Highview Parking Charge, third letter, should I ignore or respond?

fridge_raider · 6 August 2013 at 6:56AM

I wasn't sure if I should create a new thread for this as there's so many already, but that's what people seem to be advising so...

I have received a charge notice from Highview Parking (Tesco's car park).

My first course of action was to ignore this, as I'm aware how these differ from PCN's etc. However, I have created this thread after noticing the sticky saying more people are being issued with court notices over these.

The first letter stated £70 charge, with half of that being due if paid within 14 days. I then received a letter demanding the full £70. I ignored this, and have now received a further letter stating the charge to be £110 (£70 plus a £40 admin fee). The most recent letter features a bit of scaremongering red text explaining that my credit rating could be affected , etc. The letter looks fairly typical of the ones I have seen posted on this forum from this company before.

What should my next course of action be? I thought I was safe to ignore this, but having noticed more people are actually being taken to small claims court, I'm now wondering if this is the best course of action.

In terms of information about the actual parking dispute, I was over the 2 hour time limit because heavy congestion meant I physically couldn't get out of the car park! It's very tight and in a town centre, so very busy at the time of parking, and was gridlocked for well over an hour!

Thanks in advance for any help offered, much appreciated.

Umkomaas · 6 August 2013 at 7:23AM

You were correct in starting a new thread which means the advice given on it will be relevant to you. Hijackers are normally chased away to start their own thread.

You seem to be a little way down the line on this one (probably missed the appeal opportunity deadlines) so ignore is likely to be your only option until such time as the PPC makes any more serious move (Letter Before Claim which indicates they are going to pursue this via the small claims court), but Highview aren't known for this type of action. They rely on 'scary' letters from Debt Collectors, which can also be ignored.

But just to properly check this out for you, could you please provide a short timeline of events:

Date of parking event
Date of receipt of first letter from Highview
Was the first letter headed up (something like) Notice to Keeper and mention the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
Within that letter was 'The Creditor' identified - a statement such as 'The Creditor is.......'

Guys_Dad · 6 August 2013 at 8:44AM

There's another thread on the same subject running. That OP got Tesco to make it go away proof was her club card.

Have you tried that?

zzzLazyDaisy · 6 August 2013 at 9:07AM

This one?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4733552

fridge_raider · 6 August 2013 at 6:12PM

Thanks very much for the responses, here is the information you asked for -

Date of parking event
22/06/13

Date of receipt of first letter from Highview
28/06/13

Was the first letter headed up (something like) Notice to Keeper and mention the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
The letter is headed 'Charge Notice Reminder - Do Not Ignore'

'The vehicle was recorded parked on our client's property....etc.'

Mentions that DVLA confirmed I am registered keeper. Mentions the 'Protection of Freedoms Act 2012'.

Within that letter was 'The Creditor' identified - a statement such as 'The Creditor is.......'

Nothing in the wording about the creditor.

Hope this helps, and thanks again. :beer:

Umkomaas · 6 August 2013 at 8:57PM

fridge_raider wrote: »

Thanks very much for the responses, here is the information you asked for -

Date of parking event
22/06/13

Date of receipt of first letter from Highview
28/06/13

Was the first letter headed up (something like) Notice to Keeper and mention the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012
The letter is headed 'Charge Notice Reminder - Do Not Ignore'

'The vehicle was recorded parked on our client's property....etc.'

Mentions that DVLA confirmed I am registered keeper. Mentions the 'Protection of Freedoms Act 2012'.

Within that letter was 'The Creditor' identified - a statement such as 'The Creditor is.......'

Nothing in the wording about the creditor.

Hope this helps, and thanks again. :beer:

Just struggling a bit with the 'Charge Notice Reminder' if it was sent just 6 days after the event. Are you sure it's not your 2nd letter from them?

In a way it's a bit academic as you're some 6 weeks into this. You could try a soft appeal with a hope of hooking a POPLA code where you could probably quite easily win an appeal. However, as most PPCs know they're all on thin ice with POPLA when faced with a forum-assisted appeal, their reluctance to issue a code is becoming more widespread, and given you're beyond the timescales, it's unlikely the PPC will entertain this.

So, this just leaves you to continue on the ignore track, put up with the likely trail of threatograms and ride this out.

As I said anything resembling court papers, or even for a bit of moral support as events unfold, get back to us for further advice and help.

HTH

Buzby · 6 August 2013 at 9:15PM

The sequence is 5 letters - so sit tight. There is a gap of 6 weeks between 4-5, and this is the discounted offer which you also ignore.

Stroma · 6 August 2013 at 9:18PM

It won't effect your credit rating as Highview are lying about taking you to court, put simply they never go there, here is the proof of it on this freedom of information request to the courts.

My personal opinion on Highview and Tesco is that they are not allowed to issue a small claim, not saying that this will always be the case, but its highly unlikely to happen

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/small_claims_from_bpa_aos_member

fridge_raider · 6 August 2013 at 9:54PM

Umkomaas wrote: »

Just struggling a bit with the 'Charge Notice Reminder' if it was sent just 6 days after the event. Are you sure it's not your 2nd letter from them?

In a way it's a bit academic as you're some 6 weeks into this. You could try a soft appeal with a hope of hooking a POPLA code where you could probably quite easily win an appeal. However, as most PPCs know they're all on thin ice with POPLA when faced with a forum-assisted appeal, their reluctance to issue a code is becoming more widespread, and given you're beyond the timescales, it's unlikely the PPC will entertain this.

So, this just leaves you to continue on the ignore track, put up with the likely trail of threatograms and ride this out.

As I said anything resembling court papers, or even for a bit of moral support as events unfold, get back to us for further advice and help.

HTH

Yeah, sorry, I'm quoting the second letter demanding the full £70 charge. The first one I didn't have to hand, it's in my drawer at work.

3 letters in total so far, I only scanned the internet briefly upon receipt of the first letter, saw all the 'ignore it' advice and didn't bother with further action. I wish now I'd looked into this forum and mounted the appeal early.

Thanks very much for the help anyway, I'll certainly post any more developments. I can't believe how helpful you all are on this forum, and the effort you put in.

fridge_raider · 12 August 2013 at 10:51PM

Hi everyone, thanks again for your help. I just thought I would let you know that this has now been cancelled by Tesco customer services, following an email I sent to them detailing the events of the day and the reasons I felt the charges were unfair. They sent me a response within 2 days to apologise and cancel the charge.

Stroma · 12 August 2013 at 11:06PM

Well done on getting this cancelled

Highview Parking Charge, third letter, should I ignore or respond?

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