SAR documents received from Smart Parking regarding alleged breach in Scotland - request for advice

nosferatu1001

Deleted User said:

Thank you Fruitcake. I have never seen the V5C - but I will be down as the registered keeper. 

What?! No, if you have never seen it, then why are you assuming you are the RK?
Get the V5 out and check

[Deleted User]

nosferatu1001 said:

Deleted User said:

Thank you Fruitcake. I have never seen the V5C - but I will be down as the registered keeper. 

What?! No, if you have never seen it, then why are you assuming you are the RK?
Get the V5 out and check

Apologies - I am glad I checked this nosferatu1001. I do not hold the V5C. As a contract hire, that's held by the car leasing company. I understand from the company I am named as a 'nominee' on the V5C and neither the owner/RK. My mistake.
The car leasing company say that, if they were asked about this fine in the first place, they would have paid it and direct debited me for the fee, plus an admin fee. There's no mention of this fine on their system, I was told. It appears that Smart Parking et al have accessed my 'nominee' details through either the DVLA or by contacting the car leasing company. When the fine wasn't paid, instead of following up with the leasing company and being paid, it appears that this has instead been passed onto a third party debt collection. From Smart Parking's side, seems an odd move, given the leasing company would've paid them anyway.

To any experts out there, how does this change the position I'm in? 

Thanks in advance for any help you're able to offer.

Fruitcake

It's not a fine.

The leasing company have no right to pay it and then pass the charge onto you, especially if they are a member of the BVRLA that specifically tells its members not to pay a scamvoice.

The registered keeper cannot be held liable for a private parking scamvoice in Scotland (at the moment). The lease company should be (made) aware of this. Since the lease company cannot be held liable, they would be stupid to pay a scamvoice from an unregulated scammer, and it may well be unlawful to pass any such charge onto you.
What do the Ts and Cs in the lease agreement say about scamvoices?

Debt collectors are powerless and can safely be ignored.

Unless and until you get a NTH or a court claim in your own name, there is little you can do.

[Deleted User]

Fruitcake said:

It's not a fine.

The leasing company have no right to pay it and then pass the charge onto you, especially if they are a member of the BVRLA that specifically tells its members not to pay a scamvoice.

Debt collectors are powerless and can safely be ignored.

Unless and until you get a NTH or a court claim in your own name, there is little you can do.

Thanks Fruitcake - appreciate that. Having previously been unaware of these scams, and had I not found this forum, I would have more than likely paid the fine - they bombard you with letters, legal-looking letters, and now threats of court. I can see why people do pay up - I'm just glad I found this group. Thanks again to all. I'll update again if I receive any correspondence relating to a court date (fingers-crossed not!).
Thanks again all.

Umkomaas

Just let this rest until you get any further correspondence. Don't pick at a scab, you risk making it bleed.  Hearing nothing is positive news in this case, don't go looking for problems to worry over.