dca chasing traffic offence in hire car that was not me

[hog-man80]

I am being sent letters from a debt recovery company,

the company are acting on behalf of Europcar, who last year sent me a bill, for an alleged traffic offence committed in London, in one of their hire cars.

 

I wrote to them last year, about June time, and told them they were mistaken,

as I have never hired a car from them, and I could prove I was at work in Beccles, Suffolk, at the time of the alleged offence.

 

After a couple of phone calls to Europcar, they told me to send a letter outlining the facts, which I did, and that would be the end of it.

 

Today I have received two letters the same, from a Scottish debt collector,

saying I have ignored correspondence, and I must contact them within 7 days, or face further action.

 

Do I ignore this, or make contact, or do I need a brief,

I'm getting this hassle through no fault of my own.

 

Regards Paul

[dx100uk]

no dca has any legal powers

 

fleecing exercise / phishing trip

 

ignore

 

dx

[silverfox1961]

Hi

The fact you say you can prove you were working in Beccles at the time should give you some idea of what you ought to do but it all depends if you feel intimidated or not.

 

Personally, I would ignore the letter. If they were to send a Letter before Action to you. That is the time to respond.

 

I'm hoping you are going to say the DCA is Muck Hall

[dx100uk]

ofcourse we maybe need to clarify that the OP is not calling a sherrif's officer a DCA

 

 

as its scotland?

 

we need the name of the DCA please incase you are calling a bailiff/sherriffs officer a dca by mistake

 

dx

[hog-man80]

The DCA is, JB debt recovery, Head office, 176 Bath street, Glasgow, G2 4HG.

 

Paul.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

I have used Europe and they record

the hirers driving licence no. on the

hire agreement so there is some

discrepancy here.

This is done for the purpose of tracing

a hirer caught speeding on camera,bus

lane offences etc.

[hog-man80]

I did go into my local police station for advice, but they did'nt seem interested.

 

Paul

[dx100uk]

god not them

thought they'd died years ago

 

def a phishing trip!!

 

ignore them

 

dx

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Any chance of misuse of your DL here???

[hog-man80]

Have you had dealings with these phishers.

 

Paul.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

JB are well known.

You need I think to contact

the hire company they will

have on record the DL number

of the hirer of the reported car.

[hog-man80]

I still have the paper work from Europcar, Alamo is also named at the top of the letter, there is an account number, reference, rental agreement, vehicle reg, but no license number.

 

Paul.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

It will on their copy.

Is this the paperwork

supplied when the first

claimed for the offence?

[hog-man80]

Yes, also included was a copy of the ticket issued by the London authority. And a credit card number, but not mine.

 

Paul.

[silverfox1961]

You know, I would be inclined to check my credit file just to make sure my identity hasn't been stolen

[hog-man80]

How do I do that, I have no credit outstanding, and only use a credit card occasionally.

 

Paul

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Agreed, you must also make a formal complaint

to Europecar.

Send any evidence you have of your whereabouts

on the day of the offence.

There should be hirers details on the documents

as well.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

How do I do that, I have no credit outstanding, and only use a credit card occasionally.

 

Paul

Credit files show all credit agreements,

use Experian or Equifax on line both

have free 30 day trials, just remember

to cancel as sonn as you have the report.

[unclebulgaria67]

What was the traffic offence ? Parking ticket, speeding fine with camera picture of car, non payment of congestion charge.

 

If I were being accused of something like this and I was innocent, I would get in touch with the people that issued the offence notice. This would sort it out a lot quicker than going via Europcar.

[theghost]

Chances are your letter didn't make it to Eurocar or they haven't processed it.

 

The logical thing to do is call up Eurocar and ask wheat is going on.

 

There is probably no point calling up the department that issued the fine as they will have fined Eurocar. Eurocar then have a contract with whoever the driver is to get the money back from them. Obviously as you are not the driver you need get this message to Eurocar.

 

I would contract Eurocar and tell them there is a mistake and to call off the DCA. If the DCA keeps contacting you tell them there is a dispute over this debt.

[hog-man80]

It was a penalty charge notice, there are two copied photos showing a reg number, from the front and back, but I cant make out a car profile.

 

Paul

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

All the above has already been suggested.

[unclebulgaria67]

It was a penalty charge notice, there are two copied photos showing a reg number, from the front and back, but I cant make out a car profile.

 

Paul

 

The car obviously belonged to Europcar and you have never hired from them, so I am not sure how they have your details. Thinking about it again, Ghost is probably right, that it is not worth contacting the London Authority, as Europcar have not disputed it was one of their cars. It is just who the driver/hirer of the car was and this is up to Europcar to look into.

[hog-man80]

As I said earlier, I sent Europcar a letter to confirm that I was not the driver, and as one of the posts suggests that the letter may not have arrived. I cant remember if I sent it recorded or not.

 

Paul.

[hog-man80]

Many thanks to all posts, this did worry me at first, but I feel much better now.

 

Regards Paul.