Hello everyone I was looking for a bit of advice as to whether I should simply cough up and pay this charge I'm about to explain or whether I should keep fighting on.
So in August 2024 I hired a vehicle from Hertz rental, a few weeks later I received notification in email form that I had committed a 'traffic violation' during my period of rental and that I would soon receive a parking charge notice from 'the relevant authority', the exact words are as follows:
Rental Agreement Number: ---------
Vehicle Registration: -------
Reference: -------------
Date/Time: --/--/---- --:--
Authority Name: GroupNexus Appeals Dept
Document Type: Parking Charge Notice
We are writing to you because during your rental in the UK, we were informed by the authorities that a traffic violation or parking offence was committed while you were using our rental vehicle.
In accordance with our rental conditions and applicable legislation, you are responsible for all such charges incurred in relation to the vehicle during your rental.
We have provided your contact details to the relevant authority, to transfer liability to you for this fine. The authority will contact your directly to recover payment for this fine. In addition we have applied our standard administration fee of £ 42.00 for the processing of this violation.
A copy of the fine is attached for your information (unless it is a speeding fine, which legally must be provided directly to you by the relevant police authority).
The authority will contact you directly in due course.
Sincerely ,
On behalf of
---- (UK) Limited
- NTK 'reminder' issued: 30/09/2024
- Date of alleged contravention: Late August
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I then waited for the Notice to Keeper (NTK) which arrived after about a week or so, when the NTK arrived I decided to appeal my case (as hirer from the drop-down menu on the online appeals page), after another week I received the following response from the parking company (Group Nexus Ltd):
Received on Mon 2nd Dec 2024.
Dear Sir/Madam, Thank you for your correspondence relating to your Parking Charge.0000 The representations stated in your correspondence have been noted and considered. Please forward to us the full name and address of the driver at the time this charge was incurred so that we can update our records accordingly. Also, in light of your claims, we are prepared to reconsider your appeal should we receive evidence of your custom at the site on the date in question. However, until such time as this evidence is received this Charge will continue to remain outstanding. We are placing this Charge on hold for 14 days from the date of this letter to allow time for the documentation requested to be received. Yours faithfully, CP Plus Ltd
I decided to leave it alone and a couple of months passed where I didn't hear anything, I then checked the PCN on their website by typing in the PCN number to which it stated that the amount owing was £0:00.
So it seems the PCN from the parking company had been cancelled. Great! That was now off my back.
However, just under a month after this I started to receive debt collector letters regarding an outstanding balance of £42.00 which I apparently owe to Hertz UK which amounts to the 'administration costs' of processing the PCN, I have been back and forth with Hertz and had no reply whatsoever from them, I sent a screen shot of the cancelled zero amount owing to the debt collection agency and to Hertz however it seems they are still after their money and are now threatening legal proceedings if I do not pay up.
I'm wondering whether (1) I should just pay this amount and get this whole saga done and dusted or (2) fight this even though I may risk being taken to court as they have told me I would then be liable for their legal costs which is quite frightening, my real gripe is if the PCN was bogus and subsequently cancelled why should I have to pay the £42.00 administration charge to the rental company?
So I'm really at a loose end as to what to do here, I'm thinking on the one hand it's not a massive sum £42.00 but then I also feel a sense of injustice like I'm paying for someone elses mistake.
I would appreciate any help, thank you.
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