Fighting Private Parking Fine Stage 2. Advice please??

Stormchild_2

Hey all!

A few months ago I received a parking fine for parking near some shops in a residential area. This was near a hospital I work at. I've parked there several times in the past with no problems.

It became clear to me that it was regulated after i returned 10 minutes later to receive a pcn issued by AM Secure Services, with the issuers looking on as I picked up the fine in horror.

Numerous colleagues have had the same problem as they also did not know this area was regulated by a private company. Only signs which were visible were small and distant!! Reduced payment of £70 was offered if paid within 14 days.

i followed advice from this site and ignored it, but now have received a letter by recorded delivery demanding £120 in the next two weeks.

My questions are;

1) Do I write a response as advised by Martin in the Private Parking Fines tips? Or do i ignore it?

2) They have threatened debt collectors. If that were to occur, how would i be able to get rid of them??

3)This company claims (according to their website AMSecureServices) that all their officials are licensed and trained by the Security Industry Authority, yet i cannot find them listed as a company. Would it be prudent to request names to ensure that these people are indeed licensed as they claim and would it be worth contacting the SIA about it?

Any advice would be appreciated!!! Thanks!

pogofish

Ignore them.

Threats are empty - Only respond to anything properly issued by a court. And don't be holding your breath for it either. The collectors these guys use are invariably powerless to begin with.

As for 3, I don't know if it would be worth checking their claim with the SIA but certainly don't respond to them.

Coblcris

ignore them. Was their fake PCN is a yellow envelope that said "Fixed Penalty Notice" ? Did their fake PCN say "A FIXED PENALTY CHARGE NOTICE HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR" ?

They usually do, IF they have in your instance then report them in writing to the TS and the Police including photocopies of the documents. For the police quote the Fraud Act 2006 S.2. For TS there is a whole raft of applicable legislation that this PPC breaches in a multitude of ways. Tell TS that you have reported the PPC to the police for Fraud. .

http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Legislation&title=fraud+act+&Year=2006&searchEnacted=0&extentMatchOnly=0&confersPower=0&blanketAmendment=0&sortAlpha=0&TYPE=QS&PageNumber=1&NavFrom=0&parentActiveTextDocId=2922456&ActiveTextDocId=2922456&filesize=44059

Stormchild_2

Thanks for the advice !

Sorry for my ignorance but does 'TS' mean 'Trading Standards?'
What is the significance of stating 'Fixed PCN' over just 'PCN?'

If debt collectors are involved and send a letter, is it worth responding to them or continuing to ignore?
Will debt collectors refer it to court if i continue to ignore them?

Slightly anxious about the whole situation but definitely not paying a penny because the fine was disproportionate and their signing was rubbish.. its a blatant money trap! I'm just concerned that if it does go to court they'll ask why I didn't respond to any of the letters. Is it safe to say that I am under no obligation to do so?

bargepole

Stormchild wrote: »

... If debt collectors are involved and send a letter, is it worth responding to them or continuing to ignore?
Will debt collectors refer it to court if i continue to ignore them?

Slightly anxious about the whole situation but definitely not paying a penny because the fine was disproportionate and their signing was rubbish.. its a blatant money trap! I'm just concerned that if it does go to court they'll ask why I didn't respond to any of the letters. Is it safe to say that I am under no obligation to do so?

Debt collectors have no more power than I would if I turned up at you door and asked you for a donation. The original PPC are the only ones who might make a court claim (about 1 in 10,000 chance), and if asked why you didn't respond to their letters, you could say "well, I had a letter from a Nigerian ex-minister wanting £500 so that he could release £7.3 million into my bank account, but I didn't respond to that either".

P.S. These are NOT fines - they are unenforceable invoices!!!

Coblcris

Stormchild wrote: »

Thanks for the advice !

Sorry for my ignorance but does 'TS' mean 'Trading Standards?'
What is the significance of stating 'Fixed PCN' over just 'PCN?'

If debt collectors are involved and send a letter, is it worth responding to them or continuing to ignore?
Will debt collectors refer it to court if i continue to ignore them?

Slightly anxious about the whole situation but definitely not paying a penny because the fine was disproportionate and their signing was rubbish.. its a blatant money trap! I'm just concerned that if it does go to court they'll ask why I didn't respond to any of the letters. Is it safe to say that I am under no obligation to do so?

TS is indeed Trading Standards, correct.

The significance is that it is fraud.

Can you respond to my questions please ?
Let us see how deep this rabbit hole goes.

LeeSouthEast

I believe the stone is still falling...

Stormchild_2

No they did not state 'Fixed PCN' .. just PCN on the notice. Hence will not be reporting them for fraud...

Neil_B

yeah. PCN standing for what in this case?

Stormchild_2

Neil_B wrote: »

yeah. PCN standing for what in this case?

On the original form it states 'Parking Charge Notice', and then later on the same form states 'A PENALTY Charge Notice has been issued for' ... is this of any significance?

pogofish

Yes - They do not have any authority to issue Penalty Charge Notices.

You are home clear:

The Administration of Justice Act 1970.

Section 40 of the act provides that a person commits an offence if, with the object of coercing another person to pay money claimed from the other as a debt due under contract, he or she:
harasses the other with demands for payment which by their frequency, or the manner or occasion of their making, or any accompanying threat or publicity are calculated to subject him or his family or household to alarm, distress or humiliation;
falsely represents, in relation to the money claimed, that criminal proceedings lie for failure to pay it;
falsely represent themselves to be authorised in some official capacity to claim or enforce payment;
utters a document falsely represented by him to have some official character or purporting to have some official character which he knows it has not.

Its a criminal matter now.