To ask if a private parking company will really take me to court?

[InPeppaPigHell]

...for a fine of £170?
Has anyone here had any experience of this?

Yep - They took me ( or rather their legal company did)! I won was a pain in the arse but I was in the right and was determined to contest it (& definitely glad I did). In fact they tried twice but the second time I was so in the right it didn't even make it to court... OH is also currently contesting one - same bloody company! 🙄 if you're in the right stand your ground, but whatever you do don't just ignore as some recommend as you'll likely end up with a ccj whether you were at fault or not...

Yeah they're pretty arsey.

Yes they absolutely will otherwise no one would ever pay the fines!

Have a look at the money saving expert, there are loads of threads with advice on re private parking fines
forums.moneysavingexpert.com/search?query=Private%20parking%20fines&scope=site&Search=Private%20parking%20fines

Think it Depends. On the company and the situation. They never have with me, but I haven’t had one in a while, but I still think in most cases you can get out of them. They rely on the low hanging fruit people getting scared and just paying up, rather than the hassle & expense of going to court. The money saving expert and pepipoo forums are good places for advice.

Look up common law. No you don’t have to pay.

Yes they will. If you are in the right then make sure you keep all the evidence to show the judge. If you are in the wrong then don't go to court as you will end up paying their court costs too. Whatever happens do not ignore court summons as the judgement will default in their favour. You have to deal with this matter, don't ignore.

Yes they will. I contested one in court a few years ago. I won. In my case I’d parked just outside of a marked bay; except the markings weren’t visible in the dark and wet. And my parking (for about 6 minutes) didn’t cause any damage/blockage/loss of earnings etc parking there was free anyway. In my case it was clear that the parking company were deliberately trying to catch people out.
If you have a genuine parking fine, I would just pay it and learn from the experience.

@Arabelladrinkstea

Look up common law. No you don’t have to pay.

You don't know the circumstances so can't possibly say that.

@Arabelladrinkstea

Look up common law. No you don’t have to pay.

the law has changed, she does have to pay

@Arabelladrinkstea

Look up common law. No you don’t have to pay.

Utter bollocks.

Of course they will, they are arseholes.

Ok it doesn't look good for me then. I was in the wrong, totally forgot to buy a ticket when I was in the thick of newborn baby fog. In the past I've just ignored private parking fines and nothing has ever come of it but this company is threatening that the next step will be court I've read that a CCJ stays on my record for six years even if paid in full, and counts agains you in credit rating. So it seems like I just have to pay as I have no defence really.

Yeah, got a parking ticket for parking in my own bay, my permit slipped (a windy day!) And they were successful with their argument that I had entered into a contract with them and by not ensuring the permit was visible I was fined.
Absolute fuckers.

@InPeppaPigHell

Ok it doesn't look good for me then. I was in the wrong, totally forgot to buy a ticket when I was in the thick of newborn baby fog. In the past I've just ignored private parking fines and nothing has ever come of it but this company is threatening that the next step will be court I've read that a CCJ stays on my record for six years even if paid in full, and counts agains you in credit rating. So it seems like I just have to pay as I have no defence really.

Pay off tge CCJ within a month of it being given and it goes, but try and pay it off before it gets to that stage if you can

They can take you to court.
However they often issue threats of court action, but if you ignore them just sell on the debt to another company who issue threats, who sell the debt to someone else to issue threats, ad infinitum...

@InPeppaPigHell

Ok it doesn't look good for me then. I was in the wrong, totally forgot to buy a ticket when I was in the thick of newborn baby fog. In the past I've just ignored private parking fines and nothing has ever come of it but this company is threatening that the next step will be court I've read that a CCJ stays on my record for six years even if paid in full, and counts agains you in credit rating. So it seems like I just have to pay as I have no defence really.

Do pay - it just gets more expensive the further along it gets And if there’s any difficulty with payment then communicate that and make offers ….. if they then don’t accept installments etc and go to court then that goes against them

You'll only get a CCJ if you fail to pay after the court hearing
These forms are ruthless and can and will take you to court
Even if you ignore the letters and think they've gone away they can pursue you for 6 years
I'd pay it quickly and put it down to experience

@Arabelladrinkstea

Look up common law. No you don’t have to pay.

Can you provide a link for that, a friend of mine is being threatened in the same way and I know from the local paper that they do take people to court (lots of sad face type stories)

It would be really useful if I could give my friend your information, is it some kind of secret loophole that courts don't know about?

Yes they can.
The initial appeal is utter bollocks. Guess who owns "the independent car parking appeals service"?
The very same company probably who gave you the fine in the first place.
There are ways to argue but It is very complex and you'll find the full detail on MSE.
I never park in a privately owned car park any more unless it's a multi storey. I always use council car parks wherever possible.

They do but not often. I’ve had about 6-7 of these over the years, only one of them actually got to the stage of this and the others just went away

They can, but almost always back out the day befor ethe court case (to avoid paying a lawyer). I've had in the region of 10 private carpark fines in the last 10 years that I have ignored and 2 took it further, one gave up before small claims court, one took it to small claims court but backed out the day before the court case. They are very winnable if they ever did make it to the court, and they hardly ever do, but if you want to go down that route youbahve to be prepared to do a shit load of fairly tedious paperwork - freedom of info requests, forms, written statements etc. There is a very good online forum to help you with lawyers that hate private parking firms giving you all the necessary info.

in my opinion you can ignore it until they send you the official notice of Intent to go to court thing and then you have to do all the FOI requests etc to see all their (usually illegal) evidence.

Only go down this route if you're comfortable with one forums and writing letter etc I'd say.

The law changed a while back (can’t recall when) and they can now pursue these charges in the courts. And they do. Vigorously. I do think it’s worth making an offer to settle out of court for less than the full amount. But if they refuse then just pay up.

Online forums

The “common law” advice is out of date/wrong. Then can and will pursue you.