Notice of Debt Recovery alleging unpaid parking charges

Civic2056

My brother rents a lock up garage on land in a town centre. It has a car park facility which is equipped with ANPR. Only registered cars can park there for more than 5 minutes. My car is registered with the owners.

Today I recieve a strongly worded letter from DCBL alleging I contravened the restrictions on the 15th December and owe their client, Highview Parking Ltd, £170. 

A number of things

- Firstly, I'm registered to park there anyway so this letter should not have even been sent
- Secondly I never recieved a letter from the car park owners alleging the breach in the first place. I believe I would require one of those in the first place with 2 weeks notice before the bailiffs send their letters.
- Thirdly private car parking charges have been capped at £50 so the fine of £170 is illegal

How do these crooks get away with this crap? 

Boat_to_Bolivia

The parking charge is £100. It's the £70 add on for the so-called debt recovery service that's banned.

Have you read the NEWBIES thread?

Plan A is always to complain to the landowner to ask them to get it cancelled.

fisherjim

It's not a fine, charges are not capped at £50 nor are they illegal as such.

You need to follow BtB's advice.

Civic2056

Here's the redacated letter.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HKe1RAtHrI0NW1Wk4UiBuQoyoO7sBDzm/view?usp=sharing

The landowner won't do anything, at least six others have also had letters like this, pretty sure all were ignored with nothing happening.

What do I do. I don't want to contact the debt collectors and imply any sense of guilt. But there is no photographic evidence of the contravention and I cannot even remember being there that day so how can their case be legitimate?

If I ignore the letter, what happens if they do follow it up. Will it be a request to come to court? 

D_P_Dance

|If they were daft enough to takree this to court they would likely come a cropper.  Have you complained to your MP?

KeithP

You seem to be saying that you hadn't received any notice from Highview and the first your heard about this alleged contravention was this letter from DCB Ltd. Is that right?

Is the keeper's address on your vehicle's Registration Document correct?

Civic2056

KeithP said:

You seem to be saying that you hadn't received any notice from Highview and the first your heard about this alleged contravention was this letter from DCB Ltd. Is that right?

Is the keeper's address on your vehicle's Registration Document correct?

That's correct. I've had actual parking fines from local authorities before way back in 2021, my address has been the same since passing my driving test in 2021 and has been for the past 10 years. My brother alleges at least six of his customers have also had the same issue where Highview have bypassed their responsibility to send a PCN and have instead just sent a debt collector in to write to the pepertrator of the alleged contravention

Civic2056

D_P_Dance said:

|If they were daft enough to takree this to court they would likely come a cropper.  Have you complained to your MP?

Haha literally just had this to day. The local MP is useless, a councillor maybe but these parking companies are never respectable, if you look at highview they just have 1 star reviews. I'll happily take this to court but don't want to end up with an even larger fine and a CCJ if I lose. I guess it comes down to proving I never recieved the original letter?

Civic2056

KeithP said:

You seem to be saying that you hadn't received any notice from Highview and the first your heard about this alleged contravention was this letter from DCB Ltd. Is that right?

Is the keeper's address on your vehicle's Registration Document correct?

It's happened before on this site too. https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6327005/highview-parking-borehamwood-no-pcn-received

Coupon-mad

My brother alleges at least six of his customers have also had the same issue where Highview have bypassed their responsibility to send a PCN and have instead just sent a debt collector in to write to the pepertrator of the alleged contravention.

Right!  Gather those cases together (or as many as your brother can contact) and put in a formal complaint with the BPA about Highview relating to more than one case of them allegedly doing this.

Boat_to_Bolivia

You won't end up paying more if it goes to court and even if you did lose, you would not get a CCJ because you just pay up straight away.