Is this a Letter Before Claim or Letter of Claim?

parkingfighter

Hi there - I received a parking charge notice from CPM UK Car Park management in June 2019 for "unauthorised parking" on a double yellow. It was a genuine mistake due to unclear signage that it was a private road and a blue badge was being used at the time for a passenger. The registered keeper the letters are addressed to has not said they were the driver. I received the following letters:
1. Initial demand from CPM July 2019 
2. a second letter from CPM which is undated
3. DRP letter asking to pay the amount in August 2019
4. Another from DRP stating notice of intended court action in September 2019
5. DRP Final chance to pay October 2019
6. Gladstones Solicitors advising they are instructed by UK Car Park Management in October 2019

This month (Sept 2021!) recieved another letter from DRP as below. Is this a letter before claim or letter of claim? If not, can this be ignored and is it the last one? Apologies have read the threads but was concerned it could be after getting a letter after so long. 

Thank you so much in advance

patient_dream

parkingfighter said:

Hi there - I received a parking charge notice from CPM UK Car Park management in June 2019 for "unauthorised parking" on a double yellow. It was a genuine mistake due to unclear signage that it was a private road and a blue badge was being used at the time for a passenger. The registered keeper the letters are addressed to has not said they were the driver. I received the following letters:
1. Initial demand from CPM July 2019 
2. a second letter from CPM which is undated
3. DRP letter asking to pay the amount in August 2019
4. Another from DRP stating notice of intended court action in September 2019
5. DRP Final chance to pay October 2019
6. Gladstones Solicitors advising they are instructed by UK Car Park Management in October 2019

This month (Sept 2021!) recieved another letter from DRP as below. Is this a letter before claim or letter of claim? If not, can this be ignored and is it the last one? Apologies have read the threads but was concerned it could be after getting a letter after so long. 

Thank you so much in advance

DRP wasting their time yet again, they are just daft. STUPID DRAWINGS THOUGH

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

Fruitcake

Debt collectors are powerless and cannot issue court claims. File it, ignore it, but keep an eye out for a real claim from the PPC or a solicitor.

Despite that letter having been used for months, I am surprised Abigale has not been visited by the grammar police yet

D_P_Dance

They have added what appears to be an extra unlawful amount for debt collection. Judges have bben known dismiss an entire claim because this. 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

Coupon-mad

Exactly the same as the DRP letters everyone has posted recently.  It's nothing.  However, it is APPALLING in its wording. 

Did they attach Reply Forms under the pre action protocol?

Like Trace Debt Recovery they are misleading recipients that 'legal action will commence in 30 days' which suggests this is a LBC but it isn't, and DRP cannot engage in the reserved activity of conducting litigation.  But this makes it look like they can, and is proof if the MHCLG need it, that these parasite 'PCN recovery' firms are out of control and the Single Appeals Service MUST be an ADR on offer throughout, to give people that fair 3rd option to resolve cases out of court.  

It cannot be right that third parties can wallop on extra money to greedily intimidate people and 'share the spoils' and tell people their only option is to pay the enhanced money or engage a solicitor (neither of which is sensible, affordable or true).

Terry1931

You have a choice.

1. You pay the charge and forget about it.

2. Decline to pay the charge and rely upon unpaid advice from a forum of "advisors" together with your own decision and await the future actions of the parking operative.

3. Pay the charge and take action yourself under your terms to recover the incorrect charge paid, if indeed it is incorrect.. 

D_P_Dance

I am sure that none of the "unpaid advisers" would endorse the third option.  It is claimed that, with our suport, 99% of cases reaching court are won by defendents.  

NCC1701-A

Terry1931 said:

3. Pay the charge and take action yourself under your terms to recover the incorrect charge paid, if indeed it is incorrect.. 

In addition to not answering the OP's question as to whether this is a Letter before Claim or Letter of Claim, Terry also omits to mention that no one has ever succeeded with his suggested option 3, so feel free and quite safe to ignore it.

patient_dream

But it's only DRP, the most pointless company in the UK today

Coupon-mad

Terry1931 said:

You have a choice.

There are some far better choices in the NEWBIES advice thread with over a million views over the years. Newbies should consider which advice seems to work, and what possible reason a newbie might have, to keep telling people to pay a PPC scammer, and even worse, to pay DRP (no-one ever pays DRP on here!).

You are spamming this forum, wrongly telling people to pay, and now we see you slagging us off by making reference to our 'advice' in inverted commas. Please stop.

Here is what the experienced regulars think of the new DRP letter for 2021:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6244217/debt-recovery-plus-their-new-letter-is-a-bit-of-a-hoot/p1

It won't survive past 2022.  They can't pretend to be litigating in 30 days when they are not a legal firm, and haven't complied with the PAP for debt claims.

parkingfighter

Thank you everyone for the advice! Much appreciated - will update if anything else comes through.

@Coupon-mad - nope just those two pages I attached