GROUP NEXUS / DCB CLAIM FORM

kathmar

Hello 
I am new here and have been reading threads but am a bit unclear and hope someone can offer some advice. 

On October 8th /2023 I was sent a letter from Group Nexus (with Forestry England logo as well) for a fine for £25.  I didn't pay because the machine had a large 'out of order' sign which I photographed.  I replied to this, by email as soon as I received it and explained that their machine was out of order (and included a photo showing the machine to be out of order) as well as explaining that I had no other way to pay but was happy to pay the amount (£2) owed for parking.   

Then the correspondence began: 

• Nov. 6 - I write for the second time to request that the fine be dropped or for the appeal be upgraded to someone in a more senior position. 
• Nov. 17/19th - Email again to say that I had still received no further correspondence / was still waiting and explained again as to why the fine was unreasonable. 
• Nov. 29th Write again to say that I had still not received a response to my November 6th email and that now I had received a second letter by post to say the fine had doubled. 
• Dec. 1st - write again to say that I have written on the 19th and 29th and ask them to get back to me regarding the charge and again explain that I had no way to pay. 
• Dec 6th receive a reply that they are having trouble identifying my case request and to re-send ref number and vehicle registration (which I had done in every email).  I then resent that information the same day. 
• Dec 7th receive an email again requesting vehicle registration which I had sent on the the 6h and every other email.  I resent. 
• Dec 29th - receive an email my appeal rejected. 
• Dec. 30th I reply astonished that they ‘wont enter into any further correspondence’ (and in fact hadn’t in 2 months despite repeated attempts). I then said again that I was happy to pay the original charge.  
• Jan 8th receive fine now for £120 and threat of going to court. 

This is then passed on to dcb legal and now (as of today) I have a claim form asking for £211.99. 

I have logged into the money claim sight and completed the acknowledgment of service form saying that I dispute the full claim. 

What do I do now?  I believe I now have 28 days to submit my defence. Is there anything I should be aware of? Any point of this (ie will I still end up paying?). I don't think it is fair to be charged for parking when their machine was out of order and as such left without thinking I would need to (in fact if I drove home could I have even used Ringo to pay a 'belated' parking charge?).  

Would really appreciate any advice at all.  Thank you! 

Gr1pr

What is the issue date on the claim form please. ?

Post a redacted picture of the POC on the left hand side of the claim form, obscuring the VRM but leaving the rest on show 

Nobody received a fine, more likely to have been a private parking charge notice, and invoice, I doubt that it was for £25 either, more likely to have been double or more 

Ideally you should have come here for advice back then , easier to deal with, but we are where we are 

Study the newbies sticky thread in announcements, second post, plus the defence template thread by coupon mad, again in announcements 

kathmar

Hi.  Thanks for your reply.

The issue date on the claim form is June 26 / 2024.  £25 was the initial charge from Nexus Group. 

kathmar

also what is a newbies sticky thread and how do you locate?  I tried searching and 'bookmarked' but no luck. 

kathmar

found it :-)

KeithP

kathmar said:

Hi.  Thanks for your reply.

The issue date on the claim form is June 26 / 2024.  £25 was the initial charge from Nexus Group. 

You need to be aware that those Particulars of Claim are totally inadequate.
Particularly this bit...

So it is alleged that the driver 'breached the terms on the signs (the contract)'.

And that allegation is then repeated - 'Reason: Vehicle Remained On Private Property In Breach Of The Prominently Displayed Terms And Conditions'.

Nowhere in those Particulars is there any explanation of what the driver is alleged to have done wrong.

This will be an easy win.

With a Claim Issue Date of 26th June, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 29th July 2024 to file your Defence.

That's over four weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence but please don't leave it to the last minute.

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Don't miss the deadline for filing a Defence.

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website. Once an Acknowledgment of Service has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.

LDast

In the meantime, I would suggest you email DCB Legal with the following:

Dear Sirs,

REQUEST FOR FURTHER INFORMATION UNDER CPR 18

I am writing to request further information and clarification regarding your claim, pursuant to CPR 18. Specifically, I request the following information:

1. A detailed breakdown of the sum claimed. What element is the principal and what element is "damages".
2. Detailed information regarding the "damages" mentioned in the claim form, including a breakdown of what these damages consist of, the basis on which they were calculated and any supporting documentation.
3. A detailed breakdown and explanation of the calculation of the interest claimed, including the start date and end date for the interest period, the rate applied, and the method of calculation.

Please provide this information within 7 days of receipt of this email. Failure to respond or refusal to provide the requested information, will result in an application to the court for an order requesting sanctions compelling you to do so and render you liable for any costs.

Yours faithfully,

This request puts them on notice that they must provide evidence of their mendacious amounts and sums. It does not affect the rest of the woefully inadequate PoC regarding failure to show a cause of action. It simply makes their life more difficult because they are now obliged to evidence their calculations and explain all the different elements of it. If the refuse or fail to provide the requested information, it gives the defendant more ammunition to have the whole claim thrown out.

Coupon-mad

And if your username is your name, I STRONGLY urge you to send a message to the forum team to change it.

Gr1pr

The initial PCN was definitely NOT £25, the PCN and the signage on site would have been double or more, as I said earlier , but the early payment option seems to be reduced to £25

On Trip advisor people are complaining about the PCN being £100 ( reduced to £25 for early payment. )

Another mentioned being asked for £25 but it then rose to £120 due to non payment 

It would be interesting to see the Group Nexus signs, not found any yet, but Forestry England are the landowner 

Be interesting to see an NTK PCN letter too , but not found any yet, I think that GN have a deal with F England 

The claim form POC shows £120 for the PCN plus damages , whereas it would typically state £170

There are other complaints about poor signal, need to use Ringgo, plus faulty machines , plus card ONLY, cash not allowed 

kathmar

Thank you very much for your advice! 
I just a couple more questions: 

When you say there is no explanation of what was done wrong - they say the vehicle remained on private property.  Isn't that clear enough? 
You say don't file defence on the moneyclaim website but why then do they have a section for defence? I send it instead to the Civil National Business Centre?  Can I do that online? 

kathmar

Regarding the letter you mention sending LDAST - they have included this breakdown of fees is that not enough? As well, in the letter they include a photo of my car entering and leaving - is that not enough supporting documentation? 
Thank you.