Highview Parking Ltd - SCS Law Letter Received Today

hitman126

Hello,


I have today received a letter from SCS Law who claim they've been instructed by Highview Parking Limited to recover an alleged penalty charge notice incurred by myself/my vehicle.

Incensed by the content of this letter, I sought to establish what the address of the alleged contravention was supposed to have taken place and it turns out to be my local gym where I've been a member for nearly 20 years and as such a legitimate user of their car park.

I initially contacted Highview Parking to enquire about the reason for the letter and/or alleged contravention and was advised by a lady to write to their Appeals Team who're based in Barnet. A second call to SCS Law drew a complete blank as the gentleman on the line advised that the firm had not been given any details on the alleged offence and had only been instructed by Highview to send out to me an initial notification letter.

Now, knowing how some of these cases can be won and lost through technicalities and not wanting to allow my heated emotions overrule any logical thinking on my part, I'd be grateful for any advice on how I should proceed with this please, e.g. how and who to contact, my line of argument, etc.

I can also confirm that the letter from SCS Law suggests the alleged offence was captured on an ANPR camera.

Now, there's no record of receiving any Notice To Keeper letter(s) and even if any was sent, it is definitely not currently available. The alleged incident is said to have occurred at the start of March this year and one fact is that I was also abroad for 3 months from the end of April till end of July.

As there's currently no NTK to refer to at this point in time, I cannot also ascertain any of the following:

1. The date on the NTK [including if received within 14 days from the 'offence' date]
2. The date any NTK was delivered.
3. Whether the NTK mentioned schedule 4 of The Protections of Freedoms Act 2012?
4. If there was any photographic evidence of the event?

With this in mind, how can one proceed please?

For example, should I be requesting for copies of the NTK for starters?

Should I submit an appeal and if so to whom? To date, no appeal has been made yet to the parking company, SCS Law or the debt recovery company.


Thank you.

Umkomaas

To whom does the letter tell you to pay?

You could treat this as the first notification and send HV the blue text initial appeal from the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #1 - see how they respond to that.

hitman126

Umkomaas wrote: »

To whom does the letter tell you to pay?

You could treat this as the first notification and send HV the blue text initial appeal from the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #1 - see how they respond to that.

Hi @Umkomaas, thanks for the prompt feedback but not quite sure I grasp what you mean by:

"....the blue text initial appeal from the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #1"

Could you kindly elaborate?

By the way, the letter requests for payment to be made to Debt Recovery Plus Ltd

Redx

we hope and pray that NEWBIES like yourself (despite your 8 years on this forum) have not posted without reading the threads that are "stuck" to the top of this very forum, ESPECIALLY the second one down that says NEWBIES , READ THESE FAQ`s FIRST etc

sadly most people either dont bother to read it or fail to digest it and just post on the forum, with no research

if you go to the top of this forum , click on the second thread down, and read post #1 you will see what he is talking about

and post #4 deals with debt collectors


secondly , a lot of debt collectors use pimped out letterheads with solicitor names on them , so people like yourself believe that they have come from a solicitor , when in fact a debt collector sent them out

so we want to know if its come from a debt collector on pimped out notepaper , hence that question on who to pay

sometimes all is not what it seems

so please tell us if it mentions contaciting DRP or ZZPS or similar (debt collectors)

and please read that NEWBIES FAQ you missed

hitman126

Thanks for the tip @Redx

fisherjim

In addition to the advice above you must stop phoning these scammers you are likely to drop yourself in it!

hitman126

All,


Drafted the below letter which I plan to send to SCS Law and Debt Recovery Plus. I'm therefore desperately in need of some kind, expert review and some feedback please.
As I have no NTK letter(s), I'm particularly unsure whether it's worth stating this in the letter below and requesting for a copy/copies.


Thank you

---

LBCC Response Letter

---

Dear Sirs,


Re: Debt owed to Highview Parking Ltd - Reference xxxxxx

Thank you for your letter of DD-MM-2017.


As registered keeper of the vehicle, this is a formal response to challenge the Parking Charge Notice in question, on the basis of the key points outlined below.
You letter fails to:

• Supply any photographic evidence, nor even the 'contract' (in this case presumably a sign).
• Set out clearly, the basis upon which you are attempting to hold me liable, with the charge disingenuously described in your letter as your ‘debt’.
• State what the cause of action is, nor contain any mention of what evidence your client intends to rely on, or enclose copies of such evidence.

This action on the part of your client is a clear breach of its pre-action obligations set out in the Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct, with which as solicitors you must surely be familiar (and with which your client, a serial litigator of small claims, must also be familiar).
As you (and your client) must know, the Practice Direction binds all potential litigants, whatever the size or type of the claim. Its express purpose is to assist parties in understanding the claim and their respective positions in relation to it, to enable parties to take stock of their positions and to negotiate a settlement, or at least narrow the issues, without incurring the costs of court proceedings or using up valuable court time.
Nobody, including your client, is immune from the requirements and obligations of the Practice Direction.
I therefore require your client to comply with its obligations by sending me the following information/documents:

• An explanation of the cause of action.
• Whether they are pursuing me as driver or keeper.
• Whether they are relying on the provisions of Schedule 4 of POFA 2012.
• What the details of the claim are (where it is claimed the car was parked, for how long, how the monies being claimed arose and have been calculated, what contractual breach (if any) is being claimed).
• A copy of the contract with the landowner under which they assert authority to bring the claim.
• A copy of any alleged contract with the driver.
• A plan showing where any signs were displayed.
• Details of the signs displayed (size of sign, size of font, height at which displayed).
• If they have added anything on to the original charge, what that represents and how it has been calculated.

I am clearly entitled to this information under paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c) of the Practice Direction. I also need it in order to comply with my own obligations under paragraph 6(b).

If your client does not provide me with this information then I put you on notice that I will be relying on the cases of Webb Resolutions Ltd v Waller Needham & Green [2012] EWHC 3529 (Ch), Daejan Investments Limited v The Park West Club Limited (Part 20) – Buxton Associates [2003] EWHC 2872, Charles Church Developments Ltd v Stent Foundations Limited & Peter Dann Limited [2007] EWHC 855 in asking the court to impose sanctions on your client and to order a stay of the proceedings, pursuant to paragraphs 13 ,15(b) and (c) and 16. I will draw to the court the fact that I have expressly requested this information, yet been denied it by your client.

Until your client has complied with its obligations and provided this information within 14 days from the date of this letter, I am unable to respond properly to the alleged claim and to consider my position in relation to it, and it is entirely premature (and a waste of costs and court time) for your client to issue proceedings. Should your client do so, then I will seek an immediate stay pursuant to paragraph 15(b) of the Practice Direction and an order that this information is provided.
Otherwise, I expect to hear from you within 14 days, confirming that the charge is cancelled.


Yours faithfully,


[Name and Address of Vehicle Keeper]

Quentin

Why would you want to contact drp??

See #4 in the Newbies faq AND #4 above!!

The_Deep

A second call to SCS Law drew a complete blank as the gentleman on the line advised that the firm had not been given any details on the alleged offence and had only been instructed by Highview to send out to me an initial notification letter

Is it the norm for solicitors to act thusly? Do they not even need to caste a casual glance over claims to ensure at least a modicum merit?

It seems to me that the solicitor here may be in breach of a COP.

hitman126

Quentin wrote: »

Why would you want to contact drp??

See #4 in the Newbies faq AND #4 above!!

The letter was from SCS Law but then instructs that I contact Debt Recovery Plus thereafter, to avoid the alleged subsequent court action.

hitman126

My objective is simply to ensure I've taken every necessary step, so should in the worst case scenario the matter reach court, I've covered my back fully and don't lose on some technicality, e.g. a failure to respond to their initial demands.