Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track (hearing) - please help!

KB_Doopla

Hi All,

I have just received a notice of allocation to the small claims track for a hearing before a deputy district judge for a disputed parking charge notice, and I'm quite anxious about my prospects. I discovered this forum quite late, after I had already submitted my defence in a bit of haste. I am also facing some new complications. Here are the details of my situation: 

During 2020, I was employed as a doctor in a large university hospital. During my off-site on-call commitments, I was required to stay overnight in hospital-provided accommodation in a nearby town, as my actual place of residence was quite far away. I parked my car in the designated hospital accommodation car park, believing I was entitled to park there for free while on duty. I've previously successfully appealed a PCN on these grounds and have documentation to support this.

A few years down the line, I started receiving threatening letters from DCBL for unpaid charges in October 2020 referred by Parking Eye, covering multiple incidents. Initial PCNs were never received, otherwise I would have appealed as I did before. As the case had already been referred to DCBL, there was nothing I could do.

At the time, I was living with parents, and my father, under stress from the aggressive collection letters, paid one of these charges. Despite this, the threats continued. I came to realise after submitting my defence statement, that these were for two other incidents.

After ignoring further letters, I received a notice for small claims court. My defence was submitted in haste and contains a few errors. Following the newbies guidance, I complained to my hospital car parking team, however they have been unhelpful as the matter has already been escalated to court.

Upon reflection, there are a few things that may go against me. At the time of the incidents, I did not possess a parking permit, and there was signage in the hospital accommodation car park indicating that only staff members with valid permit are allowed to park (I was a staff member, just didn’t have parking permit). In addition, the hearing is scheduled for a date when I'm unavailable, despite submitting a list of unavailable dates on my N180 questionnaire. The notice indicates the hearing might proceed without me but will consider my filed documents. I am concerned this may affect my chances of a successful outcome by not being present.

One interesting fact to note that might help is that during the pandemic, there was a government directive for free parking for NHS staff. Here is an excerpt from the NHS hospital car parking policies in the UK document published by House of Commons:

"In March 2020, the UK Government announced financial support for all NHS England Trusts to provide free car parking to NHS staff for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, “urged all Trusts to immediately make use of Government funding”.

The Prime Minister confirmed in July 2020 that hospital car parking remained free for NHS staff during the pandemic, and NHS England’s People Plan stated in August that “NHS organisations should continue to give their people free car parking at their place of work for the duration of the pandemic.” In answer to a July 2020 Parliamentary Question, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that parking remained free for NHS staff at NHS Trust sites, but that such support could not “continue indefinitely”.

There have been reports that some Trusts reintroduced parking charges for staff during the Summer and Autumn of 2020.6 The Health Minister, Edward Argar, said during a Westminster Hall Debate in December 2020 that whilst parking polices are determined at Trust level, the Government’s policy remained that set out in July, of “providing free car parking for NHS staff during the pandemic”. The Minister said that Trusts continue to receive specific funding to enable this”.

I am not sure how to handle the upcoming court proceedings, particularly how to address the issue of the hearing date and strengthen my defence regarding the permit and signage that I was previously unaware of.

Any help would be immensely appreciated, and apologies for the long post. I can also provide a copy of my defence if that would help. Thank you. 

Gr1pr

You can email the local civil court ASAP and tell them that the date given cannot be attended due to,  blah blah, especially if it was put into the N180 document and has been overlooked, ask them if it can be moved to a later date, giving them some reasonable periods to look at 

Definitely post a redacted copy of the submitted defence below 

Your current court order gives you a deadline for the submission of your Witness statement bundle, including Exhibits, so start preparing that bundle ASAP, including the NHS guidelines and the pandemic free parking statement etc

Ideally get the trust to write a witness statement that says you had permission to park as staff member and that any parking charge notices should have been cancelled 

Also complain about it to your local MP and ask them to complain to the CEO at the trust and demanding the whole lot to be cancelled 

Coupon-mad

Yep first thing is to change the date:

the hearing is scheduled for a date when I'm unavailable, despite submitting a list of unavailable dates on my N180 questionnaire.

If that date was in your DQ then the court must change the date, as it is their mistake. When you email the court, attach some fresh dates that you cannot attend before and after Xmas (plot your unavailability right through until Easter) and tell the court you are a Doctor so need x months notice to take a day off. 

Umkomaas

A few years down the line, I started receiving threatening letters from DCBL for unpaid charges in October 2020 referred by Parking Eye, covering multiple incidents. Initial PCNs were never received, otherwise I would have appealed as I did before. As the case had already been referred to DCBL, there was nothing I could do.

What is the total amount and number of tickets DCB Legal are chasing please?

When PE pass a case to DCB Legal, it's usually because they have all but given up on collecting themselves, and use the DCB Legal court conveyor belt intimidation tactic as a last ditch attempt to lever out something from the motorist. The fact that this is a case of a Doctor working in extreme circumstances during the dreadful days of the COVID pandemic probably makes them edgy in taking the case forward themselves - and being for many years the most litigious PPC in the country, with their own in-house team of lawyers, they would definitely be more than capable. 

Play a straight bat with DCB Legal and they will more than likely discontinue nearer to the hearing date. Caveat the number of tickets (and amount being chased), the chances of your case being recorded in the following thread is quite high!  Keep going.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations/p1

KB_Doopla

Thank you everyone for the excellent advice. 

Since posting, I have now emailed my local MP, contacted PALS and complained, and requested the local civil court to change the dates. I have also included a copy of my defence statement below. 

Interestingly, I received a letter from DCBL today basically begging me to contact them to settle. I have lost count how many times they have asked this now. I was under the impression it was parking eye who is the claimant and it would be their team of lawyers I would be facing in court, not DCBL?

Altogether it is for two parking charges that I am being litigated for. 

Defence: 

I am writing in response to the claim made against me. I strongly dispute this claim for several reasons outlined below.

Firstly, during the period in question, I was employed as a Trust Grade doctor at the [hospital name]. My duties included providing non-resident on-call cover during out-of-hours. Due to the distance of my usual place of residence from the hospital, I was accommodated overnight at [hospital name], when on duty. This accommodation, including parking, was provide to me free of charge as part of my employment arrangement. At no point was I informed of any obligation to pay for parking while staying there.

It’s also worth mentioning that I have previously received a Parking Charge Notice (PCN) from Parking Eye for parking at the same location, which I successfully appealed against, and the charge was subsequently withdrawn. This precedent reinforces my understanding that I was not liable for parking charges while staying in hospital accommodation for work-related duties.

Furthermore, I did not receive any initial PCN for the dates mentioned in the claim. Had I received such a notice, I would have appealed it as I did successfully in the past. The first correspondence related to this charge was from DCBL, a debt collecting agency, leaving me no direct avenue to dispute the charge with Parking Eye or any other appropriate party.

Complicating matters, these communications were sent to my parents’ address, where I was living at the time. Under duress and without full understanding of the situation, my father made a payment of £170.10 to DCBL on 11 January 2023. However, there was no acknowledgement or confirmation of this payment resolving the alleged debt, and we have since received further threatening correspondence.

The aggressive and distressing nature of DCBL’s communications, including threats of court action and use of intimidating slogans, has caused significant stress and anxiety. It is my position that this charge is unjust, unlawful, and not in accordance with the terms of my employment, which required the hospital to provide rest facilities, including parking, as part of my on-call duties.

I request a thorough review of my case, taking into account my employment status at the time, the lack of initial notification of the parking charge, the successful appeal of a previous similar charge, and the payment already made to DCBL.

I believe this matter warrants dismissal, and I seek confirmation that no further action will be taken against me regarding this claim. I also request a refund of the payment made under duress.

Evidence of my employment status at the time, the successful appeal of the previous PCN, and proof of the payment made to DCBL can be provided upon request. I look forward to your prompt response to this matter.

Gr1pr

Parking Eye tend to pass the buck to DCB Legal with ones they aren't sure of, like yours 

Parking Eye remain the claimant all along, no matter Which litigation department or company are involved. ( DCB Legal are a sub contractor. ). You are dealing with DCB Legal at the moment, if they are in the second paragraph section on the left of the claim form 

What you have written above is a witness statement, not a defence, you should have saved the stories and background information for your WS in several months time , but as its already been submitted you will have to go with it, so hopefully we can help you to draft a brilliant witness statement to retrieve the situation when the deadline is nearer 

Coupon-mad

The defence isn't too bad and can be improved at WS and evidence stage.

I was under the impression it was parking eye who is the claimant and it would be their team of lawyers I would be facing in court, not DCBL?

Neither, if there is a hearing, which is unlikely.  They send a 'hired gun' fresh-faced freelance legal who only looks at the case that morning.

KB_Doopla

So just an update. 

The letter I received states that the hearing is on the 29th November, which falls into the period that I am not able to attend, as stated in my N180 questionnaire form. It also states that the documents should be received no later than 14 days before the court hearing, which falls on the 15th November (3 days time). 

I had emailed them about the situation on the 29th October. As I have not heard anything, I have called them up, and they say they are completely inundated with emails, and usually reply after about 6 weeks. The only thing I can do is call the court 24 hours before the date hearing and explain to them the situation. Unfortunately I did not make a copy of the N180 questionnaire that shows the list of dates that I can not attend. 

So it seems I have to submit all my evidence in 3 days time. The newbies FAQ is quite general in what they recommend, so I was wondering if you guys have any specific advice on what I should include? 

On a positive note, the letter also mentions that the claimant should pay the court fees (£59) by the 8th of November, otherwise the claim will be struck out. According to the staff member I spoke to, there is no record of payment by the claimant, which usually would appear on their system. Hopefully I can take this as a sign that they've backed down, if what the staff member is saying is correct. Nevertheless I think I should still submit all my documents. 

Thanks for your help and guidance. 

Umkomaas

Carry on for now until such time as you receive a formal discontinuation notification from DCB Legal and/or the Court. Have you checked your Junk/Spam folder as we've just had a thread where the notification was diverted into that folder?

Le_Kirk

KB_Doopla said:

So just an update. 

The letter I received states that the hearing is on the 29th November, which falls into the period that I am not able to attend, as stated in my N180 questionnaire form. It also states that the documents should be received no later than 14 days before the court hearing, which falls on the 15th November (3 days time). 

I had emailed them about the situation on the 29th October. As I have not heard anything, I have called them up, and they say they are completely inundated with emails, and usually reply after about 6 weeks. The only thing I can do is call the court 24 hours before the date hearing and explain to them the situation. Unfortunately I did not make a copy of the N180 questionnaire that shows the list of dates that I can not attend. 

So it seems I have to submit all my evidence in 3 days time. The newbies FAQ is quite general in what they recommend, so I was wondering if you guys have any specific advice on what I should include? 

On a positive note, the letter also mentions that the claimant should pay the court fees (£59) by the 8th of November, otherwise the claim will be struck out. According to the staff member I spoke to, there is no record of payment by the claimant, which usually would appear on their system. Hopefully I can take this as a sign that they've backed down, if what the staff member is saying is correct. Nevertheless I think I should still submit all my documents. 

Thanks for your help and guidance. 

Your WS should back up and support, with evidence, what you put in your defence.  There are a couple of recent WSs that you can use as example of format and style.  Obviously the words will be yours to suit your defence..

Coupon-mad

I'd email the solicitors today and ask:

1. Given the court has said there's no trace of the hearing fee being paid last week, please send me a copy of your Notice of Discontinuance or I will ask the court to grant my full costs in the case;

2. If the court is wrong and the fee was paid and the Claimant is not discontinuing, kindly email a consent minute or order, with both parties agreeing that the hearing be vacated and moved to the next available date, given that the Claimants will be aware already from my N180 DQ form that 29th November was listed as an unavailable date.