Trace Debt Recovery - could it go to court?

elliot5200

Hello, apologies for starting a new thread. I have read the Newbies thread already [https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/64350614/#Comment_64350614]

I got a PNC from Ocean Parking which I appealed (got rejected), then appealed via POPLA (also rejected). The £60 fine went up to £100. I sent them the original £60 cheque which they rejected as it wasn’t enough. [In retrospect I know I should have just contacted the retailer – Travellodge – where I was parked to ask them to remove it but probably too late for that now?]

And today got a letter from Trace Debt Recovery

I have read the Newbies thread already which advises to ignore all communication. However I’m just worried this might eventually get taken to court which I wouldn’t be prepared to do and for me, wouldn’t be worth the hassle.

Happy to just ignore this but would rather just pay the £170 if there's a chance of it getting escalated to the courts and the fee growing further. Please let me know what you think – thanks very much!

 (Image removed by Forum Team)

Gr1pr

Trace recovery cannot issue a court claim, ONLY Ocean parking or their contracted lawyers can issue the court claim, the alleged debt remains with Ocean parking 

Trace recovery are debt collectors who have possibly tracked down your current address, in which case email a data rectification notice to the DPO at Ocean parking and give them proof of your correct address for service of papers, especially if you have moved since the incident happened 

Copies of 2 recent redacted utility bills should suffice, or a copy of the updated V5C if you still have it 

Ocean parking have 6 years from the incident date to issue a court claim , a typical loss in court is about £200

elliot5200

Thanks for this - just checking what you mean by giving them proof of my correct address though, as they already have my correct address? Do parking companies have a tendancy to take people to court? If so, would rather pay the debt collectors the £170 now to avoid the stress

Gr1pr

elliot5200 said:

1) Thanks for this - just checking what you mean by giving them proof of my correct address though, as they already have my correct address?

2) Do parking companies have a tendancy to take people to court?

3)  If so, would rather pay the debt collectors the £170 now to avoid the stress

1) Trace do, but the real question is, do Ocean parking. ?  Ocean contracted Trace for good reason, probably to track down the new address, so its important that you confirm those details to the DPO at Ocean Parking ASAP, tell the organ grinder, not the dancing monkey 

2) in general, YES, but I don't know if Ocean do, or not, its certainly increasing 

3) not recommended , its just a meeting with a judge as referee, no Biggie 

elliot5200

Thanks for this once again. Just not sure what you mean by tracking down the new address, as I haven't moved. Both Ocean and Trace already have my correct address.

Regarding you recommending I could just go to court at a later date, I probably wouldnt win though, so is it really worth it?

I wonder if I should write to TravelLodge in the meantime (where I was parked in the first place) and ask for some reimbursement for all this (although the parking incident did happen about 3 months ago now so they might just tell me to get lost!)

LDast

elliot5200 said:

Thanks for this once again. Just not sure what you mean by tracking down the new address, as I haven't moved. Both Ocean and Trace already have my correct address.

Regarding you recommending I could just go to court at a later date, I probably wouldnt win though, so is it really worth it?

I wonder if I should write to TravelLodge in the meantime (where I was parked in the first place) and ask for some reimbursement for all this (although the parking incident did happen about 3 months ago now so they might just tell me to get lost!)

If they have your correct address, then you don't have to get them to rectify anything.

Regarding going to court, you don't appear to have read the Newbies/FAQ thread yet. Why are you so negative that you "probably wouldn't win"? That is exactly the kind of defeatist attitude that these ex-clamper thugs hope for. They make all their profits from low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree who poop their pants at the thought of a court claim and end up paying them the now inflated amount and then being marked as a "mug" for their efforts.

99% of the claims that are advised on here end up either being won or discontinued before they ever get to a hearing. Please stop being so defeatist before you have even tried to stop these scamming vermin from stealing your money.

As advised in the Newbies/FAQ thread, you always try Plan A. Why you haven't already done so is a worry. If the car park where you stayed is exclusive to the Travelodge, then they are jointly and severally liable for the actions of their agents. Son't just ask someone at reception about this. Go as high up the management food chain as possible and complain about the fact that as a patron of their hotel, you do not appreciate being invoiced £100 by an unregulated private parking company for the privilege of being a guest.

Gr1pr

If you have not moved and the V5c address was correct, and the Trace letter matches it, then Trace are acting as debt recovery agents, not as Tracing agents which is what we usually see, so no need to contact the dpo at Ocean 

It is worrying that you didn't follow plan A in getting the hotel to cancel the postal notice when it arrived 

Its also worrying to see that you didn't either pay the discounted £60 to Ocean, or to appeal it a few months ago to Ocean 

That is we why its at the debt collectors stage, because you failed to do the previous stages in a long predictable well trodden path process here 

Try to get the hotel to cancel the PCN ASAP , known as plan A 

Coupon-mad

Trace don't sue.

Ocean Parking don't sue.

Please stop thinking about paying.

Same advice as here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6534521/dcbl-ltd-and-parkmaven#latest

patient_dream

Trace is just one of the "Hooray Henry's" who try to etort money from motorists
They are looking for mugs ..... so don't be sucked in, DO NOT PAY TRACE

elliot5200

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to write a belated letter to Travelodge (even though the parking incident happened all the way back in February). Just to mention, although it's a Travelodge site, Ocean Parking own that whole area (it's Wisemore Central, Walsall), so hopefully Travelodge are still the correct people to write to?

Please let me know if you think this sounds ok:

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

I recently received a Parking Charge for parking in your Travelodge car park (Wisemore Central, Walsall) after staying in the hotel (booking reference xx).

 

On the day, I had tried to pay for parking by ringing the phone number displayed at the Travelodge desk (attached). The sign said: ‘Important notice for all Travelodge Guests regarding the Car Park!’ It gave the phone number to pay for parking as: 02030460010.

 

When I rang that number, I was then presented with the following recorded message: “Welcome to Ringo. ‘Unfortunately our IDR service is unavailable for this number. Please download our app or visit MyRingo.com”. You can try this for yourself now, and you’ll get the same response.

 

It was therefore not possible for me to pay by phone and I wasn’t able to download apps on my phone either. There was no one at the desk to help.

 

I later got a parking fine for £60 by Ocean Parking, which rose to £100 after I appealed and lost (their reply, also attached). I also appealed via POPLA and am happy to provide correspondence of this. It turned out the phone number on the Travelodge sign was wrong, as in signage around the car park, the 24 hour support phone number was listed as ‘0330 311 2999’ instead (this is also listed on Ocean Parking’s website: https://www.oceanparking.co.uk/contact/). I’ve also attached an image of the sign in the car park for reference, as well as my parking fine and would be happy to supply any additional evidence you need.

 

I feel this is very unfair as I had tried to pay repeatedly but kept getting that same error message about an IDR being unavailable, which I didn’t understand and there was no one at the desk to help. It transpired that Travelodge were displaying an incorrect or outdated number. I’ve now had a letter from Trace Debt Recovery (also attached) demanding £170 and am getting really stressed.

 

I am a loyal customer at Travelodge but this experience has really upset me.

 

I look forward to a response from you on this and would hope to receive reimbursement for the above costs.

 

Many thanks

xx

Coupon-mad

Ocean Parking own that whole area (it's Wisemore Central, Walsall)

Are you sure?  They own it?

Your complaint must be timebound at the end.