Railway, remote payment, no ticket on car!

Coupon-mad

Oh I see now - it wasn't clear from your first post that this isn't a Parking Charge Notice. Sorry, my bad.

So, it's the same as all the other threads about CP Plus Penalty Notices; we have several on here, if you search the forum, and they don't go to POPLA nor anywhere else except standard toilet roll letters from debt collectors. There is plenty of advice already on the other three or four CP Plus Penalty threads we've had in the last couple of months.

But again there's nothing wrong with sending the usual letter to string it out and see what reply arrives. After all the template asks for the 'basis of the charge' - so let them explain it. You could tweak the template to suit - and there's no point corresponding with PCS, it would need a letter to CP Plus. Then ignore them or complain to the TOC or Passenger Focus and any the other options discussed on similar threads already. It's a bit worrying as it's called a 'penalty' and CP Plus do actually clamp cars on railway sites sometimes under the guise of byelaws - so I would fire off a few letters to the TOC and CP Plus and then complain to PF - but I would do this slowly, no rush! String it out - and ignore DRP letters unless you want to draw them into some waste of time comms, later on.

Bearing in mind the six month deadline you want it to roll past...see other CP Plus railway threads!

HO87

So the notice was actually issued by Parking Collection Services on behalf of CP Plus. PCS are a trading title of Debt Recovery Plus also known as Zenith Collections. Its already with the debt collectors.

Write to PCS or indeed even CP Plus and ask them to provide a copy of the original PCN. You can state that as the keeper this matter has just been drawn to your attention as a result of PCS's letter. I'd just bet that the PCN offered POPLA and may well have made reference to the Protection of Freedoms Act. If it did then they are locked it. The BPA Code of Practice doesn't allow for route hopping once a PCN chase is underway. CP Plus's next step - after the PCN - should have been to issue a Notice to Keeper which would have provided an opportunity for the keeper to appeal. It would be very good to try to retrieve this.

Coupon-mad

I reckon it was a Penalty Charge Notice (with an alleged windscreen ticket even though it was not seen later on) like in Puddings' thread which this OP should look at and read (it's in the first few pages now, here, as Puddings replied yesterday to my suggestion to 'string it out a bit more' with DRP). Puddings is still dealing with DRP letters and the six months to actually pursue this as a byelaws penalty is nearly up for them.

There's no POPLA offered here and so it isn't one that can be appealed in the usual way. CP Plus can be safely complained about to the BPA (for 'dressing up a parking charge as if it's a TOC penalty' and then not offering POPLA but sending it to DRP and not magistrates court) but ONLY once the time gets beyond six months. This is CP Plus avoiding POPLA by hiding behind the 'Penalty' word even though it's not one.

KateBrown

Cp plus refused to send me a copy of the ticket. I might have paid it if I'd actually found it on my car. I really object to it not actually being there.
Might ask the bpa about their standards for how tickets should be fixed to cars. At a railway car park it's not unreasonable to leave your car for a week or more, and their fixative should last that long, especially in bad weather.

I didn't send my appeal letter to them, I think they've already rejected my requests.
Like pudding, I can't use their car parks any more, but not a great loss.

KateBrown

I'll just wait it out.
My friend is a magistrate in Surrey, he's never seen a parking bylaw in the courts.
SWT are much more interested in fare Dodgers, he has a lot of those.
Did you know a first offence will cost you £500!
A second will be 4 weeks wages!

Coupon-mad

KateBrown wrote: »

Cp plus refused to send me a copy of the ticket. I might have paid it if I'd actually found it on my car. I really object to it not actually being there.
Might ask the bpa about their standards for how tickets should be fixed to cars. At a railway car park it's not unreasonable to leave your car for a week or more, and their fixative should last that long, especially in bad weather.

I didn't send my appeal letter to them, I think they've already rejected my requests. Like pudding, I can't use their car parks any more, but not a great loss.

Then that's what you complain about to Passenger Focus and to the BPA Ltd. Unless you want to follow Puddings example and ride the storm of letters for six months, then complain after that, once you know it's too late for the 'penalty' to be taken to Magistrates court. In any case if you did get letters from the actual Train Operator then your first argument would be 'CP Plus have been unreasonable and refused to send me a copy of the penalty Notice they allege was issued - a basic piece of information that of course I must be allowed to see if you are to pursue the matter'.

KateBrown

There have been a few developments about cp plus' conduct which aren't favorable to them. I don't want to go into it on here, because as someone else pointed out, these companies look at the forums (i know I would!)
I've let the train company know what they've done, including writing a ticket for 50% more than the sign allowed!
I called the train company today, they said they will investigate it, although it will take 28 days. They mentioned reviewing the station cctv to check if the car park spaces had been obstructed by contractors, and that could work in my favour.

KateBrown

Hi,
The debt recovery agency are now apparently about to pass my case to a solicitors.
I contacted South West Trains over a month ago asking for help, as my car was parked in a restricted area because of station improvement works. The parking company sent me photos where they had clearly moved the ticket around my car, which is probably why it hadn't stayed on. I'd have paid it straight away if they'd actually put the ticket on the car and given an early payment discount.

They're also trying to tell me the penalty is for £120 when the sign THEY sent me says its £80, along with a different email from the parking company. Does anyone know if this would count against them if they did take me to court?

I've tried chasing up SWT again, and put URGENT in my subject line. It's been over their 28 days. Apparently they're still only processing complaints from February they're so behind!

Is it the case that a court judgment against you will affect your credit rating, or is it only if you dont pay it?

Really could do without the stress of this.
Any help gratefully received!

Coupon-mad

It's not urgent nor stressful at all - it's running its usual course, the DRP letter chain of drivel which is what you want - there will be no court nor 'solicitor'!! You really are falling for the letters that are talked about & laughed at, on this forum EVERY DAY! Did you look at Puddings' thread again? He got past the 6 months so the 'penalty' can go nowhere. You should not be rattling the TOC's cage to draw the ticket to their attention right now, you should be vaguely replying to the DRP letter at best, stringing it out till six months is reached (explained on Puddings' thread). Or just ignore DRP and it will die a death, a debt collector cannot start a court case (but a TOC can, hence why you should NOT be rattling the TOC's cage yet). Plenty of time to complain once you are past the 6 months for them to enforce it as a TOC.

KateBrown

So I was leaving the country for an extended period and didnt need the stress.
South West Train agreed I could pay £50 for this to go away, so I did. I sent it with a letter saying that acceptance of the cheque was full and final payment and closed the matter. They cashed it back in March. I know others advise not to do this, however I had parked in the wrong place and I just wanted it to go away

I just got a letter recently from another debt recover clown outfit demanding £79.99 (!!!!!!?).
I'm not going to reply yet, because Section 127 Magistrates' Court Act 1980 states that for all summary offences the information must be laid within six calendar months of the commission of the offence, except where any other Act expressly provides otherwise.

This expires at the end of the month anyway, so they can do one.
After this date I will report them for harrassment if they continue to contact me, and tell them to remove me from their marketing database