Advice wanted re a station ticket!

sportbeth

Hi all,

I've recieved a letter headed "PCN Debt recovery and Prosecution service" quoting Railway byelaw 14 and saying that I haven't responded to a ticket left on my car.

They;re saying I have 14 days to pay the £90 fine or they will inflate it to £165 in a magistrates court. The only problem is that I have no recollection of a ticket! Is there any way that I can demand that they prove that they ticketed me and get a copy so that I can look at the wording? And is there any wording that I can put to them so that they hold fire on their ridiculous 14 day deadline?

Any help most appreciated! PS at the bottom it says in small print "london and south eastern railway trading as debt recovery and prosecution services if that gives anyone a hint of who I'm dealing with!

LauzC

What station was it and which train operating company manages the station? They should have details on their website (for example, see SWT - http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/SWTrains/Ticketsandprices/Penalty+fares.htm#how_pay).

I used to work for a company that dealt with these type of fines.penalty fares. I would say the fine has come from www.ircas.co.uk who manage most train operating companies penalty fairs and debt recovery.

Get in touch with them and ask for a copy of the ticket - they retain copies in duplicate for years. If you make contact, they should off on the 14 day rule if you are claiming you have no re-collection of the ticket.

Coblcris

I suggest conditional acceptance upon proof of claim. Send it special delivery.

This sounds like a genuine byelaw issue rather than the attempted frauds we see by various private companies.

peter_the_piper

Whilst I hate to disagree with but are the amounts £90/£165 unusual for a real railway ticket?
NCP quote bylaw 14 but theirs is a scam. I know they say maggies court but it feels wrong. Would it not be an idea for the OP to post a copy of the ticket, less personal details and vrm, for a look see?

Coblcris

I agree. We already have "at the bottom it says in small print london and south eastern railway trading as debt recovery and prosecution services" which seems very affirmative that this is not a third party issue but by all means we should make doubly sure.

peter_the_piper

A quick google threw this http://www.budd.uk.com/blog/category/phishing/ up, not proof but fishy indeed.

sportbeth

hello all,

many thanks for the advice so far. I parked at a South Eastern Trains station in Kent and the operator is Meteor from what I can gather. I haven't got a scanner to hand but can type up content from the letter tomorrow if that helps?

peter_the_piper

Mobile phone with camera set at macro?

LauzC

This may be genuine as South Eastern did used to have their own debt recovery service inhouse. Most of the train companies these days do their debt recovery via IRCAS.

Suggest you put in an appeal to them about the ticket to find out and for all if it is genuine or not. See more information at:

http://www.southeasternparking.co.uk/faq.asp#q2_3

peter_the_piper

Meteor are another ppc chancer but to confirm we need to see a washed copy of the ticket just to make sure. Until then we are in the dark a bit.

strawberry9

This PCN was issued by Meteor on behalf of South Eastern. As you cannot remember parking without a ticket you can write to PCN Debt Recovery & Prosecution.. they will supply a photo of the PCN attached to the vehicle.
As Lauzc as suggested contact South Eastern parking website that will answer your questions but will not deal with any appeal (nor will IRCAS - they deal with South West Trains and National Express - not South Eastern!) In the meantime you could also contact South Eastern customer services requesting further information about their car parking policies.
I'd pay it rather than risk an extra £75!