Suspected LBC letter, a little confused.

LittleMooCow

Hello,
I've been reading through the Newbies FAQ and I've gotten a lot of great information but I'm a little lost.

We parked on a Euro Car Parks' lot two years ago. The machine gave a ticket that hadn't printed out the full registration number and Euro sent a parking charge. For two years they have been sending letters threatening legal action and increased cost. I spoke to them via email explaining the situation calmly. When I told them that we still have the ticket they lowered the charge to £20. After I told them that we aren't going to pay for their faulty machines they put the price up to £170 and increased the threats. They didn't respond to any emails after that. It was past onto a debt collector and the threats continued (These threats also included emojis). After going to a new collector it has now been passed onto DCBLegal.

DCBLegal have sent their first letter yesterday. It has requested that we pay online or fill out a forum on our financials. Which I haven't done due to the advice on the FAQ. From the FAQ, I assume that this letter from DCBLegal is the LBC? They use a lot of legal jargon in the letter (Most of it seems unnecessary). Again from the FAQ it seems to be a way to invoke fear.

Anyway, this is where I'm confused, should I now just ignore the letter and wait for their Letter Of Claim? They have given 28 days to pay up. I assume then that any further correspondence will go through the small claims court? The FAQ also suggests sending them a robust email.

I wanted to make sure I understand completely. The car is my Grandmother's, technaclly, she gets them from a government scheme due to her being disabled. She is an 80 odd year old who had a heart attack a few months ago so this is pretty distressing for her. But with the facts she is very happy with pushing back. She's a fighter, especially where corporate greed is concerned.

Thank you very much for the help. I'm sorry I got lost on the FAQ and had to post.

LDast

Does the letter say on it "Letter of Claim" and does it give the keeper 30 days, not 14 days to pay? If it is and LoC, then the second post of the Newbies/FAQ thread tells you exactly how to respond and even gives you the template for it.

You are fortunate that you are dealing with a roboclaim firm of intellectually malnourished legal wannabes. As and when you do receive the N1SDT clam form from the CNBC, you will be able to defend robustly and you will eventually see your username in lights in this thread once they discontinue:

DCB LEGAL RECORD OF PRIVATE PARKING COURT CLAIM DISCONTINUATIONS

KeithP

Welcome.

Yes that is a Letter of Claim. Deal with it as suggested in the first few paragraphs of the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

LittleMooCow

LDast said:

Does the letter say on it "Letter of Claim" and does it give the keeper 30 days, not 14 days to pay? If it is and LoC, then the second post of the Newbies/FAQ thread tells you exactly how to respond and even gives you the template for it.

You are fortunate that you are dealing with a roboclaim firm of intellectually malnourished legal wannabes. As and when you do receive the N1SDT clam form from the CNBC, you will be able to defend robustly and you will eventually see your username in lights in this thread once they discontinue:

DCB LEGAL RECORD OF PRIVATE PARKING COURT CLAIM DISCONTINUATIONS

For some reason I didn't notice the bold black underline text that reads "LETTER OF CLAIM" at the top of the letter. Silly me. Dyslexia at it's finest.

KeithP said:

Welcome.

Yes that is a Letter of Claim. Deal with it as suggested in the first few paragraphs of the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Thank you, so following the Newbies thread I should now send an email to DCBLegal using the template that starts with Dear, Sirs. They do have an email address on the letter so I could send it there. Should I add any reasons for declining to pay? Such as the machine not functioning and it not being my responsibility to fix or maintain them? I remember reading a post on a website somewhere how a judge threw a case out due to the maintenance of parking lot machines not being the responsibility of the public. The writer seems to imply the Judge being rather angry at the "legal" firm too. I'll try and find it, see if it's real.

After sending out the email I should then just wait for the proceed. If I'm understanding the thread correctly.

I'm really sorry for asking here rather than just reading through the Newbies thread, I just want to make sure I get this correct and don't mess up and end up being a part of the 1%. I really really appreciate the help. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. These parasites have been hounding us for 2 years.

Gr1pr

They have 6 years to issue a court claim using MCOL 

Who is the Registered Keeper. ? The one receiving the letters. ? Is it poor Grandma receiving them. ?

Clearly they offered £20 for an alleged keying error, regardless of whether the machine was faulty 

The person who is receiving the letters should respond to DCB Legal to that letter of claim, but anyone can help them do so, but cannot take over without an LPA in place. ( Or a solicitor can do so)

The real question is, can the recipient take the heat and go to court. ?  Especially if its Grandma, especially if she was not the driver. ?

At this stage the recipient could name the driver, if it wasn't them, too late once any court claim is issued 

So answer the questions and think carefully about the whole situation, who is best to take it on. ?

The second post in the newbies sticky thread has the LoC response template, no additions, no explanations, no passing on key information, no stories 

LittleMooCow

Gr1pr said:

They have 6 years to issue a court claim using MCOL 

Who is the Registered Keeper. ? The one receiving the letters. ? Is it poor Grandma receiving them. ?

Clearly they offered £20 for an alleged keying error, regardless of whether the machine was faulty 

The person who is receiving the letters should respond to DCB Legal to that letter of claim, but anyone can help them do so, but cannot take over without an LPA in place. ( Or a solicitor can do so)

The real question is, can the recipient take the heat and go to court. ?  Especially if its Grandma, especially if she was not the driver. ?

At this stage the recipient could name the driver, if it wasn't them, too late once any court claim is issued 

So answer the questions and think carefully about the whole situation, who is best to take it on. ?

The second post in the newbies sticky thread has the LoC response template, no additions, no explanations, no passing on key information, no stories 

Okay, I think I understand. My Grandmother wasn't the one driving as she hasn't driven in ten years. My mother was the one driving. The car is given to my Grandmother via a government scheme to allow her careers to help her. 

My Mother can deal with this claim better than my Grandmother can so I should send an email to DCBLegal using the template. Does the template still apply as it is about an airport. Does the same rules apply to a "standard" lot?

This is all very confusing. Or should we just ignore it and wait?

Gr1pr

My point is that I believe that the letters are coming to the registered keeper, which is your grandmother, so she is the data subject and only she can deal with it at the moment, not you and not your mother either.  ( Unless there is a legal document in place. ?  An LPA. ?  I assume not. ?  )

At the moment I believe that the claimant and their lawyers will issue a court claim against the grandmother, not you or your mother, you two are not involved in the current situation, apart from assisting your grandmother 

Her name, her problem. ( In simple terms ) , you are not actually legally involved here, you are a researcher helping the keeper and driver 

She could name the driver, your mother in this case, if she wanted, or if you all wanted, if the driver wishes to fight the court claim. ?

At the moment you are not involved and never will be, so you cannot send anything to anyone, because you are not the keeper or driver, so you are their personal assistant, gathering advice and assisting as a helper , you should not be writing to anybody 

Not sure why the airport is mentioned, but I haven't read back , its an ECP case, but no such thing as a standard lot 

If your mother was driving and is better placed to fight it, SHE should send the details of the driver to the parking company and also to DCB legal, ASAP, stating that she is naming the driver and therefore no longer has any legal liability. ( Too late if you all ignore it and if a court claim is issued against the grandmother. )

Part of the confusion is well meaning but naive relatives muddying the waters , I don't want to sound harsh but clarity is required, before action, because the correct actions require correct analysis and research 

So decide if the RK or the Driver is going to fight this case, and then do what should be done in order to achieve it 

LittleMooCow

Gr1pr said:

My point is that I believe that the letters are coming to the registered keeper, which is your grandmother, so she is the data subject and only she can deal with it at the moment, not you and not your mother either.  ( Unless there is a legal document in place. ?  An LPA. ?  I assume not. ?  )

At the moment I believe that the claimant and their lawyers will issue a court claim against the grandmother, not you or your mother, you two are not involved in the current situation, apart from assisting your grandmother 

Her name, her problem. ( In simple terms ) , you are not actually legally involved here, you are a researcher helping the keeper and driver 

She could name the driver, your mother in this case, if she wanted, or if you all wanted, if the driver wishes to fight the court claim. ?

At the moment you are not involved and never will be, so you cannot send anything to anyone, because you are not the keeper or driver, so you are their personal assistant, gathering advice and assisting as a helper , you should not be writing to anybody 

Not sure why the airport is mentioned, but I haven't read back , its an ECP case, but no such thing as a standard lot 

If your mother was driving and is better placed to fight it, SHE should send the details of the driver to the parking company and also to DCB legal, ASAP, stating that she is naming the driver and therefore no longer has any legal liability. ( Too late if you all ignore it and if a court claim is issued against the grandmother. )

Part of the confusion is well meaning but naive relatives muddying the waters , I don't want to sound harsh but clarity is required, before action, because the correct actions require correct analysis and research 

So decide if the RK or the Driver is going to fight this case, and then do what should be done in order to achieve it 

Ahh, I see what you mean now, sorry. I fully understand that part as my parents have been dealing with my other grandmother who has been in a care home with dementia for awhile and they have been given a LPA. My grandmother is capable of taking on the charge, she just needs help with the internet and typing. I relay all of the information from this site to her and she is the one asking the questions. I've also been writing emails to Euro Car Parks, relaying what she has to say (when this charge first appeared).

So we assume that we send DCBLegal the template email on the Newbies Thread. Since she won't pass this trouble onto anyone else.

You don't sound harsh in anyway. I'm guessing you and many others on this site have answered these same questions many times over.

Honestly, I think she is enjoying it.

Gr1pr

My apologies in being blunt, you now understand my meaning 

Ok , so if grandmother is the registered keeper and if grandmother is receiving the letters etc, she can email the LoC response seen in post 2 in the newbies sticky thread in announcements, to the lawyers involved, bearing in mind that it won't prevent the future court claim from arriving 

She can subsequently report them to the Inland revenue when they respond to the template, as possible vat fraud 

Then she waits for the court claim to arrive in the post in a couple of months 

You can assist her and help her with the emails and internet and research, but do everything in her name, even if you are doing the donkey work, it should be her email address, in her own name 

Come back to this thread and forum when the court claim pack from the CNBC in Northampton using MCOL arrives in the post, for targeted advice 

LDast

If she is "enjoying" it, by all means let her continue. It is a valuable life lesson and at the end of the process you have the lovely Schadenfreude of knowing that it has cost the scammers more than it has cost you.

Just send the template LoC response. When they respond back, report them to HMRC for suspected VAT fraud (in the £millions) which takes less then 5 minutes online and then wait for the N1SDT claim (which will come) and then defend as per the second post in the Newbies/FAQ thread and the Template defence thread.

In due course, you will see your username in lights on this thread once they discontinue:

DCB LEGAL RECORD OF PRIVATE PARKING COURT CLAIM DISCONTINUATIONS

LittleMooCow

Thank you, both of you. This has been very helpful. 

I have sent the template email, edited with her details to info@dcblegal.co.uk. I found the address on the forums. We will defiantly report them to HMRC when the time comes. 

We will continue to follow the Newbie Thread and we'll post back here when they send the next letter.

She'll be very happy to see LittleMooCow (her choice) on that thread! Thank you to both of you again.