Suep

Suziegolfinsue

I got a parking ticket before Xmas, was given the choice of paying £60 within 14 days or £100 if I didn't. Well, I was in the wrong so payed the £60 by cheque. I thought no more about it until I got a letter in early feb saying I had not paid and was now liable for £100. I went and found the check stub and checked it against my bank statement and the cheque had been cashed in December. I decided to ignore the letter. I have now received another letter from armtrac security again saying no payment received and that they are now going to take court action if I don't pay up.
I feel quite angry with the tone of the letter and feel I want to again ignore and let them pay whatever expenses they incure, will this attitude of mine come back to haunt me. I know I could phone the company to let them know I have paid but???!!

System

just phone them and tell them youve paid. you have the cheque stub and bank statement. why cause a problem when theres no need?

Quentin

Most people accused of not paying a bill when they had done so would contact the creditor to point this out long before getting threatened with court.

Read up on dealing with a court claim in the Newbies FAQ thread near the top of the forum and decide yourself whether to have to defend a claim is more satisfying than simply pointing out you paid their "bill" (which was your first mistake)

The_Deep

I know I could phone the company to let them know I have paid but???!!

Never telephone these scammers, everything in writing in case it gets to court.

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Parking Eye, Smart and a smaller company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (who take hundreds of these cases to court, and nearly always lose), who have also been reported to the regulatory authority. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the HofC recently.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind most of these companies may well be put out of business by Christmas.[/FONT]

KeithP

As The Deep says, send them a letter confirming that you have paid.

Send it first class and get a Certificate of Posting from the Post Office Counter.

Do not use a signed for service.

The_Deep

What is your intention here. Is it to make it go away, or is it to punish them for the hassle/stress?

twhitehousescat

donkeys yrs since I used cheques , but does your bank not get the old cashed cheque back , and you can see the stamp of the bank that accepted it?

let them waste money , let them hire gladrags , let them pay £25 for court , and then produce the paid in cheque

grayme-m

Not that it changes anything, but Armtrac make a point in their correspondence that should they not be able to trace where payment comes from, they will cash the cheque and continue to chase you.

Given their complete lack of any professionalism, you almost expect them to be unable to match receipts with PCNs on purpose, just to try to squeeze more out of those that fell for their scam.

Loadsofchildren123

grayme-m wrote: »

Not that it changes anything, but Armtrac make a point in their correspondence that should they not be able to trace where payment comes from, they will cash the cheque and continue to chase you.

Given their complete lack of any professionalism, you almost expect them to be unable to match receipts with PCNs on purpose, just to try to squeeze more out of those that fell for their scam.

They may well do, but their incompetence is not your problem. if you paid, you paid.


I think you're setting yourself up for a world of pain by trying to play them by ignoring them and then producing your evidence that you've paid like a rabbit out of a hat. Litigation is not trial by ambush. The Protocols from which we quote at length require parties to put their cards on the table. The PPCs don't, and we jump up and down about it. So don't muddy the waters by ignoring your own obligations and playing games.


Write ONCE and ONCE ONLY. Tell them you've paid, with the cheque reference, payee etc, with a redacted copy of your bank statement showing it was cashed. It is not your fault that they are incompetent and have failed to mark the parking charge notice as paid on their own computer system. Please can they ensure that the charge is now marked as paid. Also tell them that now that you have shown them evidence of the payment they must not write to you again (either themselves or via agents) claiming that money is owed to them when it is not, and any further letters received will not be replied to and will be a course of harassment as defined in Section 1 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and which is a criminal offence by virtue of Section 2 of the Act. Section 3 provides that harassment offences may be dealt with either by criminal or civil proceedings. If they continue to harass you then you will seek an injunction and damages against them.


I think once you've done this you can safely ignore them until they issue proceedings, then you defend on the basis you've already paid, told them you had, and you counter-claim for damages for harassment. Make sure you create some evidence of your distress as you receive each letter. Perhaps an email/text to your friend saying how upset you are to have received yet another harassing letter. Perhaps mention it to your gp when you tell him/her how much stress you are under from these scammers and how anxious it is making you. You get the gist.

grayme-m

To avoid doubt, I am far from being on Armtrac's side and agree with everything you've written.

They do respond to emails at armtracappeals@gmail.com (it's bad enough when a builder uses a gmail account...), so that's a good way of saving a stamp and trip to the Post Office.

They can go quiet on it, so sometimes need a prod to get them to react.

Coupon-mad

Make sure you create some evidence of your distress as you receive each letter. Perhaps an email/text to your friend saying how upset you are to have received yet another harassing letter. Perhaps mention it to your gp when you tell him/her how much stress you are under from these scammers and how anxious it is making you. You get the gist.

We should encourage people to 'create this evidence' all the time. Good idea!