Parking Ticket from Afar

[richard_b]

Hello folks,

I have recently received a letter from our friends The UK Parking Enforcement Agency requiring me to pay the sum of £85 within 7 days of the letter (which I have unfortunately missed at this stage). The date and time of the alleged offence, however, place me at Aston University, Birmingham on 3rd August. I found this strange at first as couldn't remember being in Birmingham since I graduated (20/07). I found it even stranger when I realised that at the time of the offence I was actually on a train to London and my car was at home, 34 miles away from university.

I have had tickets whilst at university so they undoubtedly have my details but I was defintely not in Birmingham at that time.

I emailed them two days after receiving the letter and did not get a reply. I have sent a letter today (09/10) asking for a copy of the ticket stating I was not in Birmingham by special delivery (but obv won't be there until Thurs due to PO strike!).

I don't have the train ticket but I paid for it by credit card so the record of it will be available.

What action is suggested next?

Should I inform the DVLA that they are either re-using my details or the worse case scenario that someone is using my number plates?

By failing to comply with the notice I am threatened with increased costs of £135 and court action.

[Bernie_the_Bolt]

The ticket is not the big issue at the moment. The big issue is that your car may have been "cloned". I would suggest you report this pronto.

[Esio Trot]

Originally Posted by Bernie_the_Bolt

The ticket is not the big issue at the moment. The big issue is that your car may have been "cloned". I would suggest you report this pronto.

Quite.

I was in a motor factors some weeks ago. In the queue was a chap who asked for "yellow reflective film, similar to what is used on number plates - I want to make up a warning sign". "Certainly" says the assistant. He bought 10. Next in the queue was a chap who had on him an assortment of sticky-backed letters and numbers from a rack -at least a good few dozen. These were sold without question.

Apparently, if you buy the component parts of a number plate, you don't have to have a v5. Were these chaps connected and buying the bits to be used for cloning?

[richard_b]

Update:

I have been in touch with the university and they have no record of my vehicle having received a ticket at the time given on the letter. The location is "Aston University Campus" though, so surely they would be the ones who had issued it? They weren't.

This is very frustrating now as I've had the next letter from Parkforce through saying I now owe £135 and that if I don't pay in 14 days I will be taken to court.

I haven't heard from them regarding a copy of the ticket but I have checked and it has been delivered. I am now going to email them asking for confirmation they are dealing with my request and also to tell them I am not on the university's computers.

Any thoughts on the situation?

[Barnsley Boy]

Statement of the obvious,This is a private ticket? Not from council or bodies with by-law powers [Universities don't qualify]Read the sticky at the top of the forum. Parking Parking Tickets are effectively unenforceable. The threats are 999 times out of a 1000 all bluff and bluster. In the very very unlikely event of you being taken to County Court, the damages that can be recovered are nominal, nothing like what is being claimed.