I've had to remove your attachment because you left your name and the PCN number showing. The PPCs spy on this forum so we don't like personal details to be posted. Please read our upload guide. However, you did the right thing coming here. This is a proper LBA and it needs to be replied to sharpish. I see Gladstones have added £60 made-up charges and have been too lazy to identify the car park properly. There must be dozens of "Damside Streets" in the UK. Please tell us what the fleecers reckon you've done wrong. Also please fill in the below, it will help us see if the PPC has been too bone idle to follow legal procedure properly, which is often the case.

You're not giving us much to go on! For a start, was it a proper fine from the council or some rubbish from a private parking company? How long ago was ages ago? Can you please upload the letter with your details redacted.

Yes, you're right, amend the SRA bit. VCS used to use solicitors, but the boss is a big man now and can lose his own court cases rather than getting solicitors to lose them for him. Address it to him on the envelope at VCS address (Simon Renshaw-Smith). And start your letter with "Dear Simple Simon". Up to you, but I'd cut out everything after "Liverpool CC Dec 2016". You've already made those points above and Simon knows full well you don't owe any money, it's just he's a greedy get and doesn't care. What you've written there would be more suitable in a Witness Statement for a court.

Manmeet, you need to start reading up and understand the legal process. Please research what a "set aside" is, then if you want to go down that road come back here and the regulars will willingly guide you through the process.

That's one way of looking at it, but on the PPC Successes thread above there are 244 motorists who have seen off these fleecers (and that is a vast underestimate, there are plenty more cases where the PPC crawled back under their stone but there is not a "moment of victory" to celebrate). No-one here would advise to move without giving your new address to anyone you are in legal dispute with. On a hell of a lot of these threads it's also emphasised that the PPCs have six years to bring legal action, and it's common for them to dust off old cases after years and try again.

Excellent stuff. If you want you could add what brassnecked suggested about the area being covered by bye-laws.

That is a reply to a LBA, things have moved on since then, now it's defence time. Use post 13 as your starting point. BTW, did the fleecers send you a formal LBA?

Are the fleecers claiming you didn't show a permit?

They have to send a Letter Before Action/Letter Before Claim/Letter Of Claim before they take you to court. If that ever turns up, then please come back here ASAP and we'll help you. While they're just getting rent-a-threats to send you toilet paper, keep on ignoring them.

Binning wasn't a great idea. However ... If someone clearly owed me money and wouldn't cough up, I'd take them to court. I wouldn't faff around getting my next-door neighbour to send a silly letter, and when that failed get my neighbour on the other side to also send a daft letter. The involvement of Zenith & SCS Law is very positive, they are non-entities who can't do anything as it's not their debt. UKPC don't seem in a hurry to do court. You've done excellently so far in ignoring them and successfully "getting out of paying", methinks a good strategy to continue.

Have changed thread title to show PPC and location

Given that "debt recovery agents" can do nothing as its not their debt, that's about as scary as writing "cough up or I'll get my cousin's toddler to stick her tongue out at you". These chancers rely on people not knowing the law - once you do know the law, it's evident they're just paper tigers.

Quickly, once your company pass on your details they are out of the loop, so no need to worry about 1. This is stated even on the fleecers' own paperwork.

Before taking someone to court they have to send a Letter Before Action. Come back here if this ever turns up. Anything before is just hot air and should be ignored. If you continue writing to them it will just encourage them to think you'll cough up. Reread post 4!

Can you please fill in the information dx asked for it post 3? It's very hard to advise if we don't know exactly what you've received and thus what stage of the legal process you're at.

Waste of time I'm afraid. It would be like writing to the Burglars' Association to request return of goods stolen in a burglary. The IPC, the IAS and the firm of solicitors that the PPCs most commonly use are all run by the same people - no conflict of interest there! In fact the reason the IPC exists is because previously the sole association the BPA had an appeals service (POPLA) which actually sometimes found for the motorist - that was too much for the worst spivs who left and set up their own crooked association. Afraid to say that there is no alternative to your daughter creating time to prepare for the case. I basically brought my son up by myself and know how difficult it is with young kids, but the court won't give a damn about that. From looking at other VCS threads Simon seems in a very litigious phase at the moment so it's best she prepares for this carefully.

I've tried to have a look on Google Street View. Am I right in thinking that KFC is part of a shopping centre? So would it be the shopping centre car park you parked in? Or have I got that wrong?!

You've put a massive amount of work into preparing the case. The only pitfall that's gone through my mind is that it will be your daughter, not you, defending the case. Some years back me & two friends were witnesses in a criminal case. It was easy to guess that the strategy of the defence lawyer would be to pretend we were the ones doing what we shouldn't. So the weekend before the case we met & tried to simulate as best we could the difficult questions we could be asked, each of us in turn pretending to be the defence. It worked a treat. The defence lawyer in reality was pathetic and the case easily went our way!

You have a month yet to get your defence in. A good draft of one is post 58 at - - but as your case is different drop point (3) and add another point about VCS having failed to identify the driver. Please post up your draft defence here later so we can tweak it before it goes in.

Remember that the only person who can make you pay this money is a judge in a court case, if it gets that far. The kangaroo courts and threatening letters are just a load of hot air. The parking companies don't really want to go to court. They're likely to lose. Even if they win, the money won't cover their expenses. That's why they try it on with all this smoke & mirrors before hoping you'll give up & cough up. If the worst comes to the worst and the thickos really are so stupid as to take you to court, of course the site members will guide you through the process. If you want some fun bedside reading have a look through the PPC Successes thread (the first on the forum page), especially the ones won at court, and see how these fleecers have been thrashed time & again. Please come back here if they do send a LBA, that is the time to take them seriously.

Can you tell us a bit more about what happened? Where you parked? What PE reckon you did wrong? The previous correspondence from them before they sued you?

What will probably happen - no guarantees but probably - is that they will send you various "scary" letters, and get debt collectors to send other "terrifying" letters. They may then give up or might send a LBA. At that point you reply to them, saying you've sussed them, you have Supremacy Of Contract, and you look forward to giving them a good kicking in court. After which they'll probably go away and hide under their stone.

Yes, part of it, Letter Before Action (sometimes called Letter Before Claim or Letter Of Claim).

They have to send you a LBA before any court claim. The next step is to ignore them (afraid to say you should have ignored them from the start rather than wasting time with kangaroo courts). You're miles from court yet, and if they are stupid enough to eventually issue court action you will smash them with Supremacy of Contract.

The rejection of your appeal changes nothing. The IAS, the IPC and the solicitors most of the PPCs use (Gladstones) are run by the same people - no conflict of interest there! The IAS were never going to accept your appeal, it is a kangaroo court which never, ever, ever accepts appeals - ever. Reread the advice everyone has given you above. You're the one legally in the right, whatever these crooks say. So sit back and relax - unless they send you a Letter Before Action, and in that case come back here.