Debt collectors and Demolished multi-storey's (scotland)

ihateparkingtickets3

Hi! I am new to the forum and have a rather expensive problem (£170).

Here's the breakdown of how I got into said problem -

In March 2025, I partially paid for a parking ticket (for context, the signage was rubbish and I am dyslexic). The car park had plate recognition & the instructions were to type your reg into the machine and pay - or so I thought. This one expected you to add up your hours of parking by pressing a plus button so I paid for the minimum parking time. I imagine a few people reading this are familiar with this type of parking method, but it is not the standard, most plate recognition (in say Buchanan Galleries) will add up your time for you! Also, I am sure there are some people who really have their lives together and take note of how long it has been since they parked but I'm the sort of person who can't remember what they said 5 minutes prior.

I appealed the ticket - I know! I am a fool! But I thought considering I had partially paid my ticket, they could see that there was no fault and that it was a harmless mistake - I was willing to pay the extra £3 (ish)! Alas, I have been moved right on to the bailiffs <3 hooray (!)

The bailiffs are a Manchester company who have been phoning me and sent me a letter on the 10th of July. I have 14 days to pay or call and discuss repayment. If it helps I will comment the name of the company but for the sake of anonymity & keeping out of their searches - I'll refrain from naming them for now.

Here's where things get tricky - if I am taken to court, the car park is not only inaccessible to the public now, it is scheduled for demolishment!! I have no evidence for the confusing signage & the landowner is no longer the owner as it has been absorbed by the council. I tried phoning the council to see if I could speak to anyone about dropping the case but they informed me that once it's through to the bailiffs, there's nothing they can do.

I suppose what I need is someone to tell me if I will be ok. Despite the plot of land having a big romantic date with a wrecking ball, could I have any leg to stand on without gathering any evidence? I want to know if this case could go in my favour due to the fact I partially paid and didn't succumb to paying a fat fine over a misunderstanding. Any tips are very much welcome as I am trying my best to fight this and learn as much as possible for the future and my peers. My mum is worried about my credit score too - lol.

Finally, if everyone could be kind as I am a little nervous about how I could afford this £170. Have a great day :)

ihateparkingtickets3

I should mention this is obviously a private parking ticket, the council only took over the land this year!

la531983

So to clarify, the car park was in Scotland? Do you also live in Scotland?

ihateparkingtickets3

@la531983 Hi, yes I do!

la531983

In which case its not an expensive problem, unless you have done something stupid like tell them it was you who was driving.

There is no keeper liability in Scotland.

ihateparkingtickets3

@la531983 I fear I might have admitted through appealing the ticket and telling them that I did partially pay & that it was a mistake, no? This was before I had any knowledge of keeper liability! I was led to believe that because I engaged I had then made myself liable due to the appeal needing my personal details and email. If this is not the case, I will need to figure out what to say if the court case does get actioned!

Thanks again!

Le_Kirk

You could have been a passenger in the car that someone else was driving, even if it was your car!

ihateparkingtickets3

@Le_Kirk Great point! Do you think that it would be enough to go on for a court case? Do you think that I should contact the bailiffs or not? Thanks for commenting - this is a very king community on here so far :)

la531983

Contact NOBODY. Do not poke the bear. They are not bailiffs.

ChirpyChicken

Why cant people just let things be and always want to contact someone, its a common theme

ihateparkingtickets3

@ChirpyChicken I don't understand