Smart parking ,DRP charge, SHOCK

Curious1ty

Can I ask a question about this please. This is my first post and I can't find how to start a question of my own so replying here as my issue relates to Smart Parking and Debt Recovery Plus Ltd also.

Some months ago I got a letter from Smart parking and before I found the information on the forum I had written to them with a copy receipt re my shopping and the reason why I felt the charge was unfair etc. Surprise surprise they wrote back ignoring all the points made and saying the charge was not being cancelled.

I then wrote to the retailer (M&S) who wrote back that they had taken the matter up with the retail park management company and that the retail park manager would ensure that it would be cancelled. This was at a stage when I could still have paid £30 (if I had not feel that the charge was inherently unfair). M&S manager apologised etc also sent me a £10 gift voucher for my inconvenience.

So far, so good but since then I have continued to receive correspondence from Debt Recovery Plus Ltd which I have ignored after reading the newbie thread on here.

Latterly I received a letter from Zenith Collections yet again demanding £160 and saying that if I don't pay then their client will consider taking legal action against me for this amount. In my opinion all correspondence has been from Smart Parking themselves although on the DRP and Zenith letterheads.

Should I write to them to state that I had been advised by the land managers that the charge would be cancelled and I would, therefore, use this as my defence if they should take the matter to court? Or do you think I should I continue to ignore the correspondence and only respond if court action is taken? Oh and yes of course I wrote to both M&S and the retail park again when the correspondence kept coming but have had no response to this which is frustrating as I had their initial assurance that this would be cancelled.

Thank you for your advice.

Umkomaas

1. Go back to M&S and bitterly complain (again)!

2. Ignore debt recovery agents - utterly powerless. Do not communicate with them.

3. Do not ignore court papers. But Smart have never taken anyone to court - ever. If they do change in this respect, we can help with defending. If they do change, they will pick their cases very carefully, most likely those with a number of outstanding tickets. Over 600,000 tickets issued by Smart in the past couple of years - not one single court case. Do you think it will be you who is selected as their first?

http://www.bmpa.eu/companydata/Smart_Parking.html

4. Read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky - tells you all you need to know.

5. Any further questions must be via a new thread please. Go back to the page you have just jumped from to read this post. You will find the large red, oblong 'New Thread' button just above the forum thread list.

geoff1057

Today letter No2 from DRP, if not payed by 21/4 they will recommend to their client that court action be taken by them to recover the outstanding balance.....BRING IT ON. Emma

beamerguy

geoff1057 wrote: »

Today letter No2 from DRP, if not payed by 21/4 they will recommend to their client that court action be taken by them to recover the outstanding balance.....BRING IT ON. Emma

DRP are such a stupid company.

When they pass it back, the do not earn any money

Just how stupid can a company be ??? ... IT'S CALLED DRP

Umkomaas

geoff1057 wrote: »

Today letter No2 from DRP, if not payed by 21/4 they will recommend to their client that court action be taken by them to recover the outstanding balance.....BRING IT ON. Emma

Yes we know! You won't be 'bringing anything on' with DRP because first and foremost you must not engage with them, secondly they are powerless and will only send silly letters, thirdly you won't shake them off - they will eventually give up on you and crawl back from where they came.

Have a read of the following, pick out the chain of DRP letters so you will be fully aware of what comes next. No need to post about DRP letters or their subsidiary Zenith (who will follow on shortly).

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2329119

Only come back if Smart (or Solicitors acting for them) start court action.

geoff1057

Had my 2nd letter off Zenith (6th in all) today requiring immediate payment of £160 for their client, but no where on this letter does it say who there client is. They rang my house and spoke to my dad, asking him to give me a message to contact them asap, he said he wouldnt.
I emailed Smart Parking weeks ago to give them my address , which Zenith obviously already know . STILL to this day i have not had any letter , contact or a PCN from Smart Parking.
Shall i just continue to ignore , thanks, Emma

Coupon-mad

Yes:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3829727

It is still DRP.

All cases are the same, you can predict the letters if you just Google images of them.

geoff1057

Today had my letter off Gladstones Solicitors, or DRP or who ever it is . Just to ask are Gladstones a legit solicitors. Thanks Emma

DoaM

Depends on your definition of legit.

They are solicitors and are governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Check who the letter advises you to pay. If it is DRP then it's just another debt collection letter.

beamerguy

Gladstones being legit is highly debatable as they are so incompetent

Due to the way they behave so badly and as they are regulated
by the SRA, makes everyone wonder if indeed the SRA are legit.

If the letter does not say LBA OR SIMILAR, then its the wheezy
DRP attempting to extort money.

This is a letter that you should copy to your MP and Trading Standards