Hi there everyone, Received another letter last week from ccscollect.co.uk Debt Collectors (from same address as previous 2 letters). They have given me 72 hour notice of home visit. They say one of their collectors will visit me at home to - Obtain payment or agree a payment arrangement - Investigate your home situation prior to commencing court action They also say that my account will not be overlooked or forgotten and that they intend to resolve the matter to their client's satisfaction. The letter was dated 4/12/09 and so far no one has turned up. I assume this is part of the normal process, and other than my first appeal (before I saw your website) I have ignored all letters. If someone does actually turn up on the doorstep what is my best course of action? Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks everyone, I will take great pleasure in ignoring them! It will save me a lot of time and stamps! Will let you know what happens.

Thanks, I will definitely let everyone know how it goes, as I think it important people do report back what happened to them. It may then give others confidence to stand up to these companies.

Hi there, Re my earlier posts in September. I chose to take your advice and not pay up. I have now received a further letter from Valley Enforcement upping the charge to £130. Their letter refers to a parking charge and does look very official eg Bank Giro payment slip, reference to DVAL and Information Commission should I wish to complain about data used inappropriately. Registered company no etc. Has anyone had dealings with this particular company? I would like to know what I am in for! I was proposing to send them the letter for those that had already had their appeal rejected ie " Re your letter Since I wrote to you I have been doing some research. I now understand that your "parking ticket" purported to have been issued with the force of the law behind it. I now believe this not to be the case. Would you please advise me what statute(s) and /or judicial precedent enable you to enforce this penalty against me. In the meantime, I absolutely deny the amount claimed, or any amount at all, is due to you from me." Should I also add the paragraph about not accepting the increased debt? Any further advice welcome. I would feel a lot happier knowing how others had got on with this company, as no other posts seem to refer to them. Many thanks

Ok, everyone has convinced me not to be a wimp, they can whistle for their money! I was robbed once (my son's bike) so am not about to get robbed twice. They can take me to court if they want! Will be in touch, if I need any more help. PS, my niece's boyfriend is not a moron. My niece said it wasn't his area of expertise, so I think they were more her thoughts not his!

I guess I could use the 'unfair punishment /punishment too harsh" defence. The supply of 'free service' one, am not sure about, as the car park was only free for the first 90 minutes, had I intended to stay longer (which I didn't) a charge would have been payable - could they argue that they could not tell whether I had outstayed the 90 minutes or not?

Hi there, My niece, who is going out with a solicitor, reckons that I have no defence, given that, if they take me to court, they have a letter from me admitting that I was driving and that the ticket had fallen on the floor of the car - hence can't use the 'not the driver' card. Sometimes telling the truth obviously does not pay! Also, she says that not reading the sign is no defence, as the signs are there to be read and, as with insurance policies, etc you have to read the "small print". She also says if they won in court I would have to pay their costs too although she also reckons they may not bother to get that far. So far I have not seen any blogs from people saying they have been successful with this approach. Are there any out there? Has anyone been taken to court and won or lost?

Dear Crem Yes, it would have delighted me also to take back my son's birthday present to Argos - unfortunately, it was an IPOD and is not covered by their 30 refund guarantee unless it is faulty, so I'm stuffed on that one. The manager in Argos was sympathetic, but said it was the landlord who employed the parking enforcement company and they could do nothing about it. She did also say the parking patrol man was on commission - he probably saw my open window and knew exactly what had happened - I hope the same happens to him one day! I wonder if enough people threatened to boycott those shops, the landlord might think again about employing these people. I would like to organise a petition but am not sure how to go about it and who exactly to petition!

Thanks for your prompt reply. Just went to Citizens Advice Bureau - they said I could pay first and then appeal, but I suspect I will never see my money again if I do that. They also said I could try writing directly to the landlord. Do you know if anyone has tried and succeeded with either of these approaches? Also has anyone had any dealings with Valley Enforcement Ltd - their website did look very above-board and they say they are a British Parking Association member. Thanks

Hi can anyone help? I received my first private parking fine last week. I had gone to a retail park to buy my son's birthday present, obtained a free 90 minute parking ticket from the machine and displayed on my dash board. It was a hot day and I had forgotten to close my passenger window when I left my car and inevitably the ticket had blown on to the floor. I received a £100 parking ticket (reduced to £70 if paid within a certain time). I was very upset by this, and immediately appealed providing a copy of my ticket showing time obtained 13.04, a copy of my Argos receipt showing my purchase at 13.09 (time obviously was needed to collect item) and a copy of their fine given at 13.11. Unfortunately, I did this before I found your website and of course my appeal was denied. Their (Valley Enforcement Ltd) letter stated: "Parking at this site is only for vehicles that are parked in accordance with the instructions, as detailed on signage on site. This signage is clear, in excess of industry standards and clearly details any charges that may be imposed should these restrictions be breached. At this site vehicles may only be parked in designated areas, with a valid ticket clearly on display. You were not clearly displaying a valid free 90 minute ticket and I therefore uphold our operatives decision to issue this parking charge notice. We will not consider the matter closed until we have received your payment of £100 to reach us by 18/10/09 reduced to £70 if received in our office by 18/09/09. Please note we have extended the deadline for paying the lower amount." I feel this is totally out of order, I spent £160 in the shop mentioned, had no reason whatsoever to not display a free ticket as it was just a short shopping trip and so I did not need anywhere near 90 minutes. I feel that I am being punished for forgetting to wind up my window and who hasn't done that at some point! At the time I left my car, the ticket was clearly displayed. Am I to be held responsible for something which happened in my absence? When a similar situation arose in a Local Authority car park when my ticket flipped on a windy day, my appeal was accepted. Why can't they issue tickets which stick to your windscreen? Can anyone advise what to do, given that my appeal letter did admit that the ticket had blown on to the floor (I merely told the truth). If this does go to court, could I receive a CCJ and would any of this affect my credit rating. I really do not want to pay this on principle but have to know possible consequences. The week before my younger son's brand new bicycle and his friend's were stolen from our shed/back garden while I was in the house. The police did no investigation whatsoever and those criminals have got away scot free - why is it that decent law abiding citizens are the one's getting punished?!!! Please help a stressed out mum whose faith in human nature has been badly shaken.