PRE-LEGAL DEBT COLLECTION NOTICE

SandyBeaches97

Hi all,

Ive received two(!) pre-legal debt collection notice from ZZPS on behalf of Smart Parking. 

The “offences” were both in May 2023 (insufficient paid time). I paid via cash on both occasions on an ANPR car park. I followed advise to not pay at the time and as of now August / September 2025 I have received the  two letters, and subsequently two emails. I assume they have my email address via Smart Parking who I had contacted previously to challenge (and successfully won) appeals; on these occasions I haven’t done that as I was extremely busy / stressed at the time finishing off my university studies. 

The letter stares the following:

We have been retained by SMART PARKING LIMITED to recover an outstanding debt which remains unpaid.

This is a formal notice to advise that we have been instructed to pass this account to a firm of specialist litigation solicitors to take legal action to recover the debt should this matter remain unresolved.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

If this balance is not paid, or an agreement is in place, within ten days of the date of this letter, the matter will be passed to a firm of solicitors who will contact you without delay. They have been ordered to issue you with a Letter pa Claim' in line with the Civil Procedure Rules - Pre-Action Protocols, which is the start of the litigation process.

IMPORTANT

This is your final opportunity to clear this account before there is an escalation in recovery action. Details are contained overleaf for external advice and how to pay. If the account progresses as described, you will have to deal with the law firm appointed.

Looking for some advise with how to proceed. Don’t want to pay £340 out if avoidable but similarly don’t want to end up in court and effect credit ratings etc either. I was under the impression these sort of things were time barred, in which case are they chancing their arm with one last throw of the dice?

Thanks in advanced 

Umkomaas

Please read the NEWBIES FAQ Announcement, fourth post, so you can get a handle on what debt collectors are, their (lack of) power and how to deal with their letters. 

If Smart Parking decide to sue and you receive a Letter Of/Before Claim from their solicitors, or a County Court Claim via the Northampton CNBC, come back to this thread for further advice. To get ahead of the curve, you could prepare yourself with a bit of gentle reading of the NEWBIES FAQ Announcement, second post, and the Template Defence Announcement, both situated near the top of the forum thread list. 

Coupon-mad

This'll be easy. Read around the forum: every other court claim thread is about Smart! 

SandyBeaches97

Thanks both, an awful lot of information to digest and was just after a pointer in the right direction as to what / if anything to do or respond at this stage 

Coupon-mad

It's not a lot of info. We've signposted you to read two things so you have your pointers.

SandyBeaches97

Working my way through it, thank you! For clarity, can you confirm in your experience if a PRE-LEGAL DEBT COLLECTION NOTICE is the same as Letter of/before Claim? Thanks 

Coupon-mad

No it isn't but the letter tells you that, under WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

SandyBeaches97

Thank you, I will take the advise in post 4 and continue to ignore for now. Thank you for your patience and sign posting! 

Coupon-mad

SandyBeaches97 said:

Thank you, I will take the advise in post 4 and continue to ignore for now. Thank you for your patience and sign posting! 

Please do the government's Public Consultation. We need every poster to complete this vital survey before the deadline.

See this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6617396/parking-code-of-practice-consultation-now-extended-closes-friday-26th-september/p1

We understand that you may need some pointers. It looks laborious, we get that. It doesn't matter; no knowledge is needed except re your own experiences so you can call out a scam industry and you'll protect millions of motorists and help change the law. 

I've written some guidance to help focus new posters on the issues. I've covered almost every question, providing ideas if you agree with our stance on things like DRFs, which we say must be banned.

Ordinary people like you are falling victim to this scam 15 million times per annum. Motorists need your voice added please.

CLOSES ON FRIDAY 26th SEPTEMBER.