Free Traffic Legal Advice

Welcome. Do you still have the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) that was sent to the registered keeper? We don't need to see any reminders or anything else.

You can safely ignore Trace Debt Recovery or any other debt collector they may use. Debt collectors are powerless to do anything as they are not a party to the contract allegedly breached by the driver. Never, ever, communicate with a useless debt collector. Use their letters as emergency toilet paper.

You never received a "fine". You received a speculative invoice for an alleged breach of contract by the driver from an unregulated private parking company. I will give you £100 for every occurrence of the word "fine" or "penalty" or "offence" you can find in all the correspondence you received over this.

What you are waiting for is a Letter of Claim (LoC) from Alliance or, more likely, their bulk litigator. You can tell the difference between a debt collection letter and an loC because debt collectors only give you 14 days to pay whereas an LoC must give you 30 days and it must say that it is a letter of/before claim.

When you receive an LoC, come back and show us. In the meantime, show us the original NtK if you still have it.

Did the Keeper identify who was driving at the time, inadvertently or otherwise?

However, I am not 100% sure but I do remember trying not too!

Thanks, hopefully I wont have to return with a LoC. Thanks

Hi, I have ignored all the letters and have not received anything since I posted on here. Hoping it remains that way!! Good luck

Hi, sorry to jump on this one, but I have received the same. Unfortunately I appealed before reading any threads, so the NtK was in my wife's name and I appealed in my name as the driver!
I have since ignored the final notice letter which was sent in Oct 2024. (I received a few NtK for alledged overstays) I have recently received a letter from Trace saying I owe a lot more and giving me 14 days to pay or their client may apply for a County Court Judgment. It also states their client (Alliance parking UK Ltd) has instructed Trace Debt Recovery to handle all correspondence and that any communication with Alliance will be referred back to Trace Debt Recovery.
Do I just ignore?? - Reading other threads it appears so!
Many thanks

Hi, sorry to jump on this one, but I have received the same. Unfortunately I appealed before reading any threads, so the NtK was in my wife's name and I appealed in my name as the driver!
I have since ignored the final notice letter which was sent in Oct 2024. (I received a few NtK for alledged overstays) I have recently received a letter from Trace saying I owe a lot more and giving me 14 days to pay or their client may apply for a County Court Judgment. It also states their client (Alliance parking UK Ltd) has instructed Trace Debt Recovery to handle all correspondence and that any communication with Alliance will be referred back to Trace Debt Recovery.
Do I just ignore?? - Reading other threads it appears so!
Many thanks

@Longboat1, please start your own thread if you want advice otherwise it becomes too confusing when reading back through a thread. Responding to a Notice to Keeper (NtK) that is not in your name, whether or not you were the driver, does not solve anything. Until an invoice is sent to you in your name, anything you write and say is a complete waste of time and effort.

Ignore Trace and any other debt collector. They are powerless to do anything.

The only people who think that a CCJ can just be “applied for” are low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree, ripe for the picking out of ignorance and fear. Have a read of the following to put your mind at ease:

What CCJ? Do you have any understanding of how someone gets a CCJ? Nothing we advise on here will make anyone get a CCJ.

Quote

A 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.

Good morning,

We have received another letter today, a few months since the last one but this one is different. Please find attached the letter and advise, thanks   Lucy

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