Alright, thank you I will just accept the loss and call it experience. Thanks for all your help!

Thank you for the advice, I won't do it.

Thank you. So, in other words, anything I try is likely to fail, right? What about the lack of notice that my car was removed? There is nothing to be done about this? Even the agent admitted that she did not leave a notice to me. This doesn't look like the correct procedure to me. Also, how often do they 'forget' to send the notice of enforcement? I am sure I did not receive it. How can I get them to provide proof that they have sent it? It is just a shame that everything seems rigged for you to lose. That's how I feel right now. I did something wrong first by parking illegally, then ignoring (even if unwillingly) the notices they claimed to have sent, and I paid for that mistake. But if they do something wrong, nothing happens. Even if there is a way to make them pay, it is so difficult that most people just give up, I know I will probably swallow this and let it go. Put it down to experience. The fact that I spoke to the council and explained my stressful situation, including about my brother's death, and they had little sympathy, quickly dismissing me. I understand that they could not do anything about it, but I expected a little more empathy. It is frustrating, they are taking people's stuff, you know? Even if they do really own this money, this is not casual stuff. You have to be aware that you are taking something that the debtor has worked hard to acquire. Not only the car is worth several times more than the debt, there's also the personal value: it is MINE! I worked hard to have it. If they are coming to take it from me, at least do it the proper way and treat me with respect. But no, the agent noticed I wasn't home and as she could probably see the number of letters uncollected from the mailbox (none of which were theirs, by the way), she realised that I was away for a few days and was likely not to come back in a while. Instead of being sympathetic and leaving a notice, no, she just took my car, knowing that I would take a while to find out and by then the debt would have risen considerably. This is disgusting. I did not provide a WS and paid the price. They might not have given me a Notice of Enforcement and definitely did not give me any notice after taking my car, no inventory of stuff taken, etc. But guess who's the only one who gets penalised for their mistake?? Not Marston... Anyway, I am sorry for the rant, I guess I needed to get it off my chest. I will just swallow this cost, take a few months to recover from it, but that's fine, life goes on. Thank you for your help! I appreciate you guys taking the time to help me.

Thanks for all the replies, I have some updates: Update 1: I have now paid £878 to get my car released using my credit card. Can I reclaim it? Maybe using chargeback? I am sure I have not received any letters from Marston. Update 2: The Council has responded to my complaint, they sent their reply from a no-reply address and provided no address for response, I can't believe this is considered a proper way of communicating, they were very quick to dismiss my claims and provided no means for me to reply to their email. Anyway, I am copying the email in full here, with my comments in red: Any comments on this? Again, I appreciate all the help.

Thanks for your honesty about my chances. Those are some impressive numbers, it surely attests to your skills. But what about the lack of communication from them? Doesn't it make the whole incident illegal and therefore invalid? If so, how to challenge this? is this what the OOT is for? Someone else has said that if they didn't serve a written notice and an inventory, then they are in breach of the Courts and Enforcement Act, is that correct info?

@Bailiff Advice Thanks for your very informative answer. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to pay the debt now, especially at this huge amount. Do you think it's worth submitting and OOT? Apart from that, Marston claimed to have sent a Notice of Enforcement on the 9th of July, which I really did not receive. there was no notice on my mailbox that my car was taken, hence why I called the police, I had no idea that I have had this case with Marstons. When I asked Marstons about it, they said that this the agent couldn't get through the communal doors. This is not true because 2 of my neighbours told me that they saw HER (how else would I know that the agent was a woman?) banging on my door and shouting my name in the early hours of the morning. So she did get in, just didn't bother to leave a note, this can't be right. I feel that there was not enough effort in trying to contact me. I mean, if you're gonna take my car, at least have the decency of telling me, if there is a need to do it in secret, then they are no different than a common thief. What do you think my next step should be apart from submitting an OOT? Or is that the way to go. It's sad that you mentioned this won't get my car back.

Hi, Thanks for your reply, I didn't move, it is still the same address as when the PCN was issued. I found one of the 4 letters that they claimed to have sent, but as I explained, I have received it right during the chaos of my little brother's death last October, I must have completely missed, it was open so I have definitely seen it, but I have no recollection of this.

Thanks for your reply. Exactly. There was no communication at all from Marstons. Hence why I panicked and called Police straight away thinking my car was stolen. Had I received anything from Marstons, I would have guessed immediately that they could have taken it and called them first.

Hi, I have been away for a few days when I came back yesterday, I noticed my car was gone. I obviously freaked out and called Police who advised me to call TRACE, I did it and there was no entry on their database about my car. There was no letter, or phone call, email, SMS or anything to let me know that my car was taken by Marston. Not a single notice. For all I knew, my car was stolen. I then called Police back, and they were able to find out that Marstons took my car. I called them immediately and was told that it was due to a PCN issued last year by Kensington and Chelsea council. I have no recollection of ever receiving a PCN there, but I have been to the Chelsea Hospital to support a friend who was 9 months pregnant and feeling contractions. The address and date matches, so it must have been that, there was no PCN on my windscreen, though. I then told them that I have never received any letter from Marstons regarding this, neither before they took the car, nor after. Their reply was that they didn't need to do that because the Council have done it already, and they were given the warrant to control the vehicle, so they went ahead and did that. They said that the Council has sent me 4 letters asking for payment. After speaking to Marstons, I decided to comb my old letters to see if I find any communication from the Council and I found only 1 letter. Sent in October last year, exactly 3 days after my younger brother died, so it must have gone unnoticed by me during that emotional storm. I have sent an email to the Council saying the same thing I wrote above. Got a reply saying they have forwarded it to the Parking team and they will reply in due course, whenever that is. Marston is now preparing the car to be auctioned unless I pay over £600 to recover it. Are they correct when they say they did not need to send me any notice? It doesn't look right to me. I want to pay the PCN, however, I cannot afford to pay what they are asking. I guess the council can intervene but I am not counting on it. There must be a way out of this? Best regards.