Rights & Disputes FAQ

A charging order is an order that gives you a legal charge over the debtor's title to a property or shares in a company. This means that the debtor cannot sell the property without you being paid. Whilst it will not provide you with actual payment, it does provide good security and is probably the most effective method of enforcing a judgment.

Obviously, you first have to know whether the debtor owns any property or shares. If you know where he or she lives, you can search the Land Registry to see if he or she owns the property. The Land Registers are open to the public and a search costs £2 if you carry it out online. You should contact any Land Registry (Head Office tel: 020 7917 8888 or visit www.landregistry.gov.uk).

There is no way of doing a central search for ownership of shares in limited companies. You can, however, search at Companies House to see if the debtor is a director of a company. If the debtor is, he or she may own shares in it and this can be checked at Companies House (tel: 0870 333 3636 or www.companieshouse.gov.uk).

A third party debt order is an order directed to a third party who holds money on behalf of, or owes money to, the debtor. It orders the third party to hold any such money until there is a hearing at the court to establish if the money should be paid to you.

You can obtain a third party debt order against:

• Banks and building societies: only where an account is in the sole name of the debtor.
• Solicitors: they often hold money on behalf of their clients.
• Tenants who pay rent to the debtor.
• Employers: only where money is actually due, not where it is merely accruing. It would be more appropriate to use a third party debt order where you expect a single week's or month's pay to cover the debt.

Each third party debt order only works once. It operates at the precise moment it's served on the third party; so that if at that moment the third party doesn't owe the debtor money, you will be unsuccessful. Also, the third party debt order can pay out any money which has a prior call, i.e. if you third party a bank and the debtor has written out a cheque to someone the day before you serve your third party and it's in the clearing system, it will be paid despite your order.

Using an attachment of earnings you can have the court order the debtor's employer to make deductions from his or her earnings and send these payments directly to you. You can attach wages, commissions, and bonuses. You cannot attach Social Security, old age pensions or disability pensions. Servicemen's pay can only be attached through the Defence Council. You can attach wages of an owner of a limited company, but not that of a self-employed debtor, such as a proprietor or partner in a firm.

This method of enforcing will usually only result in payment if the debtor is in secure employment. If he or she moves job, then you have to make a fresh application in respect of any new employment the debtor goes on to.

A warrant of execution is a request that the County court bailiffs seize any personal belongings of the debtor. Any such belongings are sold and the proceeds of sale after costs will be paid to you up to the value of your judgment.

This method is not usually very effective unless you know that the debtor has assets of value and can direct the bailiffs to them by providing addresses. Bailiffs are only able to act on information you supply to them and they don't carry out any investigations themselves. Personal items, such as clothes and tools of the debtor's trade, cannot be seized.

If there are insufficient assets, the bailiff will notify the court and you will be advised.

Frequently, the debtor facing a warrant will apply to the court to suspend the warrant and allow him or her further time to pay the judgment. If the District Judge should suspend the warrant, you may ask to have it reinstated if the debtor doesn't pay.

A warrant remains in force for one year, but you may renew it continuously upon application to the court.

Obtaining a judgment may be considerably easier than getting paid. In some cases a debtor will have few, if any, assets from which to satisfy a judgment. In others, the debtor will simply refuse to pay leaving it to you to enforce judgment. It's important to remember that attempts to enforce judgment are impractical unless you are confident the debtor can pay the debt.

It's wise to check whether there are other outstanding judgments against the debtor. All unpaid judgments are automatically registered at the Registry of County Court Judgments (tel: 020 7380 0133). For a nominal fee (currently £4.50 per name and address), they will tell you whether the debtor has other unsatisfied judgments. Obviously, if there are many outstanding judgments against the debtor, your chances of getting paid are slight.

It's always best to encourage voluntary payment from the debtor. You may do this directly with the debtor or ask the court to make an instalment order. The debtor may also ask for an instalment order, and you may inquire about the debtor's assets to determine ability to pay.

Your tactics on enforcement depend on your debtor's situation. Is he employed? Does he have a building society or bank account? Above all, is it likely that he will be able to pay? There are four ways of enforcing payment on a judgment and these are as follows:

1. Warrant of execution
2. Attachment of earnings
3. Third party debt order (formerly called a 'garnishee order')
4. Charging order

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

If the defendant admits to only part of your claim, he will fill in Form N9B (defence). If he has already paid the amount admitted, he need not fill in Form N9B but otherwise must do so.

This form is sent to the court by the defendant. The court will send you a copy along with a Notice of Part Admission Form N225A.

Form N9A gives you financial information about the defendant's ability to pay that portion of the debt admitted as owing. Form N9B states the defence to that portion of the claim the defendant denies owing.

At this point you have two options. Either you can:

1. accept the defendant's admission of partial liability; or
2. contest the defendant's admission of partial liability and continue to sue for your full claim.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

The defendant may disagree with all of your claim, or you may not be willing to accept the defendant’s admission to partial liability. The defendant will state on Form N9B (defence) why your claim is denied. If the defendant only denies part of your claim (partial admission), the defendant must complete and return to the court both Form N9A (admission) and Form N9B (defence). You will be sent both forms by the court together with Form N225A.

The defendant’s defence may be that your claim has already been fully paid and that you are therefore owed nothing. If this defence stated as: ‘the amount claimed has been paid’ is raised, you will receive from the court a copy of the defendant’s Form N9B and Form N236. You must fill in Form N236 and say whether your claim has been fully paid or whether you deny payment and want the case to proceed. Then return the completed Form N236 to the court.

Once a defence is received by the court an Allocation Questionnaire Form N149 is sent to you and the defendant, which must be completed and returned by both parties within 14 days. As the claimant, you must pay a fee when returning the questionnaire, currently £100. If your claim is a money-only claim below £1,500, the fee isn't payable.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

The defendant must return the Acknowledgement of Service Form to the court stating his intentions within 14 days of the effective date of service.

It's not uncommon for the defendant to fail to reply to the Claim Form within the 14 days. The defendant may feel he is without a defence, or has no assets to lose, or both.

If there is no reply within the time limit, then you should ask the court to enter judgment by default.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

Either the court can be asked to serve the Claim Form on the defendant, which they will do by first-class post, or you can arrange to serve the defendant personally either yourself, by using a firm of process servers or any other person.

There are four principal options available to you for service.

1. Personally serve the defendant by handing the Claim Form and the reply forms to him.
2. By first-class post to the defendant.
3. By leaving it at the last known address of the defendant.
4. Send the reply forms and Claim Form to the defendant's solicitor if the defendant has already instructed one and if the solicitor has agreed to accept service of the Claim Form.

If you serve the defendant yourself, you must send a Certificate of Service Form N215 to the court within seven days of service on the defendant.

It's best to leave service to the court, unless there is some degree of urgency or you believe that the defendant will try to avoid being served with the Claim Form. The court sometimes takes a couple of weeks to serve the Claim Form, but by leaving it to the court you have less risk of making a mistake in the service which may ultimately result in delays. The court rules relating to service can be complex and their interpretation strict.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

The defendant must be served with a copy of the Claim Form (Form N1) you have issued, along with the Response Pack Form N9 which the court sends. The Response Pack includes forms N9A, N9B, N9C and N9D (forms N9C and N9D are used where the claim is for an unspecified amount or it is not a claim for money). Forms N9A and N9B are for the defendant to admit the amount claimed in full or part and, if necessary, put a proposal for how their is to pay any money that is admitted, and state their defence.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

You must complete Form N1 and then give it to the court staff together with a fee (which varies in relation to the amount of your claim). You can either attend in person to start ('issue') proceedings or send it by post.

You will be sent in return a receipt for your fee called a Notice of Issue Form N205A. This also gives you your small claim case number so you must keep this document carefully.

You have now started ('issued') the small claim proceedings and the next step is to 'serve' the summons on the defendant. 'Serve' is a legal term that means the defendant is notified of the claim

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

Solicitors are now allowed to act for clients on a conditional or 'no win, no fee' basis in personal injury cases. This means that if you win the case, you pay them their normal costs plus a 'success fee'; if you lose the case, you pay nothing. The success fee varies; at most it can be double the amount of normal costs, but cannot be based upon the solicitor taking a percentage of the compensation. Remember that if you lose, you may still have to pay the other side's fees if you are not within the small claims limit.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

There's a fee required to start a small claims case so it's important to have confidence of recovery before you issue proceedings. For non-monetary claims the fee is £150, but for money claims the exact amount you will be required to pay will depend upon the amount of your claim. At present, the fees for a claim are as follows:

Amount Claimed     County Court Fee     Money Claim Online Fee
Up to £300             £30                         £20
Up to £500             £50                         £50
Up to £1,000          £80                         £80
Up to £5,000          £120                       £110

Since the fees do change, it's best to have the court staff advise you what your fee will be when you issue. The defendant will be ordered to pay this fee if you win, but remember that you still have to recover the money from the defendant.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

Small claims cases are always dealt with in a County court. You can start your claim in any County court, but the case will be transferred to the defendant's local court if:

• The defendant is an individual; and
• You are claiming a fixed sum of money, such as a debt; and
• The defendant replies to the court stating that he will defend the claim.
• You began the claim using Money Claim Online and the defendant has decided to oppose your claim.

In these cases the transfer is automatic and you will be notified by the new court once your claim is transferred to them. If your claim is for compensation 'damages', i.e. where you cannot immediately say how much is claimed, as in a personal injury case, then the claim will not be transferred.

It's best to keep proceedings in your own court, particularly if the defendant lives some way away. County courts are located throughout the country, and you can find one near you, or the defendant, by referring to the telephone directory under 'Courts' or visiting www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk where there's a list of court addresses.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

If you are making a small claim, you are the claimant. The party you are suing is the defendant. There can be multiple claimants and multiple defendants.

Any individual over the age of 18 can make a small claim. A young person ('minor') under the age of 18 can only claim on his or her own behalf for unpaid wages. A minor can file a claim through a guardian or a parent. Always state your full name and don't use initials.

You may, as a business owner or operator, also make a small claim.

If you are a firm, then make a small claim as a firm using its name, followed by the words 'a firm'. You would then list the address of the firm. Example: Lawpack Publishing, a firm, 76-89 Alscot Road, London, SE1.

If you are a limited company, use its name designation 'limited company' and either its trading address or the address of its registered office. Example: Lawpack Publishing Limited, a limited company, 76-89 Alscot Road, London, SE1.

If you are a person doing business under another name, use your own name followed by the words 'trading as', and the address of the business. Example: John Smith trading as Lawpack Publishing, 76-89 Alscot Road, London, SE1.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

You cannot sue for an amount larger than £5,000 using the Small Claims Track in the County court. If you believe you are entitled to more than £5,000, you can voluntarily lower your claim to £5,000 so you can use the Small Claims Track. This may be advisable, for instance, if you think you have a claim for £5,200. Here it may be wiser to sacrifice the additional £200 for recovery without legal fees.

Virtually any type of claim (under £5,000 if seeking money damages) can be brought as a small claim. The following are some typical small claims matters:

• Debt collection
• Landlord/tenant actions
• Personal injury cases
• Disputes over services rendered
• Contract disputes

You cannot use the Small Claims Track in the County court for possession proceedings. Any claim can be taken out of the Small Claims Track if the court decides that the issues involved are too complex.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

1. You can prepare and present your case without having to pay a lawyer. A lawyer's fee will most likely be more than your claim. Under the Small Claims Track you have a chance of recovering the full amount of your loss with little or no costs. You can use a solicitor to represent you, but in most cases a solicitor isn't necessary.
2. Making a small claim is a simple process. Because the Small Claims Track is so simple you shouldn't need a solicitor. Lawpack's Small Claims Kit provides all the necessary forms but if you have any doubt, a Consumer Advice Centre (e.g. the Community Legal Service) or a Citizens' Advice Bureau can be of great help.
3. A small claim is a speedy process. Most small claims cases are heard within a few months of sending a claim form to the court.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

If your claim exceeds £5,000, you must either reduce your claim so it can be dealt with in the Small Claims Track or else you must bring your action in another track. You are not allowed just to divide a claim that is over the £5,000 limit into two or more claims so that each is within the small claims limit. For example, X lent Y £6,000. Y was to repay X in two instalments, each for £3,000. X cannot argue that there were two separate contracts. The loan was one transaction; X may not have two claims heard in the court using the Small Claims Track.

The other tracks are as follows:

1. Fast Track - Claims for £5,000-£15,000 with the trial to be no more than one day. (There are limited costs recovery rules and the trial will generally take place within 30 weeksof the case directions which are the orders the court makes for the administration of the case.
2. Multi Track - Complex cases and claims over £15,000.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

The Small Claims Track is a simplified procedure within the County Court for dealing with claims for amounts of money under £5,000. It's not a separate court but is often called 'the Small Claims Court'. The Small Claims Track covers the following types of case:

• Any claim which has a financial value of not more than £5,000.
• Any claim for personal injuries which has a financial value of not more than £5,000 where the claim for general damages for personal injuries isn't more than £1,000.
• Any claim which includes a claim by a tenant of residential premises against his landlord for repairs or other work to the premises where the estimated cost of the repairs or other work isn't more than £1,000 and the financial value of any claim for damages in respect of those repairs or other work isn't more than £1,000.

Find out more about Small Claims, Money Claim Online and the Small Claims Court.

You need to complete an Application Form S27A Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which is available from the Residential Property Tribunal Service's website at www.rpts.gov.uk. The Residential Property Tribunal Service, which settles disputes between landlords and tenants about service charges and other issues, has five regional Leasehold Valuation Tribunals (LVTs) in England.

You must send the completed form, along with a copy of the lease and a cheque in payment of the application fee to the nearest Leasehold Valuation Tribunal or Rent Assessment Panel. The Rent Assessment Panel is another part of the Residential Property Tribunal Service. The amount of the application fee depends on the amount of service charge being challenged.

There are three possible tracks by which a service charge dispute can be handled by the Leashold Valuation Tribunal (LVT). When you are completing the form, you will have to state the track which you consider to be most suitable. The three tracks, from the simplest and fastest to the slowest and most complex, are:

• on paper, without a hearing;
• fast track, with a hearing;
• standard track, with a hearing and possibly a pre-trial review.

If a case is handled 'on paper', the Leashold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) panel will receive written evidence from each party and will then reach its decision without holding an Leashold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) hearing. The 'fast track' and 'standard track' procedures require an Leashold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) hearing and the applicant must pay a £150 hearing fee for this. A case can be considered on the fast track if it is simple and is not expected to generate much paperwork or argument. The Leashold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) says that it tries to hold fast track hearings within ten weeks of receiving the initial application. The standard track is for more complicated cases, including those in which several issues need to be decided and/or a lot of documentation will be required. With standard track cases, both parties may be invited to a pre-trial review, a kind of mini-hearing, so that the Leashold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) can decide on the next steps that need to be taken before the final hearing. Standard track cases often take several months from start to finish.

• Learn more about Leaseholds and Leasehold Property.
• Find more landlord, tenancy agreement and buy-to-let information.

You're legally entitled to lop all foliage or branches overhanging up to boundary level, although you must get the consent of the local council in the case of a tree if there's a preservation order on it or if you're in a conservation area. Return the branches and any fruit on them to the neighbour's garden, being careful not to cause damage to them (otherwise the neighbour may try to claim compensation from you).

Neighbour Boundary Dispute? Get it in writing with Lawpack legal forms.

The website www.ripofftipoff.net can be used to report scams and frauds, but your starting point will be your local police. If the fraud has arisen in the area covered by the Metropolitan Police, log on to www.met.police.uk. For international fraud, there is also the United States' FBI site (the Internet Fraud Complaint Center) at www.ic3.gov.

Find out how to protect yourself against Identity Theft.

If you're being pursued by a creditor for an old debt, you may be able to ignore it on the ground that it has time-lapsed. This is six years, except in Scotland where it's five, but this only applies if no legal action has been taken against you on the debt, and you have not acknowledged it during the time. If you do now acknowledge it as a result of the creditor contacting you, you will reactivate the debt, so take advice before doing anything.

To complain, apply in writing to the listing officer at the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). This is called 'making a proposal'. Examples of valid reasons are where the property has been reduced in size or physically deteriorated so its value should be lower, or the area has gone downhill; perhaps a factory has been built next door. Alternatively, perhaps the property has been adapted to make it suitable for a person with disabilities - if so, take advice. If the VOA doesn't agree with your proposal, your application automatically becomes an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal after six months.

Find out how you can pay less tax this year.

All chartered accountants are members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, who will assess your complaint to decide whether conciliation is appropriate or alternatively, carry out an investigation.

Other accountants may be members of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, or the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants. Book-keepers may belong to the Institute of Chartered Secretaries. All of these bodies will investigate and may take disciplinary action against the accountant if your complaint is upheld.

Need to find an accountant? Get a free initial meeting with TaxAssist Accountants.

Discuss the problem with your solicitor first. If it's a problem relating to the service you've received, discuss the problem with either the solicitor directly or, if that's awkward, the partner in their firm responsible for complaints. All solicitor firms must have their own complaints procedures. If the solicitor is a sole practitioner, then they may have an arrangement with another local firm or with the local Law Society to deal with complaints.

Now put your complaint in writing. Any complaint should eventually be recorded in writing. Your solicitor will then have a record of the details. You should keep a copy of your letter.

Next refer the case to the Law Society's Legal Complaint Service. You should contact the Law Society if: 

1. you haven't received a detailed reply to your initial complaint from your solicitor within a reasonable time, say 28 days; 
2. you haven't been able to sort out your complaint with your solicitor; and 
3. your complaint is about a solicitor's conduct. 

It's important that you contact the LCS within six months of the matter you are complaining about. If you leave it any longer, it may decide not to investigate your complaint.

Make your complaint heard: find out how...

Solicitor jargon 'no win, no fee' means that solicitors are paid nothing for their work if they lose, but it also covers agreements whereby solicitors can charge more if they're successful. Put simply, there are two types of 'no win, no fee':

1. Conditional fee agreements: this is the only type of 'No win, no fee' that is allowed for the vast majority of cases (with the exception of family and crime). The solicitor is allowed to charge a sum to reward his risk-taking in the event of a successful result which can be as much as double his fees. If you win, the losing side will (generally speaking) pick up this cost.
2. Contingency arrangements: the solicitor takes as his fee a straight percentage of the award (by contrast with a Conditional fee agreement where the lawyer charges a percentage increase on his or her fees). It's limited to cases which don't involve court proceedings, and is especially popular in employment tribunals and Motor Insurers' Bureau claims.

Find out how you can access Affordable Law.

There are various methods of funding a legal case used by solicitors:

• Charging by the hour: This is the most common method of charging. Hourly rates vary from high street firms where you can expect to pay somewhere between £80 to £120 an hour for advice on private and commercial work, all the way through to £350 an hour for a senior partner in a City firm for extremely expert advice on complex points of commercial law.
  
  
• Fixed fees: This form of payment has the obvious appeal of limiting your liability for legal costs and, after the hourly rate, it's the next most common way of charging. The obvious downside is that if your case concludes quickly, then you will end up paying more than you may have on the hourly rate basis.
  
  
• No win, no fee: 'No win, no fee' is a deceptively simple expression. On one level - and as the name implies - solicitors are paid nothing for their work if they lose, but it also covers agreements whereby solicitors can charge more if they are successful.
  
  
• Legal Aid/the Community Legal Service: To be eligible for Legal Aid, you have to show that you cannot pay for your case (i.e. that you are financially eligible) and that you have a sufficiently strong case that you are likely to win. Even if you're working, own your home and have savings, you may still qualify. However, you may well have to pay a contribution towards the cost of taking your case to court.

Remember that in many cases you can use the first meeting to your advantage in order to get free advice from the solicitor. Usually a solicitor will be happy to provide you with unpaid legal guidance at the start of a case, should you so request it, in order to identify whether your case has merits and how it should best be pursued. It's also an opportunity for you to size up your lawyer as well. Many lawyers are more approachable and less stuffy than their reputation suggests. A willingness to have a chat about your case will give you a good measure of the kind of lawyer you are dealing with. You will find that many firms advertise a free first meeting in their promotional material and on their websites.

Check to see if your solicitor is a member of a Quality Assured panel, set up by the Law Society to demonstrate specialist knowledge to prospective clients. The Law Society runs panels in family, immigration, personal injury law, clinical negligence, Children Act proceedings, mental health tribunals, family mediation and planning law. You can find a list of members on its website at www.lawsociety.org.uk.

Accident Line is the Law Society's own free personal injury referral service. It puts victims of accidents, caused by someone else, in touch with a specialist personal injury solicitor near their home or work.
Organisations such as the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, Action for Victims of Medical Accidents and the Motor Accident Solicitors Society run their own accreditation schemes. There are no universal standards offered by accreditation schemes so it's worth checking how exacting membership is.

Check with professional groups such as the Employment Lawyers Association, the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association and the Solicitors Family Law Association.
The Law Society runs its own Quality Mark called 'Lexcel', which is another indicator of a good firm. Firms that display the Lexcel logo have been independently judged to meet the Society's own practice management standards.

The Community Legal Service (CLS) has developed its own 'Quality Mark', another accreditation scheme, which is awarded only to organisations that pass regular quality checks. Providers who have achieved the Quality Mark will display the CLS logo in their offices.

Looking for quality, Affordable Law?

Citizens Advice (www.adviceguide.org.uk) offers free legal advice mainly on debt and consumer issues, benefits, housing, legal matters, employment and immigration.

Legal centres (www.lawcentres.org.uk) specialise in the law relating to welfare rights, immigration and nationality, housing and homelessness, employment rights, and sex and race discrimination.

The Solicitors Pro Bono Group (www.lawworks.org.uk) administers the 'pro bono' scheme, which is legal-speak for unpaid or charitable work done by lawyers.

The Free Representation Unit (www.freerepresentationunit.org.uk) is a registered charity dedicated to providing free legal representation for those who cannot afford it before tribunals in areas where legal aid is unavailable. It specialises in employment and social security law, as well as some criminal injury compensation and immigration work.

The Community Legal Service (CLS) (www.clsdirect.org.uk) offers a guide to online legal resources.

The government-backed Trading Standards (www.tradingstandards.gov.uk) has leaflets for business and consumers (giving advice on everything from buying a second-hand car to resolving a problem with your dry-cleaners).

Find out more about Affordable Law.

It's no longer lawful to discriminate on the grounds of age. From 1 October 2006 there is legal protection against age discrimination.

Find out more about employment law.

You can appeal against an interim decision or divorce court order made by a District Judge in England and Wales or Sheriff in Scotland concerning your children or any financial matters.

However, an appeal of an interim order is a serious matter which shouldn't be undertaken frivolously and it's also unlikely to be successful. District Judges and Sheriffs enjoy enormous discretion and unless there's an error in law or an error in fact, the appeal divorce courts are unlikely to interfere with their judgment.

Moreover, an appeal can be quite expensive. Since the loser normally pays the legal fees for both sides, an appeal is something that must be considered with caution.

Find out more about divorce and DIY divorce.

A firm or business partnership, unlike a company, is not a legal entity separate from its members. An individual business partner will therefore be personally liable:

1. for his own wrongful acts; and
2. for the wrongful acts of his co-partners committed in the normal course of the firm's business; and
3. for the wrongful acts of the employees of the partnership committed while acting in the course of their employment.

Where the partners are defendants under (1) or (2) above they are sued in the name of the firm (i.e. the claimants are expressed to be ''Thompson, Thompson and Smythe', a firm'). Only those business partners who were business partners at the time of the act complained of will be held liable.

Business Law? Find out more...

Yes you can. The courts ignore insurance payouts, and consider the liability between you and the person who injured you. You may have to repay your insurance company for any payouts made eventually, however.

Were you parking on a single or a double yellow line? If it was a double, then loading and unloading is generally not allowed at any time.

If it was a single line, there should have been a sign detailing the restrictions of loading and unloading or yellow lines on the kerb at 90 degrees to the road. If there were no signs or yellow lines on the kerbstone, you can load/unload your car for a period of up to 20 minutes. So any parking fine issued within those 20 minutes would be invalid.

Find out how to appeal against speeding fines, parking tickets and motoring offences.

Read our ten tips to fighting a parking ticket successfully.

You can appeal the parking ticket by showing that the signs indicating the bus lane were not in place.

If you purchased the car after the date of the offence or you sold it before, then this could be a ground for dispute. If the car was stolen, then this would be a ground for appeal but you would have to provide the police with a crime reference number.

If you're a hire firm, you could appeal if the vehicle was hired out, but only if the hirer signed an agreement to say that they would be liable for any parking tickets. Generally, you have to produce a copy of the agreement.

Find out how to appeal against speeding fines, parking tickets and motoring offences.

Read our ten tips to fighting a parking ticket successfully.

Within 14 days of you 'speeding' the police should send you a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) through the post and you must confirm on this form that you were the driver at the time that the speeding offence was committed.

If you were caught speeding not a great deal over the speeding limit (generally up to 15mph over the speeding limit), you will usually be offered a fixed penalty of three penalty points and a £60 speeding fine. You can accept this speeding fine and the case will be closed. But if this means that you will have 12 or more points on your driving licence, you will be summonsed for 'totting-up' (see below for more information).

If the police are charging you for speeding way over the limit (generally 15mph over the speeding limit), you will receive a summons to the Magistrates Court.

Find out more about speeding fines and the penalty points system.

Find out how speeding celebrities use legal loopholes to get off a speeding fine.

Unfortunately, yes. Speed checks can be carried out even when there are no speeding warning signs and the speed camera doesn't have to be painted yellow. Speed cameras only have to be painted yellow if all the proceeds from the speeding fines from that camera are to be used just for the building of more speed cameras.

Find out more about getting off a parking ticket and speeding fine.

Find out how speeding celebrities use legal loopholes to get off a speeding fine.

The police are allowed to pick any car. If you tried to argue this in court, they will state that they are not interested in other people, just in the case before them – yours!

Find out more about speeding fines and the penalty points system.

Find out how speeding celebrities use legal loopholes to get off a speeding fine.

How you complain depends on who enforces parking penalties in your area. If it's the local authority, you can refuse to pay and after 28 days you will get a notice demanding payment. At that point you can make representations in writing (the notice tells you whom to send them to). If your representations are rejected, you can appeal to the Parking Appeals Service for the area. If you fail here and you still don't pay, the local authority will sue you, but you can try to defend the action in court.

If the police - usually via traffic wardens - enforce the parking penalties, you can refuse to pay the parking ticket fixed penalty, but complain in writing to the Chief Executive at the parking ticket office - the address is on the parking ticket. If they don't let you off, write to the relevant senior officer in the police force. A police officer will then investigate. A Magistrates' Court will then consider your case. If it disagrees, you may be found guilty and probably fined. (This may be two or three times the penalty plus costs.)

Find out how to appeal against speeding fines, parking tickets and motoring offences.