PCN Paid in 2015 Now New Demand

MidlandRuss

Hi there,

My apologies if I am covering old ground but I have searched the forum and cannot find an equivalent thread.

In 2015 my daughter overstayed the limit in a free car-park and was duly sent a PCN which demanded £70.00, reduced to £35.00 for early payment. She promptly paid the £35.00, wrote it down to experience and forgot about the whole thing.

She has just received 2 letters – one from TPS and one from BW Legal claiming that the PCN is outstanding and demanding payment of £124.00. While she is certain that the original charge was paid, she cannot remember if it was paid over the phone or online, whether it was paid by debit or credit card and, if it was a credit card, which one. She doesn’t have any bank or credit card statements from almost 4 years ago and is not inclined to chase around the card providers to find proof that she should not need.

Is there any benefit in sending a full SAR to TPS as there is no debate on whether she overstayed or if the signage was unclear but rather the fact that the penalty charge has already been paid.

She is inclined to send the following email to BW Legal:

Dear Sirs,

As your client should be aware, the PCN to which you refer was paid in full at the time that it was received. Your letter is, therefore, either the result of incompetence or an attempt to obtain money by false pretenses. Kindly refer back to your client and send me a confirmation that your letter was raised in error and that neither you nor TPS have any claim on me.

If I do not receive this confirmation within 7 days I will take your letters to the Police so that they can investigate possible charges of fraud and extortion against you and your client.

I will, in the meantime, be forwarding this email and copies of your and your client’s letters to the FSA, SRA and my MP to ask whether you are fit to retain your registration as you have either failed in your professional duty to confirm the validity of your client’s claim or are guilty of an attempt to defraud.

Yours faithfully
XXXX


Is this sensible or is there a better way forward?


Best Regards

MidlandRuss

I have just found this post forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5999102&highlight=bw+legal+2015(I can't post the link as I'm a newbie)
so maybe a SAR to TPS is the way to go. My daughter sold the car so doesn't have the v5c and the utility bills are in my name. What other forms of ID are acceptable?

nigelbb

MidlandRuss wrote: »

I have just found this post forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5999102&highlight=bw+legal+2015(I can't post the link as I'm a newbie)
so maybe a SAR to TPS is the way to go. My daughter sold the car so doesn't have the v5c and the utility bills are in my name. What other forms of ID are acceptable?

TPS are on a mission at present trawling through all their old tickets & passing them on to BW Legal to chase up & issue claims. However TPS records are an absolute mess so there may be no proof of a ticket being issued or as in this case the ticket was paid but still the details are passed on to BW Legal.

The best tactic with any TPS ticket, debt collectors letter, LBC or court claim is definitely to get a SAR in ASAP dpo@totalparking.co.uk Send a SAR to BW Legal too SAR@bwlegal.co.uk

A scan/photo of a driving licence is sufficient ID.

MidlandRuss

Thanks for the advice. I will get my daughter to send SARs to both of them.

nigelbb

MidlandRuss wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I will get my daughter to send SARs to both of them.

Let us know how she gets on. We have seen instances where BW Legal have sent an LBC & when a SAR is sent to TPS they cancel the charge because there is no evidence.

Redx

and do NOT call them fines or penalty charges

call them what they actually are , either a PCN or an INVOICE (not penalty)

calling them by the incorrect names muddies the waters and there is no need for it whatsoever

it was a private Parking Charge Notice (PCN) , so use that term, or invoice , which is what it actually was

thank you

waamo

This is why the "discount" is often referred to as the mythical discount on here. This is a fairly regular occurrence of chasing someone who has already paid.

If nothing else hopefully it's taught you not to pay a penny in future.

Anything with a name and address should be acceptable for a SAR. A redacted bank statement, credit card bill or something like a council tax bill is fine.

nigelbb

waamo wrote: »

This is why the "discount" is often referred to as the mythical discount on here.

These ‘early payment discounts’ used to put pressure on the victim to pay up quickly are not in fact a discount but a ‘price escalation clause’. The real charge is X but if you don't pay up in 30 days it rises to XX.