UKC

Got a parking ticket while in Dundee. Parked somewhere where I didn't spot a sign warning of fines... oops. but is the fine enforceable? It is issued by Vehicle Control Services Ltd. Are they employed by the council? can they take me to court? and finally, is it worth the hassle of not paying for the sake of £60?

In reply to David Barratt:

2.5 seconds on Google found this http://www.vehiclecontrol.co.uk/index.html

Looks private-sector to me - lots of threads on whether to pay them or not.

In reply to rj_townsend:

Yeah, I found the company. Just not sure how enforceable it is... I'll search the existing threads. I initially assumed it was a council fine. looked nice and official!

In reply to David Barratt:

Take a look on Money Saving Expert - from memory they have examples showing which are enforceable, and which are dubious.

In reply to rj_townsend:

Thanks. had a read. I'll stick it in the bin!

In reply to David Barratt:

They are in Sheffield and depending upon how they are organised it may cost them a small fortune to pursue these in Scotland. A number of English companies threaten all manner of things via their contracts in Scotland but since they are too tight to have a proper Scottish operation, the legal costs keep tripping them up. If they are organised in Scotland and have the necessary legal support then they will pursue you. If they don't then they will probably give up unless they have dozens of tickets to pursue against you.

You appear to have registered in a real name and named the city that this was issue for. Maybe not a great idea in this case. Google is NOT your friend!

If they get stroppy and threatening all manner of things and you want to backtrack you could try sending them the sixty pounds in Francs posted in Zurich.

In reply to Jim Fraser:

Thanks. As far as I can see, using my real name would only be an issue if they were able to legally enforce anything. It appears that legal precident is on my side. I shall wait and see if they know my address.

In reply to Jim Fraser:

They won't get me!!

In reply to David Barratt:

if you're vehicle is registered with DVLA they will supply your details to the parking company for the princely sum of £2.50 I believe, if not they will struggle to trace you, helps if your ex directory too

In reply to snoopdawg:

I (unknowingly) committed a low emission zone toll offence in Oslo. The Swedish company in charge of enforcement found me easily enough via the DVLA and then used an UK debt collection firm to pursue me relentlessly for the Kroner equivalent of £9.60.

There's no thing such as 'invisibility' these days. Anyone can be found; the 'impossible' just takes a little longer.

Of course, this has no bearing whatsoever on whether or not you should pay VCS in this instance.

Dave

In reply to David Barratt: Log onto pepipoo.com which is the best site for this sort of thing. I have never paid any of these thieves and never will. They will threaten all sorts but they go away in the end.

Whether you pay is up to you, but I woulnd't even bother opening the letters. The best bet is to return the letters unopened with "no longer at this address" on the front. That's been pretty effective in the past.

In reply to David Barratt:
The advice to ignore is out of date - if you do this you will, most likely, end up with a default ccj against you. They can now get keeper details from DVLA.

It is an unofficial invoice, dressed up as a 'fine', but there is a procedure to follow to make it go away. Go to either Money Saving Expert or PePiPoo and they'll set you right.

In reply to Jamie Wakeham:

Money saving expert indicated I should ignore it... I'm not bothered if they send me a few letters. They issue is if it can be legally enforced as a fine with debt against my name. I was under the impression that that wasn't the case. By out of date, do you know of specific changes to the law I should be aware of?

In reply to David Barratt:

VCS can't issue a debt - they're just a private company. But a county court can.

The relevant law is the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Under this, VCS can get your details from DVLA and, theoretically, issue a county court claim. If you don't respond to this, you will get a legally enforceable debt registered against you. I don't know if VCS are one of the companies which tend to do this or not - I've a feeling they might be one of the ones that just issue several scary letters and then give up - but even if they aren't litigious at the moment they could re-open the case any time in the next six years. The company that used to control all the Co-op's car parks has just issued a huge number of years-old claims in the county court system, and a lot of people have ignored these claims and then had real CCJs issued.

Seriously, go to PePiPoo and get advice on responding to the claim. VCS will initially reject it (because they reject every appeal regardless), then you'll take it to the independant appeal process ('PoPLA'), then you'll win - and the claim is gone forever. But this route is time-limited so don't wait too long.

In reply to Dave Williams:





This really pisses me off.. so banks can chase you.. yet you cant get credit as a foreigner.. in Germany I was not allowed an overdraft or credit card as you can leave the country... yet have a debt and they come after you..