£500 car fine from Equita and the car doesn't even belong to us

hello2344

Hello I am a super noob and I've tried searching the forums to see if anyone has had any similar cases but couldn't find any so this is my last resort.

I've received PCN's/Speeding notices from 'Equita' and 'ParkingEye(I believe)'I've ignored them for months now and it's just a nuisance to receive them so I just want them to go away.
These letters are concerning my father, I am a student. I speak on his behalf as he is not fluent in English and can only say basic sentences.

My father does not live with me.
The letters I have received are concerning vehicles that my dad do not own and do not recognise the number plate of, I think he is being framed and people are using his identity. Strangely all the vehicles are vans if I remember correctly.

The ParkingEye one I told them that my father does not live at my address(where they keep on sending letters to) and somehow they just said 'Okay, we'll stop sending letters' and I it was that easy. They've stopped sending them!

Equita however is still ongoing. When the first letters were received I immediately called up my father asking him was it him. He told me no and I kept on asking to make sure because multiples letters were coming from different companies. I finally called them and tried to speak with them giving them my real name but not my fathers and said they can not speak with me because I didn't drive the vehicle, I told them I was the recipients son.

The event happened 3 hours away(drive) from my home and my father lives in Scotland(8 hours drive from me). I live with my mum only, she can't drive.

A month later? I called them up again and tried not to act as polite by speaking imperatively. I was able to tell them that my dad did not own the car. They said they needed to speak with my father

The car in question is apparently from a renting company and I was told that I had to speak to the renting company because they tied my dad's name to that car or something, I'm not too sure. I asked them if they could they give me the name of the renting company they said they could not. So I had no idea what to do. I ignored more letters.

Baliffs/"Enforcement agents" came to my house. My mother had some very close friends there and they knew about the parking letters . They started to raise their voice at them and said the person they were looking for does not live here, they asked us to show a letter/bill to prove that the person does not live here and we did and they went on their way.

a month later? I started receiving more letters and decided to call them up again and said that bailiffs had already come and they confirmed the person they were looking for doesn't live here and they said they couldn't do anything about it or that there was nothing on records(sorry I don't remember)

Since then I had received more enforcement letters saying they will come take our stuff. I called on their automated line and was curious as to how much we owed and it was around £500. It started from around £95-195

I received a 24 hour notice from them and was looking online with how people dealt with them and made a word document of what to say to them etc so they would just go away but they didn't turn up. Today I have received another 24 hour letter removal notice and just want them to go away but I'm not sure how to do this as they keep on ignoring me when I try to call and explain the situation. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation?

Many thanks

Edit:

I have found around 20 more letters
2 from Dart Charge
5 from city of london
3 from equita
1 from congestion charging

and a few others with no important information

There are 3 vehicles that have my dad's name under them, all vans

I'm not sure if this has to do anything with it but on all the letters they always seem to mess up my dad's name or the postcode

waamo

It sounds like your father has somehow been listed as the registered keeper with the DVLA. My first port of call would probably to contact the DVLA and ask them if your father is the registered keeper.

hello2344

Hi, I appreciate your reply! I have called the DVLA and since I have discarded all the letters and the only thing that the equita letter sent to me today is the registration number however I needed the model of the vehicle etc which I do not have unfortunately. Nevertheless I thank you for your reply!

waamo

hello2344 wrote: »

Hi, I appreciate your reply! I have called the DVLA and since I have discarded all the letters and the only thing that the equita letter sent to me today is the registration number however I needed the model of the vehicle etc which I do not have unfortunately. Nevertheless I thank you for your reply!

Look it up. If its over 3 years old do an MOT check on it. That will tell you what it is.

Failing that look on car spares sites where you search for spares by their plate. They tell you what it is.

Edit to say the MOT checker works for new cars too having just checked.

hello2344

waamo wrote: »

Look it up. If its over 3 years old do an MOT check on it. That will tell you what it is.

Failing that look on car spares sites where you search for spares by their plate. They tell you what it is.

Edit to say the MOT checker works for new cars too having just checked.

Hello, thanks for you tips. I have called DVLA again and gave them the relevant information, and they said that the registered keeper of the vehicle is not in my dads name. How should I proceed now?

Once again many thanks

Coupon-mad

Speeding notices

Are you sure? I think your Dad has Council ones then, as well as ParkingEye ones. Not that they are his, if this car is nothing to do with him.

Involve HIS nearest MP, to write to ParkingEye and Equita to state he does not own that van(s) and has never been the keeper or hirer of it/them, and they have made an error or been given the wrong information from the DVLA or the lease firm who own it.

As such, they must take the matter up with the lease firm if they named him wrongly, and/or take it up with the DVLA if the keeper details were the cause of this error.

Email the DVLA in his name (NO FLIPPIN' PHONE CALLS!) and ask whether they have him down as the registered keeper of this car, and if they have ever given his name & address out to any parking firm or Council, or their agents. If so, the DVLA must list when and to whom?

Tell them: 'the letters I have received are concerning vehicles that I do not own and do not recognise the number plate of, I think I am being framed and people are using my identity. Strangely all the vehicles are vans and there is more than one being fraudulently registered to this address, and the VRNs I know about are:

(list the van VRNs you know, from any letters kept).

Email that in DAD's name, to:

SubjectAccess.Requests@dvla.gov.uk

Despite emailing HIS request, the DVLA will respond via Royal Mail so provide his Scottish address too, and write as if you were him.

FINALLY, post on bailiffadviceonline where Sheila will help with the bailiff issue. She posts here as herbie21 sometimes and might see this thread, and you need to tell her that this isn't even your Dad's address and not even his vans either!

a month later? I started receiving more letters and decided to call them up again and said that bailiffs had already come and they confirmed the person they were looking for doesn't live here and they said they couldn't do anything about it or that there was nothing on records(sorry I don't remember)

Since then I had received more enforcement letters saying they will come take our stuff. I called on their automated line and was curious as to how much we owed and it was around £500. It started from around £95-195

hello2344

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Are you sure? I think your Dad has Council ones then, as well as ParkingEye ones. Not that they are his, if this car is nothing to do with him.

Hi I was able to recover about 20 letters from various companies

2 from Dart Charge
5 from city of london
3 from equita
1 from congestion charging

I believe it is for violating something called code 52M which is not following signs. I do not think they are council letters

nosferatu1001

They absolutely are council letters. 52m is a council code

twhitehousescat

I also wonder if the OP has mistakenly admixed the words parking eye and equita together after reading the forum

PS: if there was a genuine parking eye ticket then parking eye do not say "thats ok "

Coupon-mad

city of london

That's a Council borough PCN. You need to do as advised, and quickly, and Dad might have to get his MP's help to report this widespread fraud to Action Fraud.

hello2344

Hi, thanks for the reply. I think it could've been the City of London company not parking eye. It was a few months ago so my memory is very iffy