Got a fine in M&S Lisburn road car park last year, and as everyone suggested, I’ve ignored it but now received a debt collection letter. Im currently trying to get a mortgage as first time buyer and unsure if ignoring it will leave a black mark on my file. I moved last June though so letters are being send to my old address
Should I pay or continue to ignore? 🙈
by helenabells
20 comments
Private company. Give them nothing, they aren’t enforceable in NI.
Try the Consumer Council maybe? I’ve heard people being advised to go there for these private company parking fines.
Best logo design I’ve seen all year. Reflection and an inverted shadow. Genius.
Ignore. Only way it would affect your mortgage is if they spend the time and money to submit an application to take you to small claims court. Which the debt company is unlikely to do.
Private invoice no legal standing in n. Ireland
Thanks all! Definitely going to continue to ignore it 🙈
Martin Lewis Money Saving Expert has a letter template for NI law here – fire it off in an email to them. Basically they have to prove you were the driver on the day. Which they can’t. I’ve done it & received notification of cancellation.
[link](https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/content/dam/mse/documents/guides/PrivateNotDriver.rtf)
They’ve just sold the debt to a new company that’ll try again to scare you into paying – do not engage and ignore
Ignore and bin, do not engage, nothing. No calls, emails nothing, if you fail to engage they are stuffed
I still get it 3 years later
Don’t pay.
Absolutely fuck them. They’re a private company so if this were to go to a court hearing their case would literally be “you owe us money because we say so.” Debt collection for private companies is not legally enforceable in NI so when they start telling you they’re gonna send the bailiffs round, tell them to go for it and that your solicitor will take them to the cleaners.
From experience in dealing with these cunts, i.e. I’ve had it out with this specific pack of shysters before – they genuinely cannot touch you. Write “did ye aye” across that letter with a permanent marker and send it straight back to them.
Bin it
Bailiffs won’t appear at the door, they’re not legal here. Got a fine last year and spoke to consumer advice (I think? Can’t remember who I actually spoke to) and the girl said they can take you to court but she’s only known of it happening 7 times in the history of Northern Ireland. So pretty good odds that nothing will happen.
They can chase for 6 years then it’s written out .
They won’t touch you. I doubt a human has even reviewed your case yet. The moment it does, the staff at these companies know not to touch NI with a 10 foot barge pole. It’s simply not worth pouring the resources into.
They’ll still automate us as plenty do pay them, and that’s pure profit. But people who ignore it will either get stuck in the system until a human one day long in the future reviews, or eventually you’ll send them an email demanding they stop and someone will manually remove you.
Ignore the fuck out of it. Looks like they’ve bought what they consider debt and hoping to get something as that’s not the first time I’ve seen that letter recently and it looks like it was for the same parking address as well.
Seven (7).
I wouldn’t pay it for that slight alone.
I always ignore these and nothing has happened
Pay them, I ignored mine, all they have to do is put a CCJ on you and it’s on your record for 6 years. It stays on your record even if you’ve paid off (‘Satisfied’) the CCJ. It still shows up on all my credit checks.
I was nearly rejected last year during my remortgage because of it. Fortunately my dad had contacts in the bank that got it through. Wouldn’t have been accepted otherwise.