I received a letter from DCBL to pay £170 fine and I have a valid ticket

Debranita2022

I have a debt recovery letter if £170 from DCBL . This is from a car park in Greenwich 237-259 Greenwich high street back in November 2021, I paid for an hour parking, spent just 20mins and left. I then got a letter a few weeks later to say I got a fine because I didn’t buy a ticket ( note: I use this car park often, and I get a  PCN letter everytime I use it and I write to explain to them that It’s a pay and display service which I did- then they write to apologise and cancel the PCN) . It’s a pattern with these particular parking company at Greenwich.. There is a pay and display machine,  the have an officer who physically goes round to see if anyone has paid which I always do. Looks like they write to every car that comes in to the premises to try their luck - it’s quite common with them to try to make money.  

On this occasion, I parked, paid and displayed.  Then I got their usual pcn letter in the post yet again checking if I paid. This time , I responded with a proof of my parking ticket and they came back to say I was about 3mins late to purchase the ticket .. I argued that there was only one machine in the premises , and secondly , I couldn’t make Payment by phone as it was not connecting , it keeps cutting off! Resigned and I then proceeded to get cash and had to wait on a queue to purchase a ticket as other users were also in line at the only pay machine available at the premises. Waited my turn before my turn and I paid and displayed.

Then they  came back to say, I had 10mins grace but spent about 13mins before the purchase was made…which means I was about 3mins over the grace period!  Again, I wasn’t able to make payment over the phone ans had to join to get cash from the cash machine then joined the queue to purchase a ticket. These obviously fell on deaf ears ! After the unsuccessful appeal, they advised to speak to citizen advice bureau which I did and I was advised to write the company a letter to tell them to take it to court where I could plead my case to a reasonable judge.. which I did again. 

After a few month, DCBL then wrote me to say the case is not subject to a high court or bailiff action and threatened with a legal action ? Is this lawful?

I have written to try to reason with them but they are not addressing my facts and proof. I wrote them not to contact me again and asked them to take the case to court then I received a letter form DCbl giving me 14days to respond to letter I was sent which  only came after the 14days on their letter! Something fishy!

What do I do from here please? I need these to go to court as I have proof of my ticket. I am not saying I am entirely right and they are wrong or right but this is a discretionary thing and that is why there is an appeal in place but this particular car park is run by bandits. 

DCBL letter states, the case is not subject to high court or balling! They are threatening to take a legal action? What does that mean? I need this case in court 

Umkomaas

note: I use this car park often, and I get a  PCN letter everytime I use it and I write to explain to them that It’s a pay and display service which I did- then they write to apologise and cancel the PCN

If that is the case you need to think about suing the parking firm under GDPR for wrongly accessing your data from the DVLA. They simply can't keep doing this. 

Which parking firm please?

Debranita2022

The company is CEL I believe and appeal system is under Popla. 

Debranita2022

Umkomaas said:

note: I use this car park often, and I get a  PCN letter everytime I use it and I write to explain to them that It’s a pay and display service which I did- then they write to apologise and cancel the PCN

If that is the case you need to think about suing the parking firm under GDPR for wrongly accessing your data from the DVLA. They simply can't keep doing this. 

Which parking firm please?

CEL I believe and their appeal system is also under POPLA .. same company 

Le_Kirk

Have you had a letter before/of claim?  Have you had a N1 claim form from Northampton CCBC?  Until then it cannot go to court.  One assumes you read the NEWBIE sticky.

Coupon-mad

I use this car park often, and I get a  PCN letter every time I use it and I write to explain to them that It’s a pay and display service which I did- then they write to apologise and cancel the PCN) . It’s a pattern with these particular parking company at Greenwich.

Send a complaint and your evidence of this to Sarah Roberts at the BPA - including attaching screenshots of all the times they've written back and cancelled - and tell her this happens EVERY time and you suspect they are defaulting to getting DVLA data for every car, every time, and hoping victims give up and pay (as lease firms and weaker people just would, so it's a lucrative system).

sara.r@britishparking.co.uk

Copy in your MP (your own constituency MP) and the DVLA complaints email shown in the 5th post of the NEWBIES thread.  Explain at the start of the complaint, who is being copied in.

Debranita2022

Thank you so much x
I will to Sarah and copy the MP etc straightaway 

Coupon-mad

Sara not Sarah.