Durham couple 'intimidated' by parking charge debt letters

The number plate recognition camera was high up on the side of a building

A couple who successfully appealed against two parking charges say they are being intimidated by a debt recovery firm over a third.

Linda Parkin and her husband said all three notices for overstaying the free parking limit at Cheveley Park Shopping Centre in Belmont, Durham, were wrong.

In June drivers said they were being charged for longer because the monitoring camera missed them leaving.

Letters from Debt Recovery Plus Limited (DRPL) warn legal action is "imminent".

They add they "will be checking how long it takes you to pay".

DRPL could not be reached for comment.

The limit of two hours' free parking was introduced at the shopping centre in January.

Mrs Parkin said a call-handler from the company told her he would refer the issue back to the parking company and believed the charge should be cancelled, given two others had been.

But she was still being "threatened with court action", she said.

"The letters I have received from Debt Recovery are intimidating and have made me very angry," she said.

"I can appreciate how people feel being chased for charges when they have done nothing wrong."

Drivers say the camera's (top left) view of cars leaving could be easily blocked by other cars

Mrs Parkin's husband is one of a number of drivers who claim they left on time but were missed by the car park's automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system.

They said the camera's view of registration plates could be blocked by another car leaving or arriving at the same time.

New cameras have now been installed.

Mrs Parkin said her husband visited the shopping centre three times a day for the same specific tasks and was never there for more than 15 minutes.

He "couldn't possibly have been there" when the letters said he was because, at that time every day, they walk their dog in a park four miles away, she said.

Drivers say the camera's (top left) view of cars leaving could be easily blocked by other cars

The letters from DRPL:

• Use language such as "terminal notice" and "pre-legal action".

• Warn: "Days until legal action commences: IMMINENT", with the last word in bold, red font.

• Say a lack of response will be taken to mean "an active choice to undertake legal proceedings".

• Warn the company "will be checking how long it takes you to pay".

• Say Mrs Parkin has "lost the right to appeal the charge by not responding sooner" although she had appealed.

Smart Parking, which manages the parking system and uses DRPL to recoup unpaid charges, has been approached for comment.

Industry body the British Parking Association (BPA), of which DRPL is a member, said its letters were "compliant with our code of practice".

Debt recovery letters should "clearly set out the consequences of not paying the parking charge notice", it said.

The BBC contacted DRPL by email and phone but received no response. Smart Parking said it could not provide further contact details for the company. The BPA said it had shared the BBC's questions with DRPL.