Parking Eye and DRP at it again

appletreetop

Hi, I’ve started a new thread because I’m getting really confused and worried about Parking Eye (–exactly what they want I’m sure!). Your forum (and the whole website) is so supportive and full of great advice and its much appreciated.

I got an “invoice” from Parking Eye back at the start of January of this year. Don’t want to say for where but it was a free (for 1 ½ hours) carpark, a retail park with several different stores. My “invoice” was for staying a few minutes longer than the one and a half hours.

I got confused about where I needed to park, I drove around the carpark a bit before I finally parked up and then used several different stores, ate something in my car and made a few phone calls etc before I drove off. It was evening and dark, the carpark was almost empty and I certainly wasn’t stopping any other customers parking by being there an extra few minutes.

When I got the original letter I was cross but was going to pay – then I found your forum and read upon Parking Eye and became incredibly angry at their scam. Back in January the advice on your forum and everywhere else I looked online was to IGNORE the letters. So I did.

Its now the beginning of June and I’ve had three letters from Parking Eye and now three from Debt Recovery Plus ltd, all of which have become increasingly threatening and intimidating. The last of the DRP letters arrived a couple of days ago and really worried me – yet makes me very angry at their awful business tactics.

It made me read more and more on your forums and it now seems your most recent advice is NOT to ignore Parking Eye letters. That wasn’t what I read back in January. Its far too late for me to appeal to POPLA now. So far I’ve ignored everything and not written to the retail park either. I’m incredibly stressed with many things in my life, like many people are, and this was something I just didn’t need to add to it all.

I’m assuming I now have to still keep ignoring unless genuine Court Papers turn up – and then seek further advice from you or from Pepipoo.? I know you get asked this all the time and its all familiar stuff to you, but when it’s us individuals out here who haven’t had anything like this before, it all feels unfamiliar and worrying…

Should I also write to the retail park?

Thank you, I really appreciate the advice and the time people take on here to post.

Umkomaas

Unfortunately you are where you are with this. The very genuine advice given previously in regard to all fake PCNs was to ignore.

In a number of cases this still applies. No one could forecast that ParkingEye (and one other PPC - CEL) would suddenly become über litigious and start issuing court papers like confetti.

They can't possibly issue court papers to every single ignorer, so don't convince yourself that you will get any of these. You are still on the threatogram trail and keeping your head below the parapet is probably the best and continuing course of action, because there is no longer any appeal channel open, so writing to any of the protagonists might flag you up as a 'hooked fish' with some extra potential to extract monies.

If the event should arise, feel safe in the knowledge that both forums are geared up for producing robust court defences and also know that despite the number of 'confetti' claims from PE, not one has appeared before a Judge. There are one or two 'marquee' cases which might go forward, but if PE take a spanking then their house of cards is in some real danger.

Try not to worry, but I understand your concerns.

appletreetop

Thank you, I really appreciate the help and advice. I’ll sit tight for now and keep reading upon advice here and on Pepipoo - its much appreciated. Its so worrying yet I feel so strongly thatPE are operating an awful business model…

Coupon-mad

appletreetop wrote: »

Thank you, I really appreciate the help and advice. I’ll sit tight for now and keep reading upon advice here and on Pepipoo - itsmuch appreciated. Its so worrying yet I feel so strongly thatPE are operating an awful business model…

We agree and so would a judge if PE or another PPC allowed a well-defended small claim to actually get to a hearing.

Remember that the small claims issued to some cherry-picked 'ignorers' are a tiny % of Parking Eye's overall database of info, and are designed to scare people (the people who get a claim form and the people who read about it!). That's what PE want to achieve. And a CLAIM does not = a WIN!

They are NOT hoping for robustly-defended cases at all - and that's what yours would be if you did get a small claim. Highly unlikely but worth checking the letters that arrive, open them all and file them as long as they match the PPC letter chains info:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2329119

That's the pics of the old letter chains because they haven't changed much at all in most cases and people have ignored these for YEARS - me included. You are aware to look out for a real small claim and you know where to post if that happens (here or pepipoo) to get a free defence sorted for you by the posters here who hate this scam and have experience of writing the odd defence. And I can tell you that the defences have been devised after discussion with legally-qualified experts and have seen off the odd speculative (fairly unpublicised) PPC small claim attempt for years. These are tried and tested defences, fully updated following the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 of course (a law which gives motorists even more grounds for defence in fact!).

You are in the best place here, are highly unlikely to see anything other than the usual threatograms but you know what to do if they did arrive. I feel sorry for hapless victims who might stupidly ignore real small claims forms as well ( = a default judgment in favour of the scammer within weeks) or who just panic and pay up.

appletreetop

I’ve just received my Letter Before Action from Parking Eye today. I’ve been feeling so stressed about so many things of late and the threats from Parking Eye / dRP had been weighing heavily on top of all these – and that’s going to be the same for very many people who are just trying to get along with their lives and never intended to incur any kind of parking “invoice”. Much as I was so angry with them, it was tempting at one point to pay just to get them off my back…. alas… but NO !

I ended up speaking to a solicitor recently who I met through work, and their advice was exactly the same as everything else on here – Fight BACK…

I’ve been reading the recent posts about Acknowledgement Letters to LBA / LBC. So, my acknowledgement letter will follow to PE… if someone would help to look over the letter before it is sent off I would really appreciate that.…


Many thanks again for all the advice on here

(please excuse any typing errors, I have a broken keyboard at the moment!)

The_Slithy_Tove

appletreetop wrote: »

I’ve been reading the recent posts about Acknowledgement Letters to LBA / LBC.

I assume you mean this?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4705657
If not, you really need to read it.

appletreetop

Yes, that’s what I’ve been reading,it’s really useful indeed.

appletreetop

Oh and also – call me a cynic but PE can’t surely be thinking that lots of people will be away for two weeks over the summer and therefore not in a position to reply to letters within 14 days….

zzzLazyDaisy

Hi just to confirm I have clocked your thread and will be back later to have a look at your Acknowledgement.

Daisy

appletreetop

Thank you so much for your help. I’ve drafted a reply but am trying to ensure I’ve not copied other letters on here too much and am trying to make it my own wording as much as possible.

Where shall I post the letter? Or does that need doing as a private message?

I can’t tell you just how much all this help is appreciated. Like many people I’ve needed to devote a lot of emotional attention to many other difficult issues going on in life and all of this with PE seems such an awful use of energy when I’ve needed it elsewhere. But I want to fight them back. It makes me so angry that they play on vulnerable people and operate a business model that seems to have such poor ethics…

zzzLazyDaisy

Hi just post it on here. The PPCs do read these forums but don't worry about that, with a bit of luck they will see you have legal advice, and decide you are too much of a hot potato to take on

One other thing (we don't need details) but as you mention stress and emotional issues if you have a chronic long term health problems, whether physical or mental, you may have extra protection under the Equality Act, so do flag this up for us if it applies.

Edit - could I ask you to go back to the main guidance thread and edit your post down to say something like

'please see my new thread'

This leaves a signpost for the regular posters to find you, but doesn't create too much additional 'bumph' for people to wade through. Ta!