so show us pictures of the signage that is there and we can pick holes in their claimthen. What used to happen is not relevent to their claim so lets beat them on what is what now.

I get back to the UK on the 24th May for 6 day's. i'll take pictures and post them then.

its better to put all your pix into ONE multipage PDF benny

so we can zoom

read upload

I have taken a picture with the size of the fonts if it is of any help, the top of this sign is 8 foot 6 inches high, the writing is faded and the 1 hour limit is just a sticker placed over the 3 hour limit

Here are the pictures in PDF format.

carparksigns.compressed.pdf

brilliant self inflicted injury by CEL.

the first sign saying free parking terms apply isnt a contract but an invitation to treat so you can ignore any other sign if you wish,

the second saying 1 hr max stay state that it is designed to deter so not a genuine offer of terms and so that makes any charge an unlawful penalty, not a contractual obligation.

No other terms on that sign so still not a contract and you cant breach non existent clauses.

i have never seen a worse set of signs from any of the bigger players in the parking world.

The landowners should be made aware that the bandits they have invited to solve their non-existent parking problems will cause them grief because of this.

It will also be worth checking with local council whether CEL have been given PP for their signage and cameras.

Bet they havent.

Something else to beat them with and if it is the case then get on to the local press pointing out the illegality of the signage and the laughable wording. Ridicule is a very powerful weapon, it overthows governments and monarchs so a parking co wont stand up in that wind

Thank you ericsbrother, I will now await the next stage which I presume will be threatening letters.

I have just received a letter from Civil Enforcement LTD which now states that I owe £140 due to additional costs, the original demand was for £100.

Can I just ask what I do now, do I reply or do I wait.

Please remember I am living in Saudi Arabia and any letters are being delivered to my UK address and forwarded to me and if they take me to court I would have to get a rep in the UK.

Parking charge now increased.pdf

You could tell them that you were driving (while visiting the UK) and give them your Saudi address. That'd flummox them

That is a disgraceful letter.

It is a shame that it came from a Legal department within a parking company where one supposes that there is no one there who has any legal standing otherwise a complaint to the SRA could be justified.

The threats are way over the top as they are designed to scare the recipient into paying without adding that none of their threats could be carried out if

a] CEL lost in Court and

b] even in the unlikely event that such a bunch of losers could actually win a defended case the defendant then pays the Court and that ends the chance to carry out their threats.

Also the addition of £40 for debt collection is a definite no-no.

Oh yes-one more thing.

The letter purports to come from their Legal Dept yet halfway through they say that if payment is not made they will instruct their Legal Dept to initiate Court proceedings/. Muppets!

I would respond by writing from your Saudi address and state that you no longer live at the address they are writing to and all correspondence should be sent to you current addy.

Then tell them that they may wish to save money on postage by getting lost altogether as they havent got a chance of winning a claim because they are just too crap at their job to actually make a sign that creates a contract in the first place

Ashley would be better off forging a different signature if he fancies his chances in a court action as Mr Swartz is unavailable.

Dont worry, they will know what this refers to.

Dont be polite either

Hi,

Can you tell me the outcome of this PCN - I have just received one from the same place (16 mins over - not exactly abuse of a half empty car park!), so I am interested if you resolved this?

Regards.

Much better to start a new thread

And complete the private parking ticket sticky of post 2 here in it too please

Dx

Up to now nothing has happened, I have received one further letter a couple of months ago stating I still haven't paid them but I have no intention of paying and will go to court if need be.

keep all your paperwork safe, parking cos often leave it a couple of years and try again because they know most people wont have their letters any more so harder to recollect what was done and said.

 I got a Parking charge, having heard nothing for 8 or 10 months I recently received this demand (attached) for payment of the outstanding debt.

The original demand was for overstaying in a free car park.

Can I have advice please on what I should do with this latest letter, I did respond to all correspondance from Civil Enforcement originally and told them I would rather fight my case in court,

should I reply to this latest letter advising the same or ignore it.

Thank you.

Here is the letter I received attached, and thank you Admin.

Council Tax.pdf

Its a dca letter..

What powers does a dca have BM?

what we call a threatogram with added unicorn food tax.

Ignore and file with your other correspondence. i

In the meanwhile you should do a bit of reading up on parivate parking and debt collection agencies so you know what is what and can then be confident in your position.

Did you send the letter I outlined or not? In other words did this arrive at your Saudi address because you told them to send all correspondence there, did they ignore that  or did you just not bother.

No ericsbrother I did not tell them to send letters to my Saudi Address as I was advised I may have to move although the move did not happen so the letter was posted to my UK address.

I have kept all other correspondance and will file this with the rest, thank you.

then you have lost the best opportunity of killing this with no effort on your part. they cant claim against you in Saudi and they cant use a wrong address when you ahve notified them your correct address is outside the jurisdiction of the UK courts. If you care to respond to this by telling them that you now reside in Saudi and all correspondence shoudl be sent there it will at least create a paper trail they cant ignore

any attempt at court would land them with your travel costs. the record for a parking co to lose for that is over £4 grand

I have now received a Claim form from the county court bussiness centre, Northampton for the sum of £278 which is, amount claimed £203.50 plus £25 court fee plus £50 legal costs.

What is the process now, do I just fill it in and send it back stating I wish to defend this claim due to the signage stating free parking, terms apply or do I do something else, any advice welcome.

Also I still work in Saudi but am finishing in October so would not be able to attend court until after my finishing date.

the best thing to do is log on to moneyclaim online and register.

then when you enter the claim details the POC etc will pop up and you can acknowledge the claim.

Dont post a defence yet but send a CPR 31.14 request for documents ( as per just about every other court case) and make sure you put your SAUDI address on it and if they send any documents to  the UK address you COMPLAIN about this breach of civil procedure.

You use that address for all correspondence and at the appropriate time let the courts (and CEL know what the air fare will be for you to attend plus hotel bills etc  they have only made their claim because you didnt take the initiative when you had the opportunity. By trying to be nice or ignoring it you have screwed yourself, go after them big time.

Once a defence if filed (you use your saudi address on all correspondence with the court as well) you will be sent an allocation questionnaire and then you put whatever court you fancy on the paperwork.

CEL's offices are in Liverpool but Ashley lives in Barnet so somewhere like the Isle of Wight would be good, you are claiming travel from saudi so you dont have to justify your selection but you might want to use a court near to some friends or relatives you would like to visit

pop up on the MCOL website detailed on the claimform.
.
 register as an individual
 note the long gateway number given
 then log in
.
 select respond to a claim and select the start AOS box.
.
 then using the details required from the claimform
.
 defend all
 leave jurisdiction unticked.
 click thru to the end
 confirm and exit MCOL.
.
.
 get a CPR 31:14 request running to the solicitors [if one is not listed send to the claimant]

no need to sign anything
.
you DO NOT await the return of paperwork.
you MUST file a defence regardless by day 33 from the date on the claimform [1 in the count]

OK I've acknowleged the claim but one more question is the CP 31.14 available to send online or do I download it fill it in and post it, I have looked by the way but can only find a downloadable version?

sorry for some unknown reason my auto failed and posted the wrong link in my last post 

cpr is there now.

when you get two mins

please fill this out:

dx