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I have received a "Final Notice" from NCP for dropoff at Gatwick that I didn't pay for. I can confirm, very diligently as I pay extra attention to the mail I received, that I received no initial letter from these guys, and the letter claims that representation period has now expired. I want to contest this as this is a blatant lie, I have never received a PCN from them and there is no way in hell I am paying this final notice charge. How can I go about challenging this?
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You send them a formal complaint (they’re required to treat a complaint as an appeal also). You do so only as the Keeper. There is no legal obligation on the Keeper to identify the driver and you should not do so, inadvertently or otherwise.
Send the following, only as the Keeper:QuoteSubject: Formal Complaint and Data Rectification Notice – [PCN Reference Number]
Dear NCP Complaints Team,
I am writing in my capacity as the registered keeper regarding the above-referenced parking charge notice (PCN). This letter constitutes a formal complaint and a data rectification notice, which you are obliged to consider as an appeal pursuant to Section 11.2 of the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP).
I did not receive the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) for this alleged contravention. The only correspondence I have received is a reminder, which left no opportunity to appeal within the correct timeframe. This failure is a breach of Section 11.2 of the PPSCoP, which requires operators to ensure notices are issued properly and that keepers are given a fair opportunity to challenge the parking charge.
Furthermore, NCP cannot hold a registered keeper liable for any alleged contravention on land that is under statutory control. Gatwick Airport is not 'relevant land' as defined by Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA), and as such, the registered keeper cannot be pursued under this legislation.
If Gatwick Airport wanted to hold owners or keepers liable under its bylaws, this would be a matter for the landowner. However, this is not relevant here because your parking charge is not a statutory penalty but rather a contractual claim issued for your own profit. As such, it can only be pursued against the driver, and there is no legal presumption that the registered keeper is the driver.
I also formally exercise my rights under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) to request rectification of your records. Please confirm:
1. That my name and address are recorded accurately as per the DVLA-provided details.
2. That no inaccurate or incomplete data has been or will be shared with third parties.
You are required to confirm cancellation of this PCN and rectification of your records within 28 days. Any further attempt to pursue this baseless charge will be considered harassment, and I will escalate my complaint to the BPA, DVLA, or ICO as necessary.
Yours faithfully,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]
[Vehicle Registration Number] -
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Just sending this in now. Is it fine to use the Contact Us form on their website under feedback and complaints? Or should I send a letter in writing instead?
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You can use their complaints/feedback webform.
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Update: So I sent the above notice to their complaints feedback section and received only an automated response that they (complaints) don't deal with PC inquiries. I have now received this debt recovery letter:
https://imgur.com/gallery/ESiHKgH
I notice once again the letter is dated 19th, delivered today (26th) so 7 of the 14 days are already gone. This was also the case with the Final Notice letter. There was no initial PCN ever sent. Incredibly infuriating because I know for a fact they never delivered a PCN, but I can't do anything about it as they hold all the power, and can arbitrarily keep increasing the charge as I have no recourse to challenge as a citizen.
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Ignore the rubbish that they don't deal with complaints at their official complaints email address. The complaint has been served on them and it is up to them to respond within the required deadlines. If they don't, they re in breach of the PPSCoP and therefore all in breach of the KADOE contract which makes them liable to a DVLA complaint and any subsequent sanctions.
The link you've provided doesn't show anything.
Ignore any and all debt recovery letters. We don't need to know about them and you can bin them. They are powerless to do anything except to try and scare the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree into paying out of ignorance and fear. -
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Not sure why the link won't work, seems fine to me. Uploading as attachment here. The letter is from Trace Debt Recovery saying their client has told them that i owe parking charges. Originally £100 and now £170. My concern is it says if I take no action, they may apply for a CCJ, which would also add on court fees and solicitor charges. They're asking to contact them, and I'm considering calling them if only to just explain to them my position.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ] -
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Do not contact debt collectors, and never phone them. If your position is anything other than "here are my credit card details" then they will not be interested. They certainly aren't the sort of company I would want to have access to my phone number.Quote
My concern is it says if I take no action, they may apply for a CCJ
Trace cannot take court action. NCP could - if they did, we could help you defend this. Even if the worst happened and you lost (very unlikely I'd suggest, given the circumstances), it would be unlikely to cost you much more than what they are currently demanding. This process is designed to scare you - if you stick to your guns, you've got a strong case. -
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Thanks for the advice. So I'll just sit tight and wait to see if they take any further action then. Will post if I receive anything.
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Trace and all the other debt collectors are powerless and must be ignored. All they can do is try and scare the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree tp pay up out of ignorance and fear.
Here is a bit of an eduction for you about how CCJs work:QuoteA County Court Judgment (CCJ) does not just happen—it follows a clear legal process. If someone gets a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) from a private parking company, here's what happens step by step:
1. Parking Charge Notice (PCN) Issued• The parking company sends a letter (Notice to Keeper) demanding money.
• This is not a fine—it’s an invoice for an alleged breach of contract.
2. Opportunity to Appeal• The recipient can appeal to the parking company.
•If rejected, they may be able to appeal to POPLA (if BPA member) or IAS (if IPC member).
• If an appeal is lost or ignored, the parking company demands payment.
3. Debt Collection Letters• The parking company might send scary letters or pass the case to a debt collector.
• Debt collectors have no power—they just send letters and can be ignored.
• No CCJ happens at this stage.
4. Letter Before Claim (LBC)• If ignored for long enough, the parking company (or their solicitor) sends a Letter Before Claim (LBC).
• This is a warning that they may start a court case.
• The recipient has 30 days to reply before a claim is filed.
• No CCJ happens at this stage.
5. County Court Claim Issued• If ignored or unpaid, the parking company may file a claim with the County Court.
• The court sends a Claim Form with details of the claim and how to respond.
• The recipient has 14 days to respond (or 28 days if they acknowledge it).
• No CCJ happens at this stage.
6. Court Process• If the recipient defends the claim, a judge decides if they owe money.
• If the recipient ignores the claim, the parking company wins by default.
• No CCJ happens yet unless the recipient loses and ignores the court.
7. Judgment & Payment• If the court rules that money is owed, the recipient has 30 days to pay in full.
• If they pay within 30 days, no CCJ goes on their credit file.
• If they don’t pay within 30 days, the CCJ stays on their credit file for 6 years.
Conclusion
CCJs do not appear out of thin air. They only happen if:• A parking company takes the case to court.
• The person loses or ignores the case.
• The person fails to pay within 30 days.
If you engage with the process (appeal, defend, or pay on time), no CCJ happens. -
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Hi all.
An update for this case, I received one further reminder letter from Trace Recovery and I have now received the attached letter from their solicitor. Do I need to reply to this and if so, how?
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An update for this case, I received one further reminder letter from Trace Recovery and I have now received the attached letter from their solicitor. Do I need to reply to this and if so, how?
No. It is not a Letter of Claim (LoC). It is simply another debt recovery attempt from the utter incompetents at Moorside Legal.
When they send an actual LoC, come back and show us. -
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An update for this case, I received one further reminder letter from Trace Recovery and I have now received the attached letter from their solicitor. Do I need to reply to this and if so, how?
No. It is not a Letter of Claim (LoC). It is simply another debt recovery attempt from the utter incompetents at Moorside Legal.
When they send an actual LoC, come back and show us.
Hi, I have now received the Letter of Claim from these people. Should I respond to this? Attached below for reference:
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You respond to Moorside with the following by email to help@moorsidelegal.co.uk and you CC in dataprotection@ncp.co.uk and also yourself:Quote
Dear Sirs,
Your Letter Before Claim contains insufficient detail of the claim and fails to provide copies of evidence your client places reliance upon and thus is in complete contravention of the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims.
I am the registered keeper of the vehicle. I am not obliged to identify the driver and I decline to do so. As there is no legal presumption that the keeper of a vehicle was its driver on any particular occasion, your client cannot pursue me as driver as per VCS v Edward (2023) [H0KF6C9C].
If your client is seeking to rely on Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (PoFA) in order to hold me liable as keeper, they are unable to do so. No initial Notice to Keeper was received. As such, no PoFA-compliant NtK was served within the timeframes required by paragraph 9(5) of the Act. Additionally, the location of the alleged contravention is airport land that is under statutory control and therefore there can be no Keeper liability. Your client is therefore only able to hold the driver liable and I am under no legal obligation to identify that person to an unregulated private firm.
A formal complaint was sent to your client and they never had the courtesy to respond except to say that they do not handle Parking Charge complaints. For this reason, I have copied in your client in this response to your Letter of Claim and I put them on notice that their failure to comply wth section 11 of the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP) will be used against them in a formal complaint to the DVLA as this constitutes a breach of their KADOE agreement and they now risk sanctions that could affect their access to DVLA data.
As your client cannot pursue me as driver or keeper, it would be an abuse of the court’s process for your client to issue a claim against me and I will defend any such claim vigorously and seek costs in relation to your client’s unreasonable and vexatious conduct under Part 27.14(2)(g)
Because your letter lacks specificity and breaches the requirements of the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (paragraphs 3.1(a)-(d), 5.1 and 5.2) as well as the Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct (paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c)), you must treat this letter as a formal request for all of the documents/information that the protocol now requires your client to provide. Your client must not issue proceedings without complying with that protocol.
As supposed solicitors, you must surely be familiar with the requirements of both the Practice Direction and the Pre-Action Protocol for debt claims and your client, as a serial litigator of debt claims, should likewise be aware of them. As you (and your client) must know, the Practice Direction and Protocol bind all potential litigants, whatever the size or type of the claim. Its express purpose is to assist parties in understanding the claim and their respective positions in relation to it, to enable parties to take stock of their positions and to negotiate a settlement, or at least narrow the issues, without incurring the costs of court proceedings or using up valuable court time. It is embarrassing that a firm of Solicitors are sending a consumer a vague and un-evidenced 'Letter of Claim' in complete ignorance of the pre-existing Practice Direction and the Pre-Action Protocol.
I confirm that, once I am in receipt of a Letter Before Claim that complies with the requirements of para 3.1 (a) of the Pre-Action Protocol, I shall then seek advice and submit a formal response within 30 days, as required by the Protocol. Thus, I require your client to comply with its obligations by sending me the following information/documents:1. An explanation of the cause of action
2. Whether they are pursuing me as driver or keeper
3. Whether they are relying on the provisions of Schedule 4 of POFA 2012
4. What the details of the claim are; for how long it is claimed the vehicle was parked, how the monies being claimed arose and have been calculated
5. Is the claim for a contractual breach? If so, what is the date of the agreement? The names of the parties to it and provide to me a copy of that contract.
6. If the claim is for a contractual breach, photographs showing the vehicle was parked in contravention of said contract.
7. Is the claim for trespass? If so, provide details.
8. Provide me a copy of the contract with the landowner under which they assert authority to bring the claim, as required by the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP) section 14.
9. A plan showing where any signs were displayed.
10. Photographs of the signs displayed (size of sign, size of font, height at which displayed) at the time of any alleged contravention.
11. Provide details of the original charge, and detail any interest and administrative or other charges added.
12. Am I to understand that the additional £70 represents what is dressed up as a 'Debt Recovery' fee, and if so, is this nett or inclusive of VAT? If the latter, would you kindly explain why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT?
13. With regard to the principal alleged PCN sum: Is this damages, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking?
I am clearly entitled to this information under paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c) of the Practice Direction. I also need it in order to comply with my own obligations under paragraph 6(b).
If your client does not provide me with this information then I put you on notice that I will be relying on the cases of Webb Resolutions Ltd v Waller Needham & Green [2012] EWHC 3529 (Ch), Daejan Investments Limited v The Park West Club Limited (Part 20) Buxton Associates [2003] EWHC 2872, Charles Church Developments Ltd v Stent Foundations Limited & Peter Dann Limited [2007] EWHC 855 in asking the court to impose sanctions on your client and to order a stay of the proceedings, pursuant to paragraphs 13, 15(b) and (c) and 16 of the Practice Direction, as referred to in paragraph 7.2 of the Protocol.
Until your client has complied with its obligations and provided this information, I am unable to respond properly to the alleged claim and to consider my position in relation to it, and it is entirely premature (and a waste of costs and court time) for your client to issue proceedings. Should your client do so, then I will seek an immediate stay pursuant to paragraph 15(b) of the Practice Direction and an order that this information is provided.
Yours faithfully,
[Your name] -
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An update to this case. The response given above was communicated to Moorside Legal on June 9, 2025. Nothing was heard back from them until receiving the following email today:Quote
Dear XXX
Thank you for your email.
To enable us to process your email, we need to confirm that we are corresponding with the correct individual. To pass our security checks, we ask that you confirm the following:
Address and post code
Vehicle registration
Please reply to this email to continue the email thread.
Yours sincerely
Moorside Legal
Should I respond with the required information? The letter of claim was referenced in the original email so they should have this information already.
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