A test case is to take place at Dundee Sheriff Court in April to determine whether more than a dozen residents will have to pay private parking charges.
The residents have all refused to pay the various charges which have been levied against them by private parking company Vehicle Control Services (VCS) for flouting their localised private parking permit schemes. A similar test case is to be held in Edinburgh, court sources revealed.
If the action by VCS is successful, it could have ramifications for thousands of motorists across the country who are refusing to pay private parking charges.
VCS took legal action to bring the non-payers to court through the civil procedure and at a hearing at Dundee Sheriff Court on Thursday seven cases were called before Sheriff Ferguson.
As the parties discussed the first case involving Mark George Robb, who was defending the action, the sheriff ruled it was “inappropriate” to hear arguments in all the cases and set down Mr Robb’s as a “lead” case.
He then “sisted” all the other cases until April, meaning the action is frozen until the test case is determined by a sheriff.
A total of 13 cases were due to be heard but only seven were called.
One of the motorists being pursued is Morgan Atkinson, who says she received more than a dozen parking tickets while parked in a bay outside her ex-boyfriend’s flat in Trades Lane.
Another is Neil Hallyburton, who claims to have received more than 30 parking tickets from the firm within the space of two years.
The 31-year-old was issued with the fines as a result of parking without a permit on Brown Street.
He ignored demands for payment and is now being pursued for over £1,500.
He said: “Until the law changes, I’ll never pay these charges.”
Another motorist who is also being pursued claimed the firm was acting illegally by chasing motorists for parking fines.
A spokesman for Vehicle Control Services Ltd said: “The cases concerned relate to multiple and long-standing Parking Charge Notices relating to a variety of private sites/land and date back to 2012.
“Despite numerous reminders being sent, including those from our appointed debt recovery agencies, payment for the Parking Charge Notices remains outstanding.”