VCS LBC Scotland

gofairy17

Hi all,

Some help and support needed from all of you lovely people in the know! I have received a PCN through my letter box regarding the car being parked outside a shopping centre. It seems that the the car park was free of charge at least a week before this incident but there were no signs telling of the changes except of white a4 pieces of paper with handwritten 'car park now pay and display' at the entrance to the shopping mall, and of course the actual signs in the car park from the company.

I am in Scotland and received another PCN from Vehicle Control Services later which ignored. Then I received a letter from solicitors saying that if they don't receive payment of £160 within 7 days they will be taking me to court. I responded to this as a registered keeper with standard response suggested here on the forum, questioning why they are pursuing me as a keeper, asking for evidence who drove, queuing the charge and asking for breakdown etc. I also said It is known that the car park had been free of charge at least a week before the alleged offence and asked for evidence to when the T&C changed, my argument being that this has likely breached the consumer rights. Surely they have to alert you if T&C changes??

They responded by saying how would I know that the T&C changed if I wasn't the driver but sent no further evidence. Since they didn't respond with what Ive asked I ignored this email, then complained directly to the parking company with a similar email to what Ive sent to solicitors but no response from them.

I then received another "final" LBCC. I responded to the solicitors saying that I am still waiting for the info that I requested and used a standard response referring to Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct. They replied saying that this doesn't apply in Scotland and that they already provided all the evidence (that is pictures of my car, signs in the car park but no evidence as to changes to T&C of parking, or contracts - claiming it is commercially sensitive) since I didn't provide a satisfactory response (that is £160!!) they will now be raising court proceedings without further notice.

My question is what can I do next? I really do not want to go to court - I am doing a very demanding training course in mental health and have neither energy nor time for it.

Thanks to you all!

Quentin

You know the importance of not revealing who was driving.

You need to edit your post to remove details of who was driving

The ppcs monitor this forum and can use your posts against you

If you have inadvertently used your real name as the forum name then ask MSE to change it to something completely anonymous

If you really won't go to court then keep on defending and wait and see if it gets to that before paying (which will be the only option then to avoid court)

Umkomaas

Which solicitors?

To whom does the letter tell you to pay £160?

The_Deep

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and another company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

Hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned.

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.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by Christmas.

gofairy17

Thanks for your reply.

I have edited the post.

My username isn't my real name but I will ask that to be changed anyway.

It is Pollock Fairbridge Schiavone Solicitors; the payment is now being requested to be made to their bank account.

Their last response was rather firm saying that since I refer to the stuff that doesn't apply in Scotland (my mistake) and refuse to pay there is no point in further communication. Is there no laws in Scotland requiring the opposing side to explain their course of action/discuss evidence prior so defence can be prepared?

If I wait and see - is it possible to then simply offer to pay following letter from the sherif, before the court proceedings are started?

If I did go to court - do I have the case?

Thank you all!

beamerguy

Pollock Fairbridge Schiavone Solicitors are also debt
collectors based in Glasgow

For a firm that seems reputable, I wonder why they
are getting involved with parking scammers ???

I think the media over the last few months has made
it clear NOT to send money via transfer without knowing
who you are dealing with, especially as they seem very
reluctant to provide you full details

I assume you have not named the driver ?

Coupon-mad

Is there no laws in Scotland requiring the opposing side to explain their course of action/discuss evidence prior so defence can be prepared?

Voluntary protocols exist:

https://www.cmcb.co.uk/protocol.php

gofairy17

Thanks Beamerguy. I did not name the driver. I assume they are going by the success of Carly Mackie aka Dundee case won by VCS. I just wonder what is the likelihood that my case would go to court. They claim they regularly take people to court.

Coupon-m..., I wonder if it was worth my time emailing them suggesting that to pay a full fee they should be transparent about the contracts that they have in place. They claim these are commercially sensitive. I had phoned the shopping mall and asked when the charges came into force, they said approximately a week before the alleged parking offence. I wonder if I had the case, if I was able to prove it which I am sure will be in the contract between parking firm and the landowner, and this is why they are cagey with revealing those details.

Umkomaas

I wonder if it was worth my time emailing them suggesting that to pay a full fee they should be transparent about the contracts that they have in place.

..... and if they ignore you? But the likelihood is that they will see you have bitten on their hook and their efforts to reel you in will intensify. Follow forum advice about debt collectors until, in the the vanishingly unlikely event in Scotland, it progresses to court proceedings.

I wonder if I had the case, if I was able to prove it which I am sure will be in the contract between parking firm and the landowner, and this is why they are cagey with revealing those details.

You may have a case, but not until you have it in front of a judge (sheriff).

I just wonder what is the likelihood that my case would go to court.

For just £100 when it will cost them more than 3 times that to recover it? Do the math, smell the coffee!

They claim they regularly take people to court.

They do a bit in England and Wales - here's their record:

http://www.parkingappeals.info/companydata/Vehicle_Control_Services.html

You seem not to be factoring into any of this that parking companies regularly lie in order to separate motorists from their money.

beamerguy

ra_sally wrote: »

Thanks Beamerguy. I did not name the driver. I assume they are going by the success of Carly Mackie aka Dundee case won by VCS. I just wonder what is the likelihood that my case would go to court. They claim they regularly take people to court.

Carly was hit by VCS for multiple tickets and she admitted
she was driving ..... you have not admitted anything and
you only have one ticket

Will they take you to court when they don't actually know
who they will take to court ???

You are now subject to harassment and they hope you will
cave in

In actual fact, VCS were the losers because Carly went
bankrupt for £23,000.

Just sit tight and if they do persue you come back
for all the help you need

DO NOT subject yourself to harassment .
By the way the extra £60 is a fake addon used by
dodgy debt collectors

Average cost if you lost would be around £220
But, you are not going to lose and you may be able
to claim your costs back, around £90

VCS know this so will they be stupid enough to proceed ??

Probably not

Fruitcake

As above, I would ignore anything and everything you get from now on except an invitation from a Scottish court itself.

You should complain to your MP and Sir Greg Knight MP about this unregulated scam.

These are some of the comments made by the MPs in Parliament concerning the unregulated parking industry (Feb 2018):

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-02-02/debates/CC84AF5E-AC6E-4E14-81B1-066E6A892807/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill

''Rip-offs from car park Cowboys must stop''; unfair treatment; signage deliberately confusing to ensure a PCN is issued; ''years of abuse by rogue parking companies''; bloodsuckers; ''the current system of regulation is hopeless, like putting Dracula in charge of the blood-bank''; extortionate fines; rogue operators; ''sense of injustice''; unfair charges and notices; wilfully misleading; signage is a deliberate act to deceive or mislead; ''confusing signs are often deliberate, to trap innocent drivers''; unreasonable; a curse; harassing; operating in a disgusting way; appeals service is no guarantee of a fair hearing; loathed; outrageous scam; dodgy practice; outrageous abuse; unscrupulous practices; ''the British Parking Association is as much use as a multi-storey car park in the Gobi desert''; and finally, by way of unanimous conclusion: ''we need to crack down on these rogue companies. They are an absolute disgrace to this country. Ordinary motorists and ordinary residents should not have to put up with this''.

These are the exact words used, so you should quote them to your MP in a complaint and ask him/her to contact Sir Greg Knight MP if he wants further information about this scam.