DCB Legal - Letter of claim

Bill_76

Appreciate that this sort of thing has probably been asked many times, but I've read through the newbie thread and all of the other threads and replies and found it quite confusing. For context I received a letter of claim from dcb legal for a parking fine received at my gym. I've already gone through all the appeal processes leading up to this and believe I have a strong case. As I understand it, I HAVE to respond to this LOC by 15 Sep 24. I don't want to use their response form on their website as it asks for financial and personal information which I do not intend to give. Is there a generic email address that anyone has used for DCB Legal so that I can respond via email? I have emailed them using info@dcblegal.co.uk.  Is this good enough? I don't want them to say that I never responded because I haven't used their response platform on their website.

 

I used the template in the newbie thread on my email and I attached a copy of a letter which I used to appeal the fine originally which is a ridiculously long and a strong argument for my case.

 

Lastly, I don't quite understand what I need to do in regards to the SAR / DPO? Who do I need to contact in regards to requesting my personal data and what am I supposed to say?

 

Any help is much appreciated!

LDast

There is no legal requirement to respond to an LoC, so you don’t HAVE to. However, it shows an attempt to resolve the issue before necessitating a coir claim. The second post in the Newbies/FAQ thread explains exactly what to put in your response. No need to add or remove anything from it.

DCB Legal show their email address on their letterhead as info@dcblegal.co.uk, so use that for all correspondence with them. Just as with sending anything by post, you have no idea who receives it, opens it and whether they pass it on to the relevant person. The same with an email. However, with an email you have proof of delivery.

Get out of your mind that you have been “fined”. They are simply saying that you owe them a debt for an unpaid, speculative invoice.

As long as you follow all the steps as advised in the Newbies/FAQ thread, this will eventually end up as a discontinuation.

Le_Kirk

DPO is for use if you need to advise the PPC or their agents of  a change of address, the general advice now is NOT to submit a SAR until AFTER you receive the N1 court claim.

Bill_76

Thanks both for taking the time to respond. I received the following response from DCB legal:

"We write in response to your correspondence received in our office dated 26th August 2024.

We now respond to the same as follows.

The terms and conditions of private parking are stipulated on the signs within the land. The terms clearly state 'Members/visitors must obtain a parking permit at reception', if not adhered a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) shall be issued. It is the responsibility of the Driver to ensure the terms of private parking are read and adhered to regardless of circumstances.

When parking on private land, the contractual terms of the site are set out on the signs. You are entering a contract and agreeing to the terms by parking and staying on the site. Parking in breach of the terms as stipulated on the signage means that you are then breaking the terms of the contract.

Please note the timeframe in which to appeal the Parking Charge Notice has expired. You were given the opportunity to lodge an appeal when the initial Notice was issued to you. Given that the case has been escalate to this firm for recovery action, the time to appeal has now elapsed and payment of the PCN is now required.


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."


Assuming I just follow the advice in the newbie thread using the templates if a claim is made? Thanks!

KeithP

Bill_76 said:

Assuming I just follow the advice in the newbie thread using the templates if a claim is made? Thanks!

That's right.

When you receive the Claim, post again on this thread with the Issue Date and show us a picture of the Particulars of Claim - with personal detail hidden of course.

Coupon-mad

Why haven't they responded to the VAT question?

Bill_76

KeithP said:

Bill_76 said:

Assuming I just follow the advice in the newbie thread using the templates if a claim is made? Thanks!

That's right.

When you receive the Claim, post again on this thread with the Issue Date and show us a picture of the Particulars of Claim - with personal detail hidden of course.

Thanks Keith, Here's a copy of the letter I received. It's after the 5 days of the issue date so should I proceed with the MCOL AOS per the newbie thread? Then once I draft my defence using the template can I share it here for your opinions? Thanks again. 

[Image removed by Forum Team]

LDast

Oh dear... why have you not redacted the Claim number and your MCOL password?

Gr1pr

I can see the password, VRM details, Claim reference number plus QR code on that claim form, needs removing, redacting properly and reposting 

So , CEL claim Via DCB Legal, dated 10 October 2024 , for £281.44

Yes do the AOS online as described in the newbies sticky thread in announcements 

Yes, post the first few paragraphs of your adapted defence draft below, but do not post the rest of the unchanged template, its your homework being checked, not the rest 

LDast

With an issue date of 10th October, you have until Tuesday 29th October to submit your Acknowledgement of Service (AoS). There is no advantage to delaying the AoS. Once your AoS has been submitted, you then have until 4pm on Tuesday 12th November to file your defence.

Bill_76

Hi all, thanks again for your responses and help with this. So I proceeded with the process and today I had the mandatory mediation call. DCB legal made a settlement offer of £220, which I declined. They then revised their offer to £35, which I declined again (as I don’t owe the claimant anything), they then said they would continue to take it to court. Is this usual practice? I wasn’t sure if they would discontinue the claim there and then. Is there a particular stage that they usually discontinue?