Quote from: DWMB2 on 20 Dec, 2024 14:18It is of course your time, effort and money, not ours, so the choice is yours to make. Those providing advice are reminded to refrain from passing moral judgement on OPs and what one may believe they 'deserve'. Rule #8 applies.If you do decide to fight the matter, we will support you. The process is essentially as follows:
- Appeal to CPM - This is where you set out your position, and explain why you don't believe you owe the money. CPM will reject this, because they can, but in my view it is still a useful step to shown CPM you're up for a fight, and to highlight weaknesses in their case
- Appeal to IAS - Whether or not you bother with this stage is up to you. The Independent Appeals Service is anything but. You won't get a fair shake of the stick, and they are very likely to also reject your appeal.
- See if they take the matter to court - They have up to 6 years from the date of the parking event to take legal action, however there's no good reason it should take that long, and if they are going to sue they generally do so far quicker than that. Before such time, you'll receive a host of scary-sounding letters from debt collectors; despite their threats, they are powerless to do anything. If they do decide to go to court, you'll get a Letter of Claim, either from CPM directly or, more likely, a hired legal firm. If you receive such a letter you should return here for advice.
Assuming you respond to any relevant paperwork, the worst case scenario is that you lose in court - losses in court generally cost around £200.Appreciate the detailed reply. The worst case scenario of being £200 down doesn't sound too bad. I've made the appeal online, which should buy me some time for the gym to get back to me. Upon clicking "confirm", it just took me back to the landing page, with no sign of any confirmation or confirmation email. But let's see what happens.