Euro Car Parks & DCB Legal 'Letter Of Claim'

DoctorWho215

Hi, I need advice for my girlfriend who received a parking fine on 22/07/20 where she had apparently not paid for a ticket at a Euro Car Parks. She had in fact paid for a ticket (which we still have) 12 minutes after entering the car park as there was an issue with the card payment. The payment went through and we have both the ticket and the receipt however since then they have sent us an initial letter of the fine and since 15+ letters from 5 different companies with the usual “YOU OWE” messaging with the price increasing with every letter. 

After looking on forums and Reddit after the initial few letters the best course of action seemed to be to ignore those letters however this latest letter from DCB Legal who has sent a 'Letter of claim' which I have attached. 

My question is what is the best course of action, get back in touch with Euro car parks with the ticket for an appeal or is it too late? Contact the latest debt collector/ solicitor that contacted us? Or carry on ignoring the letters?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated thanks

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

The first few paragraphs of the second post in the NEWBIES thread explain exactly how to respond to a Letter of Claim.

DoctorWho215

KeithP said:

Hello and welcome.

The first few paragraphs of the second post in the NEWBIES thread explain exactly how to respond to a Letter of Claim.

With regards to  'complain to the Landowner or retailer, and LBC stage is a last chance' would this be my first step at this point? It is owned by Euro Car Parks I believe and was previously a Wilko car park so can't really complain to them anymore, so would i still appeal this the Euro Car Parks at this point? Thanks

Coupon-mad

It may or may not be owned by ECP but at this stage I'd just use the response to LBC and also attach a pic of the ticket as proof that the parking was paid for.

It won't stop them issuing a claim (they will go ahead like a conveyor belt) but DCB Legal will discontinue in 2025 - no hearing needed - once they realise you are a robust defendant and aren't going to pay them a penny.

Do correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think I say "LBC stage is a last chance" (to get the C to cancel) except in the section about LBCCCs from ParkingEye? Yours isn't that.  Yours is easier: it's a DCB Legal one that leads to discontinuance around WS stage.

All a good life and learning experience with no CCJ risk, as long as you defend the claim.

DoctorWho215

UPDATE!

had a reply from the email response we sent after the LBC:

“We write in response to your correspondence received in our office dated 10th September 2024.

 

We now respond to the same as follows.

 

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. The correct recovery fees have been added and will not be removed. As such, the outstanding balance of £170.00 remains payable to prevent further action. 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.

 

In relation to the comments concerning damages, 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.

 

Having reviewed the provided copy of a ticket we can confirm that the full correct vehicle registration was not input on the date in question. As the agreed terms and conditions advise user must enter the full correct registration, a clear breach has occured and the PCN was issued correctly.

 

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.

 

Payment can be made via bank transfer to our designated client account”

Their main point being the incorrect reg on the ticket attached but clearly the ticket only had space to show a portion of the registration. What should my next steps be to this response any assistance is massively appreciated! 

Coupon-mad

Your next steps are to search the forum for this exact same template reply.  Instead of posting replies, always just search for them first.

That one has been discussed hundreds of times and we want you to find threads just like this and complain to HMRC like everyone else (without us having to post about that!).

DoctorWho215

UPDATE:

So after 4 years of threatening letters and an LBC, my partner has received a Claim form from DCB legal on behalf of Euro Car Parks for a ticket in 2020.

Brief background, she received the fine in 2020 even though she had purchased a ticket for that visit. They could argue that she took too long to purchase the ticket and that the full REG wasn't on the ticket however, there were issues with the machines on that day and she managed to buy a ticket around 12 minutes after entering the car park and the ticket shows part of the REG. After 15+ letters from various 'Mickey Mouse debt collectors' DCB legal have put forward a claim form for £315.

However, my partner is worried about this affecting her credit rating and receiving a CCJ. She doesn't want to go through the stress and ordeal of having to defend herself at a hearing and the stress of a CCJ. 

This has been 4 years of stress and personally, I would defend it all the way but I understand this isn't my fight and if it is easier to pay the money and avoid the stress for my partner, I support that. 

So my main questions are:

- What are our chances of a successful defence with the details above?

- Would I be able to represent her to avoid her having to go to the hearing herself?

- Is she at risk of a CCJ if the court decides in favour of DCB legal?

Gr1pr

A good chance of a discontinued claim, regardless of the defence, but she should be using the defence template by coupon mad, regardless of the circumstances 

No, you are unlikely to be qualified to do so, but you can support and assist her 

No, because she would pay DCB legal the amount awarded by the judge, promptly, so as soon as possible after the hearing, definitely within the 30 days grace period 

Post the issue date on the claim form below, also post a redacted picture of the POC on the bottom left of the claim form too, after hiding the VRM details first

So its not a fine, it was a Parking Charge Notice, PCN, so an invoice 

No CCJ risk if you both follow our advice, before any deadlines 

DoctorWho215

Thanks for the reply, so if we were to lose the claim would the amount awarded by the judge be any more than the £315? Also she is hearing impaired so would be taken into account for me to represent her? 

Gr1pr

DoctorWho215 said:

Thanks for the reply, so if we were to lose the claim would the amount awarded by the judge be any more than the £315? Also she is hearing impaired so would be taken into account for me to represent her? 

More likely to be around the £212 mark, especially once the spurious charges are binned 

Definitely, courts do allow for disabilities, the Equality Act 2010 probably applies, reasonable adjustments 

You are assisting her as a. Lay representative. .... , or as a McKenzie friend etc

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on your partner's Claim Form?