P4 Parking Ticket in Scotland

piskyscot

I have had a phone call today from the debt collection agency, who say they are acting on behalf of P4 Parking. I live in Scotland.

The address they have for me is my old address, which I presume relates to a delay I had in updating my V5C when I moved house (although it is now registered to my current address, and my driving licence has been registered to this address since immediately after I moved). Once I confirmed that I used to live there, they tell me that I have a debt of two parking tickets of £179 each from occasions in June and August when my car was parked at The Point, Edinburgh. I explain that (a) I have not received any letter about this presumably because I no longer live at the address they are writing to, and (b) my car has never been in Edinburgh, I have never driven to Edinburgh, and on the dates they claim it was my car was with me in Glasgow. They ask if there's anyone else who could have been driving the car, I tell them that I haven't lent it to anyone and I'm pretty sure I'd know if it had been stolen but repeat that my car has never been in Edinburgh, ever. They have pictures. I ask them if they can email me those pictures and a contact number, and tell them that obviously I am not going to pay a parking ticket for parking in a location that I've never parked in before I've reviewed the evidence.

The pictures are of my car parked outside my flat in Glasgow. Not Edinburgh. The car park has P4 Parking signs up and I have a permit, which is registered to my flat. I remember getting the PCNs and ignoring them (which as far as I'm aware is still the advice in Scotland). My best recollection is that on one of the occasions, my permit was displayed on my dashboard, and on the other one I think it had fallen onto the floor.

So -- what do I do?

I've had a good look through the forums, and I think the general advice is that I should continue to ignore it. My hesitation is over a few things. The first is that they are clearly sending their letters to an address where I no longer live, although there's an argument to be made that as I've now told them I don't live there they should realise that that's futile. The second is that I've answered the phone (and I don't know how they got my mobile number) and by doing so engaged with them, but obviously I've not admitted to being the driver as all I kept saying was, "but my car has never been to Edinburgh!" The third is that I literally have no idea what to do with the fact that they're claiming my car was in a city fifty miles away from the city it was in, despite the eight photographs I've got of my own car park. It all just seems a bit weird.

pappa_golf

piskyscot wrote: »

I have had a phone call today from the debt collection agency, who say they are acting on behalf of P4 Parking. I live in Scotland.

The address they have for me is my old address, which I presume relates to a delay I had in updating my V5C when I moved house (although it is now registered to my current address, and my driving licence has been registered to this address since immediately after I moved). Once I confirmed that I used to live there, they tell me that I have a debt of two parking tickets of £179 each from occasions in June and August when my car was parked at The Point, Edinburgh. I explain that (a) I have not received any letter about this presumably because I no longer live at the address they are writing to, and (b) my car has never been in Edinburgh, I have never driven to Edinburgh, and on the dates they claim it was my car was with me in Glasgow. They ask if there's anyone else who could have been driving the car, I tell them that I haven't lent it to anyone and I'm pretty sure I'd know if it had been stolen but repeat that my car has never been in Edinburgh, ever. They have pictures. I ask them if they can email me those pictures and a contact number, and tell them that obviously I am not going to pay a parking ticket for parking in a location that I've never parked in before I've reviewed the evidence.

The pictures are of my car parked outside my flat in Glasgow. Not Edinburgh. The car park has P4 Parking signs up and I have a permit, which is registered to my flat. I remember getting the PCNs and ignoring them (which as far as I'm aware is still the advice in Scotland). My best recollection is that on one of the occasions, my permit was displayed on my dashboard, and on the other one I think it had fallen onto the floor.

So -- what do I do?

I've had a good look through the forums, and I think the general advice is that I should continue to ignore it. My hesitation is over a few things. The first is that they are clearly sending their letters to an address where I no longer live, although there's an argument to be made that as I've now told them I don't live there they should realise that that's futile. The second is that I've answered the phone (and I don't know how they got my mobile number) and by doing so engaged with them, but obviously I've not admitted to being the driver as all I kept saying was, "but my car has never been to Edinburgh!" The third is that I literally have no idea what to do with the fact that they're claiming my car was in a city fifty miles away from the city it was in, despite the eight photographs I've got of my own car park. It all just seems a bit weird.

that I should continue to ignore it


correct , if they ring again , tell them to send their invoices to the driver on the day




also write back to them and the parking Co by first class with proof of postage clearly stating their invoice No , your VRN and your NEW address




then ignore the junk mail

piskyscot

I presume that that should be as short on detail as possible?

To Whom It May Concern,

Re: Ref No XXXXX/XXXXX

Vehicle XXXX XXX

I am the registered keeper of the above vehicle. For your records, please note that my current address is XX Nonsense Street, Scotland Town, United Kingdom.

Yours faithfully,

etc


And not include all the many reasons that I'm not paying it?

The reference number is what I've got on the email with the photos. I've not got an actual invoice number, having never yet received an invoice.

pappa_golf

correct , you are just covering your backside if they decide to try for a default ccj , make a paper trail and keep hold of it

Umkomaas

Block their number on your mobile.

Johno100

pappa_golf wrote: »

that I should continue to ignore it

correct , if they ring again , tell them to send their invoices to the driver on the day

also write back to them and the parking Co by first class with proof of postage clearly stating their invoice No , your VRN and your NEW address

then ignore the junk mail

Only problem with that I can see is this.

They ask if there's anyone else who could have been driving the car, I tell them that I haven't lent it to anyone

Fruitcake

Johno100 wrote: »

Only problem with that I can see is this.

The most important thing is Scotland is never to reveal who was driving. If you tell them to contact the driver, it's their job to find out who it was, not your job to tell them.
The safest way not to tell them is never to contact them again once you have given them your new address.
Make sure you get a free proof of posting from a Post Office counter when you send the letter. By law, it is deemed to have been delivered two working days later. Keep the proof of posting, and a copy of the letter for five years.

Once you have done that, never contact them again and ignore anything and everything you get from them. Them being the debt collectors or parking company.

This advice only applies in Scotland and NI. In case anyone from England or Wales is reading this, do not ignore private parking tickets.

Grimble

You never lent it to anyone, but you could get chauffeured around.

Johno100

Fruitcake wrote: »

The most important thing is Scotland is never to reveal who was driving.

And from the OP's recollecton of their telephone conversation with the DCA it seems they at least came very close to doing just that.

pappa_golf

if P4 knew they had a case , they would not be getting debt collectors to ring , the debt collectors are muppets who are just on a % and do not know there cities in Scotland , if P4 want to continue with court action , let them try , the OP has not admitted to being the driver , only that the vehicle was parked at the address .


a paper trail has hopefully now been laid , let them bring it on , if the dare

DoaM

Short and sweet as per post #3 is best. They (probably) won't have recorded the call so they won't have any evidence per the cautionary note above in post #6.