My son is a 2nd year University student and is entitled to park in a private car park adjacent to the University

(I believe this land may be owned by the University).

Last year he was issued with a parking permit which was to be displayed on the windscreen of the car when parked in the car park.

Since the start of this term (September) he has continually asked staff at the University for his valid parking permit for this academic year

however the issuing of the permit has been slow to say the least.

On 4th December, he received a Charge Notice from Total Parking Solutions and an 'invoice' for £30.

He then contacted this company and explained that he was entitled to park in the car park but through no fault of his own,

the car was not displaying the valid permit on the day the charge was issued.

As expected, no common sense was applied and this was rejected.

I, as the registered keeper, then received a letter from TPS saying the charge had risen to £60 and demanding payment.

On 27th January, my son was given his valid and current permit for the academic year 2013/2014.

I received a further letter from TPS with large red writing across the top

- 'FINAL REMINDER - LEGAL ACTION PENDING' and demanding payment of £110.

At the end of January, an appeal was made to POPLA (Parking on Private Lands Appeals)

and my son was told the appeal would be considered on or after 5th March

and that the parking company would forward him their 'evidence' by this date.

On 6th March, he was sent an envelope from this company with no covering letter but a lot of documentation inside

which included the POPLA appeal form which he had submitted along with a copy of the valid parking permit,

2 letters from staff at the University stating that he was entitled to park in the car park

and was not in possession of a permit due to an admin error.

Also included was a copy of their original notice, photos of the car not displaying a valid permit,

a plan of the car park showing signage etc. as I stated above

- no covering letter and the only way I know it was from TPS is the fact that the envelope was stamped with their name.

On 7th March I received a letter from a debt recovery company

- Debt Recovery Plus Ltd asking for payment of £149

and if not received by 19th March then they will advise their client (TPS) to start Court proceedings.

I am very angry about the above and am determined to dig my heels in and am prepared to attend Court

- in fact I' m quite looking forward to it.

Yes, the car was not displaying the permit at the time the 'charge' was issued but the mitigating circumstances are that my son did

everything he could to get the permit in time and this is corroborated by staff at the University.

If this was a Council or Police ticket then this would have been resolved with common sense by now.

I feel that the spiralling demands could put massive pressure on some people to pay with the bullying tactics involved.

Any advice please.

Hi MLT18, Welcome to CAG.

Have you received a letter from POPLA, accepting or rejecting you sons appeal?

Thanks for responding.

No, nothing from POPLA yet

but I wonder why the anonymous paperwork on 6th March and the letter from Debt Recovery Plus on 7th March

- call me cynical but both within 2 days of the date of appeal!?

I smell a rat - maybe they (TPS) know something I don't.

Hi and welcome to CAG

I am very angry about the above and am determined to dig my heels in and am prepared to attend Court

- in fact I' m quite looking forward to it.

Hate to disappoint you but you won't be going anywhere near a court. They don't take anyone!

DR+ are the last in a chain of oh-so-threatening letters. They can recommend as much as they like. Only the university can take action as they are the landowners and they have already admitted that it was a admin error. Seems strange that the uni didn't instruct TPS to cancel the ticket though.

In other words, don't worry. This will go nowhere.

Hi Silevrfox1961, Cheers for the "Back up", and I agree

I suspect the parking co are just trying to get MLT18 to pay before the POPLA appeal is reached!!!!

Don't Pay, and enjoy Sunday . Other lagal CAGGERS will advise.

F16

After one or two more debt recovery plus letters, you will receive one or two letters from zenith recovery services. Next desk along...

But you should have received the decision from POPLA?

You need to contact POPLA and make a complaint. Depending on the response, other complaints should follow..

You have letters from the university stating that the driver could park there, so as silverfox said , this is not going near a small claims court.

silverfox1961:

Thanks for the reassurance. Can't believe that you have replied to me. I have been reading your advice to others on this site throughout the day and even tried to see if I could get in touch with you but I failed......now you're answering me!

What is your experience in this field? I hope you're right. Just a little more information for you, I have contacted the University and I spoke to a security guard - it is them who issue the tickets at the car park and I then assume the enquiry is handed over to this cowboy company TPS to do the donkey work. I was advised to write to the company and they should withdraw the charge! No such luck.

Would it be worth contacting anyone higher up in the University? What next do you think?

Thanks for your support f16. This really does help. It seems like these guys are just bullies and I can imagine that a lot of people would be very intimidated by this. Will keep you informed. Any more advice at the moment?

Don't waste you time doing anything more. It is with POPLA.

I think you should speak to someone at the uni. Check with reception who should know who deals with the parking then contact them to see what they can do. I expect TPS to be not happy if they get told to go forth but hey-that's life

armadillo71 - thanks for the support - no reply from POPLA at the moment - what should I complain to POPLA about?

Thanks to everyone for the help/advice. Will keep you posted!

Using your POPLA code chase POPLA, you need their decision before you can write this off altogether, do not under any circumstances engage with DR+ all that will do is make them hassle you when they have no power to do anything except send you threatening letters.

Thanks for that. Matter is still with POPLA and I am waiting for their reply! Will let you know ASAP.

POPLA are quite busy so expect to wait up to 2 months for a date

Just a quick update for everyone. I managed to get hold of the land owner - which was not Swansea University but the Wales National swimming pool located next door. I spoke to the director of the pool who was amazed that TPS was pursuing the matter given the circumstances. I emailed all evidence that I had collected to him and he instructed TPS to drop the matter.

I was quite prepared to go all the way with this but the intervention of the land owner stopped the bullies.

Great stuff. It matters not which way round you did it but you did it.

I will mark this thread *Ticket Cancelled*

MLT18 Congratulations........." Another Lucky Winner"

Well done for sticking to the fight.

Thanks guys for all your advice and support.