We received 2 PCNS in November 2024 for allegedly not having a valid e vignette in Hungary even though we had no idea we needed one because we drove from Bratislava for ONE day and we avoided tolls…We did NOT receive any fine directly from the Hungarian authorities giving us the opportunity to pay the fine so how could you lawfully add 50% administration charges on top when we hadn’t had the option to pay the fine?There was no need for the fine to be passed onto yourselves because we hadn’t been given the opportunity to pay it?We had NO IDEA we needed a vignette. We have made several appeals, called this company 18 times, sent 8 emails but we kept receiving the same generic response demanding payment. On 02/01/2025 we spoke to Stuart Hendry the legal manager and solicitor for the company. We explained our genuine situation and he told us he would place the case on hold, read our communication and speak to the Hungarian authorities to ask whether we could just pay the fine amount without any administration costs on top. He said someone would contact us but they never did so we assumed the case was closed down because we received no more letters, emails or communication but clearly this is part of their unlawful business operation to then be able to increase the fines by more than triple and incorrectly and unfairly accuse you of not paying. DO NOT TRUST WHAT EPC PLC TELL YOU OVER THE PHONE BECAUSE IT IS NOT THE TRUTH. THEY LIE TO YOU, MAKE YOU BELIEVE THEM THEN BACKTRACK IN EMAILS AND INCREASE THE FINES.Almost 4 months later we have now received more fines from Trace debt recovery asking for approximately £610 to be paid to them so somehow the fines of £47.24 and £47.15 have increased by £510.14 without warning? What legal authority do you have to do this?EPC PLC did not send anymore letters or follow their own outlined procedures. EPC PLC have now told me i am not allowed to call and speak to their customer service team because they cannot help me and once again demanding payments over £500I will not be tolerating any further unlawful harassment from Trace debt recovery. I will be updating action fraud, contacting my local MP and reporting both EPC PLC to the police because now you are demanding close to £1000 and you will not provide any proof or evidence to backup the fines and PCNs you are sending and no one will speak to us and my emails and correspondence are NOT been acknowledgedThe burden of proof lies with you (EPC PLC) to prove these fines are legitimate, to prove we drove on a road that required a valid e vignette because the images on the PCN could have been taken on any road anywhere in Europe. I need to see proof there was sufficient signage in English and that it was visibly clear to English drivers, driving in a right hand drive vehicle, that they needed a e vignette before driving onto certain roads because we did not see any toll booths or signage or anyone asking us to buy a vignette we just simply continued on the road and we had no idea we had done anything wrong until we received this fine 5 months later.This is the worst, most frustrating and unprofessional company we have ever dealt with and I don’t understand how people can sleep at night when they work for companies who endeavour to scare, intimidate and frighten vulnerable people into paying an excessive amount of money. Surely you must have empathy?I have built a comprehensive case against EPC so if you wish to go down the lengthy and costly litigation process to enforce a foreign judgement against us then we will happily be there in court to defend our case, show all our evidence and correspondence and the judge will see you have not followed your own procedures or acknowledged any of our correspondence and the judge will see you have not acted lawfully or got any legal authority to be demanding almost £1000 and our solicitor has confirmed no UK judge would rule this case in your favour. If you can provide clear proof (as requested on the email on 27/11/2024) that we drove on a road in Hungary that required an e vignette and there was clear signage (in English) and that it was made clear to English drivers, driving in a right hand drive vehicle, that an e vignette was required before driving on the road then i will accept we made a mistake so we will pay the fines of £47.15 and £47.24 directly to the Hungarian authorities but we will not be paying any ridiculous administration costs to yourselves because I will not be paying any money to fund this unfair business operation you have going on because I don’t want to fund your business and risk anymore vulnerable people becoming frightened and intimidated into paying your ridiculous administration costs that you have no legal authority to be charging. If you are willing to discuss this further please ask someone from your legal team to contact me direct
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
