These guys are just trying to [problem] money out of you. Whatever you do, don't pay. I'm in a similar situation, with about 40 outstanding tickets for parking in a space I paid £15,000 for. Obviously they won't get their money, but every now and then it's fun to call them and have an argument about it Read through the advice on the thread Demon has pointed you towards and I'm sure you'll feel much better.

Thank you very much...

Hi all, We moved to a new address last year when my gf moved in with me and, in preparation, handed in a letter of cancellation to her gym, David Lloyd, as per the terms of the contract. She paid the final three months and thought nothing more of it. However, we recently received some mail from her old address, almost 15 months later, stating that a CCJ has been issued against her for non payment of three months gym membership, as, they allege, she did not cancel her membership! Obviously we would like to contest it as she did comply with the terms of her contract and I still have a copy of the original termination letter on my PC. As she is in the process of starting a new business, I need to have this CCJ removed ASAP, or she will not be able to contract hire the vans she needs to run the business. I have been advised to download form N244 and send it into the court, but could do with dome pointers on how to fill it in. Also, does anyone know how long it normally takes to have these things set aside? Any help would be much appreciated...

My girlfriend has had a similar problem with David Lloyd. She moved in with me last year and gave DL the required notice that she was leaving - I typed the letter, she handed it in. However, 15 months later we have just had some mail forwarded from her old property stating that a judgement has been entered in default against her by DL because, according to them, she left without giving any notice! I am raging with them!!! On the bright side, as details of the hearing were sent to her old address we should be able to have it set aside so she can have the opportunity to defend it. Now, does anyone know how to have a CCJ set aside…?

They're becoming more common around East London, especially in supermarket petrol stations, but I've never seen them in Scotland.

Hi vicki-chick and welcome to the site! As with all of these private clamping and ticketing companies, this amounts to little more than an extortion [problem], which relies on people paying the fine out of fear of an increased charge if they leave it. I would ignore the situation for the moment and wait until they send you through a threatening letter. Once you receive this (if at all, given the circumstances), write back to them and state that they should contact the driver, not the registered keeper, supplying proof of an agreed contract. Advise them that if they continue to harrass you, you will contact the police. Their letters will become increasingly threatening, but that is all they are; threats. Their case has no grounds, so will not be pursued through the civil courts.

Good comeback!! It's not being pedantic, it's showing how pointless your argument is. If you are quite happy to pay these [problem] artists then do so, but do not come on here and try to convince people that the actions of these companies are justified simply because somebody did not pay full attention to where they were parking. These companies cause people a lot of distress and anguish and that simply cannot be justified. You appear to be very helpful in other areas of this site, including the banking forum, but your tone on the parking forum, in various threads, is aggressive, unpleasant and often ill-informed - Example 1 , Example 2 , Example 3 This forum is about helping people, not about making them feel stupid.

I don't see anything in the OPs posts suggesting that he parked in the car park and didn't use the public house. It may be the case that that is exactly what happened, but for the moment you are jumping to conclusions, which, funnily enough, is exactly how the OP got into this position in the first place. So, if there happens to be something, somewhere in this site stating that by using this site you accept that you will pay £85 for jumping to conclusions, will you pay up? Please send me your address by PM, please.

...and you think an £85 charge is a fair penalty for this? Sounds like you could be in the wrong company here. Creating an open car park and inviting the public to park it it makes it public access. Just because somebody sticks a ticket on the car, attempting to extort money from the driver, doesn't make it a fair charge. Laws have been created to protect the public in this instance for a very good reason. It sounds to me like you are suggesting the extortion is an acceptable crime in this case. So would you just happily roll over and pay it?

Eh, no, it's not totally wrong. In fact, it's perfectly correct. I did not say that a loading bay is intended for shoppers. I said that it is intended for loading / unloading. I think you'll find a clue in the name... There are a number of reasons why a loading bay would be used for non-commercial purposes. For example, your statement implies that somebody would not be allowed to turn up in a van and unload new furniture for their flat because that is not commercial use. I think you'll find that your statement is the one that is 'totally wrong'...

Actually, they're intended for loading and unloading by any vehicle, commercial or otherwise. It is the activity being carried out that determines whether the vehicle may be parked there, not the type of vehicle.

Don't worry about it. It's not an official ticket. As Zamzara says, it is nothing more than an invoice with no legal back up, so all they can do is ask you to pay. Whether or not you do is entirely up to you

Looks clear from the picture that there are no junction lines and no dead end signs. Very ambiguous!

I did call the police, but the woman on the phone was very unhelpful and refused to assist as they considered it to be a civil matter. Grrrr!! Just after I hung up the phone to her, though, a couple of policement pulled up to buy some food, so I asked them for help. They were very sympathetic to my case, but also said they could not get involved as it was a civil matter. They spoke to the store manager and insisted that he kept copies of all the security footage in case I needed it to back up my case, but stupidly I just paid the money, tried to go through the appeals procedure and then just let it drop. I'm a lot wiser now, though, so if it happens again I will not let it go!!!

I had an almost identical situation a few years back when I went to Safeway in the morning, then went back in the afternoon. Unfortunately my car was clamped and, although the supervisor in Safeway could see from the security footage that I had left in the morning and come back again in the afternoon, the clamping company refused to remove the clamp until I paid the money.

Don't worry, some people just seem to forget that we're all human and make mistakes. Let's face it, if we didn't, what would we have to learn from...? Good luck, I hope you get it sorted.

I'm afraid I'm with Jampot on this one, Kell. I don't believe the colour of your car would make a difference... Is there any other information you can give us? For example, how long was it before the car was towed after the ticket was issued?

Welcome to the site. Was this issued by a private company or by a council PA?

Well, to be honest, it leaves you in pretty much the same place as when you started. They would still have to prove in court that you agreed to a contract and that their parking costs are justified due to actual loss, and are not just a penalty charge. The crux of the matter is that these charges are not enforceable and the chances of a company taking anybody to court over them are so slim, as they do not want a court to set a precedent that would, effectively, ruin their [causing problems] business. They simply rely on scare tactics to make motorists pay up and the percentage that do seems to be high enough to make them a tidy profit.

Well, in preparation for your impending fame and notoriety, how about posting the picture here first and we'll all give you our opinion...?

You don't need any grounds to challenge it, to be honest. There is no real way to enforce the tickets in the first place, so I wouldn't worry about it. Don't waste your time with their appeals process either. They run it themselves, so it's pointless and somewhat less than impartial...

I think you'd be surprised by just how many people pay! We're a definite minority here in standing against them, but a lot of people will simply be scared into believing that the tickets are official and that their scare tactics are genuine...

Thanks for posting the letter. It looks good, but could put you on a sticky wicket if the company in question happens to have CCTV and can show that you were driving the vehicle. Probably better to state that you are the RK and remind them that they would need to provide evidence of who was driving in order take any action.

Of course, Chizzy isn't suggesting that you do anything (else!) illegal here. What I'm fairly sure was meant by that statement was that if you're still unsure who was drving and, on the balance of probabilities, it looks likely that it could have been you, then you should just accept the points on your licence as punishment. It looks far more likely to me that you were driving, as your boyfriend isn't insured to drive your car and, therefore, almost certainly would not have been driving it. However, as your boyfriend no doubt loves you very much and would hate to see you short of cash due to the fine, perhaps he could help you out with payment...

Absoultely. In fact, while we're at it, let's hang, draw and quarter them too as an example to other motorists...