Notification of Instruction from ELMS Legal LTd

DWGrassman

Hi Everyone, I received  a Notification of Instruction from ELMS Legal which states I have to pay them £160 in relation to an unpaid Parking Charge Notice from VCS Ltd on 27/10/2021. I have only replied to a Letter Before Claim from VCS asking them for more information which they have not replied to and have just passed it on to ELMS instead. I have until 12/03/2022 to contact ELMS before they commence formal action. Should I reply by telling them that their clients VCS have not supplied the information that I have requested? Or should I take a different route? I can post the letter I sent VCS in reply to their LBC if this helps or other info you may need.
Many Thanks in Advance

Fruitcake

Did you tell VCS that whilst you deny the debt, you are seeking debt advice and require them to put the case on hold for 30 days? If not, do that now before a claim form arrives from the CCBC.

Did you send an SAR asking VCS to supply you with all data they hold about you? If not, send it next.

Where did the alleged event occur? It may have cropped up here before.

What happened when you complained to the landowner?

Have you complained to your MP yet?

You need to get pics of the site and signage, and use google streetview to see if there are any images from either side of the alleged event as well.

Finally, you should follow the guide to court written by bargepole you will find in the second post of the NEWBIES.

1505grandad

"I have only replied to a Letter Before Claim from VCS asking them for more information which they have not replied to and have just passed it on to ELMS instead."

Did you identify the driver in your reply?

patient_dream

DWGrassman said:

Hi Everyone, I received  a Notification of Instruction from ELMS Legal which states I have to pay them £160 in relation to an unpaid Parking Charge Notice from VCS Ltd on 27/10/2021. I have only replied to a Letter Before Claim from VCS asking them for more information which they have not replied to and have just passed it on to ELMS instead. I have until 12/03/2022 to contact ELMS before they commence formal action. Should I reply by telling them that their clients VCS have not supplied the information that I have requested? Or should I take a different route? I can post the letter I sent VCS in reply to their LBC if this helps or other info you may need.
Many Thanks in Advance

Firstly, VCS and Elms are bosom buddies and you have more chance of winning than Elms ?

A letter before claim is a legal requirement and professional firms will reply. Clearly VCS fall outside of that

A judge would take a very dim view that VCS have ignored you.

So, email to VCS saying they have ignored you and question the fake amount they have added, that's the extra £60 ?
Tell VCS that you are taking debt advice and you require a further 30 days. The failure of VCS to respond is a problem for them.

Send a copy to Elms and DO NOT pay Elms and do this only by email, no phoning.

In the meantime, do as Fruitcake above says

DWGrassman

Thankyou both for your swift replies
no I have not sent an SAR to VCS and I haven’t told them I’m seeking debt advice I will email them now should I email EMLS also as they have taken the case on now?

The Event occurred in a  Residential Carpark in Rotherham which has no signage to the entrance warning anyone that it is private parking, only a few small signs scattered about on fencing which could be easily missed depending which area of the car park you are parked in.

I have not complained to the landowner or my local mp, is this too late now?

I have not identified the driver

Thanks

patient_dream

DWGrassman said:

Thankyou both for your swift replies
no I have not sent an SAR to VCS and I haven’t told them I’m seeking debt advice I will email them now should I email EMLS also as they have taken the case on now?

The Event occurred in a  Residential Carpark in Rotherham which has no signage to the entrance warning anyone that it is private parking, only a few small signs scattered about on fencing which could be easily missed depending which area of the car park you are parked in.

I have not complained to the landowner or my local mp, is this too late now?

I have not identified the driver

Thanks

Signs are the most important point which the courts pick up on with VCS. We have seen many VCS failures over their signs

Never too late to get a landowner cancellation or a complaint to your MP

The are many stories on here about the VCS court spankings. 
One in particular, it cost VCS £1000

Search Bargepole on here

DWGrassman

Thanks everyone I will follow your advice and let you know what happens next. For some reason I never received the PCN through the post and the notice they put on the windscreen was never recovered, but they have photo evidence. I told them this and they sent me copies of all correspondence as I did not know about the notice until I received the letter before claim. The vehicle is a Company car on lease hire and I did get an email from the lease hire company saying they had been contacted to pass on the keepers address regards a PCN, but I never came so I forgot about it. 

1505grandad

"The vehicle is a Company car on lease hire and I did get an email from the lease hire company saying they had been contacted to pass on the keepers address regards a PCN, but I never came so I forgot about it."

So, has the driver been identified to vcs?

DWGrassman

No the driver has not been Identified to VCS, does this matter anymore? Can they just chase the keeper?

Fruitcake

VCS can chase the driver if they know who that is.
They can chase the keeper if they comply with the strict requirements of the PoFA 2012.
They can chase the hirer/lessee if the keeper has transferred liability to the hirer/lessee, and VCS have complied with the strict requirements of the PoFA 2012.

Have you as hirer/lessee receive a NTH from VCS in your own name? If you haven't, then the keeper is still liable, not you. 

Coupon-mad

. The vehicle is a Company car on lease hire and I did get an email from the lease hire company saying they had been contacted to pass on the keepers address regards a PCN,

Check the address that the lease hire company have for you.  Could it be they gave VCS an old one?  You need to put that right if so, because you could even miss a proper PCN from the Council or a NIP from the Police, or get a CCJ from another parking firm if a claim had gone to your old address.

When responding to Elms, as well as saying you are seeking debt advice and getting a SAR and require a '30 day hold' also tell them that if they or their clients hold more then one postal address for you, then the correct one for service is:

your address

And they and their clients must now erase the wrong address data that you think may have caused the original letters not to have been served.  Only the above address is correct at this time. 

You can also tell the solicitor to do one, as regards the banned added £60 fake costs:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6333036/breaking-news-government-has-announced-the-statutory-code-of-practice-and-enforcement-framework/p1

Certainly be robust about your reply.  The banned debt recovery fees is something they detest people knowing about and so you must point it out and tell them this is 'extorting money' (Neil O'Brien MP - see the Code's Ministerial Foreword).