pffft what a knob head there the people tht got bullyed at skool and they think i know ill get my own back and give you a ticket

not heard anything from these guys since i spoke with them by phone and asked them to stop threatening me and actually take me to court

Hi Dan

You've done the right thing, you've called their bluff. If you don't pay up then all they can do is take you to court. All this about debt collections etc. is a load of rubbish, you've not admitted liability for the debt, nor has it been proved in court.

A lot of times the "solicitors" and "debt collection agencies" are probably just the original parking enforcement company with a different heading on their paper. The parking company is just trying to frighten you.

If they do take you to court, it'll most likely be the small claims court. If its small claims they have to do a claim form, the court writes to you and either you accept the debt, or dispute it. If you dispute it then it goes to court. If the judgement is found in their favour, they can only charge reasonable costs (as agreed by the court). As mentioned by other posts in this thread, the chance of a private parking ticket being successful in court are slim.

I once got a private ticket. I used to live in an apartment block and my flat had its own designated space. A friend stayed overnight at mine, we put my pass on his car, as my car was not there. During the night the pass fell off the window, so in the morning he gets a ticket. I wrote to the enforcement company with a photocopy of the pass explaining the situation, but the f**kers just ignored my plea with the words "you were required to have the pass clearly displayed on your vehicle when you parked it". I wrote back explaining that I had done that, they ignored my second letter. I had 6 months worth of letters from "solicitors" and "debt collection agencies". I ignored each one until I got a phonecall like yourself from a "debt collection agency". I took the call calmly and simply stated the debt was in dispute and I would accept no further correspondence or threats and that I was quite happy for whoever to take me to court. I never heard anything since and that was at least 5 years ago.

Moral of the story, stick to your guns

yeah thats the thing i am just disputing it, for the reasons said, if it goes to court, and i lose, then so be it i would take it as a lesson learned.

But i know for a fact i would not lose, common sense prevails

I've been through a few small claims processes and got a good idea of what goes on now!