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Herbie,

 

Yes - you've got it.

 

You will get some drivel through the letterbox, this is normal, we've all gone through it. The chances of court action really are microscopic, I've simply not heard of it with CEL, and there have been thousands of forum postings about them.

 

Relax, don't worry, come back whenever you need further reassurance.

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I was asked by a Very Stressed Friend about the usual Letter

Received by CEL. Re a Parking Charge Notice

 

My first Letter of reply stated:-

 

Dear Sirs

Re your Invoice Dated xxx June 2008 (Copy Enclosed)

which has just been passed on it me from the Keeper for Reply.

We have put your Invoice in Dispute, and if you Progress any

further with this Case:-

A Cheque will be Issued to the the Sum of £45

With a Letter that it is Paid "WITHOUT PREJUDICE"

and by Paying this Fine my Client is not Admitting to any

Incident and that I will then take them to Small Claims Court

to reclaim the said Money plus Court and Solitor Costs Incurred.

 

Sent by recorded delivery

The Awaited Reply has just arrived Today which I will reply too

and Post on here shortly

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I have just Completed a Reply to the Usual Letter Number 2

although it will not be sent as yet as I will await the Cheque

and your Intellectual Respose.

 

Dear Sirs

 

Thank you for your awaited letter dated xx/07/2008 (Copy Enclosed)

I refer to my Original reply Dated xx/06/2008 and will now proceed

as stated:-

 

1. My Client will now Issue the Enclosed Cheque for the Sum as

stated being £45.00

 

2. The Parking Charge Notice is Paid "WITHOUT PREJUDICE"

and by Paying this Fine my Client is not Admitting to any Incident

 

3. Encashment of the Enclosed Cheque will result in Court Action

to reclaim the said Money's plus Court, Solicitor and any further

additional Costs Incurred

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Hi everyone

 

I have on balance just ignored the letters, received "Final demand" today Too busy to write the template letters and whilst they might make me feel better I am sure as others have said, that they have no effect. CEL know the situation and must get hundreds of similar letters (just look at the forum) and will just ignore them.

 

I did however write to messers J Sainsbury before finding this forum, saying how disgusted I was that they were uing this sort of tactics in their car parks whilst building bigger stores and adding cafes etc. all to keep people here longer. That association with companies like CEL could only do them harm and that I wouldn't darken their door again etc. etc. This had almost immediate effect - response from head office requesting proof that I was in their store (which I had) then a further letter from the Colton store itself asking for the notice saying they would "sort it out". Not sure what that entails but I have gone one step frther to suggest that paying or cancelling my ticket is of limited use to them, far better to require CEL to remove their equipment from the carpark and if they need to control it, use pay and diplay or entrance barriers like any reputable company. I will let you all know what happens.

 

If enough people boycot retailers who use these car park "management" companies and make it extremely visible that they are doing so ,letters to head office or better still the Chief Executive tend to work - check who the CEO is on the internet and then find his / her home address in "Who's Who" if you want maximum effect! then they are likely to use their considerable muscle to deny these companies business.

 

let's chase these parasites away

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It seems to have worked. 72 hours later I have a cancellation notice from CEL. A painless way of getting them off my back with the added advantage that I have highlighted to the retailer that association with these companies can harm their business. I am sure that my own single complaint will not have them thrown off but immagine if everyone did it.

 

Best of luck all of you with your various approaches and I will keep an eye on the fotrum whilst being extremely careful in supermarket carparks!

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I will be taking Legal Advice with my Solitor and will pick up the County Court Papers in the Morning

 

I have found 9 Beaches in their Infomation so Far

 

It looks like they have got all their Infomation for the TEC (Traffic Enforcement Centre)

I phoned them Today and they are not Covered by their Rules as CEL are a Private Company

The TEC were very Interested in CEL and have taken all their Info for their Files

 

If they find that their is a Case (or if there isant) at least we will know

our next Step then

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Dogshead,

if you want to go to PM we could swap notes on their paperwork. I have some fairly extensive documentation on what statutes may be being broken - it is not a small list..

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you have PM

meanwhile here is some stuff - it needs a bit of work but my MM suggests the approach..

 

The Enterprise Act 2002 (Supply of Services) Order 2003

 

from The Enterprise Act 2002 (Supply of Services) Order 2003

"Permitting or making arrangements to permit the use of land

2. - (1) For the purposes of Parts 3, 4 and 8 of the Enterprise Act 2002, "the supply of services" includes:

 

(a) permitting or making arrangements to permit a person to put or keep on

land a caravan (within the meaning of Part I of the Caravan Sites and Control

of Development Act 1960[2]) other than arrangements by virtue of which the

person may occupy the caravan as his only or main residence;

 

(b) permitting or making arrangements to permit a person to park a motor

vehicle (within the meaning of the Road Traffic Act 1988[3]) on a place other

than a highway, or in Scotland on a place other than a road (within the

meaning of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984[4])."

 

and from

Enterprise Act 2002 (c. 40)

Domestic infringements

 

(1)

In this Part a domestic infringement is an act or omission which—

 

(a)

is done or made by a person in the course of a business,

 

(b)

falls within subsection (2), and

 

©

harms the collective interests of consumers in the United Kingdom.

 

 

(2)

An act or omission falls within this subsection if it is of a description specified by the Secretary of State by order and consists of any of the following—

 

(a)

a contravention of an enactment which imposes a duty, prohibition or restriction enforceable by criminal proceedings;

 

(b)

an act done or omission made in breach of contract;

 

©

an act done or omission made in breach of a non-contractual duty owed to a

person by virtue of an enactment or rule of law and enforceable by civil

proceedings;

 

(d)

an act or omission in respect of which an enactment provides for a remedy or

sanction enforceable by civil proceedings;

 

(e)

an act done or omission made by a person supplying or seeking to supply goods or services as a result of which an agreement or security relating to the supply is void or unenforceable to any extent;

 

 

(f)

"an act or omission by which a person supplying or seeking to supply goods or services purports or attempts to exercise a right or remedy relating to the supply in circumstances where the exercise of the right or remedy is restricted or excluded under or by virtue of an enactment;"

 

 

(g)

an act or omission by which a person supplying or seeking to supply goods or services purports or attempts to avoid (to any extent) liability relating to the supply in circumstances where such avoidance is restricted or prevented under an enactment.

 

 

-------------------

from

Enforcement Orders - BERR

 

Enforcement Orders

 

Under Part 8 of the Enterprise Act, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Trading

Standards Authorities, sectoral regulators and other designated enforcement

bodies, can apply to the courts to stop traders infringing a wide range of

consumer protection legislation where those infringements harm the "collective interests of consumers".

 

Part 8 of the Enterprise Act replaced Part III of the Fair Trading Act 1973

and the Stop Now Orders (EC Directive) Regulations 2001. It also extended the

scope of the Stop Now Order enforcement regime to include a wider range of

domestic consumer protection legislation.

 

These orders are known as Enforcement Orders, breach of an Order is a contempt of court and could incur a fine or imprisonment.

 

Enforcers can also use Enforcement Orders to clamp down on traders who fail

to carry out a service with reasonable care and skill.

 

The Office of Fair Trading is responsible for co-ordinating enforcement

action under the Regulations. Further information on the role and

responsibilities of the OFT is available on the OFT web site.

 

Who can use Part 8 powers?

 

Under Part 8 of the Act three types of enforcers are identified:

 

(i) General Enforcers. In addition to the OFT, the Trading Standards Service

in Great Britain and Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) in

Northern Ireland are specified in Part 8 as having the power to act as

general enforcers.

 

(ii) Designated Enforcers. A designated enforcer is any public or private

body in the UK which the Secretary of State designates in a Statutory

Instrument, having identified the person or body has the protection of the

collective interests of consumers as one of its purposes.

 

The Secretary of State has designated the following bodies as Part 8

enforcers by a Statutory Instrument:

 

• The Civil Aviation Authority

• The Director General of Electricity Supply for NI

• The Director General of Gas for Northern Ireland

• Ofcom

• The Water Services Regulation Authority

• The Gas and Electricity Markets Authority

• The Information Commissioner

• The Office of Rail Regulation

• The Financial Services Authority

• Consumers' Association (Which?)

 

A public body will only be granted designated enforcement powers if it is

independent. By granting a public body designated enforcement powers, it is

deemed that the body is conclusively identified as a public body for the

purposes of Part 8.

 

A private organisation may be designated as an enforcer only if it fulfils

the criteria specified by the Secretary of State in a Statutory Instrument.

 

(iii) Community Enforcers. Community enforcers are entities from other EEA

states that are listed in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

These enforcers may apply for injunctions in other member states.

 

------------------------------------------

for free car PPC car parks.

 

"If a trader offers to supply goods or services completely free of any charge

or other obligation, there is no contract at all."

from Trading Standards Central - Business Guidance Leaflet

and from

Trading Standards Central - Business Guidance Leaflet

couriously enough

--------------------------------

Misrepresentation Act 1967

 

A misrepresentation is a false statement of fact made by a party or his/her

agent, which is intended to and does induce another party to enter into a

contract.

 

Dependent upon whether the misrepresentation was made fraudulently,

negligently or innocently, the party who has relied on the misrepresentation

will be entitled to a remedy which may include rescission, refund and/or

compensation.

----------------------------------

(see Trading Standards Central - Business Guidance Leaflet

 

On 1st January 2007, new legislation - The Companies (Registrar, Languages

and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. 2006 No.3429) - came into

force, which amended the Companies Act 1985 and, amongst other things,

applied new rules to business stationery.

 

A company must now state its name in legible lettering on the following

business stationery, whether in hard copy, electronic or other form:

All the company's business letters or order forms.

All its notices and other official publications.

All bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements, cheques and orders for

money or goods purporting to be signed by, or on behalf of, the company.

All its bills of parcels, invoices, receipts and letters of credit.

All its websites.

 

You will need to show, in legible lettering, on all business letters, order

forms and any of the company's websites :

your place of registration;

your registered number;

your registered office address; and,

if it is being wound up, that fact.

----------------------------

Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977

 

see John Antell barrister

 

"11. The "reasonableness" test

(5) It is for those claiming that a contract term or notice satisfies the

requirement of reasonableness to show that it does."

-----------------------------

The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999

 

(And this is the one also sinks them - nrealy all PPC tickets have no contract

basis and for those rare ones that do it turns put the charges are unfair and

deemed penalties - hence unenforceable.)

 

These Regulations, which only apply to consumer contracts, say that a

consumer is not bound by a standard term in a contract with a trader if that

term is unfair. Examples of unfair terms would include the following:

 

Penalty clauses which allow the trader to claim more than their actual losses

when a consumer breaches the contract.

 

Terms which are unclear or unintelligible.

 

Terms which exclude liability for breach of contract.

 

Terms which deny the consumer their statutory rights if they do not comply

with formalities as to the time or manner of making the claim (e.g. making a

complaint in writing by recorded delivery).

 

Giving the trader the right of final decision in a dispute

-------------------------------

Malicious Communications Act 1988.

----------------------------------

 

1.Protection from Harassment Act 1997, Chapter 40, 1. - (1), (a), (b).

a)Protection from Harassment Act 1997

 

b)Prohibition of harassment. 1. - (1) A person must not pursue a course of

conduct-

 

(a) which amounts to harassment of another, and

(b) which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment of the other.

(2) For the purposes of this section, the person whose course of conduct is

in question ought to know that it amounts to harassment of another if a

reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the

course of conduct amounted to harassment of the other.

2. - (1) A person who pursues a course of conduct in breach of section 1 is

guilty of an offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary

conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or a fine not

exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or both.

(3) In section 24(2) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (arrestable offences), after paragraph (m) there is inserted-

"(n) an offence under section 2 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (harassment).".

 

2.The Fraud Act 2006 (section 2)

a)Fraud Act 2006

b)Fraud by false representation

(1) A person is in breach of this section if he-

(a) dishonestly makes a false representation, and

(b) intends, by making the representation-

(i) to make a gain for himself or another, or

(ii) to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.

(2) A representation is false if-

(a) it is untrue or misleading, and

--------------------------------

 

A little-known piece of law:

 

Companies Act 1985, s. 458:

 

If any business of a company is carried on with intent to defraud creditors

of the company or creditors of any other person, or for any fraudulent

purpose, every person who was knowingly a party to the carrying on

of the business in that manner is liable to imprisonment or a fine, or

both.This applies whether or not the company has been, or is in the

course of being, wound up.

 

So, if they know they won't be able to pay their debts but carry on trading

they face up to seven years in prison.

---------------------------------------------

also

Under the provisions of section 4(2) of the Business Names Act 1985 I

require you to provide me with the following information:

If you are trading as a partnership, the names of each partner;

If you are trading as an individual, your name;

If you are trading as a company, the full name of that company, as registered at

Companies House;

If you are trading as a limited liability partnership, the names of each

member and the corporate name of the partnership

In relation to each name (whether person, company or partnership), an address in Great Britiain at which service of documents will be effective.

Please note that failure or refusal to provide the required informtion

is an offence for which you can be fined.

-----

 

which leads to ( from Trading Standards Central - Business Guidance Leaflet

 

Business guidance leaflet

Business Names

 

 

The current position with the law that governs the use of business names

allows the Secretary of State control over the name you choose for your

business and regulates disclosure of business ownership - in other words,

what and how you must tell others about the ownership of the business.

 

It must be noted that, whilst the Business Names Act of 1985 still currently

applies to the above and the following, Schedule 16 of the Companies Act of

2006 contains provision to repeal the Business Names Act. It is expected that

the Business Names Act will eventually be repealed in its entirety when

Schedule 16 comes into force. This is currently expected to be October 2008,

at which time (or earlier, if needed) further guidance will be provided.

 

The law currently applies to:

a company which trades under a name that is not its corporate name;

a partnership which does not trade under the names of all the partners;

an individual who trades under a name other than that person's surname, with or without his or her first names or initials.

 

If you trade under your own name, e.g. John Smith trading as J Smith, you are

not covered by the provisions of the Act, but if you add any words other than

your initials or forenames, e.g. John Smith trading as Smith's Autos, you are

covered.

If the Act applies to you (see above), you must comply with all the

disclosure requirements. You will need to disclose (as appropriate):

the corporate name;

the name of each partner, or

the individual's name, and

in relation to each person named, an address in Great Britain at which

documents can be served.

 

You must display the information in a prominent position so that it can be

read easily, in all the places where you carry out your business and where

you deal with customers or suppliers.

 

When The Business Names Act of 1985 is repealed, and when Sections 1200 and

1206 of the Companies Act 2006 come into force, the requirements will apply

only to individuals and partnerships. Again further guidance will be provided

at that time.

 

On 1st January 2007, new legislation - The Companies (Registrar, Languages and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2006 ( S.I. 2006 No.3429) - came into

force, which amended the Companies Act 1985 and, amongst other things,

applied new rules to business stationery.

 

A company must now state its name in legible lettering on the following

business stationery, whether in hard copy, electronic or other form:

 

All the company's business letters or order forms.

All its notices and other official publications.

All bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements, cheques and orders for

money or goods purporting to be signed by, or on behalf of, the company.

All its bills of parcels, invoices, receipts and letters of credit.

All its websites.

 

You will need to show, in legible lettering, on all business letters, order

forms and any of the company's websites :

your place of registration;

your registered number;

your registered office address; and,

if it is being wound up, that fact.

 

Whenever an email is used where its paper equivalent would be caught by the

stationery requirements, the email would also be subject to the same

requirements.

 

The same requirements are also applicable to Limited Liability Partnerships.

 

Please note

 

If the business has more than twenty partners, you need not put all the

partners' names on your business documents. However, you must give the

address of the principal place of business, and state that a full list of the

partners' names and addresses can be inspected there. Please note that

companies are required to display additional information on their business

documentation.

 

Further details can be obtained by contacting Companies House either by telephone (0870 33 33 636) or by visiting the Companies House website.

 

Also applicable to any business that trades through advertisements, or

online, are the provisions of the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling)

Regulations 2000 (as amended). These Regulations require a supplier to

provide a prospective buyer with details about themselves.

 

Before a consumer concludes an online transaction, or responds to an advert,

etc, the supplier must provide details of the postal address of their

business, so that a consumer may address complaints in a durable written

format.

 

The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 also require a

business providing an information society service (which can be the marketing

or selling of services to consumers and other businesses, online, by

interactive T.V. or by phone texting) to provide the following information:

 

The full name of the business.

The geographical address at which the business is established.

Contact details, including an email address.

Details of any publicly accessible trade or similar register on which the

business is registered. This must include the name of the register, any

registration number or other means of identification used in the register.

If the business is subjected to any authorisation scheme, details of the

relevant supervisory authority.

If the business is a member of a regulated profession, details of the

professional body, any professional titles held, details of any other

European Member States in which the titles may have been granted, and a

reference to the professional rules to which the member is subjected and

details of how they can be accessed.

If the business is VAT registered, the VAT number.

 

This leaflet is not an authoritative interpretation of the law and is

intended only for guidance. For further information, please contact your

local Trading Standards Service.

 

Last reviewed/updated: April 2007

 

 

Copyright 2008 itsa Ltd on behalf of the Trading Standards Institute

 

 

This leaflet is relevant for the following nations only:

England

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland

 

 

Also (now) The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

see section 7

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 No.

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ah and if you want to drag in the landowner be aware that not merely the Companies involved would be liable - Under section 51 of the Supreme Court Act 1981, the court has discretion to make a costs order against a person who is not even a party to the court proceedings. A key factor, according to the Privy Council, is whether the third party does not merely fund the proceedings, but substantially controls them or will benefit from them; in such cases, the third party is the ‘real party’ to the litigation.

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Thanks very much for that Lamma

Have just printed off the lot (8 Pages)

 

I will be going up to the Court in the Morning to find out

the Proceedure for this type of offence and get a Form

as the HMCS online Link is not working

May have a Read of all 8 Pages tomorrow before I go to

the Solicitors

 

Thanks Again :-)

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it is normal to find multiple Acts broken by PPCs - some of them get the 'full-house'. Can't say without seeing the paperwork.

 

there is more but that lot is enough to show intent and disregard is it not.

suggest you get a list if the Directors of CEL from Companies House - they have duties and liabilities...

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Report them to Companies House for late filing - I believe they get 'fined' :)

Not "fined" - they get penalties....lol

 

Companies House - late accounts and penalties

 

 

Length of delay:

3 months or less Private Company £100 Public Company £500

3 months and one day to 6 months Private Company £250 Public Company £1,000

6 months and one day to 12 months Private Company £500 Public Company £2,000

More than 12 months Private Company £1,000 Public Company £5,000

 

Failing to deliver annual accounts, annual returns (form 363 ) and other documents on time is also a criminal offence for which company directors may be prosecuted and fined (up to £5000). Persistent late filing of the annual accounts or returns may also lead to the company being removed from the register.

Edited by pin1onu

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This does not constitute legal advice and is not represented as a substitute for legal advice from an appropriately qualified person or firm.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

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