Transfer of liability - or does this count as non-PoFA?

Coupon-mad

As above, DR Plus are nothing.

Ignore them but keep PROOF of that transfer of liability which is an absolute defence.

Just ignore them. Waste of space IMHO.

Sit tight. Do nothing except the below.

By going confidently into the 'ignore' stance, the only steps to take (because you MUST check every letter) are:

- Tell them if you move house within 6 years.

- Ignore the tedious £170 threatograms shown in pictures in the 4th post of the NEWBIES thread.

- Come back if you get a solicitor's LBC as per the 2nd post of the NEWBIES thread.

Nobody pays a penny unless a Judge says so. There is no risk AT ALL in defending a court claim. No CCJ. No bailiffs.

Bixer

After just over a year of silence from Debt Recovery Plus, I received a text message last week from Moorside Legal saying I owe £170 and to pay via this link. No other details, but I suspected it was related so I wasn't surprised to see a Letter of Claim from them turn up today.

It's been such a long time since I've even thought about any of this I've had to refresh myself on what the next steps are. Apologies for the lengthy post but I've got a few questions…

Am I correct in saying my immediate course of action is to reply to them with this (obviously filled in with my details)?

Dear Sirs,

Your ref: [insert reference number]

Proposed legal proceedings

Claimant: [insert name of parking company]

I refer to your letter of claim.

I confirm that my address for service for the time being is as follows, and any older address must be erased from your records:

[Insert correct address here]

You should revert to your client because the 'propensity to pay' score in my case is zero, so any claim is hopeless and a waste of the court fee (whether 'fronted' by your firm or not). Move on to weaker victims.

The alleged 'debt' is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

Yours faithfully,

The template post says you can also briefly add some reasons as to why you're disputing, I anticipated this day and fortunately actually kept the evidence supplied from the initial letters I got where I'm seen turning around and leaving in my car within 90 seconds. The appeal rejection claimed that due to picking up a passenger I accepted the terms of their contract blah blah, but I also found a picture online of the parking terms notice in that car park and nowhere does it state any of that. Is it worth adding any of that to my response or shall I just strictly stick to the template above?

Also, the newbie guidance strictly says not to send a letter in the post, but I've also seen various posts on here and on trustpilot that anything sent to their email address now gets an immediate bounceback. Do I have to register on their customer portal?

Somewhat separately, in the time since this parking charge stuff started and now I've actually changed my surname, do I need to inform them of this, or just leave the one they've got? I've now legally changed it everywhere (including HMRC so my government gateway account), the only piece of ID I'll now have that still has my old name is my passport as I've not yet updated it. Address is still the same otherwise.

Just for any extra info, this was the wording of their letter;

'Our client claims £170,00 in respect of a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) as per the enclosed schedule.

The amount claimed comprises:

• £100.00 - Parking Charge Notice(s)
• £70.00 - Additional Charges

The charge arises from an alleged breach of the terms and conditions of parking at the site(s), as displayed on signage, which forms a contract between the driver and our client.

Copies of relevant documents (including any supporting images) are available on request.'

Then it just mentions the need to respond within 30 days and here's how I can pay etc.

Many thanks!

Car1980

Who received the letter?

The keeper or the driver you transferred liability to?

Bixer

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82072684#Comment_82072684

Apologies, yes it was addressed to me. As per earlier in the thread I admitted to being the driver as my wife (the keeper) is too anxious when it comes to any of this and would've paid the fine immediately.

Car1980

I would send an email to help@moorsidelegal.co.uk and UKPS just saying this and nothing else. Just creates a record in case you need it.

Dear Sirs,

Your ref: [insert reference number]
Proposed legal proceedings

Claimant: [insert name of parking company]

I refer to your letter of claim.

I confirm that my address for service for the time being is as follows: xxxxx

Also note my name changed from Joe Bloggs to Joe Bloggington on 1/1/26.

Coupon-mad

Hmmm after yesterday's news from the CMA, I would add to the above, a couple of paragraphs saying:

• after liability was transferred, UKPS sent no PCN to the driver.
• after liability was transferred, UKPS failed to make contact or offer a fair (or any) appeal opportunity to the driver.
• after liability is transferred, parking firms cannot simply move on to the driver and sue them without going through the above process - from scratch - because this wasn't a windscreen PCN, and as such the driver thus far has been served with no PCN in their name.
• looking at the NTK posted to the keeper, the car appears to have been on site not for 'parking' but merely for the time it took to pick up a passenger, turn around straight away and leave. The evidence images provided on their site even show us having been there for less than 90 seconds, therefore no contract can have been formed and no fair consideration period was offered to see - let alone read - a woefully small, hidden sign.
• there was also no entrance sign and no GDPR sign to warn the driver about the camera surveillance and how the images would be used.
• The above are all clear breaches of consumer protection law and if UKPS and Moorside Legal persist, both firms will be reported to the Competition and Markets Authority who this week warned the parking sector that one investigation has been opened and more are likely to follow, in cases demonstrating illegality. The Joint Code of Practice is a self-serving triviality and irrelevant in cases where consumer protection laws have been broken.

Bixer

Perfect, thanks so much for the detailed information. Whatever the outcome here I feel like I owe you a pint (at least!) for all the incredibly detailed help on this part of the site, I'd have been absolutely clueless as to how to approach all of this otherwise.

As others elsewhere have suggested I received an auto-reply via email from Moorside saying that their inbox is not monitored (what's the f#!@ing point of having one then!), so I was able to register via their portal (only needed my surname which they already have) and copy and paste the same reply into a dispute box there.

It said 'we'll be in touch', but just to check do I need to be particularly bothered if I don't hear back from them at all? Or is a court claim the next step regardless? I mean, assuming they don't drop it that is. I'm just very aware that these are all a bunch of cowboys and I don't want to ever have to rely on their word for whether or not they did or did not receive anything!

Coupon-mad

I'm more of a white wine lass! 👩🏻‍🦰

I'd suggest you send an email to the CMA this month anyway as you have evidence of rogue conduct by UKPS.

Identify their full company name and number to the CMA and read this:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82075818#Comment_82075818

…then read the CMA's published Open Letters, to see what they said and what evidence you can send the CMA, so they might investigate UKPS!

The fact your evidence isn't about ECP doesn't matter. The Open Letter to PPCs warns them that's only the first one!

Bixer

White wine it is!

Good idea, I'll draft up an email to the CMA today. I'm amazed stuff like this has been able to go on (relatively) unchallenged for so long. It's quite literally racketeering. I'm stubborn enough to keep telling them where to go, but I just feel sorry for all the vulnerable people over the years who have immediately caved and paid these bullies hundreds of pounds despite doing nothing wrong.