Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hey guys just after some advice re a parking invoice.

I got a ticket on 02/09/2023. Date invoice was sent was on 05/09/2023 and i appealed on the 16/09/2023. I then received no response until i received a follow up letter on 15/10/2023 stating that debt collectors had been involved. I contacted the parking agency via e-mail and received a response on 25/10/2023 which went to my junk folder.

The e-mail contained the letter they supposedly sent out, which i never received. The postcode on the letter for my address was wrong - so not sure whether they sent it via e-mail (which went to junk and got deleted) or address - however as it was attached as a pdf i assume it was a letter sent out.

I contacted the debt collection agency who have advised i have to pay £170 now. I've seen mixed things online about what i can currently do, my appeal wasn't strong but had i received the letter i'd have just forked up the £60.

I moved address shortly before i received the initial invoice letters, so they were sent to the previous address (my fault i know, but i still appealed within 14 days) - but the letters i have since received from the company have recorded my postcode incorrectly - the only reason i received the letter from the company re debt collectors is because someone had scribbled out the incorrect post code and written the correct one on the front of the letter paper. Do I have any chance at paying the reduced fee? I'm not blaming the company for issuing the ticket as i took a chance - however as they've recorded the address wrong and i hadn't received any response i now have to pay £170 instead of the £60.

I've asked to be put into contact with the companies solicitors, but just wanted to know if anyone had anything similar happen to them/advice?

I think i've covered everything but if any extra details are needed please ask, thanks

TLDR: Received no response to my initial appeal for a parking ticket now i'm being chased by debt collectors

Thanks for the response, i've just sent a request via the ICO website which has advised a month wait. Are they likely to issue proceedings in this time? Unfortunately I've already contacted the debt collectors agency prior to this post, and asked to be put in touch with the companies solicitors :/

Apologies for the confusion.

So i the breach was on 02/09/2023 and the letter was sent 05/09/2023 to an address i was not currently residing at (my fault i know) so the first letter was addressed to there. There were also 2 other appeals accompanying these which i have successfully appealed and no further action will be taken.

I appealed through their website and filled in my address via there. This was on the 17/09/2023. The same day i also changed my the address of my driving license to match where i'm currently living.

I received a letter on the 24th of October (cannot remember the exact date it came) advising me debt collectors would be arranged within 7 days of the letter takeover should i not make the payment within 7 days. The letter was dated 13/10/2023. This letter had used the post code of my previous address, and not the post code for my new one. The letter paper had crossed out the incorrect postcode over the plastic film, and the correct postcode was handwritten just below the film. I can provide a photo if necessary?

I sent an e-mail to GxS on the 24th October stating that i had not received any response to my initial appeal. They responded on the 25th and attached the letter that was sent. I only saw this e-mail today as again it went straight to my junk (my fault for not checking junk folder). The letter attached to the e-mail had again used the post code for my old address and was dated 21/09/2023.

Date of incident 02/09/2023
Date invoice sent 05/09/2023
Appeal 17/09/2023
Debt collection letter w/ incorrect post code send 13/10/2023
Debt collection letter received by me 24/10/2023
e-mail send to GxS re no response 24/10/2023
response from GxS sent to junk 25/10/2023
Letter attached from GxS notifying me of failed appeal dated as (wrong postcode) 21/09/2023

I hope that clears up the chronology?

Also the ICO is the information commissioners office - the .gov website for anything DPA related - they have a tool you can use to send DPA requests directly to organisations holding your data through their site.

Ah - I'll do that ASAP, thanks for the heads up.

No, I don't have any evidence at all, but thought i'd try my luck. The main issue is exactly that - if i'd received the initial rejection of appeal letter i would have still been in time to pay the £60 which i guess there's no chance of now - but the £170 seems completely unfair.

I used the info@gx-s.uk - as this is the one that responded to my e-mail on 24/10/2023, I couldn't see any info about DPA requests - tried calling their contact number over a number of days but no joy getting through at all.

Thanks for the advice - I've send one to that e-mail. Would it be worth me waiting around a month for a response? Or would i be better off just paying the £170? I'm not sure if they'll try to increase it again or issue proceedings? And wouldn't like the CCJ as saving to buy a flat!

Thanks again

Hey guys,

Thanks again for the responses. So i received a pretty quick response RE my data request and they've sent me a pack. They haven't included any e-mails within which i requested. The wording to my request was 'I am looking for any e-mails, letters and any other correspondence that has been sent/stored using my name, vehicle registration and address'. So i should have received e-mails as well?

The DPA response e-mail lead with the following statement:

'Further to your request for a Subject Access Request, I have attached the report, please note that the address
including Post Code have been supplied by DVLA, if the information is incorrect, the onus is on you to ensure
DVLA have the correct details on record.'

The data request form they sent afterwards however shows that they have 2 sources for my details - initial details taken from DVLA website, and the second batch (which includes my e-mail address and contact number) from the appeals website. This has recorded the correct first line and town, but the post code is incorrect. Someone at some point has clearly noticed the post code was faulty and amended it, as i have received a letter which has the postcode crossed off and the correct one written down next to it on the letter paper.

I've had no texts/e-mails from them to say that my appeal was unsuccessful and they haven't provided any from the data request.

I'm not sure how to proceed from here. Should i make a payment of £100 previously suggested? Or would i have a case to have that reduced to £60 which i would have been able to do had i received the letter in time. Any advice appreciated.

Happy to upload redacted docs if this is more helpful and I've missed anything

Thanks again guys

Thanks for the advice. I'm gonna send another data request to them and include the offer in the text. I'll see how at it goes. I may have to just concede and pay the 170 but worth a shot as you say.
Thanks again for the help and advice.

and think i have a strong enough case?

As others have referred...a case for what?

Complaint to GXS's Accredited Trade Association, probably.
Perhaps the ICO.

But not the court which is the next procedural step. The court is only interested in the law as it applies to contracts and judicial procedure which IMO the other issues are not.

What is your end game e.g. pay the parking charge, at whatever level, defend their action in court etc?