Too late for POPLA

UpsetTummy

Now at the stage of getting debt collector letters asking for £160. Very worried.

We drove into an NCP car park intending to park for 3 days, but the payment meter would not accept longer than 24 hours so we drove out again after having tried several times to pay for the duration we wanted. It was a meter where you start by entering your car reg and then enter duration. We tried a few times. We also had to wait to use the machine behind another gentleman who was also struggling to use the machine.

4 weeks later we received an NTK. There is a time difference of 13 minutes 13 seconds between the photo taken on entry and the one on exit. We appealed online explaining the situation.

We did not receive notification of the result of the appeal. We then received another letter asking for payment of £100. We contacted NCP and they said they had emailed the appeal response to us, giving us time and date sent. The appeal was refused on the grounds that the grace period is 10 minutes and we had stayed beyond that. This email was not in our inbox or the junk folder. By this time we could no longer appeal to POPLA as the 28 days had expired.

We then sent a cheque for £100 through the post stating we were paying under protest. That was two weeks ago, and we kept proof of posting from the post office. The check has not been cashed, and today we have received a debt collector letter asking for £160.

We are finding this episode very upsetting, we are an older couple who entered the car park and genuinely tried to pay. The whole time in the car park was spent at the machine. Any advice on what we should do next would be welcome.

BrownTrout

Why did you pay? Paying under protest means nothing

UpsetTummy

I paid because I wanted the issue to go away, but they have not cashed the cheque and we now have a debt collector letter. Do you think we could have appealed to anyone after the POPLA time has expired based on what I have told you?

UpsetTummy

Is there anyone we can appeal to now?

BrownTrout

No you cant appeal this any further

fisherjim

You missed the POPLA deadline so they have given it to debt collecting scammers, they won't let you pay the original fee as the debt collectors are on a no win no fee contract with them and want their turn at tightening the thumb screws.


You will have to sit this out now ignore the debt collectors and let it take it's course, you are dealing with greedy low life scum not reasonable people unfortunately.


Debt collectors are awful useless nasty people that you should ignore, they huff and puff but don't get anywhere, and you don't have a debt unless a court says you do.


Have you read the newbies thread yet?

UpsetTummy

Thank you for this response, fisherjim. I have spent a few hours reading the Newbies thread and am finding it quite difficult.

Thank you for your advice to sit it out. It’s very upsetting having this arise from something so trivial.

Umkomaas

Cancel that £100 cheque with your bank, otherwise you risk NCP cashing it and still having their debt collectors harassing you.

At one time, NCP had a reasonable name as an upright parking company - no longer. They now want their own snotty snout alongside other PPCs in the trough of plenty!

BrownTrout

Umkomaas wrote: »

Cancel that £100 cheque with your bank, otherwise you risk NCP cashing it and still having their debt collectors harassing you.

At one time, NCP had a reasonable name as an upright parking company - no longer. They now want their own snotty snout alongside other PPCs in the trough of plenty!

This is a move which i would not advise at all. Where a cheque has been cancelled you can be sued under that:
https://www.lyonsdavidson.co.uk/paying-cheque-pitfalls/
Under the Bills of Exchange Act 1882, you can be held liable for payment of a cheque merely by the fact that you signed it. The act states that once you present a cheque for payment, you are confirming that it will be honoured. If it is ‘dishonoured’ (e.g. by your cancelling it), you will be liable to compensate the payee.

The payee could issue proceedings against you for the cheque amount and make an application for ‘summary judgment’. This means the payee could ask the court to give judgment in their favour, without even giving you an opportunity to defend your action. Current case law states that this is to be routinely granted by the court unless there is a “good reason to the contrary.”

A claim against you could consist of the following:

The cheque amount;
Interest from the date the cheque was presented for payment;
Any expenses incurred in enforcing the above.

Umkomaas

Do you honestly think that NCP are up for all of that?

So, what do you suggest the OP does, BT?

MistyZ

I think you need to tell this sorry tale to the British Parking Association i.e. complain like hell to them about NCP's behaviour. It's particularly concerning that you didn't receive a response to your appeal to NCP and therefore missed out on the opportunity to appeal to POPLA.

Additionally, NCP now have £100 of your money! AND are proceeding to intimidate and harass you. It's outrageous. All because of NCP's equipment failure when you were trying so hard to pay for parking.

Everything here has the ring of authenticity. You describe yourselves as an 'older couple'. Well, I understand what you mean, but unwary younger people often feel overwhelmed and confused by parking charges too. Nonetheless, mention that to the BPA and explain why you think being older is relevant. Frankly, this is very far from a level playing field and any area of weakness - not being internet savvy, never having received a parking charge before, low income .... anything ... makes an encounter with the parking companies more intimidating and more unequal still.

Google BPA. The person you need to complain to (at length) is Kevin Reynolds.

Perhaps you will consider taking this to the press if it is not resolved quickly? Why not? If BrownTrout is right and you cannot safely cancel the cheque, then what has happened to you is tantamount to theft - it should have been returned.

Yes, you can safely sit this out until and unless you get a Letter Before Claim so I am keen not to increase anxiety. But meanwhile get busy complaining where you can. A landowner complaint may also be a good idea ... was the car park attached to a hotel?