Sorry for the formatting, I'm typing on phone. I'm also dyslexic as hell (which is why I got into this mess).
I stayed two nights at a premier Inn in London. I used their onsite parking and paid through the appointed app (YourParkingSpace) for 2 days of parking.
A month later I received a PCN by post from the parking company (ParkMaven Ltd) stating I had parked without paying and now have to pay a fine.
I was quite shocked at this and appealed right away with screen shots of the app showing I made payment for the two days I was there.
I then received a second reminder by post about the fine. This was dated before I sent the appeal so decided to ignore it.
I received an email reply stating that my appeal had been granted. There was an error inputting my registration. An o was entered instead of 0.
Great I thought, case closed and I'll move on.
I then received a third reminder letter by post that's as the same as the original. It was dated before I received the appeal so ignored it and moved on.
A month later I receive a debt collectors (DCBL) letter stating the the fine has now been passed on to them and they want payment at an inflated price.
What the hell???
I contacted the original parking company demanding to know what happened. I provided evidence that I originally paid for parking and the fine had appealed. The parking company now states that the fine that was passed on to the debt collectors is for the second day!
It turns out they sent two fines for both days! The second letter i received was a fine for the second day, they had fined each day as sperate. I just didn't notice different reference numbers assumed it was all the same fine.
I asked for this fine to be scrapped for the same reason as the first but they informed me that my right to appeal is now over and I would have to contact the debt collectors.
I am now at loss as what to do? How did they not cancel the fine for both days?
Do I contact the debt collectors? I really don't trust them to even care.
Do I just make a firm stance with ParkMaven and tell them their system is the issue as i notified them of original payment for both of the days.
Is it worth me contacting a solicitor?
My fiancé would rather we just pay the fine as she's worried about Bailiffs at our door and our credit score being hit.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Do you have the text of exactly what you submitted as your appeal?
The issue here is that ParkMaven have issued 2 separate charges, one for each day - the signage probably outlines that they can do this (but worth checking if possible). As they are two separate charges, ParkMaven will say that they need appealing separately.
Do I contact the debt collectors? I really don't trust them to even care.
Indeed they won't. Debt collectors don't care about anything other than collecting payment. Ignore them.
Do I just make a firm stance with ParkMaven and tell them their system is the issue as i notified them of original payment for both of the days.
It seems like the issue might have been with a mistake being made when the driver inputted their reg, rather than ParkMaven's system? But you could take a firm stance with them that this is a minor keying error and that per the BPA code of practice they should cancel the charge. If you are planning to fight it, you may need to be prepared to go to court (a typical loss in court is around £220 for a single charge).
Is it worth me contacting a solicitor?
You're unlikely to find one who costs less than the value of the parking charge.