Letter before Claim from CST Law

SJJ80

Hi. My husband has been receiving a number of letters from Debt Recovery Plus and thereafter Zenith Collections demanding payment of £170 parking fine. We have ignored these as advised on the Newbies Thread. We have now received a Letter before Claim from CST Law. I have made a SAR to their client and have notified CST Law that we have done this and requested a delay of 30 days for debt advice, as per the post on the Newbies Thread. I have also contacted the establishment that we visited to make a complaint against the fine. Do I need to do anything else at this stage? We did pay for a parking ticket. We think they will be arguing that we stayed past the time of the ticket as they have sent photos with timings in the original parking charge notice. My husband paid for the ticket and cannot remember how much time he paid for. How likely are we to be able to successfully defend a claim for £170 if we did run over on our ticket?

KeithP

You seem to be going about this the right way.

The NEWBIES thread has all the up to date answers.

Post again on this thread if/when you receive a County Court Claim Form.

Coupon-mad

How likely are we to be able to successfully defend a claim for £170 if we did run over on our ticket?

99% likely to win or see it discontinued if you follow our advice from start to finish. 

But a landowner complaint is best - even if they refuse to cancel - because landowners need to know the damage that parking firms cause to reputation and their business/future custom.

And...

REALLY IMPORTANT PLEASE: 

The new (final) Government Consultation this Summer is something you must make sure you get your say in, given what you've been through.  

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78411172/#Comment_78411172

Please, please come back every week to check and make sure your voice - AND YOUR FRIENDS’ AND RELATIVES’ VOICES TOO -  is/are not missed from this final opportunity to take part in the Government Consultation, coming very soon!

beamerguy

SJJ80 said:

Hi. My husband has been receiving a number of letters from Debt Recovery Plus and thereafter Zenith Collections demanding payment of £170 parking fine. We have ignored these as advised on the Newbies Thread. We have now received a Letter before Claim from CST Law. I have made a SAR to their client and have notified CST Law that we have done this and requested a delay of 30 days for debt advice, as per the post on the Newbies Thread. I have also contacted the establishment that we visited to make a complaint against the fine. Do I need to do anything else at this stage? We did pay for a parking ticket. We think they will be arguing that we stayed past the time of the ticket as they have sent photos with timings in the original parking charge notice. My husband paid for the ticket and cannot remember how much time he paid for. How likely are we to be able to successfully defend a claim for £170 if we did run over on our ticket?

Don't get sucked in with this family scam ..... This nasty little family (all mates), are telling you lies and are hoping you are a mug ..... 

DRP (DEBT RECOVERY PLUS)
Group Thread to ensure DRP are ignored ?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6275792/drp-debt-recovery-plus-group-thread-to-ensure-drp-are-ignored#latest

CST letters' forum group thread

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6166004/cst-letters-forum-group-thread/p1


Play the great CST game

By the way, CST (AKA CREDIT STYLE) are under investigation by the SRA

D_P_Dance

Hi. My husband has been receiving a number of letters from Debt Recovery Plus ... demanding payment of £170 parking fine. 

It us nor a fine and tha amount they are asking for is highly likley to contain an unlawful £70.  Read this and complain to your MP.

Excel v Wilkinson

At the Bradford County Court, District Judge Claire Jackson (now HHJ Jackson, a Specialist Civil Circuit Judge) decided to hear a 'test case' a few months ago, where £60 had been added to a parking charge despite Judges up and down the country repeatedly disallowing that sum and warning parking firms not to waste court time with such spurious claims.   That case was Excel v Wilkinson: G4QZ465V, heard in July 2020 and leave to appeal was refused and that route was not pursued.  The Judge concluded that such claims are proceedings with 'an improper collateral purpose'.   This Judge - and others who have since copied her words and struck dozens of cases out in late 2020 and into 2021 - went into significant detail and concluded that parking operators (such as this Claimant) are seeking to circumvent CPR 27.14 as well as breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015.   DJ Hickinbottom has recently struck more cases out in that court area, stating: ''I find that striking out this claim is the only appropriate manner in which the disapproval of the court can be shown''.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/16qovzulab1szem/G4QZ465V Excel v Wilkinson.pdf?dl=0

jjimbob123

Hi i too have a 

Letter before claim for CST Anchor Security/Care Parking
asking for £160 - looking at the advice in the newbies thread i need to send a letter like this... or do i continue to ignore. telling me to pay Credit Style Limited

Proposed Legal Proceedings
Claimant: Anchor Security Services Ltd

I refer to your letter of claim.

I confirm that my address for service for the time being - assuming you don't delay any claim - is as follows,

The alleged debt is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

I was not the driver of the car on the day claimed and do not believe I am liable.

I have yet to see any evidence of a parking contravention.

I note that the amount being claimed has increased by a hugely exaggerated amount which the Government called "extorting money from motorists".

I have two questions, and under the PAP I am entitled to specific answers:

1. Am I to understand that the additional £60 represents what you lot dress up as a 'Debt Recovery' fee, and if so, is this net or inclusive of VAT? If the latter, would you kindly explain why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT?

2. With regard to the principal alleged PCN sum: Is this damages, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking?

Yours faithfully

Coupon-mad

Either is fine.

Le_Kirk

You've tagged onto the end of a very old thread (June 2021) so I suggest that if you need further help, that you cannot find in the NEWBIE sticky,  you start your own new thread. 

SJJ80

Hi. I thought I’d heard the last about this parking ticket from August 2020 but four years on we’ve been contacted again; this time by dbl.

My husband received a letter dated 28th May 2025 from dcbl (Diect Collection Bailiffs Ltd) entitled Notice of Debt Recovery for an unpaid parking charge of £170. The letter requested immediate payment and stated we are no longer able to appeal. It gave us 14 days to pay or call them to discuss repayment.

We ignored the above letter and have now received a letter from dcb legal Ltd dated 25th July, entitled Letter of Claim and giving us 30 days to pay or complete a reply form and financial statement via a weblink on their website. Please could you advise what next steps we should take. Many thanks. 

Gr1pr

Follow the LoC advice in the second post in the newbies sticky thread in announcements near the top of the forum 

No filling in any paperwork 

Coupon-mad

SJJ80 said:

Hi. I thought I’d heard the last about this parking ticket from August 2020 but four years on we’ve been contacted again; this time by dbl.

My husband received a letter dated 28th May 2025 from dcbl (Diect Collection Bailiffs Ltd) entitled Notice of Debt Recovery for an unpaid parking charge of £170. The letter requested immediate payment and stated we are no longer able to appeal. It gave us 14 days to pay or call them to discuss repayment.

We ignored the above letter and have now received a letter from dcb legal Ltd dated 25th July, entitled Letter of Claim and giving us 30 days to pay or complete a reply form and financial statement via a weblink on their website. Please could you advise what next steps we should take. Many thanks. 

This is in the NEWBIES thread already.

But it's a template stage where no help is needed. Please promise not to show us the template reply you send (because we don't need to check it) and - later this month - please don't show us DCB Legal's email reply.

See other threads - we've had two today already with the DCB Legal reply! Please no...