Debt Recovery Plus
Debt Recovery Plus will send you letters saying that you owe money for an unpaid parking charge notice, but these letters are usually include extra charges of up to £70 which are not enforceable. In this guide, we will explain why.
There is NO legal authority to enforce “Debt Recovery” charges on motorists for parking charge notices issued on private land. This has been confirmed in the judgement of Parking Eye v Beavis 2015 and POFA 2012.
After looking at Debt Recovery Plus reviews, it looks like many people are scammed into paying excess fees to Debt Recovery Plus. If the case goes to court, Parking Mate UK can help you defend and get the case DISMISSED.
Leo Musami
Founder, CEO & PCN Specialist
Debt Recovery Plus Guide
Debt Recovery Plus Payment Demand Letter
A debt recovery letter from Debt Recovery Plus can be IGNORED. The first thing to know is that you should not enter into any correspondence with Debt Recovery Plus, because their ultimate goal is to make you pay or to make you think that you have no option but to pay.
The law that confirms how much parking companies can claim is Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and it clearly states that “The maximum sum which may be recovered from the keeper by virtue of the right conferred by this paragraph is the amount specified in the notice to keeper”.
This clearly shows that asking for more than this is a clear violation of the law, however, unless you raise points of law in court, a judge is not obliged to address the issue of excess fees.
The letter they send you will be designed to come across as helpful because ultimately if they get payment from you, then they have obtained their primary objective.
The smart thing to do, is to simply ignore Debt Recovery Plus letters at this stage because the debt is not enforceable and it is not even possible to claim that recovery costs in in court if defended properly.
Debt Recovery Plus Letter of Claim/Court Claim
If Debt Recovery Plus persists and submits a letter before claim, this means that they are one stop away from taking the matter to court and issuing a county court claim.
Often when cases go to court, they will try to add fees such as:
- Interest till date of judgement
- Debt recovery fees up to £70
- Legal representative cost up to £50
However, these costs can successfully be dismissed in small claims.
There is no need to panic at this stage, because if you engage parking Mate UK, you will receive full support to defend the claim and you will not have to pay Debt Recovery Plus fees regardless.
Our no win no fee court handling service is the best way to deal with county court claims, we will prepare the documents you need to defend the claim and we will keep you posted as the case progresses.
Our Court Handing Service starts from £99.
- We will prepare and submit your Defence
- N180 form and Witness Statement
- You will have access to a dedicated portal to keep track of your case
If your case is not dismissed or reduced, we will refund you your fee in full
Can Debt Recovery Plus issue a CCJ?
No, Debt Recovery Plus cannot issue a county court judgement (CCJ), a CCJ can only be issued after a judge in a county court makes a decision on whether you win or lose a court case.
At the end of a county court hearing for a parking charge, a judge can either make a judgement to dismiss a parking company’s claim or to award the claim in their favour.
If a claim is made in your favour, you are also entitled to claim up to £85 if you attend the hearing, this amount is usually awarded for witness costs.
If a claim is awarded in favour of the parking company, the judge would normally state that the amount has to be paid within 30 days, and after the amount is paid, there will be no judgement recorded on your credit file.
And finally, if you get a judgement out of the blue, it is often possible to get the judgement set aside, therefore you should not be worried about a judgement that is issued after out of the blue.
Can landowner cancel the parking charge?
If you were a customer at a restaurant bar hotel or other retail shop, you should make every effort to contact the store or the business.
They may have the right as a landowner they can get the parking charge notice cancelled no matter what stage it is.
Contact in the landowner should also be done in a way that you make it clear the landowner that you were either a genuine customer or that you want them to intervene with Debt Recovery Plus and cancel the charge without the matter progressing any further.
This usually works because land owners if they are a business would rather keep your custom than see you being pursued in court for an unpaid parking charge notice.
If you cannot contact the location or store you visited, try contacting the CEO of the company or try contacting them via Twitter, as that is usually an easy way to get their attention.
Sample Landowner Email/Letter
I have received a letter from Debt Recovery Plus stating that I owe money for unpaid parking charge notices.
First, I would like to state that I was a customer on the alleged date of parking and I would like your support in addressing in this manner and getting these charges cancelled.
Please note that because this is outside the appeal period, there is no formal process to challenge the notices, hence why I am reaching out to you.
I would like your support in getting this issue resolved promptly.
As this may subsequently lead to court proceedings, please do not share this correspondence with Debt Recovery Plus or the parking company as this would prejudice me in court proceedings.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Full Name
But remember to be courteous and respectful, because ultimately the landowner may have to pay a fee to the parking company to get a parking charge notice cancelled after the cancellation.
Do not involve the debt recovery company in these discussions, let the landowner deal with the matter and don’t engage in anything else.
Debt Recovery Plus Reviews
Please take a look at reviews of Debt Recovery Plus on TrustPilot and you will see that many people complain about being scammed.
You can see the Debt Recovery Plus reviews here.
Reviews are left independently by users and Parking Mate UK have no control over their content.
