DCB Legal - want to pay

W12

First post - overwhelmed by how much information and support is on here. 

I received a notice of intended legal action from DCB Legal about six weeks ago. I did the SAR etc…. as advised on here.  They want £160.

The fine is from March 2019.  Payment in the parking area was by app only, and the app wouldn’t accept my cards.  I appealed at the time and was rejected, so they’ve already got an admission it was me - that came back in the SAR. 

I know the advice on here will be to fight it, but I afraid I don’t have the stomach for it.  I have ADHD and the detail involved in how to fight is overwhelming - and I can’t contemplate the stress of doing a court hearing.   I’d much rather fork out to make it go away.

So - how much do you think it would take for them to back off the legal action?  The full £160?  £100?  £85?

I know it’s against the spirit of the board, but honestly, I just want rid of it. 

Half_way

you have not been fined.
beware that when people have paid up in the past they have had further demands for even more money, figures in excess of £200+ have not been unheard of.

 in other words once they have you they are like a dog with a bone and there isnt a simple way to make it go away, but this place can help

as said this is not a fine, where was the vehicle when it received a parking charge?

W12

I was on an industrial/retail estate in West London. Looks like normal roads, but privately-run parking. I think the landowner referred to was Car Giant. 

D_P_Dance

• It is not a fine, please read the newbies bead this and complain to your MP.

  They want £160.

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

Half_way

theres quire a few industrial estates and n west London, where is it?

W12

Thank you for your comment, and the link to the court judgement. Forgive me for my inaccuracy using the word “fine”.

I’ve read much of the Newbies thread, and I understand that if I did take this all the way to court, I would likely be successful. 

That said, I don’t think I have the mental capacity for detail to go through all that, much less the stress involved.  I’ve tried to follow the details set out about the procedure, and TBH don’t think I’d have a snowball in hell’s chance of making it through all that correctly. 

That’s why I’d be interested in finding out how much it would cost simply to make it go away. 

That linked court judgement seems to say the £60 is indefensible.  It throws out the £100 on legal grounds I didn’t quite follow, but it does seem to say that the £100 was legal. 

So would paying £100 remove any actual risk of court action?  I can cope with further letters.

As mentioned above, I know this is very much against the spirit of this board, and many will think me unnecessarily defeatist.   

W12

Half_way said:

theres quire a few industrial estates and n west London, where is it?

Fair point!  I think it was Kendal Avenue in Park Royal. 

fisherjim

W12 said:

So - how much do you think it would take for them to back off the legal action?  The full £160?  £100?  £85?

I know it’s against the spirit of the board, but honestly, I just want rid of it. 

If you throw in the towel now and they are asking for £160 at the moment then it's £160 which includes the debt recovery scammers extra £60 for the joy of them bullying you. It's your choice, but they hold all the trump cards when you give in.

W12

If I paid up £100, would they still try to take me to court for the £60?  Just assuming I’d eventually fold on that too?

W12

An update.

For reasons explained above, I decided to pay the parking charge, just to make it go away.  UKPC received £160 on 24/8.

A county court claim form arrived on my doorstep on Saturday for £260.16.  The original £160, a £35 court fee, and legal representative costs of £50.

I called DCB Legal this morning.  They asked “why did you pay UKPC, not us?”.  Well, because they issued the ticket.

DCB’s call handler said I still owe them £260 and they will pursue the case.  They asked for, and I’ve sent them screengrabs of my payment receipt from UKPC, and the bank statement page showing the payment (and nothing else).

I’ve gone through the Money Claim Online portal, up to the point where I have to pay £35 for my counterclaim. I’ve saved the process at that point. 

Please can I ask what the advice of the board is in this situation?

And yes, I’m aware of the irony that I paid up because I just wanted this to go away, that I couldn’t face the hassle of a court case. And now I’m facing a court case. 

Thank you in advance for any advice….

Coupon-mad

Hmmm.  You didn’t owe £160.  UKPC had never incurred a £60 loss or costs.

Acknowledge the claim as per the usual advice and send DCBLegal an email confirming your phone call and reminding them that even ‘steamroller roboclaim’ firms like them should have the due diligence to check with their client to see if the alleged claim has been settled, before ploughing on with a court claim automatically.  Tell them you don’t appreciate being scammed, then blamed for paying the Claimant firm, who accepted the payment.

Finish by giving them seven days to discontinue or you will defend and counterclaim.