faq99

<your address>

<date you wrote this letter>

Without Prejudice, save as to costs

<name of the car park company>

<address of car park company>

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am the registered operator of motor vehicle ABC123 and have received your letter dated dd/mm/yyyy for payment of car parking penalty number xxxxxx that you allege I incurred on dd/mm/yyyy.

Your demand appears to have been sent to me in error because I am not liable for this debt. I am unable to offer you any further assistance so please do not send me any further demands for payment.

Where required by law, please provide me the operator license number of all person(s) who have sent me demands for payment.

I dispute incurring the alleged debt and I dispute entering into any contract with you. I deny all liability on this matter and I will defend any proceedings brought against me. You must cease all efforts to collect this alleged debt whilst it remains in dispute, in compliance with National, ACCC and state laws and guidelines (refer ACCC Debt Collection Guidelines http://tinyurl.com/parking-04 ). You must also advise any debt collectors, lawyers or other third parties you have collecting this debt to stop sending me demands.

In dispute is the following:

a) The identity of any person who entered any alleged contract with you; and

b) The existence of any contract; and

c) Whether the amount you are claiming for alleged breach of any alleged contract is a reasonable pre-estimate of the costs allegedly incurred by you.

To assist in resolving this dispute, please send me within 7 days:

1. Confirmation of whether, following receipt of this letter, you still hold me responsible for the alleged debt.

2. If you dismiss my appeal and still hold me responsible for the alleged debt, I require you to properly articulate the facts and matters on which your claim is based. In addition, please forward me the following particulars:

a) Documentary evidence of the alleged debt and proof that it was incurred by me. Or alternatively, the creditor's contact details.

b) The basis on which you allege that I was a party to the agreement alleged to exist;

c) A copy of the contract you allege was entered into.

d) Photographs of any signs that need to be read in conjunction with the alleged contract.

e) Details of the actual offence you are claiming. e.g. failure to buy ticket, expired ticket, parking in no-standing etc. As well as the usual particulars of date, time, precise location within the car park and other facts and matters giving rise to the alleged breach of agreement.

f) An itemised breakdown of the debt you are claiming and details on how it was calculated. Show separately legal costs, court costs, administration costs, costs associated with identifying me as the car owner, patrolling costs and a breakdown of any other costs not already mentioned.

g) Pursuant to the Privacy Act, a copy of all photos and other data hold on me or my car. Indicate the date each photo was taken. And forward me any other data that you hold on me that the Privacy Act requires you to disclose.

h) An Indication of the amount of money you would normally receive for a car to park in your car park for the period of time I am alleged to have parked there for.

i) A copy of your appeal handing procedure, including information on how you adjudicate on appeals. j) The name of the person you allege was driving my car at the time you allege my car was parked in your car park.

Yours sincerely,

<your name>

One final note before you write to them. You should not write to complain about the parking situation in any way at all or else you will almost certainly make things worse for yourself". What this means is don't write to them complaining the signs weren't clear, or you were only here 2-3 minutes, or that you were in a hurry, or that it was your first time in this car park or anything like that. Because by doing so you are admitting you were driving, and you lose one of your key defences because it means you are admitting you were there on that day, whereas before you wrote to them they didn't know who was driving.

However, if you have written to them already (before finding my website) and admitted that you parked there, then you can still send the above proforma. So even though you admitted parking there, you still have the right to deny liability for the fine. There many other reasons to deny liability such as the signs being unclear or the amount they claiming being out of proportion with the damages they suffered or the contract being unfair under Australian Consumer Law just to name a few. The proforma deliberately doesn't mention the reason for the denial, it just says you deny liability.

Note that the above template is recommended by a Brisbane lawyer at

http://www.justanswer.com/australian-law/8q65s-received-parking-infringement-notice-threat.html

C. Whom to send the letter to

• In general, no matter who sent you the last letter, the registered letter above should be sent to the car parking company address. However, if you have received a letter from a lawyer representing the company (or a lawyer representing the debt collection company), then you should send your letter of denial to that lawyer. If you have received a letter from a lawyer, then even if you have since received further letters from the company or its debt collectors, still send your denial to the lawyer. The reason for this is that lawyers are held to a higher level of accountability by their professional associations, and if the lawyer does not respond, you can complain to the Legal Services Commissioner in your state. If you have already sent the letter of denial to the company, and then later get a letter from their lawyer, then send another letter of denial to the lawyer, for the reasons just explained, but apart from that exception, only one letter needs to be send normally.

You can also optionally also send a copy of the letter above by email to the car parking company so that they get it straight away (the car park companies don't advertise their email addresses, but they are on my website under the company name: https://sites.google.com/site/unfairfines/companies) - send the copy to ALL email addresses that you find there for the company, including their debt collectors). These can be send normal post or email.

You should also send copies to any lawyers or debt collectors who have previously sent you demands - these copies can be sent normal mail or email. Again, email addresses for lawyers or debt collectors are on my website under the company name.

D. How to send the letter

You should the letter of denial registered mail and keep a photo copy of it because we have had many cases where the companies have denied receiving a denial of liability. If you give them the opportunity to deny receiving your letter, then they can keep sending you demands for payment. It costs $3.70 to send a letter registered post. Some people don't like wasting $3.70 on the enemy. Believe me it is well worth it. When the ACCC has them in the Federal Court and the company say they didn't receive a letter of denial from them and the prosecutor holds up the registered letter bar code and the judge hits them with a $10,000 fine (per offence!), and they go bankrupt, yes that $3.70 will be well worth it, believe me.

To send the letter registered post, follow these instructions:

• • Take your printed and signed letter to your local post office.

  • For $3.70 buy a registered mail envelope over the counter, or in larger post offices you take one off the shelf and pay later.

  • Write the address of the company, or lawyer on the front of the registered envelope that you purchased.

  • There is also a lodgement receipt on the back of the registered envelope. You tear off the lodgement receipt and fill it out. You put the name of the company or lawyer you are sending it to, and your name and the date and sign it. The lodgement receipt proves who you sent the registered letter to. And it's important we have this as proof of to whom you sent the letter.

  • Take the envelope and the lodgement receipt to the post office counter.

  • The post office will stamp our lodgement receipt and hand it back to you. The stamp shows that the envelope you are sending matches the address on the lodgement receipt. If they don't stamp it, ask them to. You are paying for this service, so make sure they stamp it.

  • The post office will then post the envelope on their side of the counter.

  • Take your lodgement receipt home and store it is a safe place. If you ever complain to the ACCC this receipt will come in handy.

  • A couple of days later, go to http://auspost.com.au/track and key in the AP Article ID number from your lodgement receipt (on the Australia Post website, its called the "tracking number"). The website will tell you when it has been received and who signed for it. When your letter arrives at the post office, the status will change to "Awaiting Collection from Post Office". Then after the person collects and signs for it, the status will change to "Delivered to P SMITH". In this case, P Smith has come and collected the mail and signed for it.

  • Once it has been signed for, you should take a printout of the page at http://auspost.com.au/track and keep it, as after a few months it gets deleted from the Australia Post website (however, if you ever need to obtain a copy after it has been deleted from the website, you can ring the Australia Post help number and ask them for anew copy of it. But keep a copy yourself to save that hassle.

E. What to do if they keep writing to you after you have denied liability

If the parking company continues to write to you after you have denied liablity using the above proforma (or similar proforma that denies liability for the fine), do not write back to the company. Rather you should write a letter of complaint to the NSW Fair Trading Office, Victorian Consumer Affairs, or the Consumer body in your state as follows:

<your address>

<date you wrote this letter>

Company: <Name of car park company and ABN>

I am writing to complain that <Company Name> sent me letters demanding payment for an alleged debt after I had denied liability. I understand this is contrary to the ACCC publication Regulatory Guide 96 "Debt Collection guideline: for collectors and creditors".

1. On 99/99/9999 <car park name> sent me payment demand for $173.00 (letter attached).

2. On 99/99/9999 I wrote to <car park name> denying liability for the payment demand (letter attached).

3. On 99/99/9999 <car park name> sent me another payment demand for $173.00 (letter attached). This was <x> days after I had formerly denied liability. I was confused about this demand as I had already denied liability. Initially I thought that I have to pay it (perhaps it was a statutory fine) but then I found information that this last request was possibly unlawful and could be "undue harassment" or "misleading or deceptive conduct". The ACCC Guidelines for Debt Collection specifically disallows creditors from continuing to demand payments for alleged debts that have been denied in writing, hence my complaint to you.

I ask you to write to the company for me and ask them to stop writing to me requesting money.

Also, my letter may help you establish if this is a pattern of behaviour that requires investigation and possible enforcement action.

Yours sincerely,

<Your name>

As well as sending this complaint to your state consumer body (Consumer Affairs Victoria, Office of Fair Trading etc.), you should also send a copy by mail to:

ACCC Info Centre

GPO Box 3131

Canberra ACT 2601

F. What if they don't reply to my letter

If they don't reply to you, then you can either:

a) Do nothing on the assumption that they are no longer going to bother you.

or

b) Write a letter of complaint as follows to the NSW Fair Trading Office, Victorian Consumer Affairs, or the Consumer body in your state as follows or contact me for help on how to write a complaint.

<your address>

<date you wrote this letter>

Company: <Name of car park company and ABN>

I am writing to complain that <Company Name> did not respond to my letter asking for:

- proof that an alleged debt belongs to me; and

- a copy of the contract; and

- an itemised account; and

Page 22 of the "ACCC Debt Collection guideline: for collectors and creditors" states:

[e] If a debtor requests information about an amount claimed as owing, or how that amount has been calculated, the creditor should normally provide the debtor with an itemised statement of the account

[f] Creditors should also provide copies of contracts and related documents if these are requested

And page 38 of the same publication, says if a particular liability is disputed in writing, the credit provider must explain in writing in reasonable detail how the liability arises".

1. On 99/99/9999 <car park name> sent me payment demand for $173.00 (letter attached).

And on page 38, it states that

2. On 99/99/9999 I wrote to <car park name> denying liability for the payment demand and asking for proof of the debt and an itemised breakdown (letter attached).

I ask you to write to the company for me and ask them to send me proof that this debt belongs to me, along with an itemised account and copy of the alleged contract, and the other information that I asked for.

Also, my letter may help you establish if this is a pattern of behaviour that requires investigation and possible enforcement action.

Yours sincerely,

<Your name>

As well as sending this complaint to your state consumer body (Consumer Affair Victoria, Office of Fair Trading etc.), you should also send a copy by mail to:

ACCC Info Centre

GPO Box 3131

Canberra ACT 2601

G. What if they just send you photos of your car?

Photos of your car are not evidence that the car was driven by you. So therefore photos of your care are not proof that you owe the debt. They are just trying this on to trick you into paying a debt that does not belong to you. This could be considered misleading or deceptive conduct on their behalf. If they send you photos of your car, you can do one of the following:

a) Do nothing on the assumption that if they only have photos of your car, then they have no real at all proof.

or

b) Write a letter of complaint to the NSW Fair Trading Office, Victorian Consumer Affairs, or the Consumer body in your state as follows.

<your address>

<date you wrote this letter>

RE: Company: <Name of car park company and ABN>

I am writing to complain that <Company Name> sent me photos my car when I asked for proof that the alleged debt belongs to me. However, photos of my car do not in anyway prove that the debt belongs to me. The car park company needs to show proof that I (and not some other person who was driving my car on the day) was driving the car. Page 24 of the ACCC Debt Collection Guideline for collectors and creditors states "In legal proceedings, proof of the debt lies with the person alleging the debt is owned to them".

Also, the company did not send me an itemised breakdown of the alleged debt, or a copy of the contract as I requested.

1. On 99/99/9999 <car park name> sent me payment demand for $173.00 (letter attached).

2. On 99/99/9999 I wrote to <car park name> denying liability for the payment demand and asking for proof of the debt and an itemised breakdown (letter attached).

3. On 99/99/9999 <car park name> sent me photos of my car but no proof that the alleged debt belonged to me (see photos and email or letter attached).

I ask you to write to the company for me and ask them to send me proof that this debt belongs to me, along with an itemised account and copy of the alleged contract, and the other information that I asked for.

Also, my letter may help you establish if this is a pattern of behaviour that requires investigation and possible enforcement action.

Yours sincerely,

<Your name>

As well as sending this complaint to your state consumer body (Consumer Affair Victoria, Office of Fair Trading etc.), you should also send a copy by mail to:

ACCC Info Centre

GPO Box 3131

Canberra ACT 2601