Smart Parking – No response for nearly 3 years, now solicitor letters for £170

Grazelgirl

Hi everyone,

I could really do with some advice please, as I feel completely trapped in an unfair situation with Smart Parking.

Back in November 2022, I parked at Oxenholme House Car Park in Cumbria and went to the payment machine. It made the normal confirmation noise, so I genuinely thought it had worked. I didn’t get a printed ticket (it often doesn’t issue them anyway), so I just went about my day thinking all was fine.

Weeks later, I received a Parking Charge Notice from Smart Parking. I immediately appealed online through their portal, explaining that I had paid at the machine and that I believed the fault was with their system, not me.

I heard absolutely nothing back. No appeal outcome. No POPLA code. Just silence.

Then, suddenly, after nearly three years of no contact, I’ve started receiving letters from debt collectors and solicitors (ZZPS / QDR) demanding £170. When I chased Smart Parking, they claimed they had posted a letter back in December 2022 with a POPLA code — but I never received it, and they used a “do not reply” email address so there was no way to contact them.

When I escalated it to the British Parking Association, they said they can’t intervene because Smart Parking have “now provided a copy” of their alleged response (which I still never got at the time) — even though this has taken me months of chasing just to get to this point.

I’ve since involved the DVLA, DLUHC, and even contacted my local MP (Tim Farron) and MoneySavingExpert’s news team because this whole system feels completely broken. It seems unfair that Smart Parking can simply claim they sent something three years ago and then pass it straight to solicitors with no proper appeal opportunity.

I’ve kept every email and bit of correspondence. The stress this has caused is ridiculous, and I really don’t believe I should have to pay £170 for something that wasn’t my fault in the first place.

Has anyone else dealt with Smart Parking doing this? And what should I do next — do I just ignore QDR Solicitors and wait, or should I formally respond somehow?

Thank you so much in advance,

Alexandra

Gr1pr

Thousands of victims, Smart Parking have recently started chasing up old cases 

Follow our advice here,  starting with the second post in the newbies sticky thread in announcements near the top of the forum,  same as all newbies should do

They have 6 years to sue people for outstanding invoices in England and Wales,  using the Limitations Act 1980

You are one of tens of thousands,  but no need to worry,  we help those who come here 

Bear in mind that its an unregulated industry,  so cowboy country until the government regulate it

Grazelgirl

Thanks so much for replying,  @Gr1pr — that’s really helpful to know.

I honestly can’t believe how many people this has happened to! I’ll go through the newbies sticky thread now and make sure I follow everything correctly.

It’s been such a stressful experience — especially since I never received the original appeal response or any POPLA code at the time, then got solicitor letters out of the blue years later.

I’ll read the Limitation Act info you mentioned too. I really appreciate the guidance and any further advice on what to do next with the QDR Solicitors letters — whether to respond or ignore them for now.

Thanks again for helping everyone here, it means a lot.

Gr1pr

See my reply in this QDR query 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6573597/one-parking-solution-notice-to-keeper-parking-charge#latest

These private parking companies issue around 15 to 17 million pcns per annum,  so perhaps 80 to 90 million in the last 6 years,  it's out of control 

Ps, the fact that you say that you didn't get a reply to your appeal does not mean that they didn't send it, probably by email,  so probably sat in your spam folder at the time  ( a typical scenario   ).  Non receipt is no defence,  it's your Witness Statement,  your assumption that they failed to reply,  but no evidence of it, so anecdotal 

patient_dream

YOU ARE BEING SCAMMED
ZZPS is the famous OSNER scam approved by the BPA ??

QDR is the son of WHOPLA ...... a branch of Wright Hassal solicitors who the BPA appointed as POPLA ..... A COMPLETE SHAM, some would say A SCAM

SMART PARKING recently escaped the sham of the BPA INTO the IPC/IAS, WHY ? because the IAS appeals are total rubbish.
The IAS run by a bod called Hurley favours parking companies, the members of the IPC

THE IPC/IAS MUST BE CLOSED DOWN BY GOVERNMENT, THE ATA STATUS MUST BE REMOVED AS THEY ARE NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE

QDR will be spanked in court so no doubt it will be passed to DCBL.    a A COMPLETE JOKE OF A LEGAL AND A FIRM TO PLAY A GAME WITH.......... follow the comments on here

Grazelgirl

Gr1pr said:

See my reply in this QDR query 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6573597/one-parking-solution-notice-to-keeper-parking-charge#latest

These private parking companies issue around 15 to 17 million pcns per annum,  so perhaps 80 to 90 million in the last 6 years,  it's out of control 

Ps, the fact that you say that you didn't get a reply to your appeal does not mean that they didn't send it, probably by email,  so probably sat in your spam folder at the time  ( a typical scenario   ).  Non receipt is no defence,  it's your Witness Statement,  your assumption that they failed to reply,  but no evidence of it, so anecdotal 

Thanks again, Gr1pr — that’s really helpful and I’ve just had a read through the QDR thread you linked.

Just to add a bit more detail about my situation:

I originally submitted my appeal in December 2022 through Smart Parking’s online portal (not email).

I never received any response — no letter, no POPLA code, nothing at all.

I started getting debt collector letters out of the blue this year (from ZZPS and now QDR), which is what made me chase them up.

I’ve been trying to get answers since June 2025, even involving the BPA, but Smart Parking only recently replied after months of silence.

What they finally sent was mostly unreadable screenshots, and they’ve still not provided a copy of my original appeal or allowed me to properly appeal through POPLA.

So I’ve effectively never been given the opportunity to appeal properly, despite doing everything I could to resolve it.

At this point, I just want to know if I should still ignore QDR or send a short “dispute” response to say the case is still under complaint due to the lack of appeal opportunity and Smart Parking’s delays.

Thanks again — I really appreciate your time and advice.

ChirpyChicken

Sending any response will achieve nothing
So yes you ignore

Gr1pr

Ignore them,  save your ammunition for a new target, DCB LEGAL in the future 

Dont worry about it,  Smart Parking and DCB Legal may issue a court claim against you in the future,  but with our help they will discontinue before the court hearing fee is due,  probably next year,  it's no biggie,  tens of thousands of people are victims like you,  but if they don't know who was driving then their job is even harder 

Their lack of reply and not providing paperwork will work in your favour,  regardless of the circumstances 

Grazelgirl

Gr1pr said:

Ignore them,  save your ammunition for a new target, DCB LEGAL in the future 

Dont worry about it,  Smart Parking and DCB Legal may issue a court claim against you in the future,  but with our help they will discontinue before the court hearing fee is due,  probably next year,  it's no biggie,  tens of thousands of people are victims like you,  but if they don't know who was driving then their job is even harder 

Their lack of reply and not providing paperwork will work in your favour,  regardless of the circumstances 

Thanks so much, both of you — that’s really reassuring to hear. I’ll ignore QDR completely and keep everything on file in case Smart Parking or DCB Legal try anything further down the line.

It’s honestly ridiculous how long it’s taken just to get basic answers, but it’s good to know that their lack of proper paperwork and responses will actually work in my favour if it ever goes that far.

Really appreciate the support and advice — I’ll sit tight for now and update the thread if anything new comes through.

Fruitcake

Smart Parking are now IPC AoS members. They jumped from the BPA earlier this year.

Coupon-mad

I started getting debt collector letters out of the blue this year (from ZZPS and now QDR), which is what made me chase them up.

Ignore QDR ... unless you get a claim form but experience shows that'll come in the end from DCB Legal next year.

Keep your address updated with Smart and the debt crawlers.

Why not read the 2 of 3 dozen Smart Parking DCB Legal claim threads I've collated as links in a post on page 14 of the Public Consultation thread? That's why they are there.