Trace Debt Collection (Gatwick Pickup PCN)

Hi there,

I recently got a pcn from Times24 for the driver not paying the pickup charge at Gatwick airport. As the registered keeper, I fully intended to appeal this ticket, however I misplaced the letter before I could.

I assumed that times24 would send another letter, but it seems like they’ve got straight to debt collectors instead. A company called trace, asking for £170.00.

Following the advice of the forum so far I haven’t interacted with them yet, but where do I go from here? The letter says either I pay the fine, or get a CCJ.

See https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/times24-uk-gatwick-airport-drop-off-pcn/msg118847/#msg118847

And https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/times-parking-gatwick-airport/msg117104/#msg117104

Ignore Trace.

Read up on CCJ - they are trying to frighten you - you only get a recorded CCJ which affects credit if you lose in court and do not pay within 30 days. Any implication that a private company can impose a CCJ is complete rubbish.

https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/kellys-storage-luton-universal-parking-enforcement-ltd/msg59804/#msg59804

They can not pursue this if you don’t identify the driver and if the location is within the area of statutory control (which it will be).

Given that you have missed the deadline to appeal the PCN, you need to wait for a Letter of Claim and come back here when you do. They will initiate a claim in the county court against you but you have a defence with which you will get help here and it’s likely that it will be discontinued before actually going to court.

Search the forum for similar cases.

Here is a link to the original post: https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/trace-debt-collection-gatwick-pickup-pcn/msg123709/#msg123709

I followed the previous advice and did not contact Trace or identify the driver. I have now received another Trace letter, dated 31 July 2026, still demanding £170.

The letter says that Trace has “assessed” the case and is recommending that Times24 start legal proceedings. It gives me another 14 days to pay and again mentions the possible effect of a County Court Judgment on my credit rating.

I have attached a redacted copy of the letter. It does not appear to be headed “Letter of Claim” or “Letter Before Claim”, and it does not include the usual reply forms or financial statement.

Am I correct that this is still just a debt-collector letter and that I should continue to ignore Trace, keep all the correspondence, and wait unless I receive a proper Letter of Claim or court papers?



https://ibb.co/Vc5gSxKq

See https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/times24-uk-gatwick-airport-drop-off-pcn/msg118847/#msg118847

And https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/times-parking-gatwick-airport/msg117104/#msg117104

Ignore Trace.

Read up on CCJ - they are trying to frighten you - you only get a recorded CCJ which affects credit if you lose in court and do not pay within 30 days. Any implication that a private company can impose a CCJ is complete rubbish.

https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/kellys-storage-luton-universal-parking-enforcement-ltd/msg59804/#msg59804

They can not pursue this if you don’t identify the driver and if the location is within the area of statutory control (which it will be).

Given that you have missed the deadline to appeal the PCN, you need to wait for a Letter of Claim and come back here when you do. They will initiate a claim in the county court against you but you have a defence with which you will get help here and it’s likely that it will be discontinued before actually going to court.

Search the forum for similar cases.

I have now gotten this letter. I made an updated post too.

Heres the letter: https://ibb.co/Vc5gSxKq

Here is the updated post: https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/trace-debt-collection-gatwick-drop-off-continued/msg127299/#msg127299

It's another desperate begging debt collectors letter.

Once again, this can be ignored.

You are waiting for the 'Letter Before Claim' or similarly titled letter which will require a short / brutal response.

Nothing to worry about at the moment - Trace are simply a bunch of chancers who are trying to 'bottom feed' from the parking industry.

It's another desperate begging debt collectors letter.

Once again, this can be ignored.

You are waiting for the 'Letter Before Claim' or similarly titled letter which will require a short / brutal response.

Nothing to worry about at the moment - Trace are simply a bunch of chancers who are trying to 'bottom feed' from the parking industry.

I’ve now got the letter of claim from a company called ‘Moorside Legal’. What’s the next step?

You could reply with the following short email;


Dear Moorside Legal Person,

Ref - 40978661

Thank you for your Letter of Claim which I received yesterday - I have duly considered its content.

Please consider that this is my formal response.

The debt claimed by your client is totally denied - no money is owed by myself to your client.

In this instance, as you will no doubt be aware, the vehicle driver is not known to your client and there is no legal requirement to provide either you or your client with information relating to the drivers identity.

I will not be providing details relating to the driver's identity under any circumstance.

Given that the alleged event took place on land subject to statutory control, there is no other avenue available to you in terms of pursuit of myself as vehicle keeper via the use of POFA.

I feel that this adequately sets out the true legal position of this matter.

I am sorry that I cannot help you further.


Best wishes,

xxxxxx xxxxxxxx

You could reply with the following short email;


Dear Moorside Legal Person,

Ref - 40978661

Thank you for your Letter of Claim which I received yesterday - I have duly considered its content.

Please consider that this is my formal response.

The debt claimed by your client is totally denied - no money is owed by myself to your client.

In this instance, as you will no doubt be aware, the vehicle driver is not known to your client and there is no legal requirement to provide either you or your client with information relating to the drivers identity.

I will not be providing details relating to the driver's identity under any circumstance.

Given that the alleged event took place on land subject to statutory control, there is no other avenue available to you in terms of pursuit of myself as vehicle keeper via the use of POFA.

I feel that this adequately sets out the true legal position of this matter.

I am sorry that I cannot help you further.


Best wishes,

xxxxxx xxxxxxxx

Thank you for the reply and the template to follow. I do have 2 questions though;

- Where do I email them/send this? Their online portal?

- Is this guaranteed to end the conversation, or is there a reasonable amount of doubt that they will take it further?

Use their portal or use the post, up to you.
It’s about a paper trail in which you are seen to be engaging.
They will likely ignore and not respond, and issue a claim through the courts in due course.
There are loads of similar cases documented on the forum if you search for them. You should help yourself by doing some research now so that you won’t need to act in haste and panic in future.

Use their portal or use the post, up to you.
It’s about a paper trail in which you are seen to be engaging.
They will likely ignore and not respond, and issue a claim through the courts in due course.
There are loads of similar cases documented on the forum if you search for them. You should help yourself by doing some research now so that you won’t need to act in haste and panic in future.

Thank you for the reply.

My main fear is being issued a CCJ, which would affect the registered keepers credit score. My sister is the registered keeper, and she’s been getting more and more worried as the letters keep coming. I said I’d handle it, but all she wants is to NOT be issued a CCJ.

Also, could I just call them and say everything from the email template? I’m aware of the importance and usefulness of a paper trail, but I could also record the conversation on my phone.

You can not be “issued” a CCJ.
A county court claim leads to a county court judgement either if the claim is ignored or if it is contested and the court finds in favour of the claimant.
Even if these happen, as long as the claim is paid within 30 days of the date of the judgment, the record can be removed from the credit file.
Do more research on this point. See http://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/kellys-storage-luton-universal-parking-enforcement-ltd/msg59804/#msg59804 for example.
Do not call them under any circumstances.

Botom line is that a CCJ does not affect credit score unless it is ignored, or not paid within 30 days.

These companies use the threat of a CCJ to intimidate you into paying rather than contesting.

You should also note that the majority of county court claims are discontinued if they are properly defended. We can’t predict or guarantee anything, but you can search the forum and see countless cases where this happens.

You can not be “issued” a CCJ.
A county court claim leads to a county court judgement either if the claim is ignored or if it is contested and the court finds in favour of the claimant.
Even if these happen, as long as the claim is paid within 30 days of the date of the judgment, the record can be removed from the credit file.
Do more research on this point. See http://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/kellys-storage-luton-universal-parking-enforcement-ltd/msg59804/#msg59804 for example.
Do not call them under any circumstances.

Botom line is that a CCJ does not affect credit score unless it is ignored, or not paid within 30 days.

These companies use the threat of a CCJ to intimidate you into paying rather than contesting.

You should also note that the majority of county court claims are discontinued if they are properly defended. We can’t predict or guarantee anything, but you can search the forum and see countless cases where this happens.

Ok, thank you for clearing that up. I apologise for my lack of knowledge on this, it’s my first time dealing with something like this.

I am planning to email them now, going through some of the other posts to find templates.

What is the likelihood that this does go to court? Again, because it’s my sister, she’s saying she’ll just pay it if it goes that far. I know it can be stopped and we won’t have to give these scumbags a dime, but obviously for someone that doesn’t know anything, it is a frightening thing and she doesn’t want to go through all that hassle. Even for me, someone who knows about this forum, it is quite scary.


Also, I’ve tried searching through the forum to see if there were any posts after getting a successful appeal after the letter of claim, and couldn’t find anything. If you could link one here, that would be great for both my sisters and my own peace of mind.

They will likely ignore and not respond, and issue a claim through the courts in due course.

Given that you have missed the deadline to appeal the PCN, you need to wait for a Letter of Claim and come back here when you do. They will initiate a claim in the county court against you but you have a defence with which you will get help here and it’s likely that it will be discontinued before actually going to court.

All of this is advice previously given. If you're going to give in to them, please let us know asap; ultimately it's your money (or your sister's money) and your choice.

Also, I’ve tried searching through the forum to see if there were any posts after getting a successful appeal after the letter of claim, and couldn’t find anything. If you could link one here, that would be great for both my sisters and my own peace of mind.

There are none. There is no "appeal" to a Letter of Claim, just a response setting out your position, in which you state (for example) that you deny the claim and will defend it. As I already mentioned, your response will be ignored and you're only doing it to lay a paper trail to show your engagement in case this actually ever goes to court.

See https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/pd_pre-action_conduct#6.1

6. Where there is a relevant pre-action protocol, the parties should comply with that protocol before commencing proceedings. Where there is no relevant pre-action protocol, the parties should exchange correspondence and information to comply with the objectives in paragraph 3, bearing in mind that compliance should be proportionate. The steps will usually include—
(a) the claimant writing to the defendant with concise details of the claim. The letter should include the basis on which the claim is made, a summary of the facts, what the claimant wants from the defendant, and if money, how the amount is calculated;
(b) the defendant responding within a reasonable time – 14 days in a straightforward case and no more than 3 months in a very complex one. The reply should include confirmation as to whether the claim is accepted and, if it is not accepted, the reasons why, together with an explanation as to which facts and parts of the claim are disputed and whether the defendant is making a counterclaim as well as providing details of any counterclaim; and
(c) the parties disclosing key documents relevant to the issues in dispute.

These parasites rely on those fears to get their (sorry, your) money. empty threats, they aren't that likely to go as far as court as their loss will be greater than yours.Tell your sister not to worry, sit back and relax.