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ASK TONY: Why did my £25 parking fine turn into £110 penalty?

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On October 27 last year, my wife and I parked in Didcot, Oxon. We were distracted by our two grandsons, aged seven and ten, and forgot to buy a parking ticket.

We returned to find a penalty notice attached to the car. I filled in the form and sent a cheque by post on October 29 for £25, the full amount. But on January 25 this year, I received a penalty demand of £110 with a notice saying: ‘This parking charge has not been paid.’

I checked my bank accounts to find the cheque had not been cashed until December  1, 2011. When I phoned, I was told if I did not pay I would be chased for additional charges. In the end, I agreed to pay £85 by debit card to end the matter.

I feel extremely aggrieved and have written to the company that collected the money, Parking Collection Services, to no avail. D.L., Chalgrove, Oxon.

I, too, would be pretty fed up in your position. You paid your fine on time and for whatever reason the cheque was not cashed for more than a month.

You’re not the first person to complain about being in this situation, as an internet search confirmed.

Parking Collection Services (PCS) acts as a collection agency for parking company Senator Security. PCS says it does not ‘appear to have a record of the email communication’ you sent on February 7.

Like many debt collection services, it operates an 0844 number for customers to ring.

These can cost 40p per minute from a mobile. Even from a Virgin landline, a  five-minute call would cost 75p.

PCS admits it did advise you that without proof of postage of your cheque it would be unable to help any further and charges could be added if the case went to its legal department.

It says it is a member of the British Parking Association (which is, in fact, a trade body) and has been audited by them and found to be fully compliant. PCS does not feel it is at fault in this matter and accepts no liability.

  More... ASK TONY: The police didn't blame me for this hit-and-run - so why did Direct Line?

However, it does accept there may have been a delay in its client, Senator Security, receiving your cheque. In consideration of this, it is willing to pay you back the £85, plus £10 for the copy cheque which you had to obtain.

Readers take note: when sending a cheque to pay a fine, it can be worth using Royal Mail’s Recorded Signed For delivery, which costs an extra 95p, rather than simply relying on a first-class stamp.

Straight to the point

I wanted to switch from Virgin Media to Sky, so I sent Virgin a letter and two emails to cancel my service. I phoned to see if my letter had been received, but was told I couldn’t cancel by letter, as I could have been an imposter. The service is now being cancelled, but Virgin will not refund me for the bills I have been paying. V. P., Herts.

Virgin says it couldn’t get hold of you and so, under the Data Protection Act, was unable to validate your request. Still, it is now refunding you £568.61 for payments you made between September 2011 and June 2012.

How much can I put into a cash Isa this year? D. M., Watford.

Until April 5, 2013, you can put a maximum of £5,640 into these tax-free accounts on sale from banks and building societies. They are open to anyone 16 and over. My husband died last month.

Looking through his office, I found a box of crowns as well as two half-crowns from the Twenties. What are they worth? E. H., Melton Mowbray, Leics.

We asked ValueMyStuff, a coin valuation specialist, and it said the crowns are likely to be from the Queen’s silver wedding in 1972 or Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding in 1981. They were issued in their millions and are worth only about 25p each. As for the two half-crowns, these have 50 per cent silver content and have a value of £4 to £5.

Write to Tony Hazell at Ask Tony, Money Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email asktony@ dailymail.co.uk — please include your daytime phone number, postal address and a separate note addressed to the offending organisation giving them permission to talk to Tony Hazell. We regret we cannot reply to individual letters. Please do not send original documents as we cannot take responsibility for them. No legal responsibility can be accepted by the Daily Mail for answers given.

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