Legal Recovery Action - DCBL

red85pipe

In March 2019 I was sent a PCN as the keeper of a vehicle from One Parking Solution for failing to display a valid permit in an off road private residential parking. The fine was £100. This was then raised to £170 by ZZPS and then £182 by QDR Solicitors in June 2019. I have not heard from them since and I never replied to them or acknowledged responsibility as the car's keeper. In April 2020 I received a Notice of Debt Recovery from DCBL for £160 and I have since received a letter detailing 'Legal Recovery Action' "We have now recommended to our client the commencement of legal action against you. However the granting of judgments and other orders are at the discretion of the courts" and have told me to make the payment to ensure no further action will take place but the back says "This case is not subject to High Court or Bailiff action".

What is my best available option?

Not_Scammed

Ignore it as advised in the 'Newbies' thread.

Le_Kirk

Your best option is to start by reading the NEWBIE sticky, where most of your questions will be answered.  If you then have any specific questions, do come back and post again.  You can safely ignore debt collector letters (do keep them on file to prove unreasonable behaviour later).  You cannot ignore letter of/before claim or real court claim form from Northampton CCBC.  Some good reading can be had by searching the forum for OPS and see how others have seen them off.  Whereabouts in the country is the car park - Sussex by any chance?

D_P_Dance

Have you read this?

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2016/11/residential-parking.htmlantsot

What does your lease/AST say about parking? Does it mention the need to display a permit? then it may take primacy over the self serving TnC of the scammer, and interfere with your lawful right to “quiet enjoyment” of your property, possible an offence under The Landlord and Ten Acts.

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP., it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and in some cases, cancellation.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/of these Private Parking Companies.

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.

fisherjim

We have now recommended to our client the commencement of legal action against you. However the granting of judgments and other orders are at the discretion of the courts" and have told me to make the payment to ensure no further action will take place but the back says "This case is not subject to High Court or Bailiff action".

I will translate that for you

We have come to the bottom of our threat bucket and are trying one last attempt to intimidate you with another carefully worded empty piece of jargon in the hope that our reputation on TV which has no bearing on this will frighten you.

If this doesn't work we give up and tell the PPC we have failed to bully you into submission and lost our chance at our cut of the scam.

Fruitcake

What happened when you complained to the landowner? If this is at your residence, what does your lease/AST say about parking, parking permits, scamvoices, and court claims. What it doesn't say is just as important. A lease/AST will have primacy of contract over anything a third party unregulated scammer has to say. 
If this is not your residence, what does the lease/AST of the person being visited by The Driver say or not say about the above. 

In the first instance above, it may be advantageous to reveal the driver's identity if it goes to court.
In the second instance it may be better to keep the driver's identity secret.

There is nothing stopping you from making a late appeal to the scammers which should have been the second thing you did.

Have you complained to your MP yet about this unregulated scam.

Coupon-mad

I say you SHOULD respond and deny the debt and ask them for their client's evidence.  That looks so much better than ignoring, when the case goes to court.  Judges want to see that the OP did engage and didn't ignore the scam.

Have you read other OPS threads and seen that I assist people in Sussex courts v OPS?
Surely you read this before you posted?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6136572/one-parking-solution-warned-by-a-judge-that-they-may-face-an-application-for-a-civil-restraint-order

I was the lay rep in that case.  Which car park, is it in Sussex or the odd ones in Leicester or London people occasionally mention?

beamerguy

I agree with Coupon-mad ........ time to call out the scammers.

DCBL are just scamming you and you don't owe £160.   Now is the time to get hold of their over inflated willy, and shrink it in ice cold water ?


FOR DCBL
There are 2 letters here that you can adapt.
It fits all legals who feed out such crap.   The interesting thing is that those who reply come out with even more crap that will hang them in court. 
 https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6129744/bwlegal-the-scam/p1?new=1

D_P_Dance

DCBL have all sorts of memberships and awards, see bottom of page

https://dcbltd.com/

A complaint to each and every one, plus Trading Standards night cause them a bit of bother.