CST LAW, Demand for Unpaid Debt

Samani27

So someone overstayed at ECP car park a few times over last few years. The keeper was getting the ECP letter asking for money and then it went to DRP and Zenith (both seemed to be part of ECP.  Yesterday the keeper got a letter from CST LAW in Sheffield titled UNPAID DEBT and asking for £650,  another car happened to park their 3 times last year and the keeper also got the same letter again asking her for £650 also.
What is the legal status of this letter, should the keeper be worried? Should the keeper contact CST or wait for other letters? The keeper  has looked through the forums and seen other people who had this same letter earlier this year ie Feb or March, and wanted to know if anyone had this letter few months ago, what did they do, what was the outcome. Any help would be appreciated, as there's no way the keeper can pay both these as the add to £1300. 

KeithP

There's been several of these recently - search for CST Law.

In fact, no need for a search, read megkram's thread which was last updated earlier today and is on the first page of the forum right now.

Fruitcake

Did the vehicle keeper(s) appeal the original PCN(s) without revealing the driver's identity? If the PPC don't know the driver's details then you should edit your post to remove information about who did what, and only ever refer to The Driver and The Keeper.

If the CST letter is a LBC giving you 30 days to pay then you should respond. If, as I suspect, it is a debt collector letter then it can safely be ignored as per the fourth post of the NEWBIES, although a real court claim may soon be on its way and you should start preparing for this. The more money being claimed, the more likely a court claim.
Is there a breakdown of costs including fake add-ons to each charge in the order of £60?

What happened when the keeper(s) complained to the landowner(s)?

Has a complaint be made to your MP yet about this unregulated scam?

Get pics of the site and signage. Use Google Street View and adjust the date using the time slider to see if at least the entrance and signs can be seen either side of the date of the alleged event.

Redx

We have seen several threads and posts in the last few weeks , so I believe they are sending out lots of these letters

Drp and Zenith are part of the same debt collector company , nothing to do with Ecp except as a sub contractor

The advice to you is read anything posted in the last month , same advice applies to anyone receiving the letters

The legal position is the Ecp has 6 years to try a court claim , that has never changed as it would require government to make changes , not been changed since 1973 for England and wales

Samani27

Thank you KeithP and Fruitcake. This is a timed-free parking at superstore carpark. When you go over the alloted time ECP send a letter with numberplate taken from cameras on arrival and exit. The very first letter they send is addressed to the owner (think they get details from DVLA but could be wrong)
Anyway the keeper never challenged any of the letters and after repeated letters from DRP and Zenith,  they would then stop sending letters. Yes, so they know the keepers name,  don't think they have sent any other letters ie Court letters or LBC letter. But then one letter did arrive 4 weeks ago, but accidentally got thrown away, it was a parking letter but unsure of it was a LBC or not and threw it away. 

Fruitcake

The advice to ignore a PCN has not been given here since the law changed in 2012.

The DVLA only hold details of the registered keeper, not the owner. There are a number of entities involved here. Driver, owner, (day to day) keeper, registered keeper, and in the case of a lease/hire vehicle, the lessee and/or hirer. These can all be completely separate entities. Some can be liable for a parking charge in certain circumstances. If the PoFA requirements have not been met then only The Driver can be liable in most cases.
This is why it is important not to reveal the driver's identity, not even on here, which is why you should edit your posts if the PPC does not already know the driver's identity.
Parking companies read this forum.

I asked if the scammers know the identity of The Driver(s), not if they know the name of The Keeper(s), who is a completely different person as far as the law is concerned. If the PoFA 2012 has not been complied with in order to hold the keeper liable, then it is imperative that the driver's identity is not revealed. 

Samani27

Oh I now understand Fruitcake, no they don't know the identity of the driver. 

Fruitcake

Javster409 said:

Oh I now understand Fruitcake, no they don't know the identity of the driver. 

So edit your post and get used to only referring to The Driver and The Keeper.

Umkomaas

The very first letter they send is addressed to the owner (think they get details from DVLA but could be wrong)
Anyway I never challenged any of the letters

Did you not think after the first letter that you should change your parking decisions, and you were likely to rack up some trouble down the line if you didn't?  While neither you nor your wife are at the court stage, the higher the number of ignored parking charges (and their associated correspondence), the more likely the current stage is to rapidly change into a real court claim. 

I suspect that my somewhat rhetorical opening question will turn into a substantive one if a Judge is peering over his half-moons at you. You both need to think carefully about what your responses will be!

Redx

Also , why didn't you read this page 1 thread about Ecp and CST law when looking for them ?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6164721/cst-law-unpaid-debt-reminder-notice#latest

Just one of many recent ones

Plus as mentioned above , there is no I in the vocabulary , it's the Driver who did whatever , it's the Keeper that is dealing with the letter's , so no "my , me , myself & I"

D_P_Dance

It is not a debt unless a judge says it is.  Until then it is an invoice from a scammer/ex clamper.

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP., it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and in some cases, cancellation.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, 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,

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/of these Private Parking Companies.

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