Private parking ticket

b1gn3ll · 19th April 2008, 17:03

I recieved a private parking ticket on boxing day to which i replied to the company saying i refuse to pay it, i then recieved a notice of intended prosecution are they allowed to threaten me with 'prosecution'? i then recieved a county court letter about it all? If i leave it/ignore it what is likely to happen? i refuse to pay 100 pound for parking outside of the parking bay!

Barnsley Boy · 19th April 2008, 17:24

Are they genuine court papers? Did they come from the court or from the parking company? Are they stamped?

If the papers are official you should not ignore. If you do ignore and don't turn up in court, the parking company will get judgement against you by default. If you don't then pay the judgement, the parking company will be able to engage bailiffs.

The cases of Private Parking Companies issuing genuine court papers are really quite rare. If you are in any doubt, please post up the paperwork ["washed" of personal details"] so that we have the information to give proper advice.

b1gn3ll · 19th April 2008, 18:11

Hi thanks for your quick reply, yes they are offcial ive checked, this seems so annoying that i can be fined for parking outside asda by a cheap company who runs its business from a mobile phone! i will reply defending my case due to the actual writing on the parking notice in the car park being so small to read you need glasses to read it and see what happens

Barnsley Boy · 19th April 2008, 18:25

If you are going to fight this you should give yourself more than 1 line of defence. Without knowing the specifics of your case it is difficult to give more than general advice:

The following gives some idea of what your grounds for defence might be. You would have to precis the contents to convert from a letter form to a defence statement. You would also have to add in details specific to your case:

To enable me to consider matters appropriately in connection with your claim, please advise me of the following:

1 What evidence do you hold that shows my car was parked in your car park without a valid permit? If you hold documentary evidence please provide me with copies of the same. As a private car park, any claim you have lies in contract and not in Statute. I could only be contractually liable if I personally parked a car in the car park. Mere evidence that a car registered to me was parked in your car park does not prove that it was the case that I parked it.

I have already confirmed to you that I WAS NOT DRIVING ON THE DAY[S] IN QUESTION.

2 What are your charges for parking in your car park? If there are no charges then what are the contractual terms that you (your client) apply in relation to this car park.

3 Please provide me with a copy of the ticket you claim to have attached to the car.

4 Please advise me as to how I am alleged to have breached any purported contract. What are the alleged terms and conditions of the car park? Are these terms and conditions displayed prominently at the entrance to the car park? Is this evidenced?

In anticipation of receiving the documents requested above I would make the following comments:

1. As your claim lies in contract it represents a claim for damages for breach of that contract. Your penalty charge of £XXX bears no correlation to the damages you have allegedly incurred.

2. In light of the damages you have claimed, your claim represents a penalty charge and is consequently not recoverable in contract law.

3. It is my view that any contractual terms you rely upon to claim your penalty charge are unfair and consequently unenforceable pursuant to the Unfair Terms and Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

4. Notwithstanding 1 – 3 above, any conceivable claim you may have would be with the driver and not the Registered Keeper.

Before I can consider your claim further I must have satisfactory answers and substantiation in respect of the matters raised above. If full substantiation of your claim is not forthcoming, I regret that I will be unable to help you further in this matter.

Please scan in and post all the "washed" paperwork if you want the forum to help with a defence statement. How long have you got to reply to the court?

b1gn3ll · 19th April 2008, 18:40

Not sure i'll have a check in a min, i will see if the scanner still works and have a go at posting it to u. I have admitted i was the driver, i replyed to the court on the grounds of the signage is to small, the carpark had been gritted which made the road markings poor, then i recieved another lot of paper work which i put to one side as it started to annoy me a little!

Barnsley Boy · 19th April 2008, 18:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremylongfinger

Op, you would be best just to pay the original ticket and chalk it up to experience. Court cases are stressful events and you have to ask whether it is worth it. Drespite what the majority on this board believe, there is no guarantee you would not lose in court and be further out of pocket.

You may wish to know that this individual has admitted to being the boss of a private parking company. As such, he is hardly in a position to be giving impartial balanced advice.

octron32 · 19th April 2008, 18:43

b1gn3ll,

ignore jeremylongfinger, this is about his third user name this week.

b1gn3ll · 19th April 2008, 18:52

I think your right just pay it and put it down to a bad experience! Thanks for your help

Michael Browne · 19th April 2008, 18:56

Quote:

Can anyone here guarantee that the OP will not lose in court?

Nobody can, any more than you can guarantee he will lose

Quote:

Who can deny that the court experience is stressful and time consuming?

Yes it is, but only the first time. The second and third are a doddle

Quote:

Is it worth is for the sake of £100?

Yep and the satisfaction is priceless

b1gn3ll · 19th April 2008, 19:02

I change my reply! i will not pay it and go to court to see what happens i have a small claims track which i have to fill in and send back so i'll get on and do that also i will go to the car park in question and take some photos of the poor signage and badly worn parking bays

Barnsley Boy · 19th April 2008, 19:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by b1gn3ll

I change my reply! i will not pay it and go to court to see what happens i have a small claims track which i have to fill in and send back so i'll get on and do that also i will go to the car park in question and take some photos of the poor signage and badly worn parking bays

People here are more than willing to help with a defence but we will really need specific [non personal] details and the relevent deadline.

Michael Browne · 19th April 2008, 19:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremylongfinger

Up to you. It is a lot of hassle for an uncertain outcome. Note how no-one can guarantee you success in the case, despite the sweeping statements often published in this site.

Interesting how you continually stress the OP may lose as opposed to guaranteeing he will fail. Why is that?

b1gn3ll · 19th April 2008, 19:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barnsley Boy

People here are more than willing to help with a defence but we will really need specific [non personal] details and the relevent deadline.

I parked along side 2 other cars in a retail car park on boxing day when i came back i had a pcn saying i had parked outside of the marked bays and it could of caused a obstruction to emergency vehicles (which it could not of) i ignored it and then got the notice of intended prosecution so i emailed the company saying i had not caused a obstruction the road was gritted and markings were hard to see and was not paying the ticket then the court papers arrived with his claim, i replyed with my defence and the next thing i get a small claims track form which i have just found and the deadline was 31st march so ive missed that, i'll await the next letter to be honest i dont know where i stand on this i just feel like its a joke handing out tickets for this amount.

battyboomboom · 19th April 2008, 21:28

b1gn3ll, we cannot give you advice if we don't see ALL of the documentation you received, it's no good you telling us what happened if we can't see the court papers and the particulars of claim - we can't give you a proper defence if you don't let us see them.

Also, to ensure they are genuine, phone your local county court and check.

b1gn3ll · 19th April 2008, 21:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by battyboomboom

b1gn3ll, we cannot give you advice if we don't see ALL of the documentation you received, it's no good you telling us what happened if we can't see the court papers and the particulars of claim - we can't give you a proper defence if you don't let us see them.

Also, to ensure they are genuine, phone your local county court and check.

Sorry i didnt realise, havnt had a situation like this before. i have mislead the paper work so i'll leave it at that, thanks anyway

buzby · 19th April 2008, 21:39

Who is raising the action against you (the name of the Parking Company?)

b1gn3ll · 19th April 2008, 22:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by buzby

Who is raising the action against you (the name of the Parking Company?)

devere parking services

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