DCB/HIGHVIEW court dealine looming, sent SAR but need help!!!

Vagatha1

Hi,

I will try to make this short and sweet but I am getting a bit apprehensive now about it all.

I parked up for longer than I should have in a car park which was for a shopping outlet back in 2017, I ignored all the letters for years until recently when I got the letter before claim from DCB legal for HIGHVIEW parking.

I followed advice on here and sent a SAR to HIGHVIEW and told DCB I was seeking debt advice and awaiting a SAR.

on here it says I will only need to send a utility bill but HIGHVIEW requested that I send them:
proof I was the owner of the car at the time from the DVLA (as I have a different car now)
passport 
utility bill

They also said that to process quickly I should fill in their form but they did acknowledge this wasn't lawful but says it will speed up the process.

this was back in January so the 30 days has passed, I didn't hear anything from anyone and I left it thinking maybe I was stuck in the ether and forgotten about but I received an e-mail from DCB on 10th May saying I have had enough time and if I do not pay in the next 30 days then court proceedings will happen without notice.

I emailed the DVLA asking for a SAR for my old car but they said it can take up to 30 days which is a day after the deadline for DCB, I have still not heard anything so I emailed DCB legal asking for more time, I received this response..

We note that you are still waiting for our Client to process your Subject Access Request, however this does not halt proceedings. We would suggest you chase this up with themselves.

 

We outlined our position in our previous email, you have 30 days from the 10th May 2022 to make the payment of £165.00.

 

We note you were seeking debt advice when you submitted your Letter of Claim response,  we would therefore be agreeable to a monthly payment plan.

 

You can contact us on 0203 434 0424 to discuss a payment plan.

I am not sure what to do next, have I left it too long? should I just enter into a payment plan? I can't even remember all them years ago but it was just an overstay, I cant remember if I had any real reason why I overstayed so not sure what my chances are if I went to court, it would have been a camera car park at the time but I don't know what the SAR will give me, also, should I really give HIGHVIEW all that info? should I fill in the form so it makes the process quicker? they have 30 days from when I finally get the info for the DVLA so I don't know once court proceedings start how long it usually takes to be seen by them?

I hope I have made sense and not rambled, Thank you.

Le_Kirk

You do not want to agree a payment plan.  You do not need to send passport or driving licence to anyone for a SAR.  If you send them a copy of the Notice to Keeper (or whatever you have) from the PPC as well as proof of your address that should suffice.  After all, they sent the paperwork to your address they cannot now say it was wrong!  If they do not supply your data, complain to the ICO.

Vagatha1

Ah ok i see, i will try that, they actually found me at a new address and i never even changed it with DVLA so they must have found me on electoral role!! Sneaky blighters!

I wouldnt be going to court within 30 days would I? Im not sure on the tunrnaround and i wouldnt want to go to vourt without knowing what evidence they have on me? 

Thank you.

Le_Kirk

You are supposed to keep your address up-to-date with the DVLA - licence and V5C - if not, real fines can be served.  Have you actually received a N1 claim form from Northampton CCBC yet?  If so, what is the date of issue and if not, no you won't be having a hearing in 30 days.

Vagatha1

No not yet they gave me the 30 days notice from 10th May. 

I have written out my DVLA form to change my address, just not posted it yet! 

Umkomaas

If you've told DCB Legal that you are receiving debt advice and you've asked them to place your case on hold for at least 30 days, they are obliged under the Pre Action Protocol for Debt Claims to provide you with that. 

Go back to them and tell them to confirm they have done so. 

Vagatha1

Hi, 

Yeah they have given me more than 30 days, this was back in january when i said this but then they left it for ages so i thought they had forgotten about it, they have now been in touch saying they will give me another 30 days but i haven't got the info from the DVLA to request the SAR but I've been told on here i shouldn't need it so i am going to try that to see if i can get the info that highview have on me. 

I just got nervous that this wasn't worth doing anymore as i felt stuck and thought i should just go into a payment plan. 

Coupon-mad

Absolutely NO agreeing to a payment plan!  This is always, always worth defending and you risk nothing if you follow our advice.

Stay confident but read more threads.  You will learn more.

You say you were traced to a new address.  Have you done an address rectification notice (to the DPO of the parking firm and to DCBLegal) to tell them to ERASE the old address?  You need to because you can't safely leave any PPC or roboclaim firm with two addresses to choose from. You can't assume they will use the new address for the claim. That's how people get CCJs!

Also, have you been reading other LBC threads? I'd say the worst issue we have here is that newbies don't read other threads like theirs...they read a couple and they read the NEWBIES thread, then stick to their thread.  Not enough, not on this board.  Not good preparation.

Read other LBC threads and copy the ROBUST response we are now pushing.  Seen on lots of Gladstones (yes, Gladstones and I know your roboclaim waster is DCBLegal) threads, including I think, the one by @homi. 

 

Vagatha1

Thank you, i will read more, i read what i thought was a lot as it was quite confusing at first but I was following advice but then when I left it a bit late and i got that 30 day notice without having the SAR response i wasn't sure if its too late for me. 

I haven't done the address rectification, didn't know i had to but i will defo now though!!

Thank you so much!!! 

Vagatha1

Hi,

the issue date on my claim form is 11th July 2022, I filed the AOS on the 22nd July and it says they received it on the 25th July, can someone please tell me what the date is that I need to send the defence off for?

I have two more questions if anyone could help?

1) I parked at a place called urban exchange in Manchester, I have tried to find the landowner but I am assuming it's them, all I can find is a generic e-mail info@urbanexchange.co.uk should I still e-mail this with the MP cc'd in? or has anyone got an e-mail that has been successful, none of the threads I read seem to divulge this information.

2) the car park in question is a 1.5 hour free stay if you are a customer or a member of the gym but you have to enter your car reg. I was clocked as coming out of the car park at 1:42, I have e-mailed pure gym to see if I was a member in 2017, which they said I was, but they also said that they can not help as they have no control over the parking and I would have to contact the car park agency. so my question is, is this something I should write on my defence or is this a mute point now, shall I just go with the keeper liability and say I was not sure who was driving as the only other thing I could say is that it was more than myself that have used the car park for the gym. is this something the judge demands to know? any thoughts? 

I have read a lot of posts and will continue to read more but these were burning questions and I thought I would ask as I am not sure on the deadline date

Thanks in advance

KeithP

Vagatha1 said:

the issue date on my claim form is 11th July 2022, I filed the AOS on the 22nd July and it says they received it on the 25th July, can someone please tell me what the date is that I need to send the defence off for?

With a Claim Issue Date of 11th July, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 15th August 2022 to file your Defence.

That's over two weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence, but please don't leave it to the last minute.

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Don't miss the deadline for filing a Defence.

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website. Once an Acknowledgment of Service has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.