Private Parking Ticket Fine Ignored and Followed Up By Debt Collection Letters

Hello, I was fined by Alliance Parking UK Ltd all the way back in 2021 and decided to ignore it. 3.5 years later I have had 2 debt collection letters through my door from Trace Debt Recovery which I have also chosen to ignore.

This was at the Parc Tawe Retail Park in Swansea and I had overstayed the free period you were allowed.

Now I do not fancy a trip to court if this escalates massively and I am extremely naive to this entire process.

What should I do about this? Do I triple down on ignoring them until they actually put in writing they are taking me to court or should I just pay the fine?

I have attached the second debt recovery letter I have received. I do not have immediate access to the first letter I received as I also binned that.

Thanks for your help and advice in advance!

Edited to add more detail and attach the letter. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

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OK, it’s not a fine, it’s an invoice for payment which can be pursued under contract law.

You are right to ignore Trace.

Wait for a formal Letter of Claim and come back here when you do, this may lead to a process involving court, threats of “CCJs” which are misleading, and so on. You will get help, advice & guidance here if this happens.

In the meantime, send a Subject Access Request to Alliance for all that they hold on you, which will include the original PCN. Its contents may be important to any defence.

Thank you for the quick response.

Is requesting a Subject Access Request as simple as emailing Alliance’s contact@ email address? Thank you.

For example, see https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-do-i-make-a-subject-access-request-sar-a6axO2u2RKof

To the data protection officer, normally

You will also have to supply something to verify your identity, which they will request from you when you contact them.

Don't send an SAR. You do not want any knowledge of this if/when they do issue a claim. Depending on which incompetent bulk litigation company the prefer to use, you can guarantee that they will screw up there Particulars of Claim (PoC) and you will have a strong defence if they cannot claim that you were in full possession of the facts because they responded to a SAR.

As pointed out, this is not a "fine" and you are under no legal obligation to lust pay, what is in reality, a speculative invoice from an unregulated pivot parking company for an alleged breach of contract by the unknown driver.

A court claim is nothing to be fearful of. They operate in the hope that once they start litigation that you are low hanging-fruit on the gullible tree and will capitulate pay up out of ignorance and fear.

The odds of any claim ever reaching an actual hearing are less than 1% with the most likely outcome being a strike out or a discontinuation, if you follow out advice.

Hello,

Thank you for your response. No problem whatsoever, from your experience in this do you think I have nothing to worry about?

I will keep you all informed about future documentation that is sent through.

Hi guys hope you are all well.

Just updating you with the latest paperwork through the door.

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Feel free to shred anything from Trace and use it as hamster bedding.

  no worries, thanks for clearing up