Excel Parking LBC following PCN after 14 days

westcoast888

Hi

Just thought it would be a good idea to start a new thread.

I have read though the newbie section and hopefully grasped how to ask for help.

I have also read many of the threads already posted and noted the excellent help posted within.

To bring you up to date ill include what has happened so far. Back in october 2021 i visited a town some 30 miles from where we live to do some shoping. We rarely visit this town but thought it would be a welcome change. So anyway fast forward six weeks and a PCN with poor images of my vehicle from excel parking lands on the door step demanding £80. To begin with i could not fathom where this was from and honestly thought it was a scam so i ignored it.

A month later another PCN arrives, this time with the heading 'FINAL REMINDER - DO NOT IGNORE'

This time i have a good think and i do a google search of the area and then i remember calling into a second hand store located in a rough old yard. We parked there for a short amount of time after buying some items. I couldnt remember seeing any signs that said you had to pay to park and to be fair i always pay if that is the case. So i googled and found this is a regular ploy by some parking companies. I then noticed that the PPC should issue the PCN within 14 days. They had taken 49 days or 35 working days  I found a template online and sent that to the PPC. I did not disclose driver details.

Another letter arrived, this time demanding £150. I found another template letter, again reminding them that the PCN was sent too late. I emailed this to Excel and again did not divulge driver details. An email from Excel aknowledged the email and informed that a response will be sent within 28 days. There was no reply.

A final letter has just arrived, proudly displaying in big red letters ' LETTER BEFORE CLAIM'. It threatens court action and includes a form to fill in. It look quite official but im not sure that it is. A 'Standard finacial statement' form is also attached. I have again spent a few hours reading the forums and think im at the stage where i need help. Ive emailed a SAR request to Excel's Data protection team already.

I have been to court before with regards to various claims etc when running a small business so im used to attending court. What im not used to is these kind of scams if in fact it is a scam but i do feel like im being shafted! So can i please ask for assistance to help with this from you amazing bunch. Im guessing they will wriggle and try anything to get some of my hard earned but i really would like to fight them as i feel its the principal thats at stake!

Many thanks in advance

Coupon-mad

It's certainly a scam - but they use the courts as a form of intimidation and debt collection by frightening people into paying, or if not, gathering CCJs if people ignore claims. 

You might be able to find the place on Google Streetview and see how crap the signs are.

The thing about the 14 days only helps if the Defendant was not driving.  The main case will be about crap signs, unless the D wasn't driving.

westcoast888

I looked at street view and yes the entrance sign has very small text and is in Welsh and I’m not fluent! The English version is on the other side of the entrance but not really visible on entry. Is it worth fighting or should I just pay up?

westcoast888

Street view

westcoast888

English sign is angled away from entrance

westcoast888

Just to add the weather on the day my vehicle was allegedly parked was horrible. A really dark wet day, and remember we’re in wales where it rains 75% of the time so it’s something to say it was a very nasty day! You would have no chance of reading any of those signs when entering that car park.

Coupon-mad

Great!

Now you are getting how the scam works. That and the angled sign, plus probably a dark, unlit hidden machine in a corner, entrapped you.

Of course you don't pay Excel. No-one does.

Having said that, I would never have driven into that car park. Can I ask why you didn't park on-street? I truly never understand why so many drivers choose to actively seek out a car park. Genuinely interested why!  There are always places to park on a nearby street for free or a quid, with zero risk of an ANPR PCN because Councils are banned from using camera parking enforcement.

That's where to park in any town or city in order to avoid parking sharks.

westcoast888

Thanks for the reply coupon-mad. I feel more comfortable about trying to fight them. I wouldn’t normally park somewhere like that but it was a horrific day, absolutely peeing down and it’s probably 10yrs since I last visited Cardigan. We drove round and round looking for the second hand shop and somewhere to park so when we eventually found it we assumed the parking was free. We do live in the back of beyond and rarely venture to big towns and cities etc so we are a bit naïve!

westcoast888

So do I reply to the LBC? If so, do I just tick the box on the reply form where I dispute the debt

KeithP

westcoast888 said:

So do I reply to the LBC? If so, do I just tick the box on the reply form where I dispute the debt

The first few paragraphs of the second post in the NEWBIES thread offer good guidance on how to react upon receipt of a LBC.

westcoast888

Thanks KeithP
i have ready them quite a few times but was unsure if I actually have a ‘real’ LBC or not. I didn’t want to make a mistake at this stage if it affects things later on.