I have just received a £188 demand from a firm of debt collectors for a parking offence that allegedly took place in Italy back in 2017. I had hired a car but had not visited the town in question, Pompei.

A year after the trip, I received a notification from the Italian authorities demanding the fine be paid. This saga rumbled on until Hertz customer services sent me an email saying it had all been dropped and my administration fee had been refunded.

I was therefore somewhat surprised to receive a letter last month from CLI, a UK-based debt collection company, demanding £188 in relation to this unpaid parking fine. Repeated attempts to sort this out via email and phone have not resulted in any response from Hertz, and I am turning to you to see if you can help me get this matter finally put to bed.

RG, Nottingham

Don’t waste another moment of your time over this – chuck the letter in the bin. Credit Limits International appears to buy outstanding fines and then send out letters in the hope that some people will be spooked into paying. It cannot enforce them, and will never try.

The internet is awash with similar complaints and typically nothing ever comes of it. A Guardian colleague received a similar letter which he ignored. Nothing was heard of the matter again.

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