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RJM

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  1. Update a month on from my last post: still no further correspondence from PPS or their "debt collectors", so hopefully this has blown over. I'll report back if not. Thanks to all for your support!
  2. Well, without a CCJ there's no debt, just a dispute, so I'm not concerned about debt collection agencies!
  3. Latest update: I received a threatogram a month ago, which was two weeks after the previous notice had upped the penalty to £130 (i.e. dated 17/11/14). This time, PPS threatened to "pass this debt to our legal department for consideration to bring proceedings in the County Court. We regularly use this county court process as can be seen on our website www.pps.uk.com". I ignored the letter (and the previous one), as I would be interested in seeing how this plays out in court, if it ever got that far. It's now a month since the letter, and there's been no follow-up so far.
  4. Apparently they wrote to me with a POPLA code earlier on, but the letter that they sent to me with the code and POPLA form didn't arrive (see my earlier post about this). I only found this out when they sent me a pdf copy of the letter and the POPLA form, but by then the period for POPLA had expired. I asked for a new POPLA code but they didn't provide one.
  5. No, but I wasn't expecting them to come back with an argument that defended the penalty charge in terms of realistic liquidated damages. I could imagine being in court and they present a long and realistic-looking spreadsheet showing all their ticket-checking and penalty-collecting costs, compared to the sum of all fines collected. Anyway, as I say, I am sitting tight for now and will let you know if it comes to the court. Based on previous experience, I am expecting threatograms from "debt collection" agencies now, which I will rebuff.
  6. Update: I received a letter rejecting the points of my dispute. They went to some pains to say that the penalty fee was actually a realistic estimate of liquidated damages, and that they could provide numbers to back this up. I ignored this letter. They have now sent another letter, in which they have increased the penalty to £130, which "represents their increasing costs". I am ignoring this letter too. I am somewhat nervous, because I cannot prove that I attempted to make the payment with their app, and they may be able to produce paperwork in court that shows how their "liquidated damages" costs are calculated.
  7. Thanks for the input. I am pretty sure it is not owned by the station, which has two proper car parks nearby. This is just some rough ground opposite the station. So I should sit tight and wait to see what comes through the door. Threatograms, presumably?
  8. Ok thanks for the advice. Should I send a final denial? or a cease-and-desist letter? I am not familiar with PoFA and how it might affect this. Thanks, Richard
  9. Hi all, PPS has responded quite aggressively to my communication. They did not issue a new POPLA code as requested, but instead reiterated their demand for payment. They have not given me a breakdown of their pre-estimate of loss, as requested, and have not provided computer records from RingGo as I requested. I followed the link they provided to see more information about the pre-estimate of loss, and this had scanned copies of POPLA adjudications saying, "the operator has provided a breakdown of their losses and I am satisfied that this loss is justified and flows from the appellant's breach of contract. The operator has provided a witness statement to confirm that they have the authority to issue parking charge notices at this site." I am nervous that they will now pursue me through the courts for the £100. Any advice on how to proceed? Here is the key part of the letter from PPS: The Parking Charge Notices that we issue represent liquidated and ascertained damages. When a motorist parks in breach of the Terms and Conditions of Parking, we incur a loss because incorrect parking prevents the efficient management of the car park. The amount of the Parking Charge Notice represents a genuine pre-estimate of the additional expense incurred by us as a result of this. It will be seen that the charge of £100 reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days is within the prescribed guidelines issued by the British Parking Association, our governing body. The charge is in accordance with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. You have not offered any evidence as to why the charge exceeded the appropriate amount. The genuine pre-estimation of loss set out below refers to costs that we estimated, at the time of issuing the PCN that may flow from the initial loss for this individual charge only. For further information, regarding genuine pre-estimation of loss, please visit our website pps[dot]uk[dot]com on Home Page, Newsfeed, for recent adjudications by POPLA in our favour on this point. Please forward a payment of £100 to reach us by 31/10/2014 in order to avoid Debt Recovery proceedings; incurring additional costs. Please be aware that when appealing any further the charge will not be placed on hold. Thanks in advance, Richard
  10. Yes, this is the station car part opposite the station, not the Apcoa one. I'll ask PPS for a code and for the information about RingGo and their authority to collect parking charges. Let's see how they respond. Thanks again, Richard
  11. Hi, thanks for the quick replies. I've checked the code checker and it's valid. They just didn't sent it to me (at least, it didn't arrive - and I am not in the habit of igoring post). OK I will ask them for proof of postage and a new POPLA code. I was also thinking of asking for the following evidence from them in preparation of a POPLA appeal: - Records from the RingGo system to prove that they did not receive a request from my phone. - A copy of their contract with the landowner indicating that they have the authority to give motorists the right to park. - Accounting records showing how the penalty charge is related to the loss that they incurred as a result of my parking. What do you think? @ericsbrother - you sound sceptical about POPLA. Do you recommend I don't use it? What approach do you suggest? Again - thanks for the feedback. Keep it coming! Richard
  12. Hi, I have received a PCN from PPS for parking in Didcot station car park, and I am hoping I can get some help from the forum. I have previously used the advice here to avoid penalty fees, but things seem to have changed with the introduction of POPLA and I'm now not sure of the best approach. Here's the situation: I parked, as I often have done, in Didcot station car park on 3rd July and paid using the RingGo app as usual. Or at least, it appeared to have successfully my booking. However, apparently it didn't work on this occasion and I received a PCN on my car. When I saw this, I immediately made a payment (again) using RingGo, so that the car park operator was not out of pocket and wrote to them within four days to explain the situation. I heard nothing back until two weeks ago, when I received an invoice for the increased amount (£100). I wrote back to challenge this on four points: 1. The fault was with the RingGo app, and I thought I had paid the fee on time in good faith, as I had done many times previously. 2. I immediately re-made the payment, meaning that the parking operator was not out of pocket. 3. They waited too long (two months) to follow up on this matter. 4. I wrote to them within 14 days and so, according to PPS, the penalty would be £50, not £100. (Although, as I mention above, no penalty is due, nor allowed in contract law). Yesterday, they emailed back with a pdf copy of a letter dated 23rd July rejecting my initial letter and offering the POPLA mediation service. However, this letter did not arrive at my house - I don't know whether they sent it at all, or whether there was a problem in delivery. Otherwise, I would have responded to it. Now it seems that I am too late to use POPLA, as it has been more than 28 days. My questions to the forum are now: 1. Should I use the POPLA process to progress my arguments on the points above? Or should I simply write back to repeat my rejection of their claim and call an end to the matter? 2. Is it even possible to use POPLA, as the 28 days has expired since their non-arriving letter? Does it make a difference that I didn't receive their letter? 3. Is there some other approach I should take? And do I have a good chance of winning this? Many thanks in advance for any help, Richard
  13. Hi, my wife parked in a railway car park and received a parking notice from Apcoa back on 18th May. She has received no correspondance from Apcoa at all but has now received a letter from Roxburghe Debt Collectors! From reading the information on this forum, I gather that Debt Collectors cannot take action whilst a dispute is in progress, and until a settlement has been set by a court - is this correct? Or can Apcoa appoint Roxburghe as their agent to pursue the claim (rather than collect the debt)? The amount of the "ticket amount due" is stated as £115, whereas on the ticket it stated £80. No explanation has been given for this increase! Following guidance on this forum I propose my wife sends the following letter. Any advice / comments would be welcome! Re: Your letter dated 6th July 2009 Reference abcde Dear Mr. xyz, I have received a letter from you about an alleged debt relating to an alleged parking enforcement notice on 18th May 2009. According to your letter you are acting as a debt collector under instructions from your client, Apcoa Parking Services (UK) limited. I have not received a letter from your client with regards to this alleged debt and therefore have had no opportunity to respond and dispute the debt. In the circumstances please refer this matter back to your client, who should contact me directly should they wish to pursue the matter. For the avoidance of doubt, if your client wishes to make such a claim from me I will absolutely deny that the amount claimed or any amount at all is due to them from me. Yours faithfully
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