DCB Legal letter before Claim, Driver named

skitahoewhite

Hello all-
Seeking a bit of advice. The short of it is I received a PCN from First Parking for an overstay(April 2020). As the keeper of the car, my wife received a NTK, with a fine. I appealed it on her behalf claiming that she was not the driver. The appeal was rejected on the following basis:

"I will be rejecting your appeal on the following grounds-You have informed us that you was not the driver of the car, as per the terms on the Notice to Keeper that was sent to the registered keeper, if you were not the driver at the time, you should tell us the name and current postal address of the driver and pass this notice to them. You are advised that if, after 29 days from the date given (which is presumed to be the second working day after the Date Issued), the parking charge has not been paid in full and we do not know both the name and current address of the driver, we have the right to recover any unpaid part of the parking charge from you."

Unfortunately, I did not submit a POPLA as I was unaware that I need to make that submission at that time. The typical debt collection letters followed which were ignored. A letter before claim was finally received(Feb.2021) asking to pay the £160 fine or face possible court proceedings. At that time my wife named the driver. DCBLegal sent a letter to the assumed driver and have asked for confirmation of the driver and the registered address. 

As I couldn't find any advice under these types of circumstances, I would be grateful on any guidance for next steps. 

Thanks! 

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

Best you start reading the second post of the NEWBIES thread where you will find that the first few paragraphs tell you exactly how to deal with a Letter of Claim.

Coupon-mad

A letter before claim was finally received(Feb.2021) asking to pay the £160 fine or face possible court proceedings. At that time my wife named the driver. DCBLegal sent a letter to the assumed driver and have asked for confirmation of the driver and the registered address. 

So if that driver is you, reply and say yes you believe you were the driver and understand that the registered keeper has correctly transferred liability to you, but you have had no information and no evidence. 

And you have never received a PCN yourself so have had no chance to appeal, or use POPLA.  As such, ask them to tell their clients to update the system to show you as the correct motorist in this case and to send you a Notice in the post so you can appeal.  Ask specifically for images of the car and a close up of the signage terms and explanation of the alleged contravention as well, so you can make an informed decision.

Then go and complain to the landowner, immediately, and get it cancelled (University?  Hospital? they can all cancel PCNs at any time if you push).  Do not wait, do not leave that - a landowner cancellation has far better chances than appealing to POPLA.

nosferatu1001

1) there was never a fine. Never use that word, ever, in relation to this invoice
2) So we dont know what you actually sent, verbatim. So answer this exactly: did you tell them the FULL NAME and SERVICEABLE ADDRESS of the DRIVER? Yes or No. No elaboration
3) The rejection letter was exp[[licit in the deadline, so chalk that up to "read letters fully"!
4) The3y arent an "assumed" driver. They ARE the driver. Yes? The only option is for the driver to confirm they were driving, else DCBL will revert to the keeper. 

skitahoewhite

nosferatu1001 said:

1) there was never a fine. Never use that word, ever, in relation to this invoice
2) So we dont know what you actually sent, verbatim. So answer this exactly: did you tell them the FULL NAME and SERVICEABLE ADDRESS of the DRIVER? Yes or No. No elaboration
3) The rejection letter was exp[[licit in the deadline, so chalk that up to "read letters fully"!
4) The3y arent an "assumed" driver. They ARE the driver. Yes? The only option is for the driver to confirm they were driving, else DCBL will revert to the keeper. 

Thanks! Points noted. 
2)Yes
3)No, the POPLA ref was mixed in the email signature in the fine print and slyly hidden.
4)At this point, they assume that I was the driver as there has not been confirmation

skitahoewhite

Coupon-mad said:

A letter before claim was finally received(Feb.2021) asking to pay the £160 fine or face possible court proceedings. At that time my wife named the driver. DCBLegal sent a letter to the assumed driver and have asked for confirmation of the driver and the registered address. 

So if that driver is you, reply and say yes you believe you were the driver and understand that the registered keeper has correctly transferred liability to you, but you have had no information and no evidence. 

And you have never received a PCN yourself so have had no chance to appeal, or use POPLA.  As such, ask them to tell their clients to update the system to show you as the correct motorist in this case and to send you a Notice in the post so you can appeal.  Ask specifically for images of the car and a close up of the signage terms and explanation of the alleged contravention as well, so you can make an informed decision.

Then go and complain to the landowner, immediately, and get it cancelled (University?  Hospital? they can all cancel PCNs at any time if you push).  Do not wait, do not leave that - a landowner cancellation has far better chances than appealing to POPLA.

This is really helpful. 
I think this maybe the best route to explore. The only issue re:landowner is that the property is owned by a large corporation so trying t get through to someone has been difficult

KeithP

skitahoewhite said:

Coupon-mad said:

A letter before claim was finally received(Feb.2021) asking to pay the £160 fine or face possible court proceedings. At that time my wife named the driver. DCBLegal sent a letter to the assumed driver and have asked for confirmation of the driver and the registered address. 

So if that driver is you, reply and say yes you believe you were the driver and understand that the registered keeper has correctly transferred liability to you, but you have had no information and no evidence. 

And you have never received a PCN yourself so have had no chance to appeal, or use POPLA.  As such, ask them to tell their clients to update the system to show you as the correct motorist in this case and to send you a Notice in the post so you can appeal.  Ask specifically for images of the car and a close up of the signage terms and explanation of the alleged contravention as well, so you can make an informed decision.

Then go and complain to the landowner, immediately, and get it cancelled (University?  Hospital? they can all cancel PCNs at any time if you push).  Do not wait, do not leave that - a landowner cancellation has far better chances than appealing to POPLA.

The only issue re:landowner is that the property is owned by a large corporation so trying t get through to someone has been difficult

Have you tried?
Where exactly is this car park?
Who is this 'large corporation?

skitahoewhite

I have. The only contact is through the property management firm whom I've contacted and am waiting on their response. The landowner is a developer  (wealthy russian billionaire) owned company. 
The  entrance has short term parking for deliveries and drop off/pick ups where I was given the "invoice"/PCN

KeithP

I'll try once more...

Where exactly is this car park?
Who is this 'large corporation?

skitahoewhite

I've heard back from the property management company. This was their response:

As discussed, all PCN appeals must go through the parking enforcement company, in this case, First Parking.

As the managing agent, we have little to no sway in reversing tickets given a lack of contractual jurisdiction in the agreement between the landlord and the contractor 

Below is the parking sign posted on the in the area:

skitahoewhite

KeithP said:

I'll try once more...

Where exactly is this car park?
Who is this 'large corporation?

No car park.
Not a corporation, but a developer. St George – part of the Berkeley Group