Hi, Just thought I'd let you know I have nothing new to report I last posted in August 09 and I am pleased to say that I haven't heard diddley-squat from Met\Roxburge\Michael Sobell\Debt Collectors in months now. I received all the usual letters\threats\final demands and they even went so far as to phone me. I did not pay them a penny and they did eventually give up. Please do the same, you will NOT end up in court. Guaranteed! Many thanks once again to all concerned on the CAG forums. Cheers, Tony

If you're still not convinced (you should be) then please read this too: Private Parking Tickets: Tickets are often invalid, don't pay....

If you're still not convinced (you should be) then please read this too: Private Parking Tickets: Tickets are often invalid, don't pay....

To Pinkrat, They probably got my tel number when they got my details from the DVLA but who cares? Tell your son to put the phone down on them - you really don't need to be polite to them. Remember they are [problematic] pure and simple, treat them as such. You have no obligation to them whatsoever, they are trying to con you! To Letshelp, Yes they asked but didn't get very far. I do not give out information over the phone to cold-callers even if they say they're calling from Graham White solicitors. They got very shirty when I refused to co-operate and told them their "invoice" was unenforceable. I was told they would be taking me to court so I said they could be my guest. I've heard nothing else from them and, as I said before, I know I won't. I think that if you show them they can't intimidate you they give up and go away. If anything else comes of all this I'll post again, but don't hold your breath! Do not pay them a penny! Regards, Tony

Hi all, I haven't posted for a while but if you can be bothered to go back a few pages you'll see what happened to me in August 2008 - I posted a few times. I followed the advice given by various people on this forum (my thanks to you all) and refused point blank to pay up. I received letter after letter from Met and then from Graham White solictors all basically saying I owed them money (which increased with every letter) and if I didn't pay I'd be facing the bailiffs\debt collectors or a ccj. I think they finally realised I wasn't responding to their letters so then they started phoning me instead. I must have had at least 4 phone calls from different people at Graham White Solicitors all with a very 'pushy' attitude. I quite enjoyed them actually because I refused to play ball and told them (in a way) to go to Hell. I admitted Nothing on the phone and turned the tables on them by asking them to prove that they were who they said they were. They could have been anyone as far as I was concerned and told them so. I don't think they like me anymore! I haven't heard from them for a while now and I know I won't. They try to intimidate you into paying by quoting quasi-legal mumbo jumbo and pray of the 'ignorance' of the average person on the street when it comes to legal issues. Rest assured these are merely empty threats and a court room is the very last place these criminals want to end up. My advice, for what it's worth, is ignore them and they WILL go away. Just be patient and don't let them win! It's a pain in the butt to have this hanging over your head but rather that than parting with £150.00 for no good reason. Ignore, ignore, ignore. Thanks again to all who responded to my previous posts with solid advice - good on you! Keep it up please. Regards, Tony

Hi Benn, Yup it turned up in the post yesterday with the heading NOTICE OF INTENDED LEGAL ACTION "...our client has instructed us to send a notice of INTENDED LITIGATION before legal proceedings are issued in the County Court..." Goes on to tell me what the fees will be etc and threatening bailiffs (again) in the event of a Judgment Order not being adhered to etc etc Signed by Michael Sobell Solicitor It has joined the other pile of junk I've already received from them and I'm ignoring it. Until i get something that is properly 'official' I can't be bothered to worry about it. Have u had something from them too? Regards, Tony

Hiya again, Someone from Roxburghe called me today (24 Feb 09) and, as I was out, they left a message on the answerphone asking me to call them. Wondering what I should do? I've already deleted the message so won't be calling them back but if they call back when I'm in, I'm wondering what would be the best thing to say to them? Has anybody had calls before? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks

Hi again all, Hmmm, speak of the devil, and they seem to be trying to up the ante. Today, 21 Feb 09, I've received by normal post i.e. not recorded etc, a letter from Roxburghe Debt Collectors in Surrey. They were even kind enough to supply me with their website - Welcome to Roxburghe - Fresh approach, better results - where I can pay online. Yeah like that's going to happen To quote from their letter: "We have been instructed by MET to recover this outstanding Parking Contravention Notice ('PCN') that was issued against your vehicle, the details of which are....." etc etc Hey, if they want the PCN back that badly they can have it! I feel like posting it to them - they didn't actually say they were instructed to recover the so-called outstanding amount.... is this their legal loophole? To quote further: "Please note that in the absence of payment or any valid dispute we will pursue this matter - with or without your cooperation. If we do not hear from you within 7 days we will pass the matter to our Solicitors, Graham White, who will review your case for potential legal action." Jonathan Stock Debt Recovery Manager Roxburghe (UK) Limited So, what do you think is the best course of action to take? Ignore completely (my personal favourite) Reply stating the 'invoice' is in dispute and refer them back to MET Reply quoting the Administration of Justice Act (or whatever it is?) Demand that they commence county court proceedings within 7 days or to cease & desist etc Tell 'em to take a hike quoting harassment etc I am not even thinking about paying them - they want to take this further they can be my guest, but I'd be interested to hear if this crowd has been heard of before? Regards, Tony

Hi all, Just to update you on my particular MET saga. Received my 'fine' (invoice) in August 08 from MET at The Brewery in Romford. I wrote to them in early September to explain that I'd put the 'wrong' half of my ticket on my dashboard etc In Mid September I received their reply saying tough luck - pay anyway So, I started ignoring them During Oct, Nov & Dec '08 I received: - 'Notice to Owner/Keeper/Hirer' for £100 - ignored it - 'Reminder' plus admin charge for £125 - ignored it - 'Final Reminder' plus admin charge for £150 - ignored that too even though, according to MET it was an IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE (yeah right) Haven't heard diddley-squat from them since 11 Dec 2008 and I don't expect to. I'm very grateful to all the posters on here for their advice etc and if you're reading this because you've received a MET Invoice (and it is purely an invoice NOT an enforceable fine) then I hope you'll make up your mind not to pay them either. Don't part with your hard earned cash!! Their bully-boy tactics are unethical, immoral and probably illegal. In bold capital letters on the Final Reminder it states "Failure to pay the full balance outstanding within a further 14 days of this notice will result in MET instructing a debt collection agency to collect any sum due. The debt collection agency may commence proceeding against you blah, blah, blah...." This is all hot air and scare tactics - my 14 days have long passed - don't let this type of thing intimidate you into paying these greedy bloodsuckers. Should I hear anything more from them (very unlikely) I will post another update. Regards, Tony

Hi again, Haven't heard anything more from MET for a couple of weeks now - fingers crossed. In the meantime this link may be of interest. Parking Ticket Appeals: Money back from unfair fines plus free template letters... Regards,

Update. I received my "Notice to Owner" today from MET as I haven't bothered even to reply to them so far since my initial appeal was turned down previously. To quote from their letter: "You have a further 14 days to pay........additional sum of £25 to cover costs...... instructing a debt collection agency...... may commence proceedings...... obtain a county court judgement....... may affect your ability to borrow money:)....... balliffs (their spelling not mine) to recover payment......" They then go on to tell me that if I wasn't the owner/keeper/hirer of the vehicle I should send them details of who was - that's the bit that made me laugh. No doubt this is exactly the same as others have received and I fully intend to file mine and forget all about it. They can still go to hell. Oh, and they were gracious enough to tell me that should I wish to appeal it has to be in writing and I should enclose a stamped addressed envelope for their reply!!! I'm sure this bunch don't know whether they should scratch their watch or wind their a$$ Anyway they can kiss mine I'll post again as and when. Regards,

Hi Howard, How long ago was it that your daughter received her "fine" from the lovely people at MET? What was the outcome? Did they reply to your comment about them being in breach of the Consumer Act? I'd be interested to hear if you were successful and I'm sure many others would be too. Regards,

Many thanks to both Barnsley Boy and Al27 for your replies. You've put my mind to rest and I'm debating whether to send a reply or not. I feel like telling them to go to hell - but then again, as per Al27, why waste the postage? I'll be interested to see their next letter and I'll update this thread as and when I receive something. Keep up the good work Thanks again.

Hi all, I just registered with this site today after reading some of the posts to do with MET Parking Services after receiving a PCN from then whilst parked at our local Sainsbury's in Romford. (My thanks to everyone who has taken the time & effort to post) In my case I bought a pay & display ticket from the machine but stupid me put the wrong half of the ticket on my dashboard. When I gave my half of the ticket in to the Sainsbury's cashier for reimbursement he pointed out my mistake and sure enough when I got back to my car I'd received a £100/£50 PCN. Unfortunately I have already written to them (MET) explaining what I'd done before finding this site and I've since received a reply from them saying that I still have to pay anyway as "..we are satisfied that a contravention occurred". So now I'm getting ready to fight them all the way and intend to make use of the letter templates etc but I was told that there was a discussion all about these PPC's on breakfast TV yesterday (26 Sep '08 - which I missed) and 2 lawyers were on who basically said that if the PCN's aren't paid then MET etc WILL pursue it through the courts. Did anyone see the programme? It seems to go against what the various posters are saying on the subject here. Another question: When writing to these bloodsuckers they recommend using recorded delivery (which I did) however their reply to me wasn't recorded. Should I reply to it or ignore it as if it never arrived? Sure, they may be able to prove that they posted their letter but they can't prove that I ever received it.... Any advice would be welcome. Thank you!