Letter of Claim from DCB Legal - PCN dated 2019

Coupon-mad

I do have fun with them sometimes by saying something like:

Thanks for your template response.  Yawn... You are wasting your time and money.  You can throw a claim filing fee at this one if you like chucking money down the drain. Bring on the claim and your inevitable discontinuance for the MSE 'Hall of Infamy' DCBLegal discontinuances thread.

it is almost as if you are calling the shots, not your client, and it seems to me like some sort of assignment arrangement, whereby DCB Group (Legal or Ltd) looks to have more than a legal representative's passive interest in this alleged debt and may have paid money for my data.

Has DCB Group (any iteration) paid this parking firm (by any convoluted arrangement) up front for my data, or the batch of data it was in?

Failure to answer will be reported to the Information Commissioner.

LekkerManLekker

w what you're saying, but its hard to resist the urge to highlight stupidity and ignorance.

But if that is your learned advice, I'll follow it. I will wait for the court claim if you suggest no reply at all to their last mail.
I think I was secretly hoping they'd drop before a court claim tbh.

I am in the same position.  Received the DCB Legal Letter of Claim last week, sent a SAR to UKPC, got some really low res photos back.

Now according to this https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations/p1 I need to wait for the Court Claim before the actual fun starts.

anotheronewasted

Coupon-mad said:

it is almost as if you are calling the shots, not your client, and it seems to me like some sort of assignment arrangement, whereby DCB Group (Legal or Ltd) looks to have more than a legal representative's passive interest in this alleged debt and may have paid money for my data.

Has DCB Group (any iteration) paid this parking firm (by any convoluted arrangement) up front for my data, or the batch of data it was in?

Failure to answer will be reported to the Information Commissioner.

I asked this question direct in my last reply to Morgan @ DCB.
Completely ignored.
Maybe I'll go back and remind him of this question, along with the threat of an ICO complaint.

Coupon-mad

LekkerManLekker said:

w what you're saying, but its hard to resist the urge to highlight stupidity and ignorance.

But if that is your learned advice, I'll follow it. I will wait for the court claim if you suggest no reply at all to their last mail.
I think I was secretly hoping they'd drop before a court claim tbh.

I am in the same position.  Received the DCB Legal Letter of Claim last week, sent a SAR to UKPC, got some really low res photos back.

Now according to this https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations/p1 I need to wait for the Court Claim before the actual fun starts.

Or have some fun with them as above.

Their aggressive (not passive legal rep) pursuit of alleged parking debts - culminating in what looks like calculated discontinuances of cases that are well-defended - smacks of a debt purchase arrangement, in my view.

It looks to me like DCBLegal call the shots. It looks like MIL Collections style litigation.

So ask...this is an interesting point.

anotheronewasted

Well, I have fired a mail to DCB, asking the question about debt / data purchase.
I was also horribly childish and pointed out the multiple grammar mistakes in the mail...
Condescending...?...me...?...Nooooo!

Coupon-mad

Haha, not too much.  They deserve it.  I love pointing out grammatical errors, template drivel and stupidity to the "roboclaim thug" lot.

Taiko

Definitely play games. My latest email to DCBL I drafted on behalf of someone managed to do an acrostic "F*** off scammers", assuming the formatting remained the same upon receipt. Probably wouldn't notice though, what with DCBL being the one place zombies wouldn't look to feast..

anotheronewasted

Another little update.

Nothing yet from DCB, but....
Birmingham City Council have responded to my FOI request (after some delay) following an investigation by them:

Hello

 

Response from our Revenues department
:

We are in the process of investigating the way that the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) have treated this car park. Where a car park is provided for the benefit of customers and is free for use, at least for a period of time, the car park will be taken in to account when the value of the retail units is determined by the VOA. This would mean that although the retail units do not own the car park, their footfall and turnover will be influenced by the fact that this car park is there and as such the Rateable Value will take this in to account. This would mean that there would not be an entry in the Rating List for the actual car park.

As mentioned above, we have carried out our own investigations and are now waiting to find out from the VOA if the above applies in respect of the car park that you are referring to. Should we be advised that the car park has not been taken in to account already we will ask that the VOA rate it separately. We suspect that this will not be the case and that the value of the car park has already been taken in to account when valuing the retail units.

Revenues & Benefits Data Protection Team

Digital & Customer Services, Council Management Directorate

In all honesty, I do not know what this means.

Their first reponse:

Please accept our apologies - there is obviously a glitch somewhere.

 

The information released is as follows:

Address
Gnd & Pt Lgnd Flrs Unit 1, Findlay Road, Birmingham, B14 7SN
Pt Lgnd Floor Unit 1, Findlay Road, Birmingham, B14 7SN
Pt Lgnd Flr, Unit 1, Findlay Road, Birmingham, B14 7SN
Unit 2, Findlay Road, Birmingham, B14 7SN
Unit 3, Findlay Road, Birmingham, B14 7SN

Comments from our Revenues Department:

These are the only hereditaments that come up for that road/postcode.  None look remotely like the car park they are asking about.

They will need to provide the BA reference, or check they quoted the address correctly.

I responded to their initial reply questioning why there was confusion, and clearly highlight the car park in question with a map.
This was then forwarded to the Revenues Department.

My FOI request never mentioned any valuation, I simply asked for the occupier in a given time period:

The occupier of land used as a car park on Findlay Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14 7SN between the dates of 01.07.2019 and present date 01.02.2023.
Namely the occupier whom paid non domestic rates on the aforementioned car park.

So I am still none the wiser.
Any one have any ideas what these responses (or lack thereof) mean?
Is it implying that UKPC do not own it / never owned it?

Coupon-mad

Of course UKPC never owned it! They don't own any car parks.  Let that rabbit hole clise.

anotheronewasted

Coupon-mad said:

Of course UKPC never owned it! They don't own any car parks.  Let that rabbit hole clise.

I can only work with what information the retailer gave me. And they said UKPC "owned" that car park. Surely there is some mileage in determining if UKPC are / were lawfully operating / managing that space. They can't just pitch up and be like "this is ours now, give us money"