SmartParking PCN - have ticket but incorrect reg

anon_i_mouse

My,father in his 90s, parked in a SmartParking managed car park with ANPR cameras.  This was August 2023.  He bought (and kept) a parking ticket.  He received a PCN which stated he had overstayed and couldn't understand this as he'd bought a valid ticket for 2 hours (stay was for 40 minutes).  He assumed this was simply because the time on the ticket was a few minutes after entry and hadn't allowed for him to purchase and return to car.  He says, early on, he appealed online on their portal and sent an image of the ticket, although has no evidence of that.  He subsequently ignored all correspondence and has now had a 'Final Notice',  some two years later.  When he asked me to read all the letters I noticed that his parking ticket stub had only his partial number plate, i.e. YYnnXXX - he put the XXX bit in only!  I guess that would explain the PCN, i.e. a mismatch between ANPR and ticket purchased.  Question is  - is it too late to appeal?  Should he pay the £170 charge or continue to ignore?  I'd be concerned for him if this went to a CCJ
Any guidance gratefully received.

Car1980

To receive a CCJ he'd have to ignore the court claim letter OR defend AND it goes to a hearing AND he lost AND he still didn't pay after 28 days.

And, no disrespect, once you reach such a grand age a CCJ would have pretty much zero impact anyway.

But, in the real world, Smart Parking use DCB Legal and simply discontinue court claims after a few months. They'd lose a lot of money travelling around the country trying to attend 500 court claims every week!

Too late to appeal, but there isn't a genuine appeals process anyway. County court IS the only fair arbitration. But it'll be discontinued anyway.

Carry on ignoring and look out for a Letter Before Claim from DCB Legal. Then you know to keep an eye out for the court claim letter, which you can defend using the standard template.

Alternatively, you could always email DCB Legal and tell them the person they are chasing is 90 years old, no longer drives and is vulnerable. We have seen them stop claims in such circumstances, perhaps thinking of the bad PR if you went to a local paper.

1505grandad

"When he asked me to read all the letters I noticed that his parking ticket stub had only his partial number plate,...."

A heads-up  -  it is possible that the whole VRM was input but the machine missed the the missing bits  -  many examples of this happening

Coupon-mad

He didn't put that in. The machine did it.

Appeal as him but give YOUR postal address & email (as if they are his).

NOT YOUR NAME, NOT YOU ON BEHALF OF HIM). Attach proof of the ticket and point out the Code of Practice rule about a keying error.

anon_i_mouse

Thanks for all the responses - appreciated! 

I've visited my Dad to day to talk through the suggestions AND to check his email history as he claimed he'd appealed and I would have expected a response to such.  He had in fact received an email from SmartParking back in Nov23 which stated:
"We would like to clarify that the PCN has been issued due to the fact that the incorrect vehicle registration mark (VRM) has been entered when making payment for parking. In instances like this, the BPA Code of Practice stipulates that a reduced amount is offered. Therefore, there is the option to pay the charge at a reduced amount of £20.00 until 21/12/2023. If the reduced fee is not paid by the aforementioned date, the PCN will revert back to the amount outstanding at the point of appeal."

I'm not sure, and he isn't either, why he didn't settle at this point. 
So, given smartparking knew this was the issue, pointed it out and offered the reduced amount to settle I feel that any appeal based on the ticket stub would be fruitless.  

The last letter received was 'Final Notice of Debt Recovery'.  
@Car1980 - you say "Smart Parking use DCB Legal and simply discontinue court claims after a few months" - is this just a case of more threatening letters that just stop or is there a defence that has to be built?  I feel he's losing the spirit to fight this one and may opt to pay.  Just want to make sure he's as clear as can be with the options.
Once again, thanks for the help.

kryten3000

anon_i_mouse said:

Thanks for all the responses - appreciated! 

@Car1980 - you say "Smart Parking use DCB Legal and simply discontinue court claims after a few months" - is this just a case of more threatening letters that just stop or is there a defence that has to be built?  I feel he's losing the spirit to fight this one and may opt to pay.  Just want to make sure he's as clear as can be with the options.
Once again, thanks for the help.

DCB Legal will issue a claim in the name of Smart Parking.  This will almost certainly be discontinued if defended.
Please don't pay the outrageous scam, there is plenty of opportunity to settle for a lower sum than any claim and if you see it through then they'll get nothing.

The £20 admin fee to cancel a keying error is in itself part of the scam as it more than covers their costs.  We have examples of motorists who won in court when they had input their car make or model instead of the registration number.  In short, parking was paid for and the company suffered no loss as a consequence.

Do what @Coupon-mad said and give DCB Legal your address for correspondence - that takes your father out of the process, you can respond to a claim and file a defence without his input.  Just tell him you'll deal with it and not to worry.

Coupon-mad

He won't pay. Good people don't pay scams. Stop that happening now:

Do what I said so you get the letters at your house and can copy & paste the EASY template defence when the time comes.

Tell him you are handling it and he'll hear no more. And he won't, because DCB Legal always discontinue before they have to pay a hearing fee. Very simple. See the 670+ examples. Easier than any appeal:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81696942/#Comment_81696942