Letter of Claim from DCB Legal (PEye)

British_Bean

I'll start with a thank you. I received this Letter of Claim (LOC) in February from DCB Legal (DCBL) Ltd and I really didn't know what to do, where to turn, or whether to follow advice from friends and family such as "just ignore it". I stumbled upon this forum and the wealth and depth of information here is fantastic and valuable.

My LOC relates to a PCN issued by Parking Eye (PEye) for an alleged breach of terms in December 2022 on a Tenpin car park. When I first received the PCN, I visited Tenpin in person and a member of staff advised they could cancel it. They simply asked me to provide the relevant details via e-mail to their mailbox. I did so promptly.

A further two letters were received from PEye but I opted to ignore these. I assumed the cancellation from Tenpin might take a while to filter down to their automated letter/harassment system. I've also received letters from Direct Collections Bailiffs Ltd and ignored those. In hindsight, I probably should have engaged with Tenpin again at this point, but I was working on the basis of general advice seems to be ignore any correspondence. Whether it was the right or wrong thing to do, it is what it is and I would be grateful for your advice on how to respond to DCBL Ltd's LOC.

Noting your advice that it is never to late to have the Landowner cancel a PCN, I decided to visit Tenpin again today and managed to speak to the Manager. I was always polite and respectful during our exchange, despite his rant about adults reading signs, but he wasn't particularly minded to help given the elapsed time. Having made it clear I attempted to deal with the issue upon receipt of the first PCN, and provided all the information Tenpin requested via e-mail, he reluctantly spent a couple of minutes of his valuable time looking into it.

He couldn't find my e-mail from January 2023, but he did access some kind of PEye customer portal and was able to show me on his monitor that the cancellation request was submitted and is visible on the system. It's status is 'Pending'. The Manager told me as it has been requested on the system, there is nothing more he could do, and he would not allow me to take a photo of his screen.

I have tried to contact PEye via telephone to politely ask them to complete the 'pending' cancellation, but their phone line is only setup to pay the fine - there is no option to speak to a human being.

With the above in mind, I'd be grateful for your advice on suitable next steps. I understand I need to respond to the LOC within 30 days and I have included a proposed letter below based on your guidance in the NEWBIE thread. But I think there may be some mileage in also writing to Parking Eye to ask them to complete the pending cancellation. Grateful for your thoughts on this and the below proposed letter. to DCBL Ltd.

Ref. 117210.207709D

I write in relation to a Letter of Claim dated 14th February 2024, reference 117210.207709D

The alleged debt is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

The PCN (ref: 346425/761019) has been agreed by the Landowner to be cancelled, and has been requested on Parking Eye’s customer portal.

Failure to acknowledge these facts and the continuation of a path towards litigation on behalf of your Client will not be looked at favourably by a Judge. I strongly encourage you to liaise with your Client and close this matter immediately.

If you choose to ignore the above, I must highlight that you have failed to meet the Pre-Action Protocol and must “provide key documents relevant to the issues in dispute”. Please provide:

1. Photographic evidence of the vehicle alleged to have breached the Terms of parking on 31st December 2022

1. Photographic evidence of the signage displayed on the land managed by your Client at the time of the alleged breach of Terms

Further to the aforementioned Pre-Action Protocol, I am entitled to specific answers to the following questions:

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?

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

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

I confirm that my address for service for the time being is as follows:
[Correct address here]

Yours faithfully

Thank you again.

British_Bean

Apologies, I should have also said the reason I'm asking for photographic evidence of the vehicle is because the photo quality included in PEyes original PCN letter is of such poor quality, you literally cannot see the vehicle or registration plate on the photo of a vehicle leaving the car park.

https://mega.nz/file/rQ4E2Tya#g0bM8Psmi9rwPx0RIzShlUR8Qef7tVFqWVdsslcRxxg

KeithP

I was just about to post a live link to that icloud file but then I noticed your full name on that file so decided against it.

Further to that...

have you based your forum username on your real name? If so, you may want to get your forum username changed to something completely anonymous.

To help with that, have a read of this item from the Forum's FAQs:

Can I change my username?

In most circumstances, we don't allow this.

The only reason we will change your username is if it puts your privacy at risk e.g. you've inadvertently registered using your name, email address or something which gives away your identity within your username.

If you fall into this category, email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com your current username, the email address you registered with and three alternative usernames in order of preference.

British_Bean

Thanks Keith! I had attempted to create a generic account but was stopped during the account creation process because MSE found an existing account linked to my email. After that I completely forgot to check the username - doh! I’ve followed the FAQ instructions to change my username. Thanks again. 

I’m assuming the letter isn’t in appearing cropped in the iCloud link? It should be.

KeithP

OP said:

I’m assuming the letter isn’t in appearing cropped in the iCloud link? It should be.

The letter is cropped in iCloud, but the iCloud username is shown beneath the image.
Suggest you delete that iCloud image. That may or may not solve that issue - I don't know what iCloud will display if the requested image isn't available.

Coupon-mad

You've talked about sending that response to DCB Ltd but do you mean DCB Legal?

Different entities, technically 

British_Bean

Coupon-mad said:

You've talked about sending that response to DCB Ltd but do you mean DCB Legal?

Different entities, technically 

Yes DCB Legal. Not the entity posing as bailiffs

Coupon-mad

Looks good.

I would state the month & year of the request by Tenpin and say you complained again this week because ParkingEye have failed to pick it up, and have left the requested cancellation marked 'pending' which isn't good enough for you or Tenpin.

Make it seem that Tenpin are annoyed...

British_Bean

Coupon-mad said:

Looks good.

I would state the month & year of the request by Tenpin and say you complained again this week because ParkingEye have failed to pick it up, and have left the requested cancellation marked 'pending' which isn't good enough for you or Tenpin.

Make it seem that Tenpin are annoyed...

Understood. Thanks for the advice. Will get that updated and sent in the morning