DCBL - parking charge recovery 5 yrs old

sunrisesunset

Hello,

Many years ago, we got a parking notice. We can't even remember what year it was. The letter included two photos. The entrance photo showed our car driving in. The licence plate was clear. The exit photo showed a darker car and the licence plate wasn't clear. We assumed it was a scam and ignored it because the second image looked like a completely different car.

Our car stopped there because the driver was too tired to keep driving safely.

Today, almost 6 years later, we got a letter from DCBL (Direct Collection Bailiffs Limited). It says the following:



Notice of Debt Recovery

Dear _____,

Your overdue amount of £100.00 due to CP Plus Ltd in relation to an unpaid debt has now been passed to DCBL (Direct Collection Bailiffs Limited) to recover the debt on their behalf. A further £__ + VAT administration and recovery fee has now been accrued therefore the total amount now due is £__.

To ensure no further action will take place please make immediate payment by one of the following methods.

Phoning our 24 hour payment line (Etc)
Postal Order/Cheque (Etc)
Online by visiting our website (Etc) and enter client reference number (Etc)

Alternatively, if you wish to discuss your case please call (Etc)

Failure to address within 14 days of the date of this letter will result in your case being reviewed for legal recovery and such costs being added to the debt for recovery.

VRM: the licence plate
Location: _______
Contravention Date: It was 2014

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LETTER

This case is not subject to High Court or Bailiff action.

You can seek free advice and information from (Etc)

Kind regards,

Collections Team

Does the ignoring letters rule still apply? I read the newbie thread and some others but got confused by some law change? Is this the "ignore debt recovery letters" stage, and wait until court letters if they ever come? Any confirmation would be appreciated. My elderly mother is panicking over this and it's set off my mental health issues.

Kind regards

The_Slithy_Tove

Just take a look at the first few pages of this forum - loads of DBCL threads. They are clearly digging up old cases in a hope of getting people to bite. Don't do so. This is just another debt collectors letter, so should be ignored.

Just watch out for a real claim or Letter Before Claim before the whole thing times out after 6 years.

turog

I've just received exactly the same letter for parking in a MOTO service station in 2014.

waamo

DCBL are having a last minute mass mail to try and recover something before the debt become statute barred.

Yeezy

I also have the same letter... I have heard ignore DCBL but what do I do about the pcn. Mines is from 3 years ago. Do I wait to hear again from the pcn ?

beamerguy

Yeezy wrote: »

I also have the same letter... I have heard ignore DCBL but what do I do about the pcn. Mines is from 3 years ago. Do I wait to hear again from the pcn ?

It would appear that word is out with the PPC's that DCBL is an easy touch for FREE scary letters.

Similar to a few years ago when a very greedy company called MIL Collections were buying up old parking tickets . MIL screwed up and lost everything they did ..... costa-a-lot-MIL

DCBL are not allowed to buy debts from parking companies, some of them are really taking the pi*ss out of DCBL .....

DCBL are quite new in chasing parking tickets and right now, the PPC's are using them like a walk in walk out public convenience

So, if you receive a LETTER BEFORE CLAIM giving you 30 days to respond, come back here.
They will add on a fake amount of £60 which the courts say is abuse of process ...... If DCBL get this label from the courts, big problems for their TV soap ... "can't pay, we'll take it away" ... abuse of process may well bite them on the bum.

In the meantime, ignore them until maybe you get a letter before claim

DCBL .... stick to what you know, chasing REAL debts, going to bed with scammers can only lead to disaster for you

Coupon-mad

Why are so many people posting and not just reading another exact same thread from earlier today?

Why do people think they should ignore these? If posters had come here when the PCN arrived it would have been cancelled with one email - CP Plus are so darn easy to beat on appeal as they can't hold registered keepers liable.

But this has already been said on another thread. Spare us! Read some!

Yeezy

Thank you for your very detailed answer Beamer guy. Who would send a letter before claim ? Dcbl ? And if I did get that would that be more serious ? Thank you again for your time bud

Yeezy

Coupon mad ... in my scenario I was actually the one driving 3 years ago and the one who parked there.

beamerguy

Yeezy wrote: »

Thank you for your very detailed answer Beamer guy. Who would send a letter before claim ? Dcbl ? And if I did get that would that be more serious ? Thank you again for your time bud

DCBL would sent it AS DCB Legal

Not serious because they will add on a fake £60 and that is when it gets serious for DCB Legal.

No point in thinking, just wait, well after xmas now

sunrisesunset

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Why are so many people posting and not just reading another exact same thread from earlier today?

Why do people think they should ignore these? If posters had come here when the PCN arrived it would have been cancelled with one email - CP Plus are so darn easy to beat on appeal as they can't hold registered keepers liable.

But this has already been said on another thread. Spare us! Read some!

I guess because we heard the common advice that the private land PCNs weren't enforceable. I remember many people saying they should be ignored, and that only government, council, etc PCNs should be responded to. Apparently that advice has changed, but was the change highly publicised? And now we're being told to ignore the letters, which is what we did in the first place. Unfortunately we ignored the wrong letter.

I just wanted to say thanks for the responses. My chronic anxiety makes it hard to trust myself, so that's why I posted even though I knew the "right" answer. I knew it was a risk angering someone, but decided to post anyway. Thanks everyone for the reassurance!