Hi guys need some advice.
Back in july 2012 i was at doncaster airport. After a hour parked up in the car park i paid my ticket as i left the car park my engine management light came as i needed to put some oil in,so the only safe place to park was the approach roads at a bus stop where you can hardly notice the no parking sign. I put hazards on and did my thing. A van came and parked up about 40 yards behind me but at the time i didnt realise who they were. They must of waited for me to turn hazard lights off and then took a photo and then drove off.on receiving the fine weeks later i realised who the people in the van were.

back then the advice on here was to ignore all the letters and bin them which i did. Month ago i received a letter from newlyn to pay up £166 to which i replied to them in writing that i denied the debt to pass it back to vcs. now i have received a final notice-court action.also states they have no alternative but to pass it back to vcs if i dont pay up in 7 days.

Id like to know what happens now, what to do when vcs contacts me and will they really take me to court for £166

I would send a complaint to the DVLA.

In it you should enclose a copy of the letter you sent to Newlyn stating 'debt denied, pass back to client' and their latest letter.

You should point out that Newlyn are now in breach of clause 3.7 section o of the Office of Fair Trading Guidelines on debt collection, which in turn means that VCS are in breach of clause C3.1 of their KADOE contract with the DVLA, which you understand is a sanctionable offence. You would like the DVLA to investigate this complaint and let you know the outcome and the actions they have taken.

Close call whether a statement that they will pass it back if there is no payment is serious enough for a DVLA complaint

I'd be inclined to wait and see if Newlyn send a third letter when a complaint can be justified

I don't think that VCS would risk court if the OP puts in a firm response when they contact him again

The OfT guidelines state that if the recipient of their notice informs them that the debt is in dispute, then they should refer the matter back to their client, and not write again. They have written again with a threat of court action, albeit from VCS, if no payment is received.

They are in breach of the guidelines, in my opinion of course.

Are they hinting at Keeper Liability? Which did not come in until Oct 12

@ gan what is OP sorry new to all these words

OP = Original Poster, in this case, you!

OP = Original Poster, i.e. you.

*SNAP* how is it that I don't get it on alphabetical order?

You snooze, you lose!

Fair enough

My thought was to avoid giving VCS the excuse to explain that Newlyn were clearly informing the OP that they were carrying out his request to refer it back and that the mention of court action was nothing more than informing him what would happen next

There will be unpleasant echoes of a past court spanking were VCS to ever run this one. Much like an occasion at a certain Wickes supermarket - only a few miles down the road from Donny. In that case VCS's operative chose to observe an errant driver rather than seeking to minimise VCS's losses by warning that driver that he was about to contravene the site rules by leaving his vehicle at Wickes to visit another store.

When that case was heard at Scun.thorpe County Court before District Judge McIlwaine so impressed was he of the merits of it that aside from simply dismissing the claim he threatened VCS's representative that were she to persist in a particular line that she had better bring her toothbrush with her and summonsed VCS's MD, the inestimable Simon Renshaw-Smith, to explain his company's position before the court.

Undoubtedly DJ McIlwaine will be suitably impressed to learn that VCS so assiduously mended its ways after the mauling he gave them that just 8 weeks later (Ibbotson was heard on the 16 May 2012) here they are again pulling the same trick this time at Doncaster Airport. Methinks this case has got TOOTHBRUSH written through like a stick of rock and the chances of VCS issuing proceedings are less than nil.

@ Gan:

Sounds more threatening to me - I suspect it's headed 'Notice of Court Action' or similar.

There's a fair chance VCS might cancel if the DVLA inform them of a complaint regarding their KADOE contract.

So i take it the advice is to wait and see what vcs do if i dont pay newlyn in the next 7 days???
will vcs 1st response be for court dates or give me a chance to pay the fine off?

Court dates? Doesn't work like that... They should issue a Letter Before County Court Claim (LBCCC) stating the reasons why the money is owed, how to pay, how long (usually 2 weeks) and then they can issue a claim. It's quite a protracted process - and even if they did issue a claim there's always the option to 'settle out of court' - however, they will want their court fee back and possibly some other chaff. Even if it got to a hearing this would be many months away - and is not a 'summons' as this is for criminal offences.

However, they may just issue a claim - following the pre-court protocol doesn't appear to be a blocker to the claim. (Although strictly it should cause them issues as they know better)

Was the transcript for that ever made public? I have read (many times when I need a pick me up) the original but can't remember reading the second part.

See page 13 here.

Ta, I was referring to Page 15 line 16, Renshaw-Smith with his reply.

Thanks anyway

I'm sure he wouldn't want to be in contempt of court?