Received Letter of Claim - Answer drafted, need the go-ahead from you guys

ConfusedCricket

Hello all, 

I received a parking fine for overstaying a 2h parking limit by 20 minutes. Was using a day pass at Pure gym who allow parking for 3h once the car is registered but forgot to do so on their tablet at the start of my session. I tried appealing the ticket but PureGym didn't provide evidence of my stay in time (and I was lazy about chasing) so now it got to the point where I received the Letter of Claim. 

After reading the Newbies Pinned Thread, I used the template provided for a reply of Proposed Legal Proceedings and adapted it to include a dispute of the ticket, along with the explanation of the rightful use of the car park and the evidence provided by PureGym to back that up. The letter received is dated 18th July, was thinking of sending my reply by email to  on the 16th August (to leave it last minute?) . Would appreciate any advice as to what to include/omit from my response and further steps. 

My drafted response:
"Dear Sirs,

Your Ref. ______
Claimant: UKPC Ltd

I refer to your letter of claim.

I confirm that my address for service for the time being is as follows, and any older address must be erased from your records:
_______

I am sourcing and seeking independent debt advice and as such, I formally request that this matter be put on hold for an additional 30 days, in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims 2017 ('the PAP').

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

 The fine issued to me for a 20 minute overstay at Greenways Retail Park on 10/12/2023 was issued despite the fact that I was using the facilities at PureGym during the entire duration of my stay, and PureGym provides a 3-hour parking allowance for its members using their facilities, as confirmed by their policy. Therefore, I was within this allowed time frame, having parked my vehicle for a total of 2 hours and 20 minutes.

I have attached evidence showing my gym attendance records for the date in question, confirming my presence at PureGym during the time I was parked. 

Given the provided evidence and the fact that I adhered to the parking terms set by PureGym, the parking fine is baseless and so will any further proceedings to court.

I note that the amount being claimed has increased by a hugely exaggerated amount which the Government called "extorting money from motorists". Don't send me your usual blather about that.

I have two questions, and under the PAP I am entitled to specific answers:

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?

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

Additionally, I must address the conduct surrounding the issuance and follow-up of this fine. Receiving threatening letters demanding payment for a fine that is clearly invalid is both abusive and intolerable. Such actions cause unnecessary stress and are a misuse of your enforcement powers."

KeithP

You really must stop using the word 'fine'.
You have used that word four times in your proposed response.
There is no fine involved here.

Coupon-mad

Yes - looks good if you change all the instances of the word 'fine' to 'parking charge' (or 'scam invoice' if you like). Be pushy and even rude.  They are pushy and rude so nothing too polite to these scum firms.

LDast

Really doesn't matter what you plead in the response to the LoC, they ARE going to issue a claim. Just go through the motions as advised in the second post of the Newbies/FAQ thread and plod on until the eventual discontinuation. You shouldn't be losing any sleep over this.

Le_Kirk

ConfusedCricket said:

Hello all, 

I received a parking fine for overstaying a 2h parking limit by 20 minutes. Was using a day pass at Pure gym who allow parking for 3h once the car is registered but forgot to do so on their tablet at the start of my session. 

........ or maybe the tablet failed that day.  Don't do the PPCs job for them!

ConfusedCricket

Thank you all for your helpful comments. I received a response from DCBLegal as follows :


We write in response to your correspondence received in our office dated 16th August 2024.

We now respond to the same as follows.

The address we have on our records is your current address_____ 

Any previous addresses have been removed. 

 We would request the evidence that states PureGym has a 3 hour maximum stay as the signs state that it is a 2 hour maximum stay. Please see attached.

 The HMRC ‘VAT Supply and Consideration manual’ (VATSC06140), which was last updated on 02 September 2020, confirmed that parking charge notices falls out of the scope of VAT. There is no requirement for a VAT invoice to be issued to you.

The sum added is a contribution to the actual costs incurred by our client as a result of your non-payment. Our client’s employees have spent time and material attempting to recover the debt. This is not our client’s usual business, and the resources could have been better spent in other areas of the business. Had you of paid as per the Contract, there would have been no need for recovery action so the amount due would not have increased.

In accordance with the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice, where the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) becomes overdue and before Court proceedings have commenced, a reasonable sum may be added for the debt recovery fees. BPA - 24.1b “Where a Parking Charge becomes overdue and before Court Proceedings have commenced, a reasonable sum (which covers the cost of recovering debt) may be added for the debt recovery fees. This sum must not exceed £70 unless prior approval from the BPA has been granted”. The correct recovery fees have been added and will not be removed.

You now have 30 days from the date of this email to make payment of £170.00. Failure to make payment will result in a Claim being issued against you without any further reference..." ...and they continue with their payment details etc. 

So far I drafted a response to back up my claim against the parking charge and demand that they drop the case:

I have attached screenshots from the PureGym website stating their 3-hour maximum stay limit. This information can also be accessed via the link  to their Overview page for the Ipswich Ravenswood branch (the site in question). Therefore, as a customer of PureGym, I have used the car park in accordance with their terms and policies. Any discrepancies between their policies and those of UKPC should be resolved between your organizations. Continuing to demand payment for the parking charge after the evidence provided would be both coercive and unacceptable. I expect this case to be dropped immediately.

How should I respond to their answer beyond the draft I provided above? Are there any legal resources I can use to dispute their £70 add-on? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as I would like this matter to be dropped. It has become a significant burden, and the prospect of dealing with a court claim is overwhelming.

KeithP

Re: 3 hours or 2 hours.

I would suggest that Section 69 of The Consumer Rights Act 2015 might be useful.
It says...

69 Contract terms that may have different meanings

(1) If a term in a consumer contract, or a consumer notice, could have different meanings, the meaning that is most favourable to the consumer is to prevail.

Coupon-mad

Please search the forum for that template reply instead of posting it for us to read (again...)!

Tell us when you've done the HMRC complaint seen on every similar thread.

ConfusedCricket

KeithP said:

Re: 3 hours or 2 hours.

I would suggest that Section 69 of The Consumer Rights Act 2015 might be useful.
It says...

69 Contract terms that may have different meanings

(1) If a term in a consumer contract, or a consumer notice, could have different meanings, the meaning that is most favourable to the consumer is to prevail.

Thank you, this is very useful. Coupon-mad said:

Please search the forum for that template reply instead of posting it for us to read (again...)!

Tell us when you've done the HMRC complaint seen on every similar thread.

My apologies, I should've thought that there would be a template for such a reply. I will have a proper look and report back

ConfusedCricket

Coupon-mad said:

Please search the forum for that template reply instead of posting it for us to read (again...)!

Tell us when you've done the HMRC complaint seen on every similar thread.

Done the HMRC complaint!

LDast

The “prospect of dealing with a court claim”!issued by DCB Legal should not overwhelm anyone. The odds of you ever going near a court are about the same as winning the lottery.

Just go through the motions of waiting for the inevitable N1SDT claim form and following the instructions in the second post of the Newbies/FAQ thread and template defence thread and you will find your username in lights in this thread when they discontinue:

DCB LEGAL RECORD OF PRIVATE PARKING COURT CLAIM DISCONTINUATIONS