Hi,
We parked in a car park that we always have parked in and its been free since it opened but recently they installed this Parkingeye system
Having assumed it was free we probably didn't read the sign properly as we thought being late at night we were out of charging hours.
I didn't go back and look at the sign until recently and they may have made it more obvious now.
The sign asks for you to enter a reg number into reception at the relevent establisments the car park serves, we didn't actually go in one of those, or pay a parking fee.
As we apparently didnt read the sign properly we didn't buy a ticket and didn't enter the reg.
We since received the PCN and follow up letters from Parking Eye, having dealt with some dubious parking companies in the past I gambled that they were just threats and ignored the letters.
Anyhow we have now got papers, well a Claim Form and Response pack from Northampton County Court.
I really hate parting with money to these people, the £100 is totally out of order/proportion for a genuine small error.
The claim is now up to £175 with £25 court fee and £50 solicitors costs
We are not denying that we made an error but do not feel that the charge is warranted.
I mean they have just picked this £100 figure out of thin air, its no relation to actual costs and they are simply out of skim as much money out of unsuspecting visitors as possible.
Unsure whether to just send the money to make this go away or to fill out a defence form?
I have just got these forms today so I've got 19 days in total to decide best course of action.
The options on the form are:
Agree and pay £175
Agree and ask for time (not sure how they would decide if you get it)
Admit part of the claim
Disagree/Counter claim
I would be quite happy to make this go away for £50, unfortunately as I gambled it wouldnt go this far that isn't an easy option now it would seem?
However I still dont see how the law seems to have swung in favour of these people popping up signs and covert cameras that you dont expect who can then legally demand £100+ from anyone that fails to notice them?!!
Everyone knows the speed limit, yet you wouldnt have to pay this much for a speeding ticket!!