Parking Ticket - Received letter from DC - advice appreciated

walter_89

Hello all, I would be grateful for your advice, as I fear I 'may' have taken the wrong action and acted foolishly.

I took some advice that I fear was outdated and after doing some proper research myself, I think this was the wrong course of action. I have read the stickies but would just like some clarification on the best course of action from the position I am in, as they (the stickies) are quite a lot to take in upon first reading.

I parked on a side street in Leeds city centre, at 23:00, a place I had previously parked without penalty, so thought this was safe (especially at that time). I came back a couple of hours later to a ticket from VCS - Vehicle Control Services. This was on 13/09/2013.

The advice I was given was to just ignore them, and not acknowledge any correspondence. So this is what I did.

15/10/2013 - I received the Notice to Keeper/Driver stating among other things that I will be required to pay etc. I also have just ignored this (foolishly I think).

I thought nothing was going to come of it (as I was advised) but then today I have received a letter from 'Rossendales Collect' demanding payment within 7 days or they will start 'recovery action'. However, the Client is 'Excel Parking Services' - not VCS as in the first instance.

Now I know the legal position (or I think I do) with respect to contracts between two parties, one being unable to collect 'penalties' from another - as these are unenforceable in court. You can only claim damages, i.e what you have lost. This was not a pay and display and as such, there was no loss or damage caused.

However, this does not seem to have gone anywhere near a court - it has bypassed the stage I was expecting - a court threat, at which point I would have appealed with my point of law.

So am I at risk of having a 'visit'? My worry is that I will not be home at the time as I work late, and someone else at my house may bear the brunt.

What would be the best next course of action at this late stage? Rossendales letter is dated 06/12/13 so the clock is ticking... Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks for your time.

Umkomaas

Welcome to the forum and well done for reading the stickies. At first a lot of this stuff can be quite overwhelming, but you are in good hands here.

Yes, 'ignore' is very old advice that is no longer given by forum regulars (other than for Scotland and NI where it still can be appropriate). Whoever gave you that did you no favours whatsoever, so please reappraise him/her of the contemporary advice of people who really know how to deal with this stuff!

Excel and VCS are one and the same, although operating separately at different sites. Whether the incorrect reference in documentation is of sufficient stature to make a PCN invalid is open to debate - but not something to be concerned about at the moment.

You seem to be past the point of being able to make an appeal to POPLA where, with our guidance, you would have been able to have this ticket cancelled - we have a 100% record with the dozens upon dozens of cases we've advised over the last 12 months.

So you're well down the 'ignore' route; debt collectors such as Rossendales have no statutory authority; they can't force you to pay; they can't take you to court (only Excel/VCS or their solicitors can); and they definitely can't 'send the boys around' (with or without baseball bats!!).

You state that the ticket was issued on a 'side street'. Have you checked with the local council whether this is private land, or is it a council adopted road? Private Parking Companies (PPCs) cannot issue charges on any public highway.

Carry on briefing yourself up by reading the stickies and other threads. But for now you can do nothing much else than ignore what might be a blizzard of ever more threatening letters (including those with scary red text, sometimes even with BLOCK CAPITALS :rotfl:).

But you do need to keep an eye out for any letter from Excel/VCS (or their solicitors) headed Letter Before County Court Claim/Letter Before Action (or similar); this must NOT be ignored - but get back to us if it drops on your doormat.

I assume you are the Registered Keeper of the vehicle? If there was someone else driving at the time of the 'contravention', do come back quickly.

HTH

Coupon-mad

Search the forum for Rossendales as a keyword and see how they have been mentioned a few times recently. Do not read stuff about their separate bailiff 'arm' from months ago because this isn't a bailiff situation at all. This is a debt collector letter chain, that's all, and they cannot send the boys round:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=24362


HTH

walter_89

Thank you for your responses. I'll sleep easier now.

That 100% POPLA stat really does sting me - impressive though!! I'll just sit tight and await the storm then

To answer your points Umkomaas;

I am indeed the registered keeper

With regards to the road, I will enquire as to the ownership/control. I was not parked directly on the roadside however, but on land just off of the road - so don't know how relevant this will be. But it cant hurt to confirm.


@ Coupon-mad - I have read quite a lot about them being violent etc on other sites and on some threads here, usually related to council tax though. It sounds like I happened upon information relating to this 'bailiff arm'.

I will continue to verse myself via the stickies/other threads as suggested - and come back with any updates.

Again, thanks:beer:

Umkomaas

I must say a refreshing response and attitude to dealing with this. Well done OP, you'll get all the help you need on here with your positive and proactive approach.

An exemplar for newbies.

Coupon-mad

@ Coupon-mad - I have read quite a lot about them being violent etc on other sites and on some threads here, usually related to council tax though. It sounds like I happened upon information relating to this 'bailiff arm'.



Yes indeedy, don't worry! You read irrelevant bailiff threads which happens with both Rossendales and Newlyn (the only 2 debt collectors that PPCs use which have bailiff sides too). Look at PaulH40's post recently about his wife having done the same sort of 'random search of company name' that you did!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/63856019#Comment_63856019

You are just ignoring a letter chain now, that's all.

Keep all the letters though, because things in the letters could help you with any complaint for harassment, etc., such as the slip-up re the client being Excel (owned by the same person as VCS are, a fat cat called Simon Renshaw-Smith whose family are part of the 'horsey' set due to the money these tickets bring in). Also if they did ever try a small claim then you'd need this sort of evidence. If contacting them once is better for your peace of mind then you could send a 'cease and desist' robust letter to Rossendales, like the one linked in the 'Newbies read this first!' thread where Debt Collectors are specifically mentioned near the top.

But you don't 'have' to respond unless you get an actual Letter before Claim from VCS themselves or small claim papers (rare, and defendable, and has no effect on credit rating either way unless you lost and refused to pay).

Killowen86

I too have just received a threatening letter form Rossendales.....I would also like some advice and also it may be helpful to others to not make the same mistake I did! In the summer I went to Liverpool airport to pick someone up and in my rush to get there, I didn't notice that double red lines had been painted on the road leading to the airport (they weren't there last time I went). I pulled in to the side as my phone was ringing and needed to answer it and I was stopped for all of 20 seconds with the engine running. I thought I was doing the right thing pulling in to answer rather than doing so while driving. Several months later I received a notice of a fine for £60 pounds from Excel Parking Services. I thought it was ridiculous as the pictures they took showed I had pulled in for 20 seconds! My husband has ignored a couple of fines from private companies in the past and nothing came of it so I decided to try the same. The next letter which I received not long ago had the fine increased to £100 and to be honest I just forgot all about it. Yesterday I received a letter from Rossendales threatening action if I don't pay the £100 plus a 'fee' of £36 within 7 days. I am at a loss as to what to do? It's a lot of money to pay out at this time of the year plus on principle I don't want to give this company any money as I was not causing an obstruction and was in a position to move immediately if a reason warranted it. Can you help please?

Umkomaas

Killowen86 wrote: »

I too have just received a threatening letter form Rossendales.....I would also like some advice and also it may be helpful to others to not make the same mistake I did! In the summer I went to Liverpool airport to pick someone up and in my rush to get there, I didn't notice that double red lines had been painted on the road leading to the airport (they weren't there last time I went). I pulled in to the side as my phone was ringing and needed to answer it and I was stopped for all of 20 seconds with the engine running. I thought I was doing the right thing pulling in to answer rather than doing so while driving. Several months later I received a notice of a fine for £60 pounds from Excel Parking Services. I thought it was ridiculous as the pictures they took showed I had pulled in for 20 seconds! My husband has ignored a couple of fines from private companies in the past and nothing came of it so I decided to try the same. The next letter which I received not long ago had the fine increased to £100 and to be honest I just forgot all about it. Yesterday I received a letter from Rossendales threatening action if I don't pay the £100 plus a 'fee' of £36 within 7 days. I am at a loss as to what to do? It's a lot of money to pay out at this time of the year plus on principle I don't want to give this company any money as I was not causing an obstruction and was in a position to move immediately if a reason warranted it. Can you help please?

Three things you can do:

1. Please start your own NewThread, as advice on this one is for the original poster only.

2. Please read very carefully the NEWBIES sticky thread at the top of the forum's index - it contains all the information you need to help you understand this stuff and should set you off in the right direction.

3. In any future thread, please use paragraphs as the mega text block you've put here is far too big and difficult to read; the result is that people give up on reading it (and effectively, give up on you).

Killowen86

Thankyou - I thought I had done something wrong but am finding it difficult to navigate the site

Umkomaas

Killowen86 wrote: »

Thankyou - I thought I had done something wrong but am finding it difficult to navigate the site

Click here to start a New Thread.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=163

Click here for the NEWBIES thread.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822

walter_89

Good evening all, I hope everyone has enjoyed the festive season. I've been working constantly, but no rest for the wicked I suppose.

Feel sorry for PaulH, the last thing you need when dealing with situations like this is the Mrs threatening to leave you if it all goes pear shaped and bailiffs turn up:rotfl: - risking more than a £100 parking charge!

Well as expected (and as you advised me I would), I got more letters in December than Santa Claus. . .except mine were demanding IMMEDIATE PAYMENT, not asking for Playstation consoles or bicycles

I have saved all of this aggressive correspondence and of course, I am still steadfastly ignoring them.

I have also received phonecalls from them which did take me by surprise quite early in the morning on Christmas Eve, but i promptly just put the phone down.

I was a bit alarmed to hear from neighbours that 2 men in a blue van have been coming and waiting outside my house as well while I have been at work over the past few days! I assume that these people don't give much regard to the rules/guidelines for conduct set out for them. Obviously I cannot confirm it was representatives of the DC (although there really is no one else it could be), but rest assured if they do make direct contact with me or a member of my family i will delight in reporting them to the CSA. - Has anyone known Rossendales representatives turn up in this manner before? I assume just to frighten people?

After reading through numerous more stickies and posts, its very calming to read how the forum regulars here seem to provide the necessary tools to demolish these ridiculous charges from every possible angle:T - I salute you.

One thing I have picked up on is if I do get the LBA on my doorstep, one thing that is important is how your conduct throughout the process will look to the judge at court (if it eventually gets there). Will they look disapprovingly on just complete ignorance to all correspondence from the outset, or do they just assess conduct after the LBA has been served?

So I suppose my question is, is it worth me just being proactive and writing a 'cease and desist' letter to Rossendales (as CM suggested) to tell them not to contact me as I am disputing the charge - and then writing an appeal to VCS/Excel stating that if they refuse my appeal, then I would like POPLA code, quoting the POPLA T&C's stating that it is not too late as there are no actual time limits, and this would mitigate their potential losses and is a favourable ADR, rather than them eventually pursuing court action and wasting time and more money - or is this pre-empting a storm that in practice is unlikely to come?

I'm asking because I feel like i have been caught with my trousers down once before (missing out on the POPLA opportunity), and I want to be in the best possible positon I can.

I apologise if any of this is repetitive.