DCBL Euro car parks small claim DISCONTINUED

feduptoo

Hi everyone. Would you mind looking at the reply I have drafted to a solicitor who is acting for Euro car parks. The PCN was issued 31 March 2022. They have given 14 days to pay  and failure to pay MAY result in us recommending they hand it to litigation. I have drafted a response but maybe I should do what I have done to the previous10-15 letters from various debt collectors and ignore it? I am in a rush right now so don't have time to search for the email I sent the car park but the gist of it is in the draft. 

 Dear Sir, 

I am writing in response to your letter demanding payment of a PCN issued by Euro car parks. I contacted them after I received the notice and I was told it had already been sent to debt recovery. Many letters later from several different companies I am now looking at the letter from yourself. I have no intention of paying this CHARGE,  and will happily meet you in court, with my photographic evidence of the ridiculously poor signage that the driver missed. Photographs taken personally and screenshots from Google maps which you can check for yourselves. I went to the car park in question and could very clearly see how this happened with a 70 years old  4’11”  lady who cannot look up. Looking up into the sky is not necessary to drive safely.  

Please do not attempt to intimidate me, I will NOT under any circumstances reply to any other communication than those issued by a court. I believe I can choose the court and choose Warwick which is easy for you as you are based in Leamington Spa.  That is presuming you will be the one pursuing this outrageous claim. 

Yours, ******** *****

Send or ignore? 

Thank you for reading. 

la531983

Stop.

Stop it now.

Do not reply to it.

It's pointless.

Return here if a court claim is issued.

Brie

And why are you assuming the solicitor is a "Sir"?

UncleThomasCobley

It is a debt collection letter. Do as the Newbies/FAQ thread states... ignore it.

Coupon-mad

'Dear Sirs' is correct as the accepted salutation for solicitors.

But the NEWBIES thread tells you already, that a letter only giving you 14 days to respond ISN'T a real letter before claim.  Ignore that one.

UncleThomasCobley

Nit-picking but if you don't know the gender of the recipient of a formal letter just write "Dear Sir or Madam" and be done with it. 

patient_dream

Yes ,,,, "Dear Sir or Madam" or "Dear Sirs" is ok,

Both reqiure signing off as "yours faithfully"

You could say "Dear Pleb" in the parking industry and sign off with "lot's of love" ..... not really advised though ,,,, that's all they deserve

feduptoo

It's almost a year since that 'FINAL' demand and after 15 bullying letters and  6 'final' demands from DBC legal  that started in March 2022I now have a letter of claim.  I have copied the template letter and tweaked it a little and would love your input if you don't mind.  Thank you 

Dear Sirs

Your Ref. xxxxxxxxxxxx

Proposed Legal Proceedings

Claimant: Euro Car Parks Limited

I refer to your letter of claim.

I confirm that my address for service for the time being - assuming you don't mess about and delay any claim, (it HAS taken over 2 years to get here) - is as follows, and any older address must be erased from your records:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The alleged debt is disputed because I disagree that  a contract was entered into and  

 any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

I am sourcing and seeking independent debt advice and as such, I formally request that this matter be put on hold for an additional 30 days, in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims 2017 ('the PAP').

I note that the amount being claimed has increased by a hugely exaggerated amount which the Government called "extorting money from motorists".

Don't send me your usual waffle about that.

I am the registered keeper of the vehicle. I am not obliged to identify the driver and I decline to do so. As there is no legal presumption that the keeper of a vehicle was its driver on any particular occasion, your client cannot pursue me as driver (see VCS v Edward, 2023). As your client cannot pursue me as driver or keeper, it would be an abuse of the court’s process for your client to issue a claim against me and I will defend any such claim vigorously and seek costs in relation to your client’s unreasonable conduct”

I have two questions, and under the PAP I am entitled to specific answers:

1. Am I to understand that the additional £70 represents what you lot dress up as a 'Debt Recovery' fee, and if so, is this nett or inclusive of VAT? If the latter, would you kindly explain why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT?

2. With regard to the principal alleged PCN sum: Is this damages, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking?

Yours faithfully

feduptoo

Letter from dcbl

feduptoo

Can anyone help please? 

KeithP

feduptoo said:

Can anyone help please? 

You seem to be following the guidance in the first few paragraphs of the second post of the NEWBIES thread.

What help are you looking for?
The idea of the NEWBIES thread is that it answers all known questions. Clearly that's an ambitious, maybe impossible, objective. What is your unanswered question?