Free Traffic Legal Advice
Live cases legal advice => Private parking tickets => Topic started by: luke2397 on February 28, 2026, 02:45:42 pm
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Just to keep this thread open.
I have unsurprisingly not had a response to my email. So my question is what is likely to be the next step that these people take and how can I prepare to answer?
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Moorside Legal is definitely a law firm and you should search the forum to find many cases involving them.
Their letter should
the claimant writing to the defendant with concise details of the claim. The letter should include the basis on which the claim is made, a summary of the facts, what the claimant wants from the defendant, and if money, how the amount is calculated;
, which it clearly doesn’t, it’s utter rubbish, so you should respond
The reply should include confirmation as to whether the claim is accepted and, if it is not accepted, the reasons why, together with an explanation as to which facts and parts of the claim are disputed
to the effect that you can’t reply to any substantive details in their letter because there aren’t any, but you will be defending the claim in full.
You might want to look at https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/letter-before-claim-received-from-moorside-legal/msg95464/#msg95464, for example. Or just reply more simply to their laughably incompetent letter.
I have responded exactly as per the link sent to an email found in another thread (Moorside unsurprisingly don't post an email address on their website)
Will see what comes of it if any.
if I get no response am I likely to keep getting pestered or can I consider it dead and buried?
Update: I got an automated email response saying:
"Thank you for contacting Moorside Legal.
Please be advised that this mailbox is not monitored. We request that you access our online portal at https://portal.moorsidelegal.co.uk and follow the instructions provided to submit your enquiry.
Alternatively, you may contact us by telephone on 0330 822 9950 between the hours of 9:00am and 5:30pm, Monday to Friday."
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Moorside Legal is definitely a law firm and you should search the forum to find many cases involving them.
Their letter should
the claimant writing to the defendant with concise details of the claim. The letter should include the basis on which the claim is made, a summary of the facts, what the claimant wants from the defendant, and if money, how the amount is calculated;
, which it clearly doesn’t, it’s utter rubbish, so you should respond
The reply should include confirmation as to whether the claim is accepted and, if it is not accepted, the reasons why, together with an explanation as to which facts and parts of the claim are disputed
to the effect that you can’t reply to any substantive details in their letter because there aren’t any, but you will be defending the claim in full.
You might want to look at https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/letter-before-claim-received-from-moorside-legal/msg95464/#msg95464, for example. Or just reply more simply to their laughably incompetent letter.
I have responded exactly as per the link sent to an email found in another thread (Moorside unsurprisingly don't post an email address on their website)
Will see what comes of it if any.
if I get no response am I likely to keep getting pestered or can I consider it dead and buried?
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Moorside Legal is definitely a law firm and you should search the forum to find many cases involving them.
Their letter should
the claimant writing to the defendant with concise details of the claim. The letter should include the basis on which the claim is made, a summary of the facts, what the claimant wants from the defendant, and if money, how the amount is calculated;
, which it clearly doesn’t, it’s utter rubbish, so you should respond
The reply should include confirmation as to whether the claim is accepted and, if it is not accepted, the reasons why, together with an explanation as to which facts and parts of the claim are disputed
to the effect that you can’t reply to any substantive details in their letter because there aren’t any, but you will be defending the claim in full.
You might want to look at https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/letter-before-claim-received-from-moorside-legal/msg95464/#msg95464, for example. Or just reply more simply to their laughably incompetent letter.
Apologies i'm struggling to come up with a reply that i'd need to send them.
I basically need to say that "there's no confirmation of the claim being accepted and lacks any substantive details for me to respond to."
Obviously my end goal here is not have to fight this in a court, I simply do not think I should be fined for parking at my own home and want the charges dropped.
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Moorside Legal is definitely a law firm and you should search the forum to find many cases involving them.
Their letter should
the claimant writing to the defendant with concise details of the claim. The letter should include the basis on which the claim is made, a summary of the facts, what the claimant wants from the defendant, and if money, how the amount is calculated;
, which it clearly doesn’t, it’s utter rubbish, so you should respond
The reply should include confirmation as to whether the claim is accepted and, if it is not accepted, the reasons why, together with an explanation as to which facts and parts of the claim are disputed
to the effect that you can’t reply to any substantive details in their letter because there aren’t any, but you will be defending the claim in full.
You might want to look at https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/letter-before-claim-received-from-moorside-legal/msg95464/#msg95464, for example. Or just reply more simply to their laughably incompetent letter.
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what was the "agreement" you read that said you need a permit. who was the agrement issued by and addressed to whom?
I do not have a written personal agreement in a lease document. There is the standard BPA notice board at the entrance of the car park stating that cars must have a correctly displayed permit and parked in a bay properly etc etc.
I did receive this letter today in the link below:
https://pasteboard.co/BH6KwNM9ALHE.jpg
having to state that "we are a law firm" doesn't exactly scream validity to me and a google search seems to back that they don't really have much legitimacy to them.
Any thoughts on where to go next?
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what was the "agreement" you read that said you need a permit. who was the agrement issued by and addressed to whom?
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Is for me parking in a bay I'm entitled to park in but forgot a permit. And I have stated that I forgot my permit and submitted evidence of me having a permit. What are the likely directions that this goes down?
Essentially, as I said in my post above. They might cancel. If they don't, then you can run the various arguments above. PCM's likely argument will be that you're only entitled to park in that bay if both have and display a permit. There are arguments you can raise against this, as I outline above.
The strongest of those arguments would be showing that you had the express permission of the owners of the space to park there, but of course this comes back to proving the primacy of contract (i.e. that they own the space to be able to assign such permissions to you). The other arguments are as above.
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The reason I and other posters have been somewhat labouring the point around the lease is because if PCM eventually sue you in the County Court, primacy of contract would have been by far your strongest arm of defence. There is still likely a decent amount of time before they do take you to court (if they decide to), which should be more than enough time for your parents to obtain a copy of their lease from the landower. But, if they are unwilling to help you out by doing this we will have to explore other options.
Ok, to recap where we are:
- You live in a property, but have no contractual agreement to be there, as you have been allowed to live there by your parents
- Your parents likewise cannot provide you with any documents to prove that they have any contractual agreement to be there
- As a result of not being able to locate a lease, they likewise cannot prove that they have a space(s) demised to them via said lease
- You mentioned at one point "All the agreement mentions is that the car park requires a permit", but as yet we do not know what agreement this is, how it came into your possession, nor which parties said agreement is between
- You have 2 tickets in play. 1 is for parking in a bay that is allocated to you (via the missing lease), and 1 is for parking in a bay allocated to a third party (the housing association).
For the parking charge you have received for parking in your own bay, the following potential arguments:
- Primacy of contract. The parking spot is demised to your parents, who granted you permission to park in it. A difficult argument to run without evidence.
- No contractual offer - we have not yet seen photos of the signage (this would be useful), but if it requires the displaying of a permit, there is an argument to be made that the signage is prohibitive, insofar as it doesn't make a contractual offer to those without a permit to park. The downside here is that you do have a permit, it simply wasn't displayed.
- No commercial justification - you had a permit, but simply forgot to display it, and as such now they are aware you have one, there is no commercial justification for continuing to pursue you. The counter argument here might be that there is a commercial justification for penalising non-diplay, on the basis that the wardens who patrol need to be able to identify who is entitled to park where, so that they can effectively manage parking. This argument could potentially be overcome.
For the parking charge you have received for parking in the Housing Association's spot, the 'No contractual offer' argument would seem to be the best fit, again, subject to what the signs say.
I can try and get them to find some sort of lease agreement again. Going by other posters questioning, my parents own the flat and have in the past rented it out, I then moved in but didn't sign a lease agreement with them.
Going by my recent post about my appeal, given the fact that the specific one that I'm getting chased for. (Of the 2 fines I've got only 1 currently is being actively pursued) Is for me parking in a bay I'm entitled to park in but forgot a permit. And I have stated that I forgot my permit and submitted evidence of me having a permit. What are the likely directions that this goes down?
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The reason I and other posters have been somewhat labouring the point around the lease is because if PCM eventually sue you in the County Court, primacy of contract would have been by far your strongest arm of defence. There is still likely a decent amount of time before they do take you to court (if they decide to), which should be more than enough time for your parents to obtain a copy of their lease from the landower. But, if they are unwilling to help you out by doing this we will have to explore other options.
Ok, to recap where we are:
- You live in a property, but have no contractual agreement to be there, as you have been allowed to live there by your parents
- Your parents likewise cannot provide you with any documents to prove that they have any contractual agreement to be there
- As a result of not being able to locate a lease, they likewise cannot prove that they have a space(s) demised to them via said lease
- You mentioned at one point "All the agreement mentions is that the car park requires a permit", but as yet we do not know what agreement this is, how it came into your possession, nor which parties said agreement is between
- You have 2 tickets in play. 1 is for parking in a bay that is allocated to you (via the missing lease), and 1 is for parking in a bay allocated to a third party (the housing association).
For the parking charge you have received for parking in your own bay, the following potential arguments:
- Primacy of contract. The parking spot is demised to your parents, who granted you permission to park in it. A difficult argument to run without evidence.
- No contractual offer - we have not yet seen photos of the signage (this would be useful), but if it requires the displaying of a permit, there is an argument to be made that the signage is prohibitive, insofar as it doesn't make a contractual offer to those without a permit to park. The downside here is that you do have a permit, it simply wasn't displayed.
- No commercial justification - you had a permit, but simply forgot to display it, and as such now they are aware you have one, there is no commercial justification for continuing to pursue you. The counter argument here might be that there is a commercial justification for penalising non-diplay, on the basis that the wardens who patrol need to be able to identify who is entitled to park where, so that they can effectively manage parking. This argument could potentially be overcome.
For the parking charge you have received for parking in the Housing Association's spot, the 'No contractual offer' argument would seem to be the best fit, again, subject to what the signs say.
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Your parents must have some sort of documentation relating to the property.
Do your parents own or lease the property themselves?
You say that you have knowledge of the car park requires a permit. where does this come from?
This is going down a blind alley. I have now said numerous times I do not have any nor will I have any documentation on this so it needs to go in a different direction
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Please confirm that no driver(s) were revealed in the appeal(s)?
I said.
"I am writing to appeal the mentioned parking fine.
This was a case of me simply forgetting to put my permit on the dashboard when returning home. I have physical proof that I live at the address and have the relevant permit which was forgotten and would have been in the car just not on visible display.
This is not a case of the parking management losing out on revenue due to me being there as the car park is free and for residents of which I am.
Thank you"
If what I said here was wrong then there was a 3 day period between me asking whether to appeal it and actually appealing it with no advice or reply so what was I supposed to do? I've explained the situation that led me to getting a ticket
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Your parents must have some sort of documentation relating to the property.
Do your parents own or lease the property themselves?
You say that you have knowledge of the car park requires a permit. where does this come from?
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Please confirm that no driver(s) were revealed in the appeal(s)?
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I have made an appeal to PCN explaining the situation and providing proof that I have a relevant permit. Will see what comes of it
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Seeing as the 14 initial days to pay have expired is it best to contact trace to dispute the charge or BPA who manages the car park. Or do I now have to wait for this to be escalated potentially from the solicitor?
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It would be better if you could show us the exact wording rather than your own paraphrased summary.
You would be wise to try and find some "in depth" info from the lease, as it potentially holds the key to your strongest defence
There is no physical lease agreement. I spoke to my parents and they do not have one anywhere. I will not be able to get any form of writing to further explain. All I have is the knowledge that the car park requires a permit
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It would be better if you could show us the exact wording rather than your own paraphrased summary.
You would be wise to try and find some "in depth" info from the lease, as it potentially holds the key to your strongest defence
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Is there anything which relates to "Parking" or similar?
In other news, the NtK's are not PoFA compliant but there is no way that either the operator or the debt collector will admit that at this time - we can however use this at a later date.
All the agreement mentions is that the car park requires a permit. As I mentioned I haven't signed a lease agreement so in-depth information is limited.
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Is there anything which relates to "Parking" or similar?
In other news, the NtK's are not PoFA compliant but there is no way that either the operator or the debt collector will admit that at this time - we can however use this at a later date.
I can have a look later on if I find anything. Also the date given from Trace to pay is tomorrow, is that the last date before it gets escalated or do I have more time than that?
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Is there anything which relates to "Parking" or similar?
In other news, the NtK's are not PoFA compliant but there is no way that either the operator or the debt collector will admit that at this time - we can however use this at a later date.
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The lease agreement very likely trumps any "rules" the parking co. and HA might try to impose, both by virtue of what it might say and equally what it might not say.
You are being advised by experienced people who do seem to help win cases. If they ask for specific information, it's because it can be important.
Also note: things don't get "escalated to a CCJ".
You might do well to read a few other threads here, after you've answered the question.
Right, is there anything specific I'm looking for in the lease agreement that I can post here? Providing I can find it
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The lease agreement very likely trumps any "rules" the parking co. and HA might try to impose, both by virtue of what it might say and equally what it might not say.
You are being advised by experienced people who do seem to help win cases. If they ask for specific information, it's because it can be important.
Also note: things don't get "escalated to a CCJ".
You might do well to read a few other threads here, after you've answered the question.
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I haven't signed a lease, the flat is owned by my parents. I don't know exactly how the spaces are assigned
so, after you were asked, what did your parents say is actually written in their lease when you asked them?
I feel this is moving away from the topic at hand? I haven't asked about any lease agreement. I know that I have breached "parking rules" all I am asking is are Trace cowboys that I can ignore as I haven't parked illegally I have simply forgotten to use my permit or there wasn't sufficient spaces for me to park at my own home. Therefore all I am asking is will that hold up and am I likely for this to be escalated to a CCJ?
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I haven't signed a lease, the flat is owned by my parents. I don't know exactly how the spaces are assigned
so, after you were asked, what did your parents say is actually written in their lease when you asked them?
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Have you received any postal 'Notice to Keeper' for either of these alleged contraventions?
I ask due to the dates on the original NtDs - if NtDs are what these are - they are poorly worded.
This question remains unanswered?
How did Trace get your address if you only received Notice to Driver PCNs?
The 3 links above show a 'notice to keeper' from PCM.
https://pasteboard.co/3PNUzpbfeBxB.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/w0NqCYYdRQWb.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/eI4UYfueULn3.jpg
Attached again
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As regards your assigned space, how is it assigned? Is it included in the lease? If so, what exactly does the lease say about parking and communal areas?
You have told us what is on your permits, but you still need to answer this.
I haven't signed a lease, the flat is owned by my parents. I don't know exactly how the spaces are assigned. We have our dedicated bay and the V bays out the front with permits giving permission to park in the bay according to our permit
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Have you received any postal 'Notice to Keeper' for either of these alleged contraventions?
I ask due to the dates on the original NtDs - if NtDs are what these are - they are poorly worded.
This question remains unanswered?
How did Trace get your address if you only received Notice to Driver PCNs?
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As regards your assigned space, how is it assigned? Is it included in the lease? If so, what exactly does the lease say about parking and communal areas?
You have told us what is on your permits, but you still need to answer this.
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So there's bays designated A-Z and then roughly 10 "V" bays.
We have 2 parking permits one says "Bay 'X' only" the other says "Bay 'X' or V only" one of my tickets was because my partner was parked in our dedicated bay and there was no space in a V bay for me. The other one I was parked in our dedicated bay and forgot to put my permit on the dash.
If your HA has issued 2 parking permits to you one "X only" and one "V" for visitors bays on site, then it might be worth contacting them directly to see if they can get these cancelled.
Also see if you can find a NtK (notice to Keeper) that should have been sent to you too as what you've uploaded so far states photo's have been taken by an operator, which you should be given the opportunity to view.
Might be worth submitting a SAR's request to PCM or even HA if they are the ones who issue the permits?
PCM offer a "Virtual Visitors permit App" service also so I'd be making some enquires with both HA and PCM in the interim to avoid getting anymore of these for now.
[/quote]
See attached the 3 letters I've found from PCM.
https://pasteboard.co/eI4UYfueULn3.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/w0NqCYYdRQWb.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/3PNUzpbfeBxB.jpg
it's worth noting that I don't live in a HA. There's other dedicated spaces for them but I parked in one as there wasn't any V spaces free when I got home from work and there is always HA bays free.
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So there's bays designated A-Z and then roughly 10 "V" bays.
We have 2 parking permits one says "Bay 'X' only" the other says "Bay 'X' or V only" one of my tickets was because my partner was parked in our dedicated bay and there was no space in a V bay for me. The other one I was parked in our dedicated bay and forgot to put my permit on the dash.
[/quote]
If your HA has issued 2 parking permits to you one "X only" and one "V" for visitors bays on site, then it might be worth contacting them directly to see if they can get these cancelled.
Also see if you can find a NtK (notice to Keeper) that should have been sent to you too as what you've uploaded so far states photo's have been taken by an operator, which you should be given the opportunity to view.
Might be worth submitting a SAR's request to PCM or even HA if they are the ones who issue the permits?
PCM offer a "Virtual Visitors permit App" service also so I'd be making some enquires with both HA and PCM in the interim to avoid getting anymore of these for now.
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Have you received any postal 'Notice to Keeper' for either of these alleged contraventions?
I ask due to the dates on the original NtDs - if NtDs are what these are - they are poorly worded.
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As regards your assigned space, how is it assigned? Is it included in the lease? If so, what exactly does the lease say about parking and communal areas?
N.B. the debt collectors are an utter irrelevance.
So there's bays designated A-Z and then roughly 10 "V" bays.
We have 2 parking permits one says "Bay 'X' only" the other says "Bay 'X' or V only" one of my tickets was because my partner was parked in our dedicated bay and there was no space in a V bay for me. The other one I was parked in our dedicated bay and forgot to put my permit on the dash.
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I feel i'm in a slightly unique position here.
Only insofar as everyone is in a slightly unique position.
As regards, "justifying" starting your own thread, rather than either hijacking someone else's thread, or simply following the advice given in other threads and hoping that the differences in the facts don't come back to bite you, our literal first rule is "One case, one thread".
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As regards your assigned space, how is it assigned? Is it included in the lease? If so, what exactly does the lease say about parking and communal areas?
N.B. the debt collectors are an utter irrelevance.
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We need to see the original PCN - redact ONLY personal information.
See attached in links below original PCN notices.
https://pasteboard.co/4raT2fnFLb1A.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/xOYRDz5DzwAG.jpg
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We need to see the original PCN - redact ONLY personal information.
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Without seeing exactly they have sent you we are working in the dark, you might like t give us a clue by following this link at the top of the page.https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/read-this-first-private-parking-charges-forum-guide/
(https://pasteboard.co/AG0BxTJvQRyO.jpg)
Unsure if this will work but i've attached an image of the letter that Trace sent.
https://pasteboard.co/AG0BxTJvQRyO.jpg
Thanks
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Without seeing exactly they have sent you we are working in the dark, you might like t give us a clue by following this link at the top of the page.https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/read-this-first-private-parking-charges-forum-guide/
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Hello all,
I feel i'm in a slightly unique position here.
The flat I live in has a car park where we have our own assigned bays and then a few spaces at the front. All of which require a permit. We have 2 cars in our household, there isn't enough spaces out the front for everyone so we can't always park our 2 cars.
I have recently got 2 parking tickets, one of which was because I wasn't able to park in one of the outside bays and had to use one of the bays dedicated for the housing association (HA). I have done this a few times and never had an issue as I leave relatively early for work, although this time they came round doing checks before 6am!.
The other time I was in my own bay and genuinely forgot to put my permit on the dashboard.
I have had a few letters from Trace Debt Recovery and have ignored them all as I usually do but the letter I got the other week has concerned me. It states:
"We've written to you before, explaining that our client could choose to apply for a CCJ against you.... We've assessed your case and we are recommending that our client takes legal proceedings against you. We will submit our evidence to our client or their chosen solicitor."
They are offering me 14 days to pay £170, which is dated as the 18th of Feb so payment due on the 4th of March.
Is this just scare mongering? I think it's a joke to be getting fines at my own home. I have proof (obviously) that I live at this address and my cars V5 is registered here, too.
Do I have a leg to stand on if this escalates? Can I continue to ignore? Do I have to pay?
Thanks for any potential help