NPS parking charge handed to DCBL

[poppydog3]

Where to start... I really need some advice

 

On the 3rd March this year I parked my car in what turned out to be a private car park, which was right next to a road that had parking bays and local authority ticket machines. I purchased a LA ticket thinking it covered me in the space I was parked in and then returned a couple of hours later to an NPS parking charge affixed to my window.

 

The signage for the private car park wasn't great and there was no barrier between the carpark and the pavement where the ticket machine was, so I took some photos and sent in an appeal to NPS (within their 14 day limit to stop the charge increasing to £100), asking them to waive the £60 charge due to the circumstances. I wasn't sure if they would buy it or not, but thought it was worth a try. I now realise that this was probably my first mistake!

 

I sent the appeal to the email address on the back of the ticket and heard nothing. Then through the post (I guess they got my address from the appeal email that they hadn't 'received' or acknowledged) I got a letter saying 28 days have passed and the £100 is now overdue. There was a different email address listed on this letter so I re-sent the appeal email to this address and asked for acknowledgment and for this to be considered as within the 14 days. No reply.

 

I also tried to call NPS but every phone number I could find went through to the payment line - at no point could I talk to a person. Several letters later I received a letter from another company that looked like some kind of debt collection agency (I forget the name but it was another 3 letter acronym starting with an H), which I found through some digging on the internet was closely related to, or part of the same company/group as NPS. This time the amount I owed had increased to £172.

 

I called them on three occasions, taking names of people I spoke to, explaining the situation - that I was waiting for my appeal to be acknowledged. To be fair the people I spoke to seemed quite sympathetic and I do know that at least one of them had written up notes on my file as a later person read it back to me. Each time they said their manager would call me back as they would need to contact NPS. No-one ever called me back.

 

The latest in this saga is that I now have a letter from DCBL called 'Notice of Debt Recovery'. They have added a further £60 to the total so I now 'owe' £232. On the back of the letter it says the phrase 'This case is not subject to High Court or Bailiff action'. What does mean exactly?

 

Now I just need to know what my best course of action is. My initial appeal has never been acknowledged - if they had written back to ne saying it had been rejected I probably would have just paid the £60 quid (reluctantly, given the circumstances). However, since then I have felt I should stand my ground - why should I pay these escalating costs when I have appealed within the time frame and repeatedly tried to resolve this, but to no avail. Also, if this did end up in court, I could evidence my attempts to resolve the situation and their complete lack of response.

 

I am worried about it affecting my credit rating or getting some kind of CCJ against me - to be honest I have enough going on without the stress and hassle of this. Is it safe to ignore the letter from DCBL or should I continue with trying to address the situation head on?

 

Any advice greatly appreciated! In some ways I wish I could go back in time and pay the £60!

Edited July 13, 2016 by honeybee13
Paras.

[BankFodder]

It will be very helpful if you would place spaces and paragraph spaces when you are presenting your story. It is extremely difficult for people who really would like to help you and support you, to read through a solid block of text on a computer screen.

[dx100uk]

Ignore them

You've been caught up in a clever spoofing exercise

 

Simply type DCBL in our search cag box in the top red toolbar and read

 

There's nowt they can do to you

And it can't harm your cra file

 

Its a speculative invoice

 

Dx

[poppydog3]

It will be very helpful if you would place spaces and paragraph spaces when you are presenting your story. It is extremely difficult for people who really would like to help you and support you, to read through a solid block of text on a computer screen.

 

Sorry - I did put spaces in but for some reason they didn't show up... I completely agree! I'll try to edit it now

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

You've gone past the 10 minute edit time so I've put some paragraphs in for you.

 

HB

[Homer67]

DCBL are not acting as Bailiffs in this case, their own paperwork states that, however that doesn't stop them relying on their intimidation tactics to try and convince you they have powers when they have none the same as any other debt collector. Ignore DCBL, the only thing you must not ignore is a letter before action or a court claim notice.

[ericsbrother]

they are paid to send scary letters off the back of being proper bailiffs.

I used to be a trained assassin but that does not mean that I am employed to shoot everyone I meet.