'The Miah Solicitors' & UKCPS

[HopefullOutcome]

This is my first post so please be gentle with me!

 

In October 2015 my partner went to a children's play centre on an industrial estate

(Boundry Industrial Estate) in Bolton where I live

 

 

when she returned she told me that she parked her car on the access road as it was very busy

and she could not find a parking space.

 

 

Upon her return to the car there was a parking attendant who was just about to place a ticket on her windscreen,

they chatted and the attendant didn't issue the ticket

- we thought that this was a lucky escape until we received a parking fine letter from UKCPS.

 

In my naivety and from previous experience I told her to ignore the letters (I now know that it was a mistake!)

and because of that we have received a letter from 'The Miah Solicitors' demanding payment

and threatening court if we do not contact them within 14 days.

 

I have read a lot of previous threads to know that they are a bit dodgy

and that UKCPS rarely issue court papers to reclaim the costs

 

 

but I need to reassure my partner that they wont take us to court & am asking for advice

on how I should reply to Miah Solicitors?

 

 

I have found a letter written by someone on another forum but it was written before the Beavis ruling.

 

All in all I'm not sure what to do next.

 

Thanks in advance for any help

The Miah Solicitors 05-02-16.pdf

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

We have other threads about Miah solicitors and parking charges, it might be worth you having a search for those while you wait for the guys to come along.

 

What does the Miah letter say please? Does it say they 'will' go to court, or they 'may' or they may recommend to their client to take legal action?

 

Information like this will help the guys to advise you, I expect they'll have other questions for you.

 

My best, HB

[BankFodder]

Who is the registered owner of the car?

 

Do we gather that no ticket was eventually issued?

[HopefullOutcome]

Hi Thanks for the replies and the welcome - I have uploaded a copy of the letter we received (I have blanked out any personal details)

 

 

She is the registered keeper and there was no ticket issued because she arrived at the car before it could be placed on the windscreen and the attendant didn't issue it according to my wife

[dx100uk]

https://cse.google.co.uk/cse?cx=partner-pub-0964707606882478:652l7hswbgv&ie=UTF-8&q=Miah+Solicitors'+%26+UKCPS&sa=Search+CAG#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=Miah%20Solicitors'%20%26%20UKCPS&gsc.page=1

[dx100uk]

if this is from oct 2015 you are not alone

several members have had these letters and its gone nowhere

 

 

dx

[ericsbrother]

Miahs are acting as bebt collecotrs like Gladstoneas and Wright Hassal so at this stage nothing to worry about.

Now, do you have the first letter received through the post and can you say when it arrived? The claim is undoubtely flawed so any evidnec you still have can be used to bash them. If you have it post it up and we will advise. If the letter is incorrect procedurally we will tell you and seggest a one off letter to Miah's

[HopefullOutcome]

Hi ericsbrother - unfortunately I can't find the original 'parking fine' letter from UKCPS, I have my partner looking for it but I have these 2 if they help?

 

 

Really appreciate your help

UKCPS 14-01-16.pdf

UKCPS 29-12-15.pdf

[ericsbrother]

You could write to Miah's and say that no parking charge notice was issued to the driver therefore the subsequent notice to keeper was timed out under the PoFA for keeper liability. You have witnesses to the events of the 29th Oct who will be happy to attend court if your client wishes to pay for a day out for a coach party but would suggest that they save your, their and the courts time by considering the matter closed due to their own procedural improprieties.

This creates a paper trail and will make them look pretty daft if they continue heading for the legal cliff.

[HopefullOutcome]

Thanks ericsbrother - I will draft something up

[FootballPlayer]

Thanks ericsbrother - I will draft something up

 

Don't ignore them. Eventually they will obtain a CCJ against you no matter how long ago you got this parking charge.

[HopefullOutcome]

Hi ericsbrother

 

 

I have drafted the following but have not sent it yet, I will be sending it tomorrow by recorded post to ensure it is delivered (thank you for your help)

 

To whom it may concern

In response to your letter before action dated 5th February 2016, we deny any debt owed to your client.

No parking charge notice was issued to the driver therefore the subsequent notice to keeper was timed out under the PoFA for keeper liability. We have witnesses to the events from the 29th October 2016 who will be happy to attend court if your client wishes, however we would suggest that you consider the matter closed due to their own procedural improprieties.

[ericsbrother]

29th Oct 2016- you can see into the future?

their letter was not a LBA, just a begging letter so dont promote them to any status they dont deserve.

[HopefullOutcome]

Get your point - will take the 'Letter Before Action' bit out

[dx100uk]

and don't waste money on recorded

 

 

all you need is free proof of posting from the PO counter

 

 

2nd class will do

[GOGGLEZ]

I received 2 pcn tickets from them in back in August 2015 a week apart. From the placement of the notice on the front windscreen I became suspicious as to the legitimacy of this company so I spent a lot of time researching private parking and the law and UKCPS

 

Even though I am not in any shape or form a legal expert and all I say below is stated "WITHOUT PREJUDICE" and is "PURELY AND SOLELY MY OWN OPINION" based on my research.

 

I can only come to one conclusion which is that UKCPS are trading in some of their car parks unfairly to say the least, ( I can't say that for all their car parks without visiting them all ), but from what I have seen they are probably trading unfairly in many other of their car parks too.

 

They have to rely on signage to form the basis of a contract, however in all the UKCPS car parks I visited the signs were badly sited and used various font sizes which makes them much harder to read. In all cases the charges were buried under an enormous amount of print about two thirds of the way down in the smallest print allowable laid down under the I.P.C code of conduct. The I.P.C code of conduct states that it should be in large print at the top of the sign.

 

There are laws relating to traffic management signage and if the signage falls short and fails to comply then any kind of sanction is unenforceable. They can argue its on private land and the laws don't apply. I would argue that on private land where pedestrians and moving and maneuvering vehicles share the same space all motorists must be able to read the signs clearly easily from the moment they enter the car park and difficult to read signs are, in fact, a danger to the public.

 

That on its own is not enough, however the "tickets" and the way they issue are also inappropriate. Firstly when they issue a notice they attach it to windscreen in bottom left hand corner, which unless you approach your car from the front you may well not realize that you have been given one until much later. If you had taken the time to look at the notice before you ripped it off the windscreen you will have seen a clear plastic bag with notice inside displaying outward in large capital letters "PARKING CHARGE NOTICE" and if that was all it said that would have been OK. However underneath it states very clearly that "UNAUTHORISED REMOVAL OR INTERFERENCE IS AN OFFENCE" Putting that statement on the front of a Parking Charge Notice could be argued that UKCPS are "showing out" to have more authority then they actually have because usually it is civil enforcement officers employed by local government or police that issue penalty charge notices and they have similar wording on the opaque bags which the notices are put in. The fact that UKCPS use similar wording on their notices through a clear window bag, that in itself is illegal.

 

Sending out invoices and letters of intimidation asking for money without any proof or evidence to substantiate the claim is questionable.

 

If you can prove inadequate signage, If there are any words on the front of the actual notice stuck to the windscreen relating to an kind of offence...Menacing letters demanding money without any supporting evidence.

If all 3 of the above conditions apply you probably have a cast iron defence against any court proceedings that might be brought against you.

 

My other piece of advice is don't communicate with them whatsoever. Don't reply to any letters they or their solicitor send you.

IF YOU RECEIVE COURT SUMMONS FROM THEM THEN YOU MUST REPLY TO THE SUMMONS, IF YOU DON'T THEY WILL AUTOMATICALLY GET A JUDGEMENT AGAINST YOU (aggravation you could do without)

 

I think that UKCPS has developed a strategy to deliberately mislead customers starting with its name, followed by designing signage which is wordy and difficult read even when stationary. With inappropriate placement of notices on the windscreen and some ambiguous wording notices which make them appear more official then they actually are. To complain or appeal one must write them a letter and use a stamp to post it to them because they wont accept or reply to emails. This makes communicating time consuming and tedious, another tactic used to put people off appealing or complaining and therefore increasing the chances of getting paid all that takes is one phone call

Edited March 6, 2016 by fkofilee
Removing libelous comments and accusations of Fraud.