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ZZPS Debt Collection Notice

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Aberdeen89
Aberdeen89 Posts: 5 Forumite
edited 23 April 2018 at 3:11PM in Parking tickets, fines & parking
Good Morning,

I'm new on here and would like some information/advice on a debt notice I have received.
Back in 2015 the driver overstayed a parking at my local garden centre and not even realise there was a limit as often go for lunch with friends. None of them knew either. After contacting the garden centre back in 2015, I was informed (by a friend who no longer works there) that the parking is owned privately and that they do have a few small notice up around the car park advising this. They also said it is not like a normal parking ticket and that they have no real authority to get the money off me. The letter was ignore and that was the last I heard of it until last week. I received a Debt Collection Notice for £200 from ZZPS on behald of Civil Enforcement Ltd informing me that they no have the power to take me to court if I chose to ignore or refuse to pay the fine. I contacted the garden centre by email to make sure I had something in writing and they informed me that they tried to contact the private company to cancel the fine however they have been told because of the time scale on the fine, it is outwith their hands and has been passed to ZZPS to deal with.

I am a nursing student and I am really upset on the amount they are demanding and the fact that I spend quite a bit of money at the garden centre as its a favourite. I have contacted citizens advice who informed me I have two options; to pay or ignore but by ignoring I can be taken to court. I don't really know what to do anymore and it's really worrying me.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks
K
«1345

Comments

  • Quentin
    Quentin Posts: 40,405 Forumite
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    Everyone is politely asked to read up on this in the Newbies FAQ thread near the top of the forum before starting a new thread

    Go there now to learn about the game you are now caught up in.

    You are in the debt collectors stage.

    Ignore everything now except a lbcca or Court correspondence

    If you do get those then come back at that time for advice on how to deal with this.

    Throughout here you are advised never to reveal who was driving

    You need to edit your post to remove details of who was driving
  • fisherjim
    fisherjim Posts: 6,036 Forumite
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    edited 16 April 2018 at 8:52AM
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    You and your friend are sadly ill informed Private parking companies like any company or individual can try court to recover a debt.

    This is not a fine, Civil Enforcement (a name designed to scare you) will not own the car park, the advice to ignore changed in 2012, the garden centre can call off their useless scamming contractor if they want to.

    Debt collectors can't do anything but try to scare you, they are on a no win no fee contract and will eventually give up, both they and private parking companies are greedy useless scammers.

    Follow quentin's advice and read up on this CAB are useless with private parking tickets don't follow their advice you will get much better advice on here.
  • beamerguy
    beamerguy Posts: 17,587 Forumite
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    Aberdeen89

    from your user name, are you in Scotland ??

    After you have read the newbies thread you will
    understand that ZZPS are only a powerless bunch
    of nomads which you can ignore

    CEL lied to the garden centre, such invoices can
    be cancelled at any time.

    The garden centre were very stupid to take on CEL
    as the end result for them will be lack of business

    Read up on CEL and let the garden centre see what
    they have taken on ... it's bad news for them

    http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=cel

    Warn the garden centre what CEL did to the Co-op
  • The_Deep
    The_Deep Posts: 16,830 Forumite
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    This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

    Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and another company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

    Hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned.

    The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the HofC recently.

    http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

    and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by Christmas.
    You never know how far you can go until you go too far.
  • pogofish
    pogofish Posts: 10,852 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    edited 16 April 2018 at 10:38AM
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    Post Four of the Newbies Sticky covers these jokers entirely, so you don't have to post any "Debt Collector" threads.

    Similarly, the Read This Before Posting any Debt Collector Threads also re-iterates the information.

    The Rest of the Newbies Sticky will also inform you properly about the realities of private parking in all parts of the UK - Please use it. :)

    As far as parking goes, Citizens Advice are mostly incompetent - esp in Aberdeen. They totally karked it on an open and shut case of fraud/misdirection by a PPC in the Shire a couple of years back.
  • Aberdeen89
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    I have just received a further 'Notice of intended legal action' if GBP200.00 is not paid within 14 days. I really don;t know what to do......
  • Umkomaas
    Umkomaas Posts: 41,354 Forumite
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    I really don;t know what to do......
    Well firstly, you could start answering questions that overstretched volunteers are asking for a very good reason - they are not seeking to engage in small talk with you. @beamerguy asked a question in post #4, the answer to which could be very important.

    Secondly you could do a forum search on some of the key phrases in this latest letter from DRP. Try this one as a starter:
    Notice of intended legal action
    Please note, we are not a legal advice forum. I personally don't get involved in critiquing court case Defences/Witness Statements, so unable to help on that front. Please don't ask. .

    I provide only my personal opinion, it is not a legal opinion, it is simply a personal one. I am not a lawyer.

    Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

    Private Parking Firms - Killing the High Street
  • The_Deep
    The_Deep Posts: 16,830 Forumite
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    I really don;t know what to do....

    Try reading the stickies, answering questions and putting pressure on the garden centre to get it cancelled. If they will not co-operate write bad stuff on their website comments/Facebook pages. Have you complained to your MP?
    You never know how far you can go until you go too far.
  • Coupon-mad
    Coupon-mad Posts: 131,730 Forumite
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    Just ignore debt letters.

    Whether the event was in Scotland, NI or England/Wales, CEL cannot hold a registered keeper liable because they choose not to use the POFA on their NTKs, and in Scotland that Act doesn't apply anyway, which is why this was asked:
    from your user name, are you in Scotland ??
    Was the parking event in Scotland?

    Have you kept quiet about the driver (hope so). Stop taking debt collector letters seriously!
    PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
    CLICK at the top of this/any page where it says:
    Forum Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD
  • fisherjim
    fisherjim Posts: 6,036 Forumite
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    Aberdeen89 wrote: »
    I have just received a further 'Notice of intended legal action' if GBP200.00 is not paid within 14 days. I really don;t know what to do......
    :wall::wall::wall::wall::wall:
This discussion has been closed.
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