Debt letter but no original letter

tdubya22

I’ve just received a letter from a debt collection agency for a parking fine from July. 

This was quite a surprise, because I hadn’t heard anything about it till today. 

As soon as I opened it, I called them
up. According to their records, the company they represent (Euro Car Parks) sent two letter after the incident. They provided the dates the letters were issued. 

But I didn’t receive the letters!

so now I’m in a situation where the fine is £170 (I assume it was less when first issued). I have received original letters (though it’s their word against mine). And because of this, I haven’t seen evidence that I overstayed. 

I’m not too sure what to do. 

I could pay the fine. But it feels rather unfair that to pay out £170, when I can’t conceive of having over stayed (it’s a suite of shops - worse case, either me or my wife were spending money in shops… though that’s by-the-by). And if I did overstay, I have had no chance to admit fault and pay the original fine. 

 I could wait for it to go to court (which the letter confidently suggests will happen). But what then? Will the fine increase? Will I get a negative credit record?

Grizebeck

Why are you calling it a fine
Please can you  show us exactly where on the letter the word is fine, if you cant see the word then why use it

Gr1pr

Check that your V5C is up to date, missing letters are usually sent to an old address because the keeper has failed to update the DVLA database promptly, they will have gone to the address obtained from the DVLA by ECP 

Update it if its incorrect 

Not receiving letters is no defence 

Its not a fine 

tdubya22

Grizebeck said:

Why are you calling it a fine
Please can you  show us exactly where on the letter the word is fine, if you cant see the word then why use it

Sure - it's not a fine. It's a parking charge. I get that. Point is I am being asked to pay £170. And I never received any initial correspondence. Which I am finding challenging to reconcile as I have not seen any evidence of the charge and I didn't have a chance to contest.

Gr1pr said:

Check that your V5C is up to date, missing letters are usually sent to an old address because the keeper has failed to update the DVLA database promptly, they will have gone to the address obtained from the DVLA by ECP 

Update it if its incorrect 

Not receiving letters is no defence 

Its not a fine 

The V5C address is correct. The debt collection agency letter made it to me. It's just the original companies letters that didn't come to me.

So if not receiving a letter is no defence, does this mean I am going to have to pay the £170 charge and accept that I wont have a chance to contest?

Gr1pr

No it doesn't mean that 

The letters will have gone to the address on the V5c , as listed on the DVLA database, they don't have to prove receipt, only that they were sent 

The fact that debt collectors letters reached you is irrelevant, they may have done a trace to find you, costing maybe 29 pence or so. The fact that the debt collectors are pursuing you means that its too late to appeal 

You can fight your corner if or when a court claim arrives, same as all the other victims 

tdubya22

Gr1pr said:

No it doesn't mean that 

The letters will have gone to the address on the V5c , as listed on the DVLA database, they don't have to prove receipt, only that they were sent 

The fact that debt collectors letters reached you is irrelevant, they may have done a trace to find you, costing maybe 29 pence or so. The fact that the debt collectors are pursuing you means that its too late to appeal 

You can fight your corner if or when a court claim arrives, same as all the other victims 

Thank you. 

That makes sense. I mean, it's frustrating as anything because I haven't had a chance to contest. But it's their word against mine. So it is what it is. Something I have to deal with by the sounds of things.

So I guess it's now a case of 'do I feel lucky'.

Assuming I do feel lucky, and I choose not to pay the £170 charge, does anyone know what my risk is? As in

• if I am taken to court, how much more am I potentially looking at paying? 
• What is the likelihood that it does get taken to court?
• How often do 'they' win over the driver?

Does anyone have any statistics for these?

For example, If there's a 90% chance of being taken to court and a 90% chance of them winning, and the charge is guaranteed to increase to £500, then it makes sense to pay up now, no matter how distasteful the prospect is.

But if there's a 50% chance of being taken to court and a 50% chance of them winning and the charge may only increase to £200, then I will take my chances.... 

Gr1pr

A typical loss in court, if you lost, is about £212 in total for a single PCN, ZERO if you win 

The real question should have been, will a court claim be issued by MCOL, answer.....  possibly 

Will it ever get to a court hearing in an actual court. ?  Maybe, or maybe not , many are discontinued 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations#latest

So why would you think that every court claim proceeds to an actual hearing in court. ?

And why would you think that a small claims case for a single PCN could cost you £500 or more. ?

Lack of basic research maybe. ?

LDast

If I send you an invoice for anything, do you just pay it? Of course you don't.  Have you even read the Newbies?FAQ thread yet? Every question you are asking is already answered in there.

Nobody pays ECP unless they are low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree and haven't discovered this forum.

This is most likely to go all the way to a court claim issued by DCB Legal and if you read the Newbies?FAQ thread and follow the advice, it will end up as a discontinuation some time early next year. Don't try to overthink it.

Coupon-mad

tdubya22 said:

Gr1pr said:

No it doesn't mean that 

The letters will have gone to the address on the V5c , as listed on the DVLA database, they don't have to prove receipt, only that they were sent 

The fact that debt collectors letters reached you is irrelevant, they may have done a trace to find you, costing maybe 29 pence or so. The fact that the debt collectors are pursuing you means that its too late to appeal 

You can fight your corner if or when a court claim arrives, same as all the other victims 

Thank you. 

That makes sense. I mean, it's frustrating as anything because I haven't had a chance to contest. But it's their word against mine. So it is what it is. Something I have to deal with by the sounds of things.

So I guess it's now a case of 'do I feel lucky'.

Assuming I do feel lucky, and I choose not to pay the £170 charge, does anyone know what my risk is? As in

• if I am taken to court, how much more am I potentially looking at paying? 
• What is the likelihood that it does get taken to court?
• How often do 'they' win over the driver?

Does anyone have any statistics for these?

For example, If there's a 90% chance of being taken to court and a 90% chance of them winning, and the charge is guaranteed to increase to £500, then it makes sense to pay up now, no matter how distasteful the prospect is.

I don't understand your dilemma.

And I don't understand why people assume a court claim "becomes £500". Of course not.

The NEWBIES thread already tells you the worst case scenario and that we win 99% of cases. Nothing to do with risk or feeling lucky. These cases are a complete cinch to see off.