Debt recovery letter for parking charges with no previous correspondence

SunnyScarlett

I have just received a letter from Trace debt recovery acting on behalf of National Car Parks Ltd. They say NCP have written to me requesting payment for parking charges, that I have missed one or various response deadlines and that as a result it is too late to appeal and I must pay £170 within 14 days from the date of the letter. This sum includes the original parking charge and debt recovery costs.

There are lots of problems with this letter:
1) This is the very first letter I've received, I have received none of the aforementioned correspondence from NCP.
2) This letter arrived 9 days after it was allegedly posted, which effectively gives me only 5 days to respond.
3) There is no mention of how much the alleged parking charges are or when or for how long the car was allegedly parked in an NCP car park, just the date of the Parking Charge Notice.
4) There is no mention of where this parking took place.
5) I have been given no opportunity to appeal and no email address, telephone number or postal address to appeal to. There is an enquiries number and address on the letter, but this is just for the debt recovery agency.

As they haven't said where the car was parked, I can only assume it refers to a time when the car was parked outside a railway station in a street next to (not inside) an NCP car park and an NCP flyer was left on the windscreen. This flyer was not a PCN, just a generic flyer saying "Thank you for parking with NCP. We notice you haven't paid for your parking, download our app to pay now."

It's worth pointing out that the street I parked in is divided from the car park by some bollards and there are no markings on the street to suggest that this street is part of the car park.

I would really appreciate any advice on how to deal with this letter. Should I just ignore it? Are they just trying their luck? Should I appeal and, if so, to whom as I've been given no means of appeal? Should I appeal to NCP through their website even though I have never received a Parking Charge Notice to appeal against? Is there any way the flyer left on the car's windscreen can constitute a Parking Charge Notice?

I have read the Newbies thread, but couldn't find anything directly equivalent to my case. But please let me know if I have missed something.

Fruitcake

Debt collectors are powerless and can safely be ignored.

Plan A is always a complaint from the keeper to the landowner without revealing the driver's identity.

If that fails, complain to NCP that no NTK was ever received, so they should re-issue it as per V9 of the BPA CoP. If they comply, the new NTK will be non-PoFA compliant, and easy win for the keeper.
If they fail to re-issue the NTK, complain to the BPA.

KeithP

Where exactly did this alleged parking event take place?
Has it perhaps been mentioned before on this forum?

SunnyScarlett

Thank you for your replies. So just to be clear, I should complain to the landowner who I believe are South Western Railway and ask them to cancel the charge? Should I include details about unclear signage and the fact that my car was not parked within the NCP car park but in the road beside it? (I also have photos of this).

If that fails and I have to contact NCP asking them to reissue the NTK and they comply, the NTK will not be compliant with the PoFA because it wasn't issued within 14 days? 

Would you suggest I do that now or wait and see if I get more letters?

Gr1pr

Sounds like it could be an NCP railway PCN , in which case POFA schedule 4 cannot apply anyway, meaning that the 14 days issues etc are irrelevant 

Where is this NCP car park. ?

Coupon-mad

Same advice as here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80830187#Comment_80830187?utm_source=community-search&utm_medium=organic-search&utm_term=VRM+update+move+logbook

We reckon what you may have missed is changing the address on the vehicle's logbook when you moved. If so, advice is already on that thread.

SunnyScarlett

Thank you. I will check my log book.
The NCP car park is at Byfleet and New Haw station in Surrey.

LDast

NCP are not relying on PoFA because they can't. The station car park is not relevant and because it is under statutory control (bylaws). Only the unknown driver is liable. You, the known keeper, must not at any point, disclose the details of the unknown driver, inadvertently or otherwise.

If you are going to pursue Plan A and contact the TOC, use wording such as "The driver parked...", definitely DO NOT use wording such as "I parked...".

A complaint (not an appeal) to NCP pointing out that they should cancel the PCN and call off their toothless attack dogs because as the keeper of the vehicle, you are not obliged to identify the driver and will not be doing so and only the driver can ever be liable for their PCN. At the same time, tell NCP to update their records with your current address and to erase your old address.

SunnyScarlett

You were right Coupon-mad, I hadn't updated my vehicle's log book. I have now done this online.
I have a few more questions, which I would really appreciate advice on:

1) Can I complain to the landowner (in this case the TOC) and ask them to cancel the charge without a PCN number? I don't have this because I never received the NTK. Should I therefore contact NCP and ask them to reissue the NTK, as Fruitcake originally advised?
2) When I complain to NCP, would you advise that (as well as using your standard appeal template and refusing to name the driver) I also provide evidence to show that the car was not parked within the NCP car park but in the road beside it and there is nothing to show that the space the car was in is part of NCP managed land?
3) I understand I should tell NCP to update their records and erase my old address. Can I do this as part of my complaint or do I have to submit a SAR to their Data Protection Officer? I see on their website that in order to process a SAR they require a copy of my V5c as proof of identity. My current V5c has my old address on it. Should I wait for the new V5c with my current address on it to arrive in the post (which will take 5 days)?

Once again, really appreciate your help and this thread, which is invaluable.

Coupon-mad

1)
Should I therefore contact NCP and ask them to reissue the NTK, as Fruitcake originally advised?

2) When I complain to NCP, would you advise that (as well as using your standard appeal template and refusing to name the driver) I also provide evidence to show that the car was not parked within the NCP car park but in the road beside it and there is nothing to show that the space the car was in is part of NCP managed land?

3) I understand I should tell NCP to update their records and erase my old address. Can I do this as part of my complaint?


Yes x 3.   No SAR.  No need to send a V5C copy unless they ask, in which case it will soon be with you.

SunnyScarlett

Thanks very much for your replies. One other question: LDast says I should complain rather than appeal, but in order to complain to NCP about a PCN by email or through their website, it looks like you have to go through their appeals procedure. There is one option entitled "I shouldn't have been issued with this Parking Charge Notice", which says "If you feel a notice has been issued incorrectly, please follow the appeals process and outline the reasons why. This will then be reviewed and you will be contacted."

The only other option is the Customer Complaints Form, but that assumes that you have been a customer of NCP, which I haven't because I don't believe the car was parked in an NCP car park (it was in the street outside it).

Is there any reason why I shouldn't use their appeals process to complain?