DCB Legal / Highview Parking - Letter of Claim - SAR advice.

JavascriptGuy

@B789 Thanks for that.
To save you reading the whole thread i'll summarise.
I've received the LoC from DCBL and this thread was about what to respond to them with.

But then @Coupon-mad suggested that I should write to the Retail park management first to see if i can get the PCN cancelled, thus avoiding any contact with DCBL.

What is your view on this approach?

B789

There is no harm in responding to an LoC, even DCB Legal. If it ever gets to court (highly unlikely with DCB Legal acting for the PPC) you could show the judge that you made every effort to respond and avoid a claim.

If you're complaining to the landowner, you may want to be a bit less sarcastic but be robust and remind them that you intend to fight an unjust, speculative invoice from an unregulated private parking company contracted by them which makes them jointly liable for the actions of their agents and they should notify their own legal representatives that there is a potential for them to be called as a witness to any subsequent hearing.

You are telling the landowner that you do not expect to receive sudden and unexpected surcharges for being a patron at an establishment which pays them rent and you will be notifying said establishment about your displeasure and will be taking not only your own custom but that of your family and friends elsewhere in future.

Do you get the drift?

JavascriptGuy

Thats great. I've taken what you've added and adjusted to be in first person and added to what I already have...

So this is what I have to send to to SLOUGH RETAIL PARK management

Dear Sirs,

I am writing in regards to a Letter of Claim issued by DCB Legal (DCBL) about an alleged parking charge notice (Ref: REF) issued by their client, Highview Parking Limited for a breach of terms and conditions at Slough Retail Park on 07/12/2021.

As the registered keeper of the vehicle, I can confirm that I have not received a notice to keeper, and DCBL have provided no further information about this allegation and are demanding an inflated debt recovery sum of £170.

Since this alleged event took place on 07/12/2021, and I do not recall which of the stores within the retail park I may have visited, I am reaching out to you as the management company for Slough Retail Park to dispute the validity of this debt.

As reputable business owners and agents of Slough Retail Park, I am sure you can understand that I am surprised and disappointed that your companies justify the charges above being applied to patrons of the park. I believe that parking charges can only fairly be levied where there is a clear loss to you as Agents of the park, acting on behalf of the landowners. Given that the retail park is free for motorists, and I was in fact going to several of the businesses on site, I would like to know what losses to income you feel my parking may have incurred?

I attach to this email a copy of the letter received from DCBL. As you can see, they are threatening to further increase the already extortionate charges, asking for my financial statement, as well as threatening court action if this matter is not resolved.

I would ask that, considering all of the above, and taking into account the nonsensical nature of the charges, you contact Highview Parking Limited, and advise them to cease harassment with their scare letters, as I shall continue to strongly dispute these ridiculous and extortionate charges.

I intend to fight an unjust, speculative invoice from an unregulated private parking company contracted by yourselves which makes you jointly liable for the actions of your agents. You should notify your own legal representatives that there is a potential for you to be called as a witness to any subsequent hearing.

I do not expect to receive sudden and unexpected surcharges for being a patron at establishments which pay your firm rent and I will be notifying said establishments about my displeasure and will be taking not only my own custom but that of my family and friends elsewhere in future.

I would be grateful if you would respond to me within 7 days, confirming the above, and also ask Highview Parking Limited to confirm to me in writing that they will not be asking me for any money, and ceasing their harassment.

Yours faithfully,

NAME

Umkomaas

So this is what I have to send to to SLOUGH RETAIL PARK management

Do you know who they are yet?  Look for MA names such as Savills, JonesLangLasalle (JLL), MAPP, Eddisons, Workman and the like. 

JavascriptGuy

Umkomaas said:

So this is what I have to send to to SLOUGH RETAIL PARK management

Do you know who they are yet?  Look for MA names such as Savills, JonesLangLasalle (JLL), MAPP, Eddisons, Workman and the like. 

Yes. They're MAPP

Umkomaas

JavascriptGuy said:

Umkomaas said:

So this is what I have to send to to SLOUGH RETAIL PARK management

Do you know who they are yet?  Look for MA names such as Savills, JonesLangLasalle (JLL), MAPP, Eddisons, Workman and the like. 

Yes. They're MAPP

Good you've identified them. MAPP have been helpful in the past. Here's a thread showing how they positively responded to another forum user we helped.  Well worth a read. 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79722106#Comment_79722106

JavascriptGuy

Awesome, hopefully MAPP are cooperative this time too.

So with all that, would you say I'm good to go with the above?

B789

You're still relying too much on ChatGPT. It is obvious to anyone who uses it on a regular basis that it has been used to generate much of that response. I suggest that if you are going to use ChatGPT you only use it as a reference because the vocabulary used is obvious with wording such as "...I am reaching out to you as the management company for Slough Retail Park to dispute the validity of this debt." and "...As reputable business owners and agents of Slough Retail Park".

I could go on but I suggest you rewrite it in your own words using ChatGPT simply as a structure. You could try invoking DAN mode if you are familiar with that but even that would need modification. A good thesaurus comes in very handy.

Coupon-mad

JavascriptGuy said:

Awesome, hopefully MAPP are cooperative this time too.

So with all that, would you say I'm good to go with the above?

This bit at the start is far too wordy (puts the reader off reading it) and I'd suggest that your intro should be two sentences, not 3 paragraphs:

"I am writing in regards to a Letter of Claim issued by DCB Legal (DCBL) about an alleged parking charge notice (Ref: REF) issued by their client, Highview Parking Limited for a breach of terms and conditions at Slough Retail Park on 07/12/2021.

As the registered keeper of the vehicle, I can confirm that I have not received a notice to keeper, and DCBL have provided no further information about this allegation and are demanding an inflated debt recovery sum of £170.

Since this alleged event took place on 07/12/2021, and I do not recall which of the stores within the retail park I may have visited,"

Pretty sure I would never have advised you to only complain to the retail park INSTEAD of responding robustly to DCBLegal.   You must do both.

JavascriptGuy

Trimmed the initial bit down to 

I am writing in regards to a Letter of Claim issued by DCB Legal (DCBL) about an alleged parking charge notice (PCN: REF) issued by Highview Parking Limited at Slough Retail Park on 07/12/2021.

Since this event took place on 07/12/2021, and I do not recall which of the stores within the retail park I may have visited and as the registered keeper of the vehicle, I can confirm that I have not received a notice to keeper, and DCBL have provided no further information about this allegation and are demanding an inflated debt recovery sum of £170.