DCBL and DCB Legal Letter of Claim

Kaston

I have received 3 letters from DCB Ltd since March 2021.  The first was Notice of debt recovery - Unpaid parking charge of £160.00, the second was Final reminder - unpaid parking charge of £160.00 and the third was Final notice of debt recovery.  I have ignored them all.  I then received a letter from DCB Legal dated 22 June 2021 headed Letter of Claim.  I was going to ignore this too as it didn't seem very scary.  I now realise that this is a formal letter of intent and that I need to act.

Their client is Parking Awareness Services Ltd and was for a charge from June 2016.  I did get the NtK from them at the time.  I never contacted them or anyone else they got to chase me for money and I've not heard anything for over 3 years. From reading the Newbies section, I know I need to send a SAR to PAS Ltd but nowhere on the letter does it mention their address.  My question is do I need to search online for their address or do I first write to DCB Legal and request their clients information from them?

Thanks in advance for any useful advice.

Redx

try the privacy page on the PAS website , its near the bottom, in red

Coupon-mad

The NEWBIES thread section on sending a SAR tells you how to find the data privacy email addy of any PPC.

Kaston

Redx said:

try the privacy page on the PAS website , its near the bottom, in red

Perfect, I found it and SAR now sent.  Thanks

Kaston

OK,  SAR now sent to PAS and an email has been sent to DCB Legal informing them that I am seeking debt advice and that I have sent their client a SAR.  I've had a standard email back from DCB Legal with a section telling me that I need to fill in the repy form and financial statement, although none was sent with their letter.  I have read the relevant part of the Pre Action Protocol for Debt Claims and it also mentions that a reply form should be completed.  I presume that I am OK just sending emails to both parties and that it won't jeopardise my case if it does go to court?  Thanks again.

KeithP

Have you read even the first few paragraphs of the second post of the NEWBIES thread yet?

You will find there exactly how to respond to a Letter of Claim - including how to deal with those reply forms.

Kaston

KeithP said:

Have you read even the first few paragraphs of the second post of the NEWBIES thread yet?

You will find there exactly how to respond to a Letter of Claim - including how to deal with those reply forms.

As previously mentioned, I have read the Newbies thread and have responded as advised. Dealing with PPC and their solicitors is new to me.  I'm sure you seasoned veterans take it all in your stride but I was just after some reassurance that I was doing things the right way.  If you don't think my post is relevant, you are free to ignore it.  No need for the rather barbed response.

Coupon-mad

We come here to help every day but always need people with a LBC or court claim, to read the 2nd post of the NEWBIES thread before asking questions. Sounds like you have read it.

You do not have to fill in the reply forms; it is well known that the pre-action protocol for debt claims really is not suitable for parking cases because there is no 'debt' and giving these horrific firms your financial income/outgoings is the absolute last thing anyone would do. 

Unfortunately, unless the new Government Framework steps in by liaising with the MoJ to come up with a new pathway for parking cases from 2022 then we are stuck with an unsuitable pre-action protocol and forms that are not relevant to a scam PCN situation.

Personally, I believe this 'industry' should have its own much more appropriate pre-action protocol and a far shorter limitation period to file claims.  Alternatively, private parking should perhaps be removed from the County Court system entirely to stop the damage to people's credit ratings from horrific companies whose very last aim is to deter trespassers, and who deliberately target shoppers and residents.

What is most astonishing is how clueless most of the landowners and retailers actually are, about what is going on.

Redx

What she said ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ , unworkable system for parking claims , should be a bespoke system far removed from debt arrears or mobile phone contract arrears etc

The seasoned veterans on here like me will normally have never experienced these issues , so no experience but have done vast amounts of research , anecdotal replies etc , reading and research is the key , not going through it a dozen times

Just setting the record straight , you should never assume that those of us replying have already been through it !!

Umkomaas

Just setting the record straight , you should never assume that those of us replying have already been through it !!

Ditto.  Me neither. 

D_P_Dance

The added £60 is almost certainly unlawful,  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