Out of the Blue: CCJ Debt letter (for an alleged pcn) – dcbl (/UK Parking Control ltd)

troublemaker22

This is in response to a PM I received.

I've drafted the letter below on the assumption that you know which solicitors acted for the Claimant and that you will write to those solicitors.  If you don't know which solicitors acted you will need to write direct  to the Claimant and remove the wording about taking instructions.

URGENT

Dear Sirs,

UK PARKING CONTROL LIMITED (THE ‘CLAIMANT’)  V [                        ] CLAIM REFERENCE [             ]

On 23 February 2024, I received the attached letter dated [                      ] 2024 from Direct Collections Bailiffs Limited (‘DCBL’). This came as a tremendous shock as it is the first and only communication I have received from the Claimant or any organisation representing the Claimant in relation to this claim.   

I made immediate enquiries of the CNBC from which I was able to establish that:

1.       the claim relates to an alleged parking event in March 2023;

2.       the claim form was sent to an old address at which I no longer reside; and

3.       if I had been given the opportunity to do so, I would have successfully defended the claim.

I did not receive any pre-claim correspondence, not even a letter of claim as required by the PAP. Nor did I receive the claim form or any particulars of claim and was thus deprived of the ability to defend the claim. The Claimant is well aware that people move home from time to time. They also know that I did not respond to any communications sent to me at my old address.

This situation is explicitly dealt with in the Civil Procedure Rules which provide at CPR 6.9(3):

 (3) Where a claimant has reason to believe that the address of the defendant … is an address at which the defendant no longer resides or carries on business, the claimant must take reasonable steps to ascertain the address of the defendant’s current residence or place of business (‘current address’).

The Claimant is a member of the British Parking Association (the ‘BPA’) and is bound by the BPA’s Code of Practice which gives voice to CPR 6.9(3) in the following terms:

 24.1c Before serving a Letter Before Claim and prior to the issue of proceedings, Operators must, if no responses have been received to the NTD/NTK/reminder letters, take reasonable endeavours to ensure that the contact details for the person you are writing to are correct.

 If the Claimant had taken the actions required by the Civil Procedure Rules and the Code of Practice, my current address would have been found easily, which is obviously what DCBL did before sending their letter dated [                ].  If those actions had been performed at the correct time rather than after judgment, I would not have been deprived of the ability to defend the claim.

By reason of the Claimant’s breach of the Civil Procedure Rules, which amounts to an abuse of the process of the Court, the claim form was never properly served and the judgment must be set aside at the Claimant’s expense and the claim dismissed because it is now too late for the particulars of claim to be re-served.

In view of the foregoing, I invite the Claimant to join with me in an application to set aside the judgment and dismiss the claim, with the Claimant paying the court fee and no order as to costs.

Please respond to the above offer as soon as possible so that, if the offer is acceptable to the Claimant, we can work together to right the wrong that the Claimant has done to me.

To give you a reasonable time to take instructions and for us to agree a suite of documents for the Court, I am willing to defer making a unilateral application to set aside the judgment until 4 pm on 18 March 2024. If a joint application has not been made by that time, I intend to instruct a solicitor to apply to the Court unilaterally for an order setting the judgment aside, striking out the particulars of claim, dismissing the claim and awarding costs against the Claimant on a full indemnity basis.

Pease respond by immediate return.

Yours faithfully,

cc DCBL

Char_LoT3

Thanks troublemaker22 that's brilliant, much better than the letter I had been drafting (bf's PM was to avoid cluttering my thread here with random questions trying to build my understanding, i'm struggling following other peoples threads I have been reading so trying not to do what is causing me to get side-tracked/lost).

I don't know who the solicitors were.The PoC looks like they have had the Solicitors name redacted (or would UKPC have done themselves as they knew no one would defend, and thus blank rather than redacted?) and the judgment only mentions UKPC.

Am I best to try and find out from CNBC if/who the solicitors were before sending or just remove what you have advised to get it sent out on Monday?

So to be clear letter would be sent to:
UKPC's Solicitors (if know, if not remove the wording about taking instructions)
UKPC
dcbl

Should either be recorded, or just get a proof of posting?

(^^^^just double checking I have understood as first advice was N244/set-aside request and don't contact any of the above).

And hopefully they will accept and that will be the start of the end of the matter (with an order to be drafted and then filled to conclude)?

Also is their any mileage in my adding a line or two pointing out I know how they operate and I believe from my research this may even form part of there business model (i.e. deliberately use addressed they have had no reply from and bank on getting a default ccj by using).  Also to expand a little, that this is their 'day to day' business i.e. would be well aware lack of response is a very good indication of old address (this isn't a 'one off' for them) and another pointing out I have done my home work and can prove at the time the claim was been made with the court a simple check would have returned my correct address? 
My thinking is it would form part of my evidence if I have to file for a set-aside and would be read by a Judge.

One other thing I was going to ask about (was halfway through a post, when I read your suggestion) , more to do with the N244, but my be relevant to a robust defense (i'm assuming it can not hurt to hit them with everything that would show it is not worth perusing any further):
I'm diagnosed with Autism (affects my reading and understanding the microscopic and legal jargon signage, as well as time keeping), Rheumatoid Arthritis (Affects my moving around on days like a cold Snowy March as the original PCn was issues, have pictures from that day of the snow!) as well as mental health issues (i'm on medication for), so while I do not have a blue badge, I am certainly 'less able' than Joe Average, would I have any protection from any of the relevant disabilities acts (PoF act, Equality act??) I have read mention off? and if so, is it worth putting in at this point given this letter is only asking for their agreement to stop and put right, as apposed to a legal argument in front of a Judge who will tell them? 

c

Coupon-mad

Yes you have 'protected characteristics' as defined in the EA 2010.

If the claim itself was filed before Oct 2023 the solicitor was DCB Legal.  If it was since then, it could have been UKPC themselves - which is when they first started in-house claims - or DCB Legal.

I would phone the CNBC at 8.30am Monday on the dot.  That's how to get through quicker.

Char_LoT3

Thanks Coupon-med

Is it worth adding anything about the Equality Act 2010 to to this letter or save for later if needed?

Judgment date was right at the start of October 2023 (within the first week), so the claim would have been filed before October 2023 (seems odd there are no details on the PoC for Solicitor, would UKPC be listed if they represented themselves, would CNBC redact that?) did they start doing the 'no response' claims themselves any earlier?


Thanks,

c

Coupon-mad

If Judgment was early October then DCB Legal issued the claim in September.

Do not add stuff to the words provided by @troublemaker22 - he is a trusted solicitor.

troublemaker22

See PM I’ve just sent you 

Char_LoT3

Letter as per troublemaker22's post above (details filled in) sent off yesterday to UKPC and dcbl.  Will report back if/when a response is received (and start looking at the N244 documents in the mean time in case I don't get a favorable response).

Thanks for all the help thus far, appreciated!!

c

Char_LoT3

Apologies for the delay in updating my thread, personal health issues have gotten in the way the last few weeks.

Letter went off in the post to both UKPC and dcbl on the 4th,  nothing heard back from them at all (is that normal?), so I gave them (partly due to my own issues and partly to make doubly sure I am giving them every opportunity to avoid wasting the courts time) the benefit of the doubt with the post and emailed the letter over.  To date I have only had a response via email from dcbl this very morning (3/4/24), which seemed to ignore the contents of the letter and just stated there was a debt outstanding, how to pay and the usual threats….  So somewhat disappointing…

Appreciate I should be a little further on with things, but personal health issues along with an Autistic brain trying to understand all the posts (head is still spinning trying to understand what I am reading going from thread to thread and looking up details CPR etc).   I will be noting this on the N244 in box 11 and hope this will be understood that I can take longer to process and understand things, with regards to timely action/response.

 

Currently I have a draft of:

N244 form

Witness statement (based on amxv’s thread, which seems most current)

Draft order (again from amvx’s thread, having read a few others which are a lot more wordy and I do not really understand, I am not sure what really needs to be in here).

Should I post these here for comment (with details redacted)?

 

Also do I need to be drafting a skeleton defence at this point and sending with the above?  I only have the PoC to go on at the moment, which didn’t tell me much at all to draft a defence.  Or should I add a brief paragraph to the end of my witness statement to explain I believe I have a reasonable chance of defending the claim and an outline of some of the more generic points I can use?

Again Thanks so much for everyone's help so far.

Coupon-mad

Should I post these here for comment (with details redacted)?

Yes please.

 

Also do I need to be drafting a skeleton defence at this point and sending with the above?

No.

Char_LoT3

Form N244:

Name of court: Civil National Business Centre

Claim No. <CLAIM NUMBER>

Claimant’s name (including ref.): UK Parking Control Limited <UKPC NUMBER>

Defendant’s name (including ref.) <MY NAME>

Date: <Date submitted>

 

1.        <MY NAME>

2.        Defendant

3.        The Defendant seeks an order setting aside the judgment dated 5/10/2023 pursuant to CPR 13.2, alternatively 13.3, and the defendant be allowed to file a defence in the case, because she was unaware of the proceedings. The Claimant served proceedings at an address not used by the Defendant since October 2020, CPR 6.9, The Claimant found the current address soon after default judgment.

4.        Yes

5.        At a hearing

6.        <Left blank as per guidance notes sheet, as I have no idea>

7.        N/A

8.        District Judge

9.        UK Parking Control Limited (Clamant) 9a left blank

10.   Witness statement ticked

11.   Yes ticked.   With text ‘Please see separate sheet titled: N244 Box 11’

<Statement of truth, date, address information on pages 3 and 4 filled in as appropriate>

N244 Box 11

Do you believe you, or a witness who will give evidence on your behalf, are vulnerable in any way which the court needs to consider?

Yes. Please explain in what way you or the witness are vulnerable and what steps, support or adjustments you wish the court and the judge to consider.

I have been diagnosed ASC (Autistic spectrum condition), I believe I am dyslexic, I have physical and mental health disorders which include being Diagnosed and being treated for Rheumatoid Arthritis, fibromyalgia and hypermobility, I suffer with generalized anxiety disorder, and I am in trauma therapy for possible complex post-traumatic stress disorder. 

What would be helpful for the court to know, steps, support or adjustments you wish for the court and the judge to consider: 

It would be helpful to be given sufficient time to process what other are saying, the meaning, to understand the question(s) and the court to ensure (especially specific legal terms and technical questions) are understood properly before an answer is received.

I may need questions to be read in a different way or less technical language used, to understand them. 

I may need bring some with me to assist me.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is usually under control, but I have the possibility of suffering chronic pain.  Changes in the weather and stressful situations are among things that can cause flare ups, in which case consideration for both in mental capacity and mobility (issues getting to/from, into and out of the court, sitting for long periods of time can cause pain, I may need to get up and walk around or take short breaks).  

I can become quite emotional, confused and upset under stressful situations so may need consideration to calm myself down and recompose myself.