Parking tickets to my address, same name but not my car. DCB Legal demand I pay?

Laidlos

Hello, 

I'm hoping for some advice as I'm not entirely sure what else to do here. Any & all advice would be appreciated.

I received 3 letters from DCB for 3 parking fines in my local area a few months ago for a total of £480. All in my name to my address, but the vehicle registered was not known to me, & the dates listed were before I passed my driving test. 

Using their website I submitted a webform to inform them of the mistake but no response. Few weeks later I receive another 3 letters, I again submit webforms & again no response. 

I then receive letters indicating the matter is being escalated to their legal team as I have failed to respond. I called their phone number & they said they did not receive any of my webforms, & I need to again submit my appeal stating the vehicle does not belong to me. I reluctantly did so, I was furious at the time as I didn't think it should by my responsibility to continue to provide statements & communications when the error is theirs. But I did. 

After waiting another month they have again sent me letters stating I must pay the £480 or further action will be taken against me. 

I have provided pictures of my driving licence showing the issue date which is months after the tickets were issued, & informed them repeatedly the car is not mine & never has been. They have insisted I provide sufficient evidence proving the vehicle is not mine. 

Would it be unreasonable unwise to ignore any further communications from DCB on this matter? I have no idea how I can prove a vehicle is / was not mine. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. If I can provide any further info, dates or context to assist then please let me know!

Many Thanks!

Redx

Dcb LTD ? Or Dcb legal ? You never clarified above

If it's Dcb ltd , ignore them , like the newbies FAQ sticky thread near the top of the forum in announcements tells you to do ( you have read it ? )

If DCB legal , then follow the LBC stage advice in the newbies FAQ sticky thread

Which parking company is involved ??

Location ?   Or nation ?

Residential or retail site ?

Email a SAR to the DPO at the PPC to obtain all your data

I have no idea how you prove a negative either

But it is up to the Claimant to prove that the vehicle is yours , not the other way round !!

Reply by email stating that it is your assertion that the vehicle is not yours , it's mistaken identity and it's up to the claimant to prove their case , not for you to disprove it

3 PCN s is £300 , not £480 , they have added unlawful charges

Castle

The most obvious answer is that the, (real), RK of the vehicle has been ignoring the PPC's correspondence and that the parking company has engaged a trace agency which has got the wrong person.  

Laidlos

Thanks for coming back to me on this. 

The email exchanges / letters are coming from DCB Legal. Parking company - Excel parking services. Tickets issued Gateshead UK, I have no idea if they were for residential or a retail site. The tickets were issued Jan 2019 but I didn't receive any letters about it until Mid 2021.

I will review the FAQs, thank you. 

Laidlos

Castle said:

The most obvious answer is that the, (real), RK of the vehicle has been ignoring the PPC's correspondence and that the parking company has engaged a trace agency which has got the wrong person.  

My suspicion is that the vehicle is registered to someone with the same forename & surname as me (I know of 2 others in the local area). 

I thought me providing evidence that I did not drive at the time of the offence would be enough to close the matter, but they continue to insist I must prove the car isn't mine & I have no idea how to do that. 

Redx

Then email a SAR to the DPO at Excel to obtain all your data , attaching redacted copies of 2 recent utility bills as proof of I D under the GDPR law

Pointless arguing with dcb legal , they are acting on the instructions of the client , Excel

Reply to Dcb legal by email stating what I said earlier

It is for Excel to prove their case , in court if necessary , if it's mistaken identity , they could be liable for any data protection breach

You do not have to prove a negative

Coupon-mad

Report Excel and DCB to the IPC and see what they do about it. 

Johnersh

I'm not sure I follow how mistaken identity is a data breach - they have simply written to a John Smith at a publicly available address.

This probably just needs a robust Arkell v Pressdram with a promise of a counterclaim for harassment if they continue pursuing it in the face of overwhelming evidence that they have the wrong geezer. 

I don't see that there is any duty to prove you are not the keeper of a vehicle. What I can see, however, is that a course of conduct *could* amount to harassment having explained that:

1. They are self evidently not writing to the address provided by the dvla for the RK of the vehicle
2. You have informed them that you are not the John Smith that they seek
3. You cannot, based on the evidence supplied, have been the driver
4. Whilst you cannot prove a negative (as you've been invited to do) You will invite the court to make a finding of fact that you were not the keeper on the basis that individuals are more likely than not to be entitled to drive before owning a vehicle. 

Their claim has no merit, will fail and they have been notified on several occasions. The correct approach is for them to pay for an enquiry agent to hunt down the correct defendant (not a random credit check/192.com search). 

Finally, it is assumed the o/p is 18+ not 17.5 because that would change things significantly....