ZZPS APCOA - Use of private car park without making a valid payment

AnubisCK

Hi all, 

I'd like some help and advice on where to start with this one please - I've spent some time looking through the newbies post and reading similar posts through searching the forum. Reassured slightly by reading that APCOA sounds to be a good one to start with as they are apparently easy to beat, but still stressing a little bit about what is the right course of action for this scenario:

ZZPS letter to registered keeper received 19/05/2023

'Debt collection notice - £155 - debt unpaid

Our Client: APCOA PARKING UK (LTD)
Penalty notice amount due: £85
Administration fees: £70
Issue date: 24/03/2023
Offence: Use of private car park without making a valid payment'

Happy to give more info e.g. location if required (it's a station car park). This is the first and only communication received for this matter, received 2 months after the 'Issue date'.

Absolutely no plans on contacting the 'debt' collectors per the advice on the forum. 

Not sure if it's relevant to this case but the keeper recently paid a similar 'reduced' Penalty Charge Notice at the same location after receiving said Penalty Charge Notice from APCOA (due to lack of understanding of these things, and not wanting the stress of going through the motions over a £50 charge). 

Thank you

B789

Because the RK already paid the scammers once, they were marked as a "mug" for future targeting. Too late for that one.

ZZPS as you will know from reading the Newbies/FAQ thread are harmless debt collectors who have no power to do anything, no matter how much they try to scare you and the many gullible victims out there into paying them. They are not a party to the alleged contract between the driver and the PPC. No need tell us every time you receive a debt collector letter.

As it's APCOA, you can expect the debt collector to give up eventually and hand the file back to APCOA who will file it as "too difficult" and that will be the end of it.

Umkomaas

If the charge is a Penalty Charge, rather than a Parking Charge (please confirm) then you need to string this out until the 6 month anniversary after which time the case is dead. So ignore anything now from ZZPS, but if you receive more correspondence from APCOA or (possibly) from QDR solicitors come back on this thread. 

Le_Kirk

The usual reason for not receiving the initial PCN but then receiving debt collector letters is that your V5C is not up-to-date with your current address.  Is it?  Don't guess, check!

AnubisCK

Thanks for the replies so far - yep RK is a mug for that one.. 

I'm not able to say 100% if it's a Penalty or Parking charge for this one as not received the initial letter (PCN / NTK?), the previous one though for the exact same 'offence' was a 'Penalty Notice' so fairly safe to assume this is the same.

Address is up to date on the V5C.

Cheers