Lol, at least they didn't try and file a claim at the Crown Court. Any photo's of the OPC clan spitfire650 - love to see what these jokers look like. Regards, TFT

Don't be too hard on yourself, at least you haven't paid them. I think that you have done well challenging it. Now you know the ropes with PPC's you will never have to worry about their [problem] invoices again. Using Trethowans is a clever tactic because it allows them to send letters that appear to come a solicitors (which they do) but in actual fact it is just a department full of administrators. People are taken in because of their own assumptions about what a solicitor is. Anyone can appoint a solicitor for anything, it adds no validity to the strength of a case. No doubt, Trethowans being a commercial operation have picked up on the PPC [problem] and have found a way to make money for themselves. Regards, TFT

As Lamma says, you wont get threatened with court if it is a Local Authority ticket, it will simply be registered as a debt with TEC. You might want to post the ticket up for concensus on the matter. TFT

Not so fast, it's bonfire night soon - you'll need something to burn. TFT

An email from him as well - tell him no more communication otherwise you will begin legal proceedings lol lol. Again, well done my friend. Best Regards, TFT

I think you clearly demonstrated to them that you are not a mug and would not be paying their parking charge. Once a PPC have realised this then there is little point in carrying on. All this gesture of good will business is just a euphamism for "we give up". With regards to writing to their director I see it like this. You were failing to get a satisfactory response by writing to the company; therefore, you obtained the Director's address (easily accessible via Companies House) and wrote to him directly with your issues. This seems to be a perfectly reasonable thing to do. In response to their "we will start legal proceedings" nonsense my reply would be - for what? lol It has got me thinking though - perhaps we should have a photo hall of fame for all PPC king pins. Regards, TFT

This will always be favourable for you and will never do you any harm. The stronger your case the better chance you will stand. I must admit, I have ventured over to the thread from your PPC Central Ticketing thread which I have watched with much interest. Good Luck and best regards, TFT

Ha ha ha ha. All I can say is, if you don't like it, don't dish it out TPS. All bullies are cowards - it never changes. Congratulations SpitFire650 on getting your pretend parking penalty overturned. Regards, TFT

Trethowans have a large office outside Salisbury in Wiltshire. Very smart, must be doing well out of the PPC industry. Did you know these are just template letters that are sent out. Did you also know that there are no solicitors sending out these letters in this department? Think about it, if you actually started paying a real solicitor it would cost far more than £25 or even £50. At the end of the day you paid for the period you were parked so you have not caused any loss to anyone. Therefore, please forward the amount of £0.00 you owe to nobody:-D Here they are Debt Recovery | Trethowans | Solicitors & Lawyers in Southampton & Salisbury Ignore them, flash website and all that but solicitors don't chase small beer. Regards, TFT

If you want to know the ins and outs then read this. It is an article posted by a chap called Pete Jones. I believe he is currently a partner in a solicitor's firm in Derby. Logic Reasoning Thought Laws Regards, TFT

Hi Newham Boy, Firstly, you need to get a statement of account so that you know exactly what you have been charged and for what. I should also point out, it is only the unfair charges that you will be able to recover, not charges for a legitimate service that has been provided. The charges you need to look out will be mainly ones for late payment. Your legal position is that you can argue that these are unlawful, and therefore unenforceable, by meaning of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999; however, the success of this argument will largely depend on the charge amount. For example, if you have been charged £2.50 for each occassion of late payment then this would be very reasonable; however, if you have been charged £35 on each occassion then this would be unreasonable because the charge would be far in excess of the greatest possible cost that could have been incurred by your HP provider. UTCCR 1999 SCHEDULE 2 REGULATION 5(5) INDICATIVE AND NON-EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF TERMS WHICH MAY BE REGARDED AS UNFAIR 1. Terms which have the object or effect of - (e) requiring any consumer who fails to fulfil his obligation to pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation. Basically, your HP provider cannot profit from your defaults - the amount of charges made for defaults must be a reasonable pre-estimate, If you can show that charges you have received are in excess of a reasonable pre-estimate then you should win. That said, when you put forward a strong case, the defendant is likely to settle out of court for "commercial reasons". To recap, you first need to establish you have recevied any charges, what they are for and how much they have been. Do you have any records for this? If not, post back and I will put up a template letter you can send to them to get a statement of your account. Regards, TFT

You would simply explain to the judge that recent media coverage gave you much reason to question the legitimacy of these organisations and the way in which they operate and that by contacting them you felt that you would be exposing yourself to risk. Also, you would state that you had never willingly entered in to a contract with Athena ANPR and did not know why they pursuing you for this money. After all, if you get an email asking for you to provide details and you believe it is a [problem] you wouldn't respond would you? That is not unreasonable at all. TFT

Make sure you send in a solicitor to see the CAB Advisor first so that they have enough knowledge to talk to you about the matter. Seriously though, you already have access to far superior advice on this website than you would get from the CAB. TFT

I have had a thought, if you parked on private ground you can display show plates - as if you were at a car show, for example. Therefore, why don't we all have false number plates made (obviously not real registrations belonging to other vehicles) and velcro them over our real plates. Then, as soon as we leave the site we remove them. Job done TFT

A very bad one who can't get a decent job! TFT

Wrong move. You have just said to that company that you believe they have some sort of legitimate right to charge you £90 and that you are happy to discuss the matter with them. Ignore them for your own sake. Also, the Royal Mail is already overstretched without having to deliver a never ending amount of junk mail to you from this ppc:-D TFT

If you want to take up the fight, then it is the private companies that we must deal with first. TFT

If it was his first offence I was going to suggest making an informal appeal and seeing if they would let you off this one time; however, G&M could probably shed much more light on this. That said, £25 is not the end of the world. TFT

Alfresco my friend, welcome to the wonderful world of the private parking company. As the others have said, ignore, ignore and ignore some more. Do not engage with them. If you want to find out more about the particular contractor you have been ticketed by then do some more research on them;);) TFT

Well slap me sideways, £213.00 - liquidated damages. I can't respond to this without swearing. Continue to ignore this PPC garbage. TFT

Flaming Hell, Assuming an average of 6 letters per invoice you must be looking at about 180 bits of paper - thats enough loo roll to last you a life time Are you just unlucky with these firms - 33 is quite a few? TFT

Hello Newham Boy I would suggest starting a new post called How can I get vehicle penalty charges refunded? in this area of the forum Vehicle retailers and manufacturers - The Consumer Forums We will be able to advise of how you can go about doing this and hopefully get some money back for you - I have had quite a bit of experience and have taken it as far as County Court so I know the procedure quite well. Also, any claim you make, although similar to bank charges, wont be affected by the FSA Waiver. Anyway, in the mean time I suggest concentrating on your immediate issue with the bailliffs. Best Regards, TFT

As G & M says, if you've been let off don't worry about it. TFT

Barry Swift, I would double check this if I were you. As it has been said, some NCP car parks are Local Authority ones. If you have received a PCN from NCP acting on behalf of the council then this can be registered as a debt at TEC at Northampton County Court. Just double check to make sure it is definately a private one. Regards, TFT

Well, you recover these charges in much the same way as you would do bank charges; however, you make want to start a seperate thread so that advice you receive on the clamping does not become confused. I will see if I can find an appropriate area of the forum. Regards, TFT