PCN issued, letters started arriving, need help!

Coupon-mad

Henners63 wrote: »

Guess I'll only find out if it goes any further but it sounds like the best course of action now is just to leave contacting them and wait until this all goes away or something gets escalated.

Thanks again all for your advice. I shall sit it out and see what happens from there. I'll re-post when the next letter arrives ina week or so's time!

Yes, you do that...;)

vax2002

This is a scam that impersonates authority:
They have no legal or lawful right to issue you with a fine or a penalty.
All they will do is make endless threats and impersonate more types of authority such as fake solicitors and fake debt collectors to go with the fake parking ticket they gave you.

Coupon-mad

vax2002 wrote: »

This is a scam that impersonates authority:
They have no legal or lawful right to issue you with a fine or a penalty.
All they will do is make endless threats and impersonate more types of authority such as fake solicitors and fake debt collectors to go with the fake parking ticket they gave you.

I like the way this thread is going...hope Henners63 likes the nice yellow signage too, very clear lettering.

Oh, he's gone! I was just going to ask about a small discrepancy:

Henners63 wrote: »

Hi all,
Looking for a bit of advice with another private parking firm. I was parked off street outside a letting agent for 15 mins whilst I popped into the shop next door to pick up a present I had bought for someone on 21st Dec at about 4:45pm. I didn't notice teh red sign they had int he window with WARNING and then a load of small print which I went and look at after I had been given this charge.

It wasn't until I got home that I noticed the £150 fine on my windscreen.

??

give_them_FA

Well, it's strange, though he could mean that he returned to check it out later. If he comes back and says he's been taken to Court I think your theory will be proved, Coupon.

Henners63

Ok, looks like I need to clear up a few things here because I have apparently gone from someone hoping to get advice on my PCN to an undercover parking agent.

As someone has already noted when wanting to contest the fine I basically admitted being the driver, being in the place and having been back to the place where I got the ticket 3 weeks after the event, subsequently said that signs were in place when writing my second contest letter. This is exactly the reason I am posting on here because I now don't know what positon that puts me in. Until today I didn't know that I had done the 'Don'ts' from the Sticky - PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING by Crab-man which is a pain in the backside.

My other point in my first post which I thought would be more relevant is that they said they would get back to me about my contest (I had specifically asked them to confirm by return that they had received my contest which they did and said they would let me know the result), I have had no return and then 3 weeks later I get a letter dropped through the door.

Like I say not sure where I stand, have I changed anything by writing to them?

Also checked out the other threads to do with APS, anyone know what happened to LindsandNicole or KJFletcher?

give_them_FA

Apologies if we tried to put a cap on you that doesn't fit, Henners, but we do get these stooges from the parking firms that come on here so they can then say they have been taken to court for following our advice, they are just trying to undermine the victims' confidence in us.. so we do look more carefully at posts than we let on.

The issue here of course is that in law a private person or firm (= APS) has absolutely no right to levy a fine or penalty for any supposed breach of one of its (highly dubious) contracts. This is excluded by Law- only a criminal process, or a civil process backed by statute (like the Council fines) can do that. No matter what arbitrary and outlandish figures these people claim, they will NOT have them awarded by a Court, because the only award a Court can make is for the actual loss suffered- which will never be much and in a lot of cases- such as yours- will probably be zero.

Add to that that this would be a Small Claim meaning that the firm would not be allowed to claim solicitors' costs, and you can see why taking it to court is not a viable option. Even if you admitted you did it they could only get a small sum or nothing. So they use the threat of Court action- not the reality.

The trolls come on here saying they've been taken to court to frighten people. It isn't true. There's one on another thread right now.

So the advice previously given stands- just cease all contact with these crooks. They won't do anything for the reason I have stated above.

Coupon-mad

As already linked & mentioned above, 'KJFletcher' became the pepipoo poster who paid £60 in Court to the barrister. This particular bunch of nasty scumbags do sometimes go to Court.

The_Slithy_Tove

trisontana wrote: »

So they actually use the word "unlawfully". It would be interesting to ask them what particular statue law has been broken by you by parking on private land.

I should think the use of that word would completely scupper any chance they had of winning in any potential court case. OP should keep that letter as ammunition in the extremely unlikely event it ever got that far.

vax2002

The letting agent is obviously in on the scam, I would have a good luck if this is someone you want to do business with ?

Henners63

Excuse my legal ignorance but what have they done by using the word 'unlawfully'? A couple of people have said the same on here.

I have of course kept the letter, along with the DVLA request for my information, and I will keep all future letters too.

I have had a look through the posts on pepipoo that Coupon-mad left. I am not a member on there but it looks like it would be a good idea.