**Help needed! Debt Recovery Plus advice for an parking offence I (the registered keeper) did not do

MLucia

Hi,

I apologise for the lengthy post but any advice would be so gratefully appreciated!

I received a letter from the Debt Recovery Plus on 18.4.19 advising me I owe £160 for an unpaid parking charge for a car I own (registered keeper and named driver) but do not drive. I did not receive any letters prior to this from UK Car Park Management Ltd and thus, this letter was the first I had heard of this.

I rang the Debt Management company to explain that I was not the driver, nor had I received any letters informing me of the matter. The agent emailed me two images of the car park in an "unauthorised" zone, I explained that I would like to chase this up with the Car Park Management company directly and we left it there.

I sent the said company an email advising them that I was unaware, I received an email asking me to confirm the car reg for them to look into the matter, I obliged - received no response. In the interim the debt company made another call to collect the debt, this time I spoke to the most unreasonable advisor who maintained I owed the money. I ended up ending the call after a considerably period of impasse in which he kept threatening to send it to court.

I contacted the Car Park Management company (again) to advise them that I was not the driver, but the registered keeper and they ought to reissue the fine in their name - I did not provide their details but said I would - I have not received any response whatsoever.

I contacted the Debt Management Company again today and reiterated I was not liable and unfortunately I had the bad luck of encountering the same aforementioned unreasonable advisor. He said it was the law that I paid, he didn't care if I "claim" I did not receive the letters from the car parking company, called me a liar to get out of the fine etc. I offered the company the details of the actual driver - he refused them and started yelling at me about the Freedoms Act. I then asked him, why does their letter (the debt letter) discuss liability if they will not compromise on liability, he responded by saying he knows "for a fact" that the said car parking company would have sent the letters, I queried how he "knew for a fact that they had if they (the debt company) are unable to provide them to me" - he replied that the car parking company do not give them copies. I then said "you do not know anything for a fact then" and he said he was hanging up on me and did.

Basically, does anyone know if I am liable if I did not commit the offence? I genuinely did not receive any letters advising me that I committed a parking offence - if I had, I would have transferred it into the actual driver of the vehicle. Any advice on how to proceed would be grand. I am worried that I will have to settle the sum to prevent court action. The said driver will not settle the £160 because he said he did not receive notification (in the form of the car park notice) prior to my debt letter and therefore, he should have had the right to dispute the original notice himself. :eek:

Many thanks for any response in advance!

Coupon-mad

I rang the Debt Management company

STOP.

I contacted the Debt Management Company again today and reiterated I was not liable and unfortunately I had the bad luck of encountering the same aforementioned unreasonable advisor

Wow you really need to read the NEWBIES thread post #4. Just stop expecting anything else, they are all like that and are not customer service advisors at all.

You had no ''BAD LUCK'' - this was a debt collector - you DO NOT RING THEM.

Help needed!

Debt Recovery Plus

Those two phrases do not go together - you need no help with DRP daft letters.

See post #4 of the NEWBIES FAQS thread.

You appear to have completely missed it.

Will you please stop ringing scammers.

UK Car Park Management Ltd

Same as all the other hundreds of threads about them then. Have you searched to read some? You need to read some as you are wrong:

I am worried that I will have to settle the sum to prevent court action.

Obviously you will NOT be paying - but there WILL be a court claim to defend like you see in all the other DRP cases...

Basically, does anyone know if I am liable if I did not commit the offence?

It is not an 'offence' nor a 'fine' but yes, as explained everywhere here - the keeper is liable under stupid Schedule 4 of THE PROTECTION OF FREEDOMS ACT.

Please read some UKCPM threads and the sticky thread for NEWBIES.

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN YOU COMPLAINED TO THE LANDOWNER?

Umkomaas

You have taken every approach we firmly advise against. You can sort none of this out by phoning anyone. Stop it!

As you’re at debt collector stage, you just ignore anything further from them - they are harmless and can do nothing more than send you letters (and yell down the phone at you). Just block their phone number so they can’t call you again.

You need do nothing more unless/until you get a Letter of Claim (probably from Gladstones solicitors) or court papers from the Northampton CCBC. As UKCPM are the country’s most litigious PPC, it’s likely this will proceed to court in due course.

There’s some reading for you to do to get yourself up to speed on this:

In respect of dealing with debt collectors, read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #4.

For court preparation, read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #2.

In terms of you not receiving anything from UKCPM, have you by chance changed address at any time while you have owned the vehicle involved in the parking ‘contravention’?

UKCPM would have been given your details based on what was showing on the V5C logbook at the time of the incident. Can you check it now (don’t guess) to see what it says.

The_Deep

You are caught up in a webn of lies, deceit, and avarice. They are obviously trying to scam you so complain to your MP.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, and persistent offenders denied access. Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers.

Until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.