bailiff letter following private parking ticket

emg

I got a parking ticket in April 2008 from County Parking for not displaying a permit (which i did have). I ignored their correspondance and they did not persist for very long. Today I have received a letter from Philips Specialist Bailiff and Debt Recovery Agents saying I have to pay £156.00 in the next 7 days. Any suggestions about what to do?

AlexisV

They may do bailiff work for courts, but the capacity they are writing to you in, they are mere powerless debt collectors.

Ignore them. This is just part of the mail scam - letters from the parking company, then letters from debt collectors. Every chance County Parking ARE Philips.

Relax and carry ignoring.

emg

thanks, I dont really know anything about bailiffs, could they still call round or is it all bluff?

Coupon-mad

emg wrote: »

thanks, I dont really know anything about bailiffs, could they still call round or is it all bluff?

As AlexisV said - forget the 'bailiff' word at the top of the letter, they are writing to you as debt collectors. And debt collectors are powerless - all they do is write letters (and occasionally ring if they have a phone number).

You must ignore the letter and put the phone down or leave it hanging, if they ring. It's extremely unlikely that they would come round, although common for them to say they will in a letter.

If a debt collector was on my doorstep I would give them 5 seconds to leave and then report them for harassment - links for reporting here:

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=03_harassment

Everyone with a private parking ticket gets letters like yours from debt collectors - and everyone who comes on here ignores them. Nothing happens, no Court, no CCJ and no effect on your credit rating (since there is no debt, the ticket was a spurious invoice asking you to pay a penalty amount which would be unenforceable).

Here's a thread with typical debt collector letters, see the threats on those are the same as on yours (and look at the Debt Recovery Plus letters, they also use paper with that scary word 'Bailiff' on it, and they also like to give 'Notice of a Home Visit' which never happens):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2214803

Been there, done that, ignored the letters. Nothing happened. But do report them for harassment.:D

And please do add your own letters to that thread when it all fizzles out, it helps people to see the sort of letters to ignore and we don't have your examples up there on that Hall of Shame thread yet.

HTH.

RobertoMoir

emg wrote: »

thanks, I dont really know anything about bailiffs, could they still call round or is it all bluff?

In the unlikely event that anyone called they cannot do anything. A bailiff gets any powers and "rights" they have from the warrant they are actioning. No court case means no warrant, no warrant means no powers.

Even if they are bailiffs, without a court order they can do nothing to you as bailiffs, trust me on that.

emg

thanks, i am feeling a bit more relaxed. I happily ignored all the letters 2 years ago when i got the ticket, including one that claimed to be from a separate debt recovery agent. This one just looked a bit more professional and the word 'bailiff' at the top panicked me, particularly after the case being dormant for so long.

Having read through the letter more carefully they don't mention court proceedings or bailiffs in the body of the letter at all. It just says they have been instructed to commence recovery procedures against me and to prevent 'further recovery procedures' I should pay up within 7 days. Interestingly the date on the letter appears backdated - possibly to try to panic me into paying straight away so I dont have time to get any advice?!

Really appreciate all your reassurance, I'll keep you updated!

Sir_Roger_deLodger

emg wrote: »

Interestingly the date on the letter appears backdated - possibly to try to panic me into paying straight away so I dont have time to get any advice?!

That trick is well known. As others have said, ignore.

AlexisV

It just says they have been instructed to commence recovery procedures against me and to prevent 'further recovery procedures' I should pay up within 7 days. Interestingly the date on the letter appears backdated - possibly to try to panic me into paying straight away so I dont have time to get any advice?!

You might want to ask yourself why they're so keen to write letters instead of just taking you to court. It's a load of hot air.

Carry on ignoring.

robredz

They like to go phishing like 419ers, hoping you will bite, unless they send a County Court summons (highly unlikely as their outrageous penalty is unenforceable and they would not like to lose in court) ignore ignore ignore.