court claim from UKPC parking charges

[Nicolahughes]

Hi all,

i received a court claim letter today due to five parking charges I received between August and October 2014.

I am being asked to pay £780, £650 of which is for the car parking charges (£130 each)

Two of the notices were served for parking outside the ‘lines’ and three were for displaying an ‘invalid permit’.

I had ignored all letters for the past four years relating to these notices as I stupidly thought they would go away.

i have attached a copy of the court letter, the notice in the car park and the lines I am supposed to park within.

i have lived at the property since August 2014 and still live here now. I don’t receive tickets anymore even if I am not parked within the lines because the ticket inspector recognises my vehicle. Parking is often a nightmare as people don’t park within the lines and overlap my space meaning I have no choice but to park outside the lines or in another person’s space.

as for the invalid permit, I was displaying the permit given to me by my letting agents and when I started receiving tickets for it being invalid, they arranged for Lambert Smith Hampton who were the building managers at the time to send me a new one. I have also taken a photo of this for your perusal.

LSH told me they would get the tickets rescinded but this never happened. We’ve had two further property managers since then.

I pay rent each month to my letting agent and the car park space is included in my rent which is detailed in my letting agreement.

i am very scared as I hope to buy a property this year and do not want a CCJ against me. I feel like just paying the full £780 but my husband insists we fight it.

If you can offer any help and support I really would appreciate it.

thanks so much.

[Nicolahughes]

The documents

[Nicolahughes]

More evidence

[ostell]

First of all take down the claim form and repost without the password. Next go online and acknowledge the claim using the details on the claim form. Do not put anything in the defence. Acknowledging gives you 33 days from the date of issue to get a defence into the court.

If LSH can send you a copy of an email or letter they sent to UKPC asking them to cancel the charges that would be good. What does your rental agreement say about parking? If it says you have a parking space then you have no need to create a contract with UKPC for parking. Bit more detail than the inventory. Will the landlord/letting agent provide you with a copy of the lease? you may have to get a copy from the land registry (a small charge) to show that the flat has the right to park

That sign is a forbidding sign in that if you do not have a permit then there is no offer of a contract to park for non valid permit holders and therefore there can be no breach of contract.

[Nicolahughes]

Court claim

[Nicolahughes]

Thanks Ostell. Have followed your instructions.

i have also emailed my letting agent to request a copy of the lease.

i appreciate your advice about the forbidding sign which makes sense.

i truly appreciate your response. Thank you

[Nicolahughes]

Letting agent is contacting the landlord to get a copy of his lease. Meanwhile I’ve emailed the property management to see if they have the power to rescind the tickets (not sure if UKPC are working for them or for the landowners) I have also written a letter to the landowners to see if they have the power to rescind the tickets. The rental agreement is a generic one with only the parking being mentioned in the inventory.

[Nicolahughes]

Property management got back to me today and said there is nothing they can do. UKPC work on their behalf, not the official landowners. They contacted UKPC who said I had to liase with the debt collection agency who now owns my debt. Yet the court claim letter says I am being claimed by UKPC.