Paid Parking Ticket, Just Received Letter from Debt Collector

jarjar03

Hi everyone,
I've been reading posts here for quite a while but now I've made an account as a simple parking ticket has become very complicated.

So I received a (private car park) ticket in January for an offence committed in December. The company claimed they'd left me a ticket in the windscreen which I hadn't paid so when the letter got to me, it was already £100 (from the normal £60). I appealed in January, 2 weeks later I got a response saying they're happy to reduce it back to £60 which I need to pay by the beginning of March. I paid the £60 immediately, way before the March deadline.

A couple of weeks after paying it (once the March deadline had passed) I got a letter stating that my amount is now £100. I called the company and asked them whether my ticket shows as paid. They said it has indeed been paid and so I can throw the new letter in the bin.

Just now I got a letter from a debt collector agency demanding £150 on behalf of the parking company stating I hadn't paid. Since it's now Saturday I can't speak with anyone at either companies so I will call them on Monday to explain I've paid. I have proof of payment (a screenshot of the "Payment successful" page as well as my bank statement). I also have the appeal letter showing that I paid the ticket according to the appeal.

The debt collector company is threatening that they'll take me to court if I don't pay in the next 10 days. This is ridiculous. What should I do to clear my name off their wanted list?

Hot_Bring

The debt collector can't take you to court so stop worrying about that.

Firstly, I hope you now understand you should have paid nothing ? It's a con !

As for getting rid of the unwanted threats - email the debt collector saying the debt has been cleared with the principle and that ANY further contact will be considered harassment and could result in legal action being taken against them.

From that point forwards ignore EVERYTHING from the debt collector and come back here if you get court papers from the private parking company ( which you won't anyway ).

Oh, you need to name and shame the parking company and debt collectors on here as we like to highlight conning scum to the world at large.

Steve059

You paid the private ticketing company £100 that you didn't need to. Therefore, what's wrong with paying the debt collection company £150 that you don't need to either?

jarjar03

I read some of the posts here before paying but I figure it's easier to get them off my head by paying. Apparently not.

The parking company is Park Direct UK and debt collectors are Debt Recovery Plus. After posting this I noticed other recent posts by others saying they've received letters from DRP. Are they on a roll or something?

Hot_Bring

jarjar03 wrote: »

I read some of the posts here before paying but I figure it's easier to get them off my head by paying. Apparently not.

The parking company is Park Direct UK and debt collectors are Debt Recovery Plus. After posting this I noticed other recent posts by others saying they've received letters from DRP. Are they on a roll or something?

That's all part of the con though. Someone pays and they think "we've got a mug here" so they say "sorry you paid too late you now owe us xxx more". It's EXACTLY the con you see in the local paper every week.

Send the email I've suggested to DRP and then ignore them both - but remember, there is NEVER a reason to pay a private parking ticket.

jarjar03

Hot_Bring wrote: »

That's all part of the con though. Someone pays and they think "we've got a mug here" so they say "sorry you paid too late you now owe us xxx more". It's EXACTLY the con you see in the local paper every week.

Send the email I've suggested to DRP and then ignore them both - but remember, there is NEVER a reason to pay a private parking ticket.

I just emailed them proof of payment of the parking ticket and stated that any further contact will lead to legal action. I'll let you know what they say. Thanks!

Coupon-mad

Please never pay any PPC scumbags any money ever again - you really were 'had' and they have you on a suckers list now because you coughed up £60 you should NEVER have paid. What a shame you didn't come here earlier and simply won at POPLA like everyone does who follows our wording advice for the appeals.

You WILL get all sorts of drivel threatograms despite your letter. So what? It's junk mail. Expect to bombarded for months now - keep it all just in case but small PPCs very rarely try small claims and would have a very hard job convincing a Judge that there has been any loss, let alone over the £60 they have already taken you for.

jarjar03

I gave PDUK a call on Monday morning and the woman emailed me proof that I had indeed paid and said something had gone wrong in their system. Hopefully this should be the end of it.

To be fair though, the sign did say "No parking at any time", but I didn't see it until I went back to check what I need to write on the appeal. Are you saying that even though the sign says "No parking at any time" and it states the amounts payable, one shouldn't pay it?

Fruitcake

jarjar03 wrote: »

I gave PDUK a call on Monday morning and the woman emailed me proof that I had indeed paid and said something had gone wrong in their system. Hopefully this should be the end of it.

To be fair though, the sign did say "No parking at any time", but I didn't see it until I went back to check what I need to write on the appeal. Are you saying that even though the sign says "No parking at any time" and it states the amounts payable, one shouldn't pay it?[/QUOTE]

Yes. It's a con and you have been had. You will find all the information about this in the sticky thread for Newbies at the top of the page.

Hopefully you won't fall for the same con again and will tell everyone you know the basic rules about parking tickets on private land:

Do not pay, do not ignore, do not reveal who was driving, visit MSE, Pepipoo, or Parking Prankster for free information and advice.

Stroma

jarjar03 wrote: »

I gave PDUK a call on Monday morning and the woman emailed me proof that I had indeed paid and said something had gone wrong in their system. Hopefully this should be the end of it.

To be fair though, the sign did say "No parking at any time", but I didn't see it until I went back to check what I need to write on the appeal. Are you saying that even though the sign says "No parking at any time" and it states the amounts payable, one shouldn't pay it?

Would you believe a sign like this ?

Coupon-mad

jarjar03 wrote: »

To be fair though, the sign did say "No parking at any time", but I didn't see it until I went back to check what I need to write on the appeal. Are you saying that even though the sign says "No parking at any time" and it states the amounts payable, one shouldn't pay it?

Wow, what do you think? Are you really still so credulous that you are falling for this just because they have some signs up?

**NEWBIES!! PRIVATE PARKING TICKET? OLD OR NEW? **READ THESE FAQS FIRST!** Thankyou!

Take off those rose coloured spectacles and see this scam for what it is.