A.S. Secrui-T "Ticket" in Flat's Own Private Car Park

jp1181

Driver8 wrote: »

You are taking this far far too seriously. Listen, they are PRIVATE CITIZENS out to try and basically rob you. They have NO special powers whatsoever, they do NOT carry warrant cards, they will NOT turn up at anyone's door let alone your's. If they ring, just give them some very very choice language. Keep a loud whistle by the phone too.

Just carry on with your life and laugh at them for being so stupid in chasing you for a NONE existent "debt".

I honestly don't know how to make it more plainer. IGNORE them.

I am getting so disillusioned with so many people taking bits of colourful paper full of quasi legal crap as something akin to a death threat. It is a SCAM.

I know it's a scam. As I've stated earlier many times. That's not the point, the point is we don't want our tenant being hassled. It's not her problem.
Whether or not they have any right to be doing (which I KNOW they don't) doesn't change the fact they might hassle our tenant, and that's not something we want to happen so if possible would like to take some steps to avoid this.

We can't just "IGNORE them" if we are not there to do so, the tenant will have to deal with them and may not be so keen to ignore threatening behaviour.

I appreciate the advice but saying 'they're crooks ignore them!' is missing the point of what I'm asking, we're not going to pay them, but we still don't want them hassling our tenant.

trisontana

Be assured that debt collectors won't turn up on the doorstep. As for letters, they can be ignored, and phone calls (if the tenant is retaining the old number) can be reported as harassment.

HO87

If you are that concerned then register the flat with the Telephone and Mail Preference Services (although that will take a while to kick in and may not stop Roxburghe's who may already have the number - but, equally, they may not); put on a mail re-direct with the post office for your's and the gf's mail and change/transfer the phone number at the flat.

Job done.

Seriously though, the chances of Roxburghe's sending someone to the flat is slightly less than your chances of winning a triple rollover on Euro Millions. The business model simply doesn't allow for the cost and for the amount outstanding there's nothing in it for them so I'd be extremely surprised if you can't safely ignore that as a risk.

Very often the truth is that people are embarrassed by the prospect that their successors at properties - whether tenants or owners - or friends or neighbours will discover that they allegedly owe money. The common perception that it is shameful to be in debt and seemingly unwilling or unable to pay is exactly the emotion that debt-collectors exploit to make their dirty money - don't play into their hands. In any event, so inefficient and self-righteous are many company's accounting systems that being wrongly accused of owing money or being met by disbelief that their charges are being challenged are now facts of life.

Coupon-mad

jimmiepreston wrote: »

I know it's a scam. As I've stated earlier many times. That's not the point, the point is we don't want our tenant being hassled. It's not her problem.
Whether or not they have any right to be doing (which I KNOW they don't) doesn't change the fact they might hassle our tenant, and that's not something we want to happen so if possible would like to take some steps to avoid this.

We can't just "IGNORE them" if we are not there to do so, the tenant will have to deal with them and may not be so keen to ignore threatening behaviour.

I appreciate the advice but saying 'they're crooks ignore them!' is missing the point of what I'm asking, we're not going to pay them, but we still don't want them hassling our tenant.

How clearly can we say that debt collectors 'acting' to try to collect a fake parking charge do not EVER turn up on doorsteps? NEVER, there will categorically be NO home visit. You are muddling up debt collectors with bailiffs.

Dealing with the letters is easy, all of them are shown in pics on the top thread 'PPC letters, what to expect':

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=163

Why not tell the tenant there may be some letters about a fake parking ticket scam which you won't be paying, tell her the letters will be headed up 'Roxburghe' or 'Graham White' and can she just keep them for you to laugh at and remove to a suitable receptacle when you next pop in.

Tell her the only other contact this company make (for it is only one company, Roxburghe, who also pretend to be Graham White) could possibly be a phone call or two but it doesn't happen to everyone. She can truthfully say you don't live there if they call, or put the phone down on the scammers, they will soon get bored.

jp1181

Thanks, I'm going to get the phone number changed and we're redirecting the post anyway so hopefully that will cover our tenant, if they do visit our tenant, then we will make complaints to OFT, police etc

Presumably if our tenant was unfortunate enough to let bayliffs in (and I appreciate how unlikely it is they would send someone round, but I want to be extra careful) and they wanted to take some possessions, as they belong to her (tenant) and not my gf they wouldn't be able to take anything as they haven't established the owner. Obviously we would be advising her not let anyone in in the first place but its a shared entrance so they could get in to the building easily enough.

No embarrassment from me about it, but don't want the tenant to see letters/receive phonecalls and be panicked.

[It seems so ridiculous to me that the flat's management company didn't request that if [I]someone with a car registered to one of the flats in the building that they are patrolling the car park for[/I] is ticketed, that they don't follow it up as obviously they should be allowed to park in front of their own block of flats]

jp1181

Coupon-mad wrote: »

How clearly can we say that debt collectors 'acting' to try to collect a fake parking charge do not EVER turn up on doorsteps? NEVER, there will categorically be NO home visit. You are muddling up debt collectors with bailiffs.

Dealing with the letters is easy, all of them are shown in pics on the top thread 'PPC letters, what to expect':

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=163

Why not tell the tenant there may be some letters about a fake parking ticket scam which you won't be paying, tell her the letters will be headed up 'Roxburghe' or 'Graham White' and can she just keep them for you to laugh at and remove to a suitable receptacle when you next pop in.

Tell her the only other contact this company make (for it is only one company, Roxburghe, who also pretend to be Graham White) could possibly be a phone call or two but it doesn't happen to everyone. She can truthfully say you don't live there if they call, or put the phone down on the scammers, they will soon get bored.

Thanks, this is what we will do -combined with a change to phone number and as you say they should get bored and go away.

Why do management companies hire these crooks in the first place?! What good is it to p*ss off your leasees? As I understand it they don't earn anything from them as the parking companies provide the service free of charge so what's in it for the management company?

Coupon-mad

jimmiepreston wrote: »

Thanks, I'm going to get the phone number changed and we're redirecting the post anyway so hopefully that will cover our tenant, if they do visit our tenant, then we will make complaints to OFT, police etc

Presumably if our tenant was unfortunate enough to let bailiffs in (and I appreciate how unlikely it is they would send someone round, but I want to be extra careful) and they wanted to take some possessions, as they belong to her (tenant) and not my gf they wouldn't be able to take anything as they haven't established the owner. Obviously we would be advising her not let anyone in in the first place but its a shared entrance so they could get in to the building easily enough.

No embarrassment from me about it, but don't want the tenant to see letters/receive phonecalls and be panicked.

[It seems so ridiculous to me that the flat's management company didn't request that if [I]someone with a car registered to one of the flats in the building that they are patrolling the car park for[/I] is ticketed, that they don't follow it up as obviously they should be allowed to park in front of their own block of flats]

Oh please listen to us, BAILIFFS cannot be sent round, only a Court can order that bailiffs attend, after a company has actually put in a small claim, won it and you have then refused to pay what the judge ordered!

trisontana

You are still confusing debt-collectors with real bailiffs. The former are just powerless individuals who cannot enter property, cannot seize goods and cannot blacken credit records. The latter only come on the scene when due process of county court action takes place and then the defendant refuses to pay whatever the judge orders within 28 days.

jp1181

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Oh please listen to us, BAILIFFS cannot be sent round, only a |COurt can order that bailiffs attend, after a company has actually put in a small claim, won it and you have then refused to pay what the judge order!

Ok got it!:o

Thanks all, I know it must feel like banging your head against a brick wall, I really appreciate your help. and it will continue to be like this until some decent laws are passed to stop this sort of thing. I am not holding my breath...

fb1969

jimmiepreston wrote: »

[It seems so ridiculous to me that the flat's management company didn't request that if [I]someone with a car registered to one of the flats in the building that they are patrolling the car park for[/I] is ticketed, that they don't follow it up as obviously they should be allowed to park in front of their own block of flats]

Firstly it would involve the PPC having to think.

Secondly it would deprive the PPC of the possibility of someone just paying up.

My own experience is that the management company (or agents) are totally ignorant of the law. They don't even realise that the content of the lease for a property has slightly more legal standing than some berk with a flourescent jacket and a camera.