Some debt recovery letter questions (after reading newbie threads)

Waspyyy

Hi all

Hope you don't mind me asking some questions after reading the newbie threads - I've recently received a 'chain letter' from a debt recovery company (as listed in newbie threads) and am following the advice but have some follow up questions, hope this is ok.

So some history:
1. In late 2019 I go to a small venue to buy tickets for a show the next night. Unknowingly I fail to sign the screen hidden behind the door. I attend the show on foot the next night and a few months later I get a letter from the people who put up signs and the screen I didn't see when I parked for 10 mins to buy from their client. They demand I pay a fine (I forget the amount)
2. I ring up the venue and they are apologetic - I enquire via email if customers should be paying a fine, they reply 'no'
3. It's now the middle of COVID so I don't really get round to dealing with the letter, I get a follow up but then the letters stop - I figure I am in the right and don't owe anything so ignore, and I move house a year later
4. Since the alleged contravention in 2019 I have moved house as per point 3, and about 10 days ago (ie over 5 years from the alleged contravention) I get the aforementioned debt recovery letter. I send an email to the DPOs of the original car park people and this new company to delete my old address and now plan to ignore, as per advise in newbies thread. Interesting to note that the 14 day pay deadline was already 7 days in by the time the letter hit my doormat.

Now within a few days I did contact a family friend (via a family member, not directly) who is a lawyer who works in this area. They kindly looked at the letter and the paraphrased quote from the forwarded message in below in bold italics:

"Unfortunately...doesn’t have grounds to challenge...legally enforceable...pay it sooner to stop it escalating further. Could contact them and offer £100 to settle in full. Explain this is the first notification. As has ignored it/not updated his info at dvla, they've incurred £70 tracing/debt recovery fee on top of £100 parking charge."

Now as grateful as I am for their time on this this runs counter to all the advice on this thread and struck as a very lawyerly response...yes it may be technically legally enforceable but 1) are they going to bother and 2) if it ends up with a judge I have i) evidence I am a customer of their ultimate client and ii) mitigating circumstances (it was dark, was with my young at the time son, got the letter during a global pandemic etc).

so after all that preamble, my questions are:

a) surely even if I get a summons, and given filling all forms out correctly etc and presenting my evidence as above I have decent likelihood of winning right? Why would this lawyer not suggest this?

b) I have updated details at DVLA, I have had a driving license with my new address on since I moved 4 years ago, I don't see why this lawyer thinks I haven't done this.

C) at what point do I admit that I was a driver? If and when i get a summons? (Apologies I appreciate this one may be in the newbies thread but couldn't see it)

D) if I did get a summons surely this would have to happen in the next twelve months given it will be over the 6 year mark after?

I'm going to speak to the landowner too but appreciate anyone's time they can give in answering my questions a) - d) above, many thanks

Gr1pr

A) you definitely will not receive a summons due to a private PCN

b) its the V5c that needed updating   ( as well as the driving licence   )

C) if you were the driver,  say so in your future defence

D) it would be a court claim using MCOL,  before the 6 year deadline,  by the parking company , usually via a legal company 

There is nothing interesting about the 7 days to arrive and any 14 days arbitrary deadline 

The £100 may be legally enforceable,  or not,  the added £70 double recovery is usually struck out,  if you lost in civil court 

I know a couple of qualified registered lawyers,  good in their chosen typical work fields,  but know little or nothing about this topic 

Coupon-mad

The lawyer's advice is WRONG.

Which parking firm?

Which Debt crawler?

Which month in 2019?

KeithP

Firstly, you have not received, nor will you receive, a summons. There is no criminal liability here.

When instructing the parking company - which parking company? - to remove your old address, did you inform them of your current address?

Now to your specific questions...

a) you'll have to ask your lawyer that question, but I'll just say that there don't appear to be many lawyers that understand private parking issues.

b) what's on your Driving Licence isn't important in this context. It's the address on your vehicle's Registration Document(V5c) that is relevant.

C) why would you ever want to admit to being the driver? At this stage, I can see no good reason.

D) as said earlier, there will be no summons. Any court claim needs to be filed withing six years of the parking event.

Grizebeck

His advice sucks

Waspyyy

Coupon-mad said:

The lawyer's advice is WRONG.

Which parking firm?

Which Debt crawler?

Which month in 2019?

Thanks for confirming on lawyer

I was trying to not be specific on details in a public forum, unless you think I'm being overly cautious 

Waspyyy

KeithP said:

Firstly, you have not received, nor will you receive, a summons. There is no criminal liability here.

When instructing the parking company - which parking company? - to remove your old address, did you inform them of your current address?

Now to your specific questions...

a) you'll have to ask your lawyer that question, but I'll just say that there don't appear to be many lawyers that understand private parking issues.

b) what's on your Driving Licence isn't important in this context. It's the address on your vehicle's Registration Document(V5c) that is relevant.

C) why would you ever want to admit to being the driver? At this stage, I can see no good reason.

D) as said earlier, there will be no summons. Any court claim needs to be filed withing six years of the parking event.

Thanks

A) strange as his specialisation is parking enforcement but maybe a different aspect...?

B ) well that car went to the scrapyard in 2020 so maybe that's got to do with it?

C) noted thanks 

D) are you saying even if they wanted to there wouldn't be enough time to do so now?

Gr1pr

Waspyyy said:

Coupon-mad said:

The lawyer's advice is WRONG.

Which parking firm?

Which Debt crawler?

Which month in 2019?

Thanks for confirming on lawyer

I was trying to not be specific on details in a public forum, unless you think I'm being overly cautious 

Definitely too little information,  revealing the claimant and debt collector is no biggie   ( revealing personal private information should be avoided,  as they banners at the top of this forum explain   ), definitely over cautious 

KeithP

Waspyyy said:

Coupon-mad said:

The lawyer's advice is WRONG.

Which parking firm?

Which Debt crawler?

Which month in 2019?

Thanks for confirming on lawyer

I was trying to not be specific on details in a public forum, unless you think I'm being overly cautious 

With the number of parking charges issued annually, how do you think answering those three questions will get anyone near identifying your specific incident?

Waspyyy

Gr1pr said:

A) you definitely will not receive a summons due to a private PCN

b) its the V5c that needed updating   ( as well as the driving licence   )

C) if you were the driver,  say so in your future defence

D) it would be a court claim using MCOL,  before the 6 year deadline,  by the parking company , usually via a legal company 

There is nothing interesting about the 7 days to arrive and any 14 days arbitrary deadline 

The £100 may be legally enforceable,  or not,  the added £70 double recovery is usually struck out,  if you lost in civil court 

I know a couple of qualified registered lawyers,  good in their chosen typical work fields,  but know little or nothing about this topic 

Thanks, similar answers to Keith P, but d gives good detail thanks...I'm not even sure the original car company run that site anymore (too many complaints to the site owner?). Presumably they just wouldn't even be thinking about it and this debt crawler is chancing their arm into scaring me out of £170?

Gr1pr

There are around 14 million PCNs issued annually at the moment,  from over 170 private parking companies,  a lot of whom have signed up with debt collectors and legal firms,  especially since the pandemic 

Anything in the under 6 years category in England and Wales is fair game,  hence why we are asking who the parking company and debt crawlers and any legal companies are 

The latter 2 are doing what their client tells them to do 

The fact that the private parking company dont have a contract any more is irrelevant