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#Post#: 90935--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN Chester Private Car Park
DIR By: jfollows
Date: September 22, 2025, 8:58 am
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HTML https://www.ftla.uk/private-parking-tickets/read-this-first-private-parking-charges-forum-guide/<br
/>tells you how to attach images
#Post#: 90948--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN Chester Private Car Park
DIR By: 3Sh3roo
Date: September 22, 2025, 9:30 am
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Thanks, link shared below:
HTML https://imgur.com/a/aD6WYV9
HTML https://imgur.com/a/aD6WYV9
#Post#: 91065--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN Chester Private Car Park
DIR By: b789
Date: September 23, 2025, 6:39 am
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It's just a debt recovery letter. You can file other or shred it
and use it as hamster bedding.
It is a Letter of Claim (LoC) that you are waiting for.
#Post#: 93920--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN Chester Private Car Park
DIR By: 3Sh3roo
Date: October 13, 2025, 12:41 pm
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Today by post I received a 'Letter Before Claim', I'm assuming
this is the same as LoC?
HTML https://ibb.co/CpsW8kb2
HTML https://ibb.co/CpsW8kb2
HTML https://ibb.co/PZnPdJzX
HTML https://ibb.co/PZnPdJzX
#Post#: 93947--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN Chester Private Car Park
DIR By: b789
Date: October 13, 2025, 4:11 pm
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Respond with the following:
--- Quote ---
> Subject: Response to your Letter of Claim – Ref: [insert ELMS
reference]
>
> Dear Sirs,
>
> I write regarding your Letter Before Claim dated 7 October
2025 (client: Vehicle Control Services Ltd) concerning an
alleged parking charge at Signal Court Residential Car Park on
16/04/2025 at 17:43, for which you demand £170.00.
>
> Your Letter Before Claim contains insufficient detail of the
claim and fails to provide copies of the evidence your client
places reliance upon, putting it in clear breach of the
Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims.
>
> As a supposed firm of solicitors, one would expect you to
comply with paragraphs 3.1(a)–(d), 5.1 and 5.2 of the Protocol,
and paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c) of the Practice Direction. These
provisions exist to facilitate informed discussion and
proportionate resolution. You may wish to reacquaint yourselves
with them.
>
> The Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Pre-Action Conduct and
Protocols (Part 3), require the exchange of sufficient
information to understand each other’s position. Part 6
clarifies that this includes disclosure of key documents
relevant to the issues in dispute.
> Your template letter refers to a “contract” yet encloses none.
That omission undermines the only foundation upon which your
client’s claim allegedly rests. It is not possible to engage in
meaningful pre-litigation dialogue while you decline to furnish
the very document you purport to enforce.
>
> I confirm that, once I am in receipt of a Letter Before Claim
that complies with para 3.1(a), I shall seek advice and submit a
formal response within 30 days, as required. Accordingly, please
provide:
> [indent]1. A copy of the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) and
any notice chain relied upon to assert PoFA 2012 liability.
> 2. A copy of the contract you allege exists between your
client and the driver, being an actual photograph of the sign(s)
in place on the material date (not a stock image), together with
a site plan showing the sign locations.
> 3. The precise wording of the clause(s) allegedly breached.
> 4. The written agreement between your client and the landowner
evidencing standing/authority to enforce and to litigate.
> 5. A breakdown of the sums claimed, identifying whether the
principal sum is claimed as consideration or damages, and
whether the £70 “debt recovery” add-on includes VAT.[/indent]
>
> I am entitled to this information under paragraphs 6(a) and
6(c) of the Practice Direction, and I require it to meet my own
obligation under paragraph 6(b).
>
> If you fail to provide the above, I will treat that as
non-compliance with the PAPDC and Pre-Action Conduct and will
raise a formal complaint to the SRA regarding your conduct. I
reserve the right to place this correspondence before the Court
and to seek appropriate sanctions and costs (including, where
appropriate, a stay and/or other case management orders).
>
> Until your client complies and provides the requested
material, I am unable to respond properly to the alleged claim
or to consider my position. It would be premature and a waste of
costs and court time to issue proceedings. Should you do so, I
will seek immediate case management relief pursuant to paragraph
15(b) of the Practice Direction and an order compelling
provision of the above.
>
> Please note, I will not engage with any web portal; I will
only respond by email or post.
>
> Yours faithfully,
>
> [Your name]
> [Your postal address]
> [Your email address]
> [Vehicle registration: XXXX XXX]
> [PCN reference (if known): __________]
--- End Quote ---
#Post#: 93949--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN Chester Private Car Park
DIR By: 3Sh3roo
Date: October 13, 2025, 4:55 pm
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Thank you so much for this, I'll have to send it as a letter as
they have not provided an email address for correspondence.
#Post#: 93953--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN Chester Private Car Park
DIR By: b789
Date: October 13, 2025, 5:21 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
They have this email address on their website:
info@elmslegal.co.uk
Use that and make sure you CC yourself in any correspondence.
#Post#: 94228--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN Chester Private Car Park
DIR By: 3Sh3roo
Date: October 15, 2025, 12:07 pm
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Got the following email response today:
---------
Good afternoon
Thank you for your email.
Further to your request I have attached copies of the Notice To
Keeper sent on 24/04/2025, copies of the signage in situ on the
day of the contravention, containing the Terms and Conditions
for parking at this site.
I have requested from our client copies of the Site Plan and
Landowner Contract and will forward these once received. I have
also requested a separate copy of the signage so the Terms and
Conditions are clearer for you.
I can advise that the £170.00 claimed is the £100.00 Charge for
being parked in breach of the Terms advertised, and £70.00 is
Debt Recovery Fee which does not contain VAT.
I have placed this matter on hold until 14/11/2025 to allow time
for you to review in the information provided, receive the
information requested and advise us of anything further
required.
Kind Regards
Angie Bailey
ELMS Legal Limited
----------
See attachments below:
HTML https://ibb.co/gxLXFJJ
HTML https://ibb.co/LzcztBZj
#Post#: 94237--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN Chester Private Car Park
DIR By: b789
Date: October 15, 2025, 2:35 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
DO NOT redact any dates or times from the NtK.
#Post#: 94241--------------------------------------------------
Re: PCN Chester Private Car Park
DIR By: b789
Date: October 15, 2025, 2:45 pm
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You can reply to Angie Bailey with the following (CC yourself):
--- Quote ---
> Subject: Signal Court (16/04/2025) — your admission re: £70
“debt recovery fee”
>
> Dear Ms Bailey,
>
> Thank you for your email of [insert date].
>
> You state that your client’s claim of £170 is made up of a
£100 alleged parking charge and a £70 “debt recovery fee”, and
you expressly confirm that the £70 “does not contain VAT”.
>
> I put you on formal notice that this admission is highly
material. Your confirmation that the £70 is not VAT-inclusive
tends to show that no genuine third-party recovery cost has been
incurred and that the £70 is an internal uplift or surcharge
rather than a legitimate charge for services rendered by an
independent supplier. I will rely on that admission as evidence
in any subsequent proceedings and in any complaint I make about
your client’s conduct (including as appropriate to the SRA and
to any regulatory or industry body).
>
> Accordingly, and without prejudice:
> [indent]Please provide, by close of business [insert date —
e.g. 7 days from receipt], the following documentary proof:
> [indent]a. A copy of any invoice(s) or receipted bills from
the third-party debt recovery agent said to have been engaged,
showing the amount invoiced and the VAT treatment.
> b. A bank statement or remittance showing payment of those
invoice(s) by your client (so the charge was actually incurred).
> c. Full particulars showing how the £70 figure was calculated
(including any internal ledger entries, supplier contract, or
allocation methodology).
> d. A statement of truth from your client confirming whether
the £70 represents a sum paid to a third party, and if so naming
that third party and confirming the amount actually
paid.[/indent][/indent]
>
> If you cannot provide the documents requested above, confirm
in writing that your client will not seek to recover the £70
“debt recovery fee” (or any similar uplift) in any claim it
issues or pursues.
>
> If you do seek to pursue the £70 without producing verifiable
evidence that it represents an actual third-party cost, I
reserve the right to:
> [indent]• Treat the £70 as an improper, non-recoverable uplift
and apply to the Court for appropriate case management orders
(including strike-out and/or an order for costs if proceedings
follow); and
> • Rely on your admission when making formal complaints to the
SRA and any relevant industry body and when advancing any
submissions on conduct, proportionality and
reasonableness.[/indent]
>
> This correspondence is without prejudice to my other rights
and defences. I will consider your client’s position regarding
the principal sum once you have provided the full evidence
requested.
>
> Yours faithfully
>
> [Your name]
> [Contact details]
--- End Quote ---
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