DCBL - final notice of debt recovery

almostthere2

Hi, I have read the NEWBIE thread and cannot find anything specific to my circumstances. I am also not great with computers so please be kind and if asking me to read something - something to click on would be greatly appreciated.

My husband has today received a Final Notice of Debt Recovery from DCBL.  This is the first bit of correspondence we have had from them so I have no clue where this fits with the "chain of letters" that seems to be the norm in situations like these.  This letter apparently relates to a contravention in June 2023 at a motorway service station in Frankley where we apparently remained on the property in breach of displayed terms.  We believe that this must relate to the time when we were coming back from a trip south to see friends.  We had to leave to come home early as I was feeling quite poorly.  We left in the very early hours as I just wanted to get home and we stopped on the way as my husband was feeling very tired and didn't feel safe driving so we parked up, he got himself some food and then had a nap. We then drove home to Scotland.  We did not see any signage regarding parking.  That is not to say it wasn't there so I couldn't argue that.  I have no idea how long we were there as neither of us noticed the time we got there or left and it was quite a while ago. If we had overstayed and had received a parking fine, we would be happy to pay it but this has come straight out of a clear blue sky, 5 months down the line!

We have no idea how to defend this, what the parking charge was (the letter just states you have failed to pay the outstanding balance of £170) or where we should go from here.  My brother had a run in with bailliffs many years ago and I know from him NOT to engage with them.  I do not know who else to contact or whether we should ignore this letter?  In Scotland (whether this is true or not I don't know as have never been in the situation) it is the general consensus that unless you get a parking notice from a local authority or the police, you can ignore as these notices are no more than an invoice and debt collection letters tend to be just to scare you and never amount to anything, however this is something that happened in England and these guys appear to be bailliffs which I believe is a different kettle of fish altogether.  It says their client is CP Plus Ltd and location was MOTO Frankley.  My husband could lose his job if he gets a CCJ so we would rather get this dealt with than not.

I would greatly appreciate any assistance.  I know the forum is very busy so if you are too busy to help or are "sick of reading posts like this" then please just scroll past - there is no need to take the time to leave an unhelpful or negative comment 

Coupon-mad

Oh you live in Scotland! Great.

TOTALLY IGNORE THEM.

They are not acting as bailiffs. The back of the letter says this and you can't just get a CCJ.

I do not know who else to contact or whether we should ignore this letter?  In Scotland (whether this is true or not I don't know as have never been in the situation) it is the general consensus that unless you get a parking notice from a local authority or the police, you can ignore as these notices are no more than an invoice and debt collection letters tend to be just to scare you and never amount to anything

That is true at the moment. Nothing will happen.  You can forget this PCN and letter.

But the law is changing (E, S &W) but not till 2024 and you will need to be careful on private land in Scotland and England/Wales in future.  Scotland will get 'keeper liability' for new private PCNs and the parking industry will be regulated by Government.

So the general consensus will have to wake up and take notice in future, this time next year onwards.  Not necessarily paying these PCNs! There will be a proper appeals service at last.

BUT THIS ONE IS UNAFFECTED. Ignore!

UncleThomasCobley

Welcome to the forum. You can de-stress as you are now in the right place for advice. You did not receive any "fine". You received a speculative invoice from an unregulated private parking company for an alleged breach of their terms.

You live in Scotland so they can't really do much. There is no "small claims court" in Scotland. They would have to bring a claim in your Scottish jurisdiction which would mean that it is not cost effective for them as they cannot claim any "costs" or damages.

Forget about any "bailiffs". That is just wording they use to scare gullible victims into paying into their scam.

You seem to be fairly well clued up about PCNs in Scotland. Just keep following that advice although it is going to change some time next year.

If you did not see any signs, then it surely must be the case that they were not prominent or obvious which is a very valid defence if you lived in England and had to defend against a claim.

For now, perhaps you should check that the address on your vehicle's V5C is up to date. The most common reason for people not receiving any prior notification of a PCN is that they forgot to update their V5C registration details when they last moved.

The Newbies/FAQ thread has most of the advice you need.

almostthere2

Brilliant, thank you both!