Manchester Airport Drop off fine

lanenaluna

Hi. Im hoping someone could please help in anyway. 

Last month I got dropped off at Manchester airport drop off which lasted less than 2 minutes (I was catching a very last minute flight due to my uncle dying and needing to be with family) it was around 2am in the morning and through emotions as you can imagine I didn't even realise you had to pay for drop off (ive not been to Manchester airport before) my partner dropped me off and like I say it was less than 2 minutes and he drove off etc 
Fast forward to today we've received a debt collectors letter saying we owe £170 however never received the "first letter" and yes logbook is all up to date with address etc. 

What are my options. I've seen a couple of threads with people suggestions but to be honest I'm not clued up with it all, I just see debt collectors and instantly panic with their threats! I haven't contacted them or done anything as of yet. 

I saw someone say to another user how could they have missed the signs stating the charges etc but we honestly never saw them and through the tears I wasn't paying much attention. I'm really p***ed that something took less than 2 minutes is now going to cost me £170! 

Really appreciate any advice offered! 

Gr1pr

Its not going to cost you a penny, because you wont be paying 

Its not a fine either,  it's just an invoice from a private parking company 

Put a complaint in to Apcoa stating that you as keeper have never received an NTK PCN letter and to reissue it 

Regardless,  ignore the powerless debt collectors letters,  they cannot do anything to you, so nothing to be worried about 

Do not reveal who was driving and do not discuss the circumstances or incident itself,  no comment   !

No need to worry about it,  we will help you through this 

lanenaluna

GR1PR Thank you for your response!! I honestly don't know much of how it all works or the stance legally. The fact they've said we have ignored the first letter is a joke seeing as it clearly was never sent (the car has been at this address since it was purchased) 

So I should write a complaint to Apcoa (which upon checking the debt collectors letter is the company) and ask for the original that they alleged they sent?

Can the debt collectors take it further with court and such?. We have never been in this position before so we really are clueless on this topic! 

Again thank you for your help!

ChirpyChicken

No DRP should be ignored in full.

Gr1pr

Debt collectors cannot take it to a court,  only the private parking company 

Ignore the powerless debt collectors,  especially DRP or DCBL 

We know that you know nothing about it,  thats why you asked on here 

lanenaluna

Yes it is DRP - Ok feel a lot less anxious now - Thank you again! 

Umkomaas

Only APCOA could take you to court, not DRP. I've advised regularly on this forum for over a decade, and I've never seen APCOA take anyone to court. Neither have any of the other regular advisers.  They simply don't 'do court'. On top of that there are issues relating to their relationship as an agent with Manchester Airport re their entitlement to litigate, even if they wanted to. 

The bottom line is, they're never going anywhere near a court claim for any cases at MAN, meaning they're not going to bother you (or anyone else at the airport), and you can forget this ..... and sleep easy. 

Coupon-mad

lanenaluna said:

Yes it is DRP - Ok feel a lot less anxious now - Thank you again! 

Ignore £170 debt recovery letters which are shown in pictures in post 4 of the NEWBIES thread. Take a look! Top of the forum.

Still unsure that we are right about ignoring DR Plus? Just click on the little red 'MSE link' in the small 'Parking Ticket Appeals' banner at the top of this page which leads to the MSE Guide to fight PCNs.

Same info is shown in both this forum and in that Guide, as regards the debt recovery letters being a futile stage and risk-free.

Consistent advice here is easy to find and not just from random strangers. The MSE Guide is official 'Martin Lewis backed' advice.

You could send a complaint to APCOA that they never sent a PCN and force them to show it to you (and reset the case to appeal to POPLA) or you'll report them to the BPA.

Car1980

Why send out a demand for £60 when you can just wait and send one out for £170?

Most people just think "damn, I must have missed the first one" and will just pay up.