Advice re debt collection agency

[Bensoph]

I hope this is the right part of the forum to post in and thanks in advance for any advice!
At the end of Feb this year (27th to be exact) I got a parking charge notice on my car. The car was parked in parking spaces that belong to a block of flats where I was visiting a friend. They don't issue you with visitors permits so had no permit on show which was stated as the reason for the initial notice.
After a bit of googling I decided to ignore this, then a few months later I got a later stating I needed to pay, again I ignored the letter.
Today I've now received a letter from 'debt recovery plus ltd' stating I must pay £160 by 11/09/15. If I remember correctly the initial parking charge was £60.

Am a bit unsure what to do?

[ostell]

Re: Advice re debt collection agency

I think if you have ignored it for this long then the only option is to continue to ignore it. Others may advise differently.

Ignore has not been the advice for 3 years or so. Some information might be helpful. You say the parking company put the ticket on the windscreen? You got the initial windscreen ticket on the 27th Feb. When did you receive the letter, as the registered keeper, asking you to pay? Was it more than 56 days after the windscreen ticket?

Timing is important. POFA has strict rules to allow the parking company to hold the keeper liable for their speculative invoice. If the rules aren't followed then they can only claim from the driver, who they don't know, and the keeper does not have to tell them who the driver was. Who is the parking company?

Hope you have kept the letters so that you cn post them on here with personal details blanked out.

[Bensoph]

Re: Advice re debt collection agency

No I've stupidly not kept the ticket or the letter :/
I'm pretty sure the letter came right at the end of April so would have just be over the 56days if I've worked it out right. But of course without the letter I can't prove this can I?!