in the letter, (Although have seen advice on here to not ask for details ) 

And - once I e-mail, then what? I just wait for further 30 days (As this is what the email will ask them to do under  pre action protocol. AND then, a further letter from them? 

Gr1pr

The original parking charge notices were £100, the 40% discount was  £60, time sensitive,  expired long ago,  so irrelevant 


You should do whatever is right for you,  but most people just email it as is, regardless

Or

You could use this longer one posted recently by doubledotcom 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81550275#Comment_81550275

Dont overthink this early stage 


Then yes you wait 30 to 60 days for the court claim to arrive,  same as everyone else 

£340 sounds like 2 tickets,  not 3, at £170 a pop

The Moorside Legal letter tells you who their client is

yaderzkaya

Gr1pr said:

The original parking charge notices were £100, the 40% discount was  £60, time sensitive,  expired long ago,  so irrelevant 


You should do whatever is right for you,  but most people just email it as is, regardless

Or

You could use this longer one posted recently by doubledotcom 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81550275#Comment_81550275

Dont overthink this early stage 


Then yes you wait 30 to 60 days for the court claim to arrive,  same as everyone else 

£340 sounds like 2 tickets,  not 3, at £170 a pop

The Moorside Legal letter tells you who their client is

I very much like the sound of the long response so will go ahead and email it over. 

Interestingly, it should be for 3, as I have a photo of them, all received one after the other. 

Yeah, PCM is the client. 

I will email the response across and wait. Can I come back to this thread and comment for further advice if needed once responses come in be it them or court claim? 

Gr1pr

Perhaps it should be 3, but £340 is 2

Definitely come back to this thread and use it if anything further occurs,  especially a court claim 

yaderzkaya

Gr1pr said:

Perhaps it should be 3, but £340 is 2

Definitely come back to this thread and use it if anything further occurs,  especially a court claim 

The dreaded email has been sent to Help@moorsidelegal.co.uk. Now we wait... Thank you kind stranger for the reassurance that we all sometimes need! 

Coupon-mad

yaderzkaya said:

Interestingly, it should be for 3, as I have a photo of them, all received one after the other. 

Yeah, PCM is the client.

The dreaded email has been sent to Help@moorsidelegal.co.uk. Now we wait... 

Can I come back to this thread and comment for further advice if needed once responses come in be it them or court claim? 

Certainly.

This is why you don't pay PCM. See the bottom-dwelling calibre of this ex-clamper firm:

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2015/05/is-it-pcm-uk-who-make-up-stuff-all-time.html?m=1

We'll get you through this without a CCJ and there is no costs risk. The added fees would not be allowed even if you lose at a hearing, so the amount would be LESS than Moorside are currently demanding.

The LBC is definitely for two PCNs (£100 each plus the rip-off £70 'fee' added twice for no reason) so don't mention the third one. Let these play out.

We don't need to see Moorside's template reply to your email. It is all drivel.

Come back when you get your claim, BUT:

Please read this message and do the current Public Consultation in August:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81552148/#Comment_81552148

It's vital the Government hears from people with unfair charges who are facing horrific, scary court claims.

The link shows the two vital points to concentrate on, IMHO:

- banning DRA fee add-ons completely

- making sure a new SINGLE appeals service replaces POPLA and the IAS which are seen as not fully independent and involved in a 'race to the bottom'.

Do not be deterred by the fact that some questions are for the parking industry only.

See the link and follow it through to the main thread about the new statutory Code plans, where we are discussing how to respond. Please join us in doing this Consultation.

This is your one chance to make a difference re the imminent regulation of private parking. It is coming. Help shape the final decisions.