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A number of drivers in Cornwall have told of their shock in recent weeks after receiving notice of historic parking fines years after the date they were said to have been issued.
One driver we spoke to said she has been “really worried” after being sent a notice by a debt recovery company for £170 following her stay at Sea View car park in Polzeath two years ago. To make matters worse, Jill Rae says she paid for her parking the day the fine is referring to – and thought she had already resolved the wrongly given ticket.
The 71-year-old said: “It was March 30 2023. My husband and I were staying in Polzeath and we went to Seaview Car Park. My husband paid in cash and we thought no more of it. I left within the allotted time and that was it. But when we came back from our holiday I received a parking fine from Alliance, stating that I had been in that car park and I hadn’t paid.
“Fortunately, I still had the receipt. And rather foolishly, I photographed it, but then sent the original to them as proof that I had paid. I heard no more of it and thought that was the end of it. And then two and a half years later, to my absolute horror, I received a letter from a debt recovery agency, stating that I hadn’t paid on that day and they were charging me £170. If I didn’t pay, they would start court proceedings.”
Jill is now desperately trying to prove she paid for her parking that day.
“As you can imagine, I’ve been really upset, really worried,” she said.
“I’ve just been doing everything I can. I’ve been in touch with Citizens Advice, who put me onto National Debtline. I’ve also emailed Ben Maguire, your MP, who said that he was aware of a lot of problems in the area.”
(Image: Jill Rae)
She is not alone. When Jill wrote about her experience on Facebook, her post was met with a number of comments from drivers who had experienced similar in recent weeks, with many wondering the best course of action to take.
Fi Edwards wrote: “Received one of these too for 2021 !! Over 4 years ago.”
John Andrews said: “I had a run in with Alliance Parking recently. Really had to fight my case, provided evidence of paying for a parking ticket. In the end they reduced the ‘fine’ to £20. Paid it just to get rid of them.”
Boe Lovegrove added: “A friend of mine has recently received two letters from alliance parking relating to incidents from 2022 in a Cornish beach carpark, neither of which she has any recollection of or had had any correspondence regarding at all in the last three years. They are demanding over £150 pounds for each one. Really odd!”
In another post last month, relating to a fine received in Market Place car park, St Columb Major, Lucie Compton-Cashmore wrote on Facebook: “Any advice – I’ve just received this three years later from a debt recovery company. I’ve never had a letter from alliance parking before? This is my first letter about a parking fine?!”
Again, several people shared similar experiences.
Richard Gregory commented: “I had one this week as well, phoned the company to ask for proof and they sent photos of my van parked in St Columb car park . Think I’ll get in touch with alliance before I do anything. Dating back to 14th Jan 2023.”
Sara-Jane Tossoun said: “We have had the same letter, I spoke to citizens advice and they suggested contacting alliance parking and asking for a SAR (subject access request) which is a copy of any letters they have sent to you. We did this and they sent over the two parking fines they sent us in 2021 , citizens advice have said I would need to pay these unless I can prove they have been paid.
“The difference with us is I remember getting these fines and I’m 90% we paid them. However, I can’t find proof. Perhaps paid on an old credit card that has now been settled, I’m unsure but looks like we will have to pay them.”
Others, meanwhile, have suggested in their comments that you can simply “ignore” the notice – this, however, is not advised if the notice is genuine.
A spokesperson for Alliance said: “We would like to clarify that we retain a Certificate of Postage for every letter we issue. All correspondence is automatically sent via our hybrid mail provider, where it is printed, enclosed, and transferred to Royal Mail for delivery. As such, we can demonstrate that every notice we generate is dispatched.
“Under UK law, any notice sent by post is presumed to have been delivered on the second working day after posting, unless proven otherwise. For these purposes, a “working day” excludes Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays in England and Wales (see paragraph 9(6) of Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012).”
They went on to explain that there are “generally three reasons why a motorist may claim that they did not receive a Parking Charge.”
Listing these reasons, the spokesperson said: “1.The notice was received, but the motorist only engages once debt recovery begins. There is considerable misinformation online, including on Cornwall Live comment threads, suggesting that private parking charges can be ignored. This is incorrect; such charges are fully enforceable in law. Claims of non-receipt are sometimes made in an attempt to secure a discounted rate, which is why the statutory presumption of delivery exists.
“2. The vehicle’s registered keeper details were not updated. Motorists are legally required to update the address on their V5C/logbook immediately when they move. Failure to do so can lead to a DVLA fine of up to £1,000. Updating a driving licence alone is not sufficient. Statistics indicates that around 15% of motorists do not complete this requirement.
“3. A rare delivery failure by Royal Mail. Data suggests this occurs infrequently.”
They added: “All reports of non-receipt are assessed individually, and anyone wishing to raise concerns is welcome to contact us directly.
“We also encourage any motorist who has not yet responded to our notices (old and new) to get in touch so that the matter can be resolved before it progresses further.”
A spokesperson for Citizens Advice Cornwall, added: “People should be aware that scammers are sending fake emails, texts and letters claiming to be from agents recovering money for parking fines or charges dating from a few years ago. A genuine company will always contact you by letter and include the date, time and location of the infringement and the correct number plate of your vehicle.
“If the company is asking you to pay via PayPal or bank transfer it’s very likely a scam. If it directs you to a website for payment that doesn’t look right, with unusual grammar or no office address be suspicious. Check the URL – if it doesn’t begin with ‘https’ or is similar but not quite the same as an official site, such as having a minor spelling error, it’s probably a fake site.
“If you think the letter is genuine, don’t ignore it, as it could lead to bailiffs being involved and could affect your credit rating. If in doubt, please contact us at Citizens Advice.”
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