First post Advice needed please

Beemer2010

Hi Everyone, new to this forum and looking for some advice regarding an PCN.

Before I go any further I have read through the newbies sticky, but I found it very hard to find the correct advice for me, so please excuse.

About 10 months ago I got some parking tickets on a hospital car park. I was given advice by people who worked there to ignore them and any other letters. This I did,
Then this week I received a letter from a company called ZZPS (from reading this forum I know they are a debt collector.)
The gist of it is:
Into containing the client/PCN number, reg mark, balance, location, issue date,
Payment not made in accordance with terms displayed on signage.

Your unpaid PCN has been passed to us to resolve.
The balance owed is £*** and now includes late payment and debt recovery charges.
"Section on how to contact them/pay"
Please do not ignore this letter; we are here to help you resolve this PCN.
For your information, a Supreme Court ruling (ParkingEye v Beavis) has confirmed that a Parking charge issued on private land is enforceable and that the parking charge does not breach the unfair terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.

We are instructed to continue to pursue the matter in the absence of any contact from you.

What is my best course of action? Just to pay ? I do not want the charges to go up more.

Thank you in advance for any help or advice.

Edit: I can scan the letter and remove any identifying info if needed.
This is completely new to me and is causing me a lot of worry.

pappa_golf

if you read the newbies thread you will see that debt collectors are toothless , what you have omitted is the name of the parking company involved

Beemer2010

Thank you for the reply. Yes I read parts that said they are toothless, but that this one is also connected to a solicitors (WH). I really don't want my fine to escalate by ignoring this letter.

The parking company is Civil Enforcement Ltd

beamerguy

Beemer2010 wrote: »

Hi Everyone, new to this forum and looking for some advice regarding an PCN.

Before I go any further I have read through the newbies sticky, but I found it very hard to find the correct advice for me, so please excuse.

About 10 months ago I got some parking tickets on a hospital car park. I was given advice by people who worked there to ignore them and any other letters. This I did,
Then this week I received a letter from a company called ZZPS (from reading this forum I know they are a debt collector.)
The gist of it is:
Into containing the client/PCN number, reg mark, balance, location, issue date,
Payment not made in accordance with terms displayed on signage.

Your unpaid PCN has been passed to us to resolve.
The balance owed is £*** and now includes late payment and debt recovery charges.
"Section on how to contact them/pay"
Please do not ignore this letter; we are here to help you resolve this PCN.
For your information, a Supreme Court ruling (ParkingEye v Beavis) has confirmed that a Parking charge issued on private land is enforceable and that the parking charge does not breach the unfair terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.

We are instructed to continue to pursue the matter in the absence of any contact from you.

What is my best course of action? Just to pay ? I do not want the charges to go up more.

Thank you in advance for any help or advice.

Edit: I can scan the letter and remove any identifying info if needed.
This is completely new to me and is causing me a lot of worry.

Hi,

Also explain why you got the tickets
What do the tickets claim

ZZPS are time wasting debt collectors who can do nothing

The Beavis case was for an hour overstay in a retail park and it went to court to see if it was unfair.

Does this look like your charges, doubt it.

Let us know

Beemer2010

beamerguy wrote: »

Hi,

Also explain why you got the tickets
What do the tickets claim

Thanks
I was working temporarily at a hospital. The parking meter broke (on the small car park I was using) although there were other car parks in the hospital grounds. I left a note in the windscreen saying the meter was broken, instead of the receipt from a machine. The parking attendant then stuck a note on the meter to use ones on the other car parks.
I spoke with the people I was working with and they said they had not been paying for 3 years and they just got a windscreen ticket and letters from Civil Enforcement but then if ignored, nothing else happened, so I did the same for a few days.

beamerguy wrote: »

ZZPS are time wasting debt collectors who can do nothing

The Beavis case was for an hour overstay in a retail park and it went to court to see if it was unfair.

Does this look like your charges, doubt it.

Let us know

Mine were on a Hospital car park. Just noticed there is only 1 'Issue Date' and it is at 00:00 (midnight).

Coupon-mad

OK so:

- make a complaint to the Facilities Manager and escalate it if need be, they can cancel Hospital fake PCNs like this. DO THAT URGENTLY.

- email an appeal anyway to CEL, calling yourself the registered keeper, based on the words you see in blue in the NEWBIES thread (BPA members' appeal) and add:

The driver was working temporarily at a hospital. The parking meter broke (on the small car park) and the driver left a note in the windscreen saying the meter was broken. The parking attendant then later on, stuck a note on the meter instructing people to use ones on the other car parks but this offer/instruction was not there at the time of parking. In any case, a complaint has been made to the Hospital Facilities Managers and I am aware that Civil Enforcement do not use POFA-compliant notices, so you cannot hold a keeper liable and have no cause of action, nor 'reasonable cause' to continue to process my personal data.

I spoke with the people I was working with and they said they had not been paying for 3 years and they just got a windscreen ticket and letters from Civil Enforcement but then if ignored, nothing else happened, so I did the same for a few days.

CEL have started to sue people but the good news is, for 'ignorers' and for you, as long as no-one admits who was driving, a decent forum-assisted defence from the 'registered keeper' explaining why CEL can't hold keepers liable as they do not use or rely upon the applicable law (the POFA) will usually see off even a claim.

Tell your colleagues not to panic if they get a claim but not to pay nor go phoning up or replying, saying who parked the car!

We have not seen a single CEL one go to a hearing after court papers were defended here in 2016, let alone lost one! They discontinue when they see they are stuffed re 'liability under the POFA'.

Beemer2010

Thank you for the reply Coupon-mad,

I think I did not word myself very well and caused some confusion.
Firstly I have no idea who the Facilities Manager is.
Secondly, I am the registered keeper, owner and driver. So how do I say it was not me? Surely that would be lying?

The confusion arises about the broken meter. For a few days the parking attendant didn't ticket my car. Then with the same situation I suddenly got a ticket, as I hadn't read the notice on the meter, just assuming it still just said the meter wasn't working. This is when the other colleagues told me they get tickets every day and nothing is done apart from letters from CEL that they just ignore. SO I did the same for several more days. This was march time 2016. I heard nothing after the initial letters until this weeks letter from ZZPS.
How do I know if the PPC is an AOS member?
So I just ignore the letter from ZZPS or not? I have been given conflicting advice.
Lastly I do not understand 'liability under POFA'

Beemer2010

An Update:

In the few days I received another letter from C.E.Ltd. telling me my £110 debt remains outstanding and that they will pass the matter to their legal department and will seek full costs plus legal fees.

Then I received an email from ZZPS. I have no idea how these people got my email address.

Then a second letter from ZZPS again stating I owe a balance of £170 pounds.

Any advice on what my next steps should be would be gratefully received.
Plus in coupon-mad's reply does anyone know who he means by the Facilities Manager? In which company, how do I find out how to contact them? And what is 'liability under POFA'?

If needed I can obscure details on the letters and post them on here.

Thanks in advance

beamerguy

Beemer2010 wrote: »

An Update:

In the few days I received another letter from C.E.Ltd. telling me my £110 debt remains outstanding and that they will pass the matter to their legal department and will seek full costs plus legal fees.

Then I received an email from ZZPS. I have no idea how these people got my email address.

Then a second letter from ZZPS again stating I owe a balance of £170 pounds.

Any advice on what my next steps should be would be gratefully received.
Plus in coupon-mad's reply does anyone know who he means by the Facilities Manager? In which company, how do I find out how to contact them? And what is 'liability under POFA'?

If needed I can obscure details on the letters and post them on here.

Thanks in advance

Firstly, coupon-mad is a lady

It's the facilities manager at the hospital.
You ask the admin of the hospital where you can find this person

NOW .... ZZPS as said a zillion times on here are just simpleton debt collectors who can do nothing but waste their time sending out junk mail. If you are getting emails from them, program your email so they go into your junk mail folder.

Only CEL CAN TAKE YOU COURT but try to get this cancelled at the hospital

fisherjim

Where are you getting conflicting advice from?

You have been given the best advice on here do not engage with ZZPS they are Muppet debt collectors that twist everything to prise money out of you and can do nothing.

A facilities manager or more likely estates manager will be the head of the department that looks after contractors such as PPC's
He/she will reside in the facilities or estate management department most likely the latter, and will be listed in a hospital directory or on signs or can be found via reception.

CEL are members of The BPA yes they are in their Approved Operator Scheme.

The Protection of Freedom Act was brought in in 2012 to stop these muppet PPC's from clamping and gave them recourse to persue the keeper if the driver could not be identified.
But they can only do this providing certain requirements are satisfied or they cannot hold the keeper liable only the driver, who you avoid disclosing.

You don't have to lie about not being the driver, you just don't have to divulge it you may be the registered keeper, and owner, but anyone legally authorised to drive with insurance could have been driving.

If you want to ward off these idiots you are going to need to do some of the simple research your self the people on here can't do it all for you.

Beemer2010

Update:
I have now had a letter from Wright Hassall Solicitors.
I have sent an email to the facilities manager (re Coupon-Mad's Novices thread).
I have tried an search on the forum for Wright Hassall but the results seem to be about different companies.
Do I just ignore these letters.

I am now very worried about my position.
Thank you in advance for any further help/ advice.