A pair of Dundee drivers claimed victory when a leading private parking company dropped its court action against them.
Linda Braid and Craig Reid were taken to the city’s small claims court by UK Parking Control (UKPC) after each refused to pay a private parking charge incurred atGallagher Retail Park.
Earlier this week, both drivers declined an offer to settle the matter by paying the company £152 only £8 less than UKPC were pursuing them for in court.
On Thursday, a solicitor acting on behalf of UKPC requested Sheriff Alastair Brown dismiss both cases and indicated the private parking company would not be seeking legal expenses.
Mr Reid, 39, said: “I think they’ve dropped the case because they couldn’t win it. It’s been a total waste of our time and the court’s time.
“It’s annoying that I’ve had to take time out of work twice for no reason. This has gone on for over a year.”
Mr Reid, an engineer, was ticketed at Gallagher Retail Park in October last year.
He said: “It was after 6pm, it was dark and raining and the sign said the first two hours were free. I came out after 10 minutes and there was a ticket on the car.
“I went home and Googled it and it said it wasn’t like a penalty charge notice like you get from the council.I didn’t think I’d get taken to court but I got the summons in August.
“I was surprised but it probably didn’t help I told them to take me to court.I got loads of threatening letters and phone calls from debt agencies.
“I got a phone call on Tuesday offering a settlement out of court, which was £152 instead of £160.
“Then I got a strange phone call on Wednesday night saying they had a pile of these cases and my name was in the wrong pile and it was being dropped.
“I just laughed. I thought, surely they’ve got a better excuse than that.”
Mrs Braid, 55, said: “They dismissed the case with no explanation whatsoever, it’s been a complete waste of everyone’s time.
“I think they used the people in Dundee and Forfar as test cases and believed we would back off and pay, but we didn’t.”
A third case was also dropped at Forfar Sheriff Court.
UKPC were asked to comment on the cases but had not responded by the time The Courier went to press.Firm stays silentUK Parking Control’s flurry of court action against Courier Country drivers last month was seen as a move that the company meant business.
So the decision to drop three cases in Dundee and Forfar at the last minute is something of a mystery.
The company is staying tight-lipped, its position throughout the whole saga, but we know that approaches were made this week to settle out of court.
Did the company want to avoid court cases all along and got cold feet when the motorists called their bluff and refused to settle?
Or did they feel they weren’t fully prepared for a fight and will come back with all legal guns blazing at a later date?
Only UKPC know and for the moment they aren’t telling.