Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below. 

A.H. writes: In May 2023 I parked at The Royal Telegraph, a Marston's pub in Derby. 

I discovered the payment system had changed, with cash or card no longer an option. 

I followed instructions and paid £2.70 by phone, using my Mastercard. 

There was no receipt but I later received a parking charge notice demanding £100. 

Tony Hetherington replies: The demand for £100 was just the opening shot in a battle that has lasted two years. 

When the letter arrived from the car park operator, Parkingeye, you appealed and produced your credit card statement which clearly shows payment of £2.70 to 'Paybyphone Chorley', a company which says it aims to 'find a way to take the pain out of parking'.

You might have thought that proof of payment would be the end of the matter, but a fortnight later Parkingeye replied. It wanted a copy of the printed parking ticket, which was impossible as no ticket was provided, or confirmation of payment to Paybyphone, which you had supplied.

Next came a rejection of your appeal by Parkingeye, which suggested you could try again by contacting the industry's private appeals service Popla.

Then, in October 2023, you were told this had failed, that the payment now due had risen to £120 and that you should be prepared to be taken to court and face further costs.

However, no court case followed. Instead, last year you received a series of demands from Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd, a Runcorn firm of debt collectors. The letters ended in December with one from their solicitors demanding £170.

After you contacted me, I fired off a few questions to Parkingeye. It told me quite quickly that it had no record of any payment on the day in question that matched your number plate.

In fact, it had only seven drivers that used Paybyphone that day, and none of their number plates was even close to yours.

I also contacted the debt collectors, who helpfully agreed to back off while I investigated.

Finally I started to work backwards. If your credit card statement showed a payment of £2.70 – which it did – then what did you get in return?

The statement confirms that your money went to Paybyphone Chorley, so I asked the firm to say what had happened to it.

The explanation may be worrying for lots of drivers, particularly as more and more car parks seem to be abandoning machines that accept cash or credit and debit cards.

Your call to Paybyphone was answered automatically by what it calls an 'interactive voice response' system, and it told me you had given your number plate incorrectly. Does this mean that the system did not understand what you said

– perhaps because of your voice or accent – or does it mean that for some reason you gave the wrong reg number?

Paybyphone replied that it was impossible to answer. All it could say was you confirmed the number and it was wrong. Whether this had anything to do with your speech is unclear.

However, Paybyphone's confirmation that you had paid has been enough for it to withdraw its claims completely and to call off the debt collectors.

And if you fancy returning to The Royal Telegraph in Derby, there is no need for concern as Marston's says that it no longer uses Parkingeye.

Crime fighters? No, just cheeky blinders

J.B. writes: I've been plagued with calls saying I'm owed money from some scheme. 

After the most recent call, I received an email which I am forwarding to you. 

I presume this is a scam, but I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Tony Hetherington replies: You are right, this is a scam. But it's not just any old scam, it's a laughably bad scam.

The email you received came from Trustfunds Ltd, which claims to be an established business assisting law enforcement in fighting fraud, particularly cybercrime. However, its website at trustfunds.ltd is only a few months old, with fees paid for just one year, which is typically a sign that whoever is running it does not intend to stick around for long.

Who is running it? Well, it was registered by someone who gave his name as Tommy Shelby – the lead character in the BBC's Birmingham-based gangster drama Peaky Blinders!

So is Trustfunds based in Birmingham?

No, it uses an address in Amsterdam which belongs to a firm that takes in mail or answers the phone for anyone who pays, whether they are really there or not. However, the website is not registered there. Instead, Tommy Shelby gives an address in Delaware, USA – which turned out to be a local airport.

As for the website itself, it is a mess, and one of the worst scam sites I have seen. It refers to its terms and conditions as 'trams and condition' – not that it matters as clicking on the link leads nowhere.

My guess is that the calls you received are meant to lead to a demand for an upfront fee, supposedly to cover legal costs or taxes. In return you will be promised a huge sum from some investment they will say you forgot about making years ago but which has miraculously worked out well.

I wanted to ask Trustfunds to confirm this, but when I rang its Netherlands number no one answered. These are very, very poor fraudsters.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email [email protected]. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.