parking ticket and he wasnt even there!

cooper1971

Hi Im new to the forum and would like some advice please
My son got a parking ticket in July for supposedly parking in a loading bay in a retail park in West Bromwich.......he was in fact a hundred miles away in Bolton on a fishing match.We have received several debt collecting letters since and have ignored them because surely this is a fraudulent company? But last week we received a letter saying they intend to start court proceedings if we do not pay.I have spoken to the police and they say the reg may have been cloned and that we may end up paying court costs ect as well as the fine as we havent even appealed the fine.......surely this is wrong? We didnt appeal the fine because there is nothing to appeal against....he wasnt even there!!! should we be worried

Coupon-mad

I have spoken to the police and they say the reg may have been cloned and that we may end up paying court costs ect as well as the fine as we havent even appealed the fine.

Unhelpful and WRONG from the police. If the car wasn't there, you won't lose, as long as you stop ignoring the damn thing that you should have dealt with properly. You MUST reply.

Read the NEWBIES thread about replying to a Letter before Claim.

The sticky thread is one click back, where you hit 'new thread' (see my signature).

Which parking firm?

Are you saying the CAR was never there? At all (whoever might have driven it)?

Please don't just reply to those two questions and expect responses, we want to know you've read how to reply to a LBC first, and to see your draft reply.

cooper1971

Smart Parking Ltd
and the car was never there.....my son has never been to West Bromwich

beamerguy

cooper1971 wrote: »

Hi Im new to the forum and would like some advice please
My son got a parking ticket in July for supposedly parking in a loading bay in a retail park in West Bromwich.......he was in fact a hundred miles away in Bolton on a fishing match.We have received several debt collecting letters since and have ignored them because surely this is a fraudulent company? But last week we received a letter saying they intend to start court proceedings if we do not pay.I have spoken to the police and they say the reg may have been cloned and that we may end up paying court costs ect as well as the fine as we havent even appealed the fine.......surely this is wrong? We didnt appeal the fine because there is nothing to appeal against....he wasnt even there!!! should we be worried

Interesting story and the police should not be saying that,
they are not interested in private parking companies.
Your VRN could have been cloned but that does not
mean you are liable.

Smart use ANPR which looks at number plates on entry
and exit. ANPR is known to be unreliable and so
it could have been misread

It is your right to request info from Smart that they will
reply upon in their claim. This must include pictures of the
vehicle, that's if it is your vehicle

Then advise the DVLA that you believe the VRN was cloned

Your son should get witness statemebts of where
he was that day

Umkomaas

Have they sent a photograph of the car?

Have you checked the photos of the car on Smart Parking’s website

Is it your son’s car (make, model, colour)?

Basic questions you need to bottom out before getting advice on how to press forward on this!

pappa_golf

check the photos , contact the DVLA , if wrong , http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/smart-parking-settle-out-of-court-for.html


my ex wife was australian , so I have a total hatred of ausy scammers now

Coupon-mad

cooper1971 wrote: »

Smart Parking Ltd
and the car was never there.....my son has never been to West Bromwich

So, like I said, you will get more advice when you've read the NEWBIES thread post #2 and shown us your son's draft reply to that Letter before Claim, where he states as fact that neither he nor the car has ever been to West Bromwich, which is xxx miles away, and in fact on the material date he was in xxxxxxxx.

Also, he needs to email the DVLA to ask when/whether the DVLA supplied his data to that parking firm, and if so, since that car was never at that location, could the DVLA please double check the VRN given in the request and the VRN data they returned, actually match:

FOI@dvla.gsi.gov.uk

and copy in

david.dunford@dvla.gsi.gov.uk