Total Fitness, Smart Parking, Wrong Address on VC5

daffodil83

Hi fellow freedom fighters.
I would love some suggestions on my letters, as I'm getting stressed at by Mother, who is worried about the fact that my VC5 was not updated. She is very worried that Smart Parking can somehow report me to the DVLA, or enforce the fine based on it being my fault I didn't receive the correspondence. I'm getting really stressed with her as well because she doesn't GET the way things have been explained to me on here - and keeps saying they will have proof and they will have amazing lawyers etc etc

Here is a timeline of events:
27 Oct 20 - I may have been at the gym Total Fitness, but can't remember - Debt Recovery letters say that I received a parking charge notice at the car park. I did not.
15 Dec 20 - first letter from Debt Recovery sent to my previous address - fine £170 - my friends still there have sent me a pic and haven't seen any other letters 
01 Feb 21 - second letter from Debt Recovery sent to my current address - deadline to pay 08 Feb 21
02 Feb 21 - I rang the car park who said the original fine would have been £60 (side qu - can this call be used in court? I may have admitted guilt inadvertently before coming to the internet)

So having read all your advice, I am preparing a complaint for Total Fitness and (due to pressure from mum about the deadline for payment) will send a message disputing the charge to Smart Parking. Neither letter admits any guilt or says who was driving, or even whether I was there, which honestly I don't know. 

So in terms of the content for the TF complaint - have I gone in too much depth into the legislation? Is it generally a bit confusing because I'm saying I may not have been there and also saying the reasons why they can't fine me for being there?
For the SP dispute - I copied your template and added the text in red, is this okay?

Just need a bit of hand-holding atm!!

Extra context:
The car park is used for other businesses with standard pay and display. There are no signs about the deal with Total Fitness which I have flagged up. Gym members get 2 hours free, and only action needed is to use a payment meter inside the gym, put your reg number in and take your ticket for your records. Like any reasonable being I have lost/recycled my tickets from October. I'm guessing the car park gets the reg number through electronically because you don't have to display the ticket on the car.

daffodil83

Sorry the pictures are so small, I tried word and pdf but it wouldn't accept them

Umkomaas

Just need a bit of hand-holding atm!!

Simple, please follow this advice:

1. Ignore anything here on from Smart or their debt collectors
2. Come back in the highly unlikely event of a Letter of Claim or formal court claim made by Smart or their solicitors 
3. Ask the landowner to cancel the charge on your behalf. 

Other than 3 above, there is no easy answer for you. You have 6 years to ride this out. Tell your Mother.   I'm afraid we provide advice, not miracles. 

Ralph-y

and ... is your V% up-to-date now ?

Ralph

daffodil83

Ralph-y said:

and ... is your V% up-to-date now ?

Ralph

Well I had to do the old-fashioned method of posting the original because my address is incorrect on the Ordnance survey or whatever so it's gonna be a week or so I guess!

daffodil83

Umkomaas said:

Just need a bit of hand-holding atm!!

Simple, please follow this advice:

1. Ignore anything here on from Smart or their debt collectors
2. Come back in the highly unlikely event of a Letter of Claim or formal court claim made by Smart or their solicitors 
3. Ask the landowner to cancel the charge on your behalf. 

Other than 3 above, there is no easy answer for you. You have 6 years to ride this out. Tell your Mother.   I'm afraid we provide advice, not miracles. 

Great thank you just to be clear, do nothing after sending the above letters? 
Is 6 years the cut off for the enforcement of the fine?

nosferatu1001

Its not a fine
6 years is set by the Limitations Act
You do nothing yet. Not nothing ever. 

Fruitcake

Plan A is always to complain to the landowner and retailer, which in your case is the gym manager or CEO, never customer services or reception.

Plan B would have been to appeal, but that barge has left the lock.

You can now update your V5C online.

Get pics of the site and signage (covid regs permitting)

Ignore debt collectors. The fourth post of the NEWBIES explains why it is safe to do so.

After six years, the (alleged) debt still exists but cannot be pursued through the courts in England and Wales. In Scotland, the (alleged) debt ceases to exist.

Keep complaining to the gym until it is cancelled. Remind them that other fitness centres are available.

To post images, upload them to a web hosting site such as postimages, tinypic, or dropbox, then post the URL here. Please do not tell us about powerless debt collectors letters. This forum is currently drowning under a sea of posts about DCB Limited bog-paper.

Complain again to the gym. Cancel your gym membership if that doesn't work.

D_P_Dance

Read what Pete Wishart MP said recently in the House of commons about Smart Parking.

"I am sick and tired of receiving emails from people complaining about the behaviour of parking companies, telling me that they will never again visit Perth city centre because of the negative experience they had when they had the misfortune to end up in a car park operated by one of these companies. I have received more complaints about one car park in the city of Perth than about any other issue. That car park is operated by the lone ranger of the parking cowboys: the hated and appalling Smart Parking—I see that many other Members are unfortunate enough to have Smart Parking operating in their constituencies. It has reached the stage where one member of my staff now spends a good part of each day just helping my constituents and visitors to my constituency to navigate the appeals process.

…The BPA does not have the ability to regulate these companies and has shown no sign whatsoever that it is trying to get on top of some of the sharper practices. The BPA gives a veneer of legitimacy to some of the more outlandish rogue operators by including them in their membership, allowing them to continue to operate. The Bill will oblige operators such as Smart Parking to amend their practices.

Have you complained to your MP?

daffodil83

Thank you for your responses, I'm feeling much more confident. I will get on the phone tomorrow and start harrassing Total Fitness!
Good idea, I will write to my MP too and make some noise 

Fruitcake

Just remember that a 'phone call is not worth the paper upon which it is writ.

If you get an offer to cancel, it needs to be in writing.