Penalty charge notice

Unfortunate1

Don’t shoot me for asking, but!

We received a penalty parking notice last summer for over staying the time limit in Swansea whilst on holiday. They had changed the amount of time allowed since last year and we didn’t notice and we had to que for ages to get out of the car park which took us 20 minutes over the now 2 hrs max stay.

we received the charge but I thought it was a scam and ignored it.

we received dept collectors warnings next but I ignored those too.

now we have a solicitor DCB legal Threatening to take us to court. They want £170.

where do I stand.

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

Are you sure it's a Penalty Charge Notice? With DCB Legal being involved, I suspect it is a Parking Charge Notice rather than a Penalty Charge Notice.
Who has issued this Parking Charge Notice?

Fruitcake

The advice to ignore a PCN has not been given on this forum since the law changed in 2012.
However, debt collectors are powerless so you were right to ignore them.

Plan A is always a complaint from the keeper to the landowner and the keeper's MP, and it is never too late to do so. Do not reveal the driver's identity.

As well as telling us the name of the PPC, please tell us where the alleged event occurred as it may have cropped up here before.

troublemaker22

If the letter is truly from DCB Legal and not their affiliated debt collection company DCBL, you need to start taking this seriously. Read the Newbies thread carefully and follow the advice in it,

To get advice on your specific case, please show us the front and back of the original PCN (which is almost certainly not a penalty charge notice) and the first page only of the DCBL letter. Redact your name, address, vehicle number and any references but leave all dates showing. 

Coupon-mad

Unfortunate1 said:

Don’t shoot me for asking, but!

We received a penalty parking notice last summer for over staying the time limit in Swansea whilst on holiday. They had changed the amount of time allowed since last year and we didn’t notice and we had to que for ages to get out of the car park which took us 20 minutes over the now 2 hrs max stay.

we received the charge but I thought it was a scam and ignored it.

we received dept collectors warnings next but I ignored those too.

now we have a solicitor DCB legal Threatening to take us to court. They want £170.

where do I stand.

You don't have a fine or penalty.

You'll be standing here on the DCB Legal discontinuances thread later this year, after they try a small claim then they run away before hearings:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations/p56

DO NOT CONTACT DCB LTD.

DO NOT PAY TO MAKE IT GO AWAY.

With us, you will defend a claim & pay nowt.

Unfortunate1

Thanks for reply’s.

the original fine was from Eternity fire and security Ltd.

here is a photo of the solicitors letter. Sorry for the state of it, I spat my tea out when I read it 🤬

Karyahh

Grateful for the explanation!

Unfortunate1

We were parked in Swansea parc tawe 

Umkomaas

Not sure I've seen a pre-LBC letter from DCB Legal before, they usually go straight into LBC action once DCB Limited have handed the case over. 

For the moment @Unfortunate1 there's nothing for you to do with that letter (other than file it), but you might expect a full-blown LBC before too long, followed in a few weeks by a County Court Claim. Nothing to concern yourself about either of those stages, just follow the guidance in the NEWBIES FAQ Announcement, second post, and the Template Defence Announcement, both can be found right at the top of the forum thread index, one click back from this page. 

PS - I think your coffee cup is leaking! 😊

Karyahh

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Fruitcake

Unfortunate1 said:

Thanks for reply’s.

the original fine was from Eternity fire and security Ltd.

here is a photo of the solicitors letter. Sorry for the state of it, I spat my tea out when I read it 🤬

That's a debt collector letter and can safely be ignored, but don't ignore a Letter of/before Claim or a court claim.

The clue is that DCB Legal Limited state they are acting for DCB Limited, which is the powerless debt collector, and only gives you 14 days to pay instead of 30.