Thanks for your responses. I have had the odd letter from other solicitors before, again real solicitors, not Nigerian [problematic] (check them out for yourself if you don't beleive me lol) but these are the first to say that they have been instructed to serve proceedings rather than vaguely mentioning the possibility. That was a bit unnerving but I feel reassured about the whole CCJ thing now. They way I see it is, the UK PA throw the solicitors a few quid to write a more official sounding letter in the hope they get the dirty money they've been chasing. So as pin1onu said "They're just solicitors acting as debt collectors." Thanks again for your speedy responses. I'll sit it out for the next few days, as I have done for the last couple of years and let you know if anything develops.

Uh oh... It appears these guys have up'd their game - I've just received a couple of letters from Coleman - ctts solicitors following instruction from their client Wilsea Services T/a The UK Parking Enforcement Agency. The letters read as follows We have been instructed by our above name client to apply to you for payment of the sum of £192.50 being the amount due to them in relation to your outstanding account. we are instructed that despite previous reminders to you, the above sum remains outstanding. Our client is unaware of any reason why this sum should not be paid. Accordingly, our instructions are clear in that unless we receive your remittance within 7 days of the date of this letter then we are thereafter to issue and serve proceedings upon you without further notice. You should note that such proceedigs will include a claim for interest at the rate of 8% per annum in accordance with Section 35A of the Supreme Court Act 1981 or section 69 of the Count Courts Act 1984. In addition there will be a claim for costs. If for any reason you dispute the claim being made against you please provide us with details so we may investiagte further. From their website, Coleman seem to be legit, not the usual cowboys these guys emply. Is it time to talk to a solicitor?? Is it possible to get state funding to fight for something like this? surely it'll cost me more than £400 in solicitors fees to take this to court. I'm about worried about being CCJ'd as I currently have a good credit rating having paid money to anyone I legitmately owe it to. Help!

Parkforce run what is effectively a DIY parking scheme. A company will buy a kit from Parkforce consisting of some signs and tickets etc. and because most of these private sites don't warrant a patrol, some may only be a few spaces behind a store for example, it is down to the individual to issue the tickets. Of Course, because Parkforce love to have a new victim to bully and intimidate out of £60... no better make that £85... actually let’s just call it £135 between friends... they offer an incentive of £10 for every ticket that's issued. If any of this money finds it way back down to your malicious little friend in “security”, then he has further motivation, other than the faults in his character, to run around doing Parkforce’s dirty work. Unfortunately I don’t think refund is in Parkforce’s vocabulary. This is evident when you compare their process of appeal to a that of a legitimate council ticket (it differs from area to area but usually has a similar theme). Council Fine is £60 but will be reduced to £30 if you pay within 14days Parkforce Fine is £60 but will go up to £85 if you don’t pay within 7 days To me, I see a reasonable incentive and an example of extortion. Council f you wish to appeal the 14 days in which you are able to pay the fine at the reduced rate will be on hold until the appeal has been processed. Parkforce You must pay the fine and then you have 14 days to appeal. If the appeal is successful then your payment will be refunded. This clause just goes to illustrate what a bunch of money grabbing cheats these people really are. This is also reflected by your findings that there are no regulatory bodies or complaints procedure. I think that the chances of you getting a refund through reasoning are practically zero. If you wanted to pursue it legally I wouldn’t be qualified to suggest what your chances of success are but I can tell you it probably wouldn’t be worth the bother. For the future you have one of two options – If you are brave enough to ignore lots of threatening letters with big bold red writing and the mention of court summons, debt collectors and ruined credit rating, then do exactly that and ignore the tickets and letters. Over the last few years I have accumulated over a dozen tickets and 50+ plus letters from these mugs and my girlfriend has a similar number over a similar period. If option one seems a bit daunting, your other choice is to stop the tickets at their source. Speak to the little weasel that keeps slapping them on your windscreen and see if you can convince him not to. It sounds like you’d need to appeal to his twisted sense of authority. The choice is yours but i find my humble pie very hard to swallow with a plastic Fisher Price security badge in the middle of it.

Here's a bit of a twist on the whole Parkforce debacle that I hope somebody may be able to shed some light on or offer some guidance. In a nut shell I was issues a parking ticket (and numerous since) from Park Force which I decided to investigate before paying. I found this forum and may a decision to ignore them and all of their correspondence. I've had the letters then the letters with the big red writing and threats. They have been followed by letters from Rosendales collect threatening court action and I thought it won’t go to court because they know the contractual agreement blag won’t hold up etc etc. One thing that is interesting is that within this time they have taken to sticking warnings on my car before issuing a ticket. In essence it's the same deal as the spiel they give on their contract boards but in a handy size that they can slap on your windscreen. Now comes a letter from Else Commercial Solicitors. This is the 2nd that I've had, I don't know what the first said because it hit the bin before the door mat, but it reads as follows: FINAL NOTICE Dear sir/madam Our client Park Force - UK Parking Enforcement Agency (gives details of location) Date of offence 13/13/2007 12:00:00 Car Registration Number: (gives correct details) We refer to our letter dated 27 October 2008. No Payment has been received and therefore, we confirm that Court proceedings are now being issued and will be served upon you. Please note that all costs of and incidental to issuing proceedings will be added to the sums set out in our earlier correspondence. Should you wish to make payment, please send a cheque made payable to Else Commercial Solicitors to the address shown at the bottom of this letter for the total debt due in the sum of £200.80. Alternatively... (and it goes on to say I can phone them and pay by credit or debit card but that they'll charge me 2% to use a credit card. It then gives details should I wish to pay by bank transfer) Faithfully Else Commercial Solicitors Unlike Parkforce who's phone was answered by a toddler when I tried to contact them a while ago, these guys seem to be legitimate. So it's not a threat of court proceedings but a letter to tell me that they are being issued... Is it time to get a solicitor on the case??