Euro Car Parks / DCB Legal – 2025 Defence to Old Debt Claim

Canon7601

Good evening, 

I have received a letter from DCBL ltd for the well know sum of £170 regarding a PCN issued by Eurocarparks back in 2020, September. Reason for it was overstaying by 10 minute, or so, in a petrol station. I believe I eventually paid it, but cannot say for sure. I have no trace pf payment and threw away a massive stash of old papers, so cannot trace any payment related to it, if any was made. I have also changed address, and read on the NEWBIE forum that I have to notify the Debt collectors and Eurocarparks as well. My dilemma is, shall I ask for a SAR from both parties? I want to know where they sent the old letters, as I have changed two addresses by now. I also want to know if this has been paid of not, I believe a SAR would reflect this?

Is a SAR in this case advisable?Are there any downsides of requesting one at this point?Shall I also send DCBL the layout letter concerning the extra £70?I read here the fine is £100 at most.

Thank you.

Fruitcake

Do not submit an SAR until after you have received the court claim. Sometimes the particulars of claim are vague and fail to specify the cause of action.

It is not a fine.

Instruct the DPO of Euro Car Parks and DCBL Ltd to erase your personal details and replace it with your current address for service. Make sure you use the word I have highlighted as it has a specific meaning where data processing is concerned.

Follow the guide to court written by bargepole that you will find in the NEWBIES, plus the advice in the template defence sticky Announcement that includes a twelve step guide.

Start by responding to the Letter of/before Claim, if that is what you have received.

Canon7601

Hi, @Fruitcake. Thank you for this. I have received a normal letter, notice of debt recovery.

Fruitcake

Canon7601 said:

Hi, @Fruitcake. Thank you for this. I have received a normal letter, notice of debt recovery.

A notice of debt recovery from DCB Limited, or DCB Legal Limited (same company, different departments) will normally offer 14 days to respond, which is an easy way of identifying it as a debt crawler letter that can be ignored, since a real LoC/LbC must offer 30 days.

Ignoring the latter won't hurt, but it is better in my opinion to respond robustly to each and every communication denying the debt, and challenging any fake add-ons such as the standard £70 debt collection nonsense. We know this is nonsense since debt collection companies offer a no win-no fee service, so there is never a debt collection charge incurred by the parking company.

Canon7601

Hello, I come back again maybe someone could help me with SAR requested from Eurocarparks. I sent them the request from the newbie post along with my water bill as proof of ID and address. However, they came back with the below- however, I no longer have the car as it has been sold 4 years ago and regarding to photo id I believe I am not obliged to do so, right?

"Thank you for your correspondence. In order for us to process your request, and to ensure our own

compliance with GDPR we require that you provide reasonable evidence of your identity (the ICO

recommend Photo ID) and proof of ownership of any vehicle you wish to be included in the search (for

example a copy or image of a V5C document). These (copy) document(s) can either be posted to our

registered offices or emailed to us using the DPO@eurocarparks.com address. Please DO NOT send any

original documents (passport, V5C, etc).

The (identification) data will not be kept further than to establish your identity and that any information

released correctly adheres to the requirements of the GDPR – if using the postal service hard copies will

be sent back by return post if required and this must be stipulated on your correspondence if not these

will be shredded, data copies will be destroyed and not retained further than to place a tag against the

audit trail that identification has been verified.

Please also consider the information you require as part of your GDPR request including as much detail as

possible as this helps us address your request as effectively as possible and provide you with the details

within the GDPR guidelines."

What proof should I send for owning the car at the time?And also, the information I require seems like we are not on the same page- as I already asked from the :"Please supply the data about me that I am entitled to under data protection law relating to myself."  

Thank you 

Coupon-mad

Forget the SAR. Don't pursue a SAR. That's not in the Newbies thread. Not current advice.

Canon7601

Thank you @Coupon-mad . I had received a LoC from DCBlegal, so followed your steps and wrote back to them- "The alleged debt is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended., etc. " . I believe now I have to just sit and wait. Sorry, I got mislead about the SAR. However, I suppose a claim will follow and when the time comes, as part of my witness statement and evidence , I will need evidence that it was night and dark at the petrol station, and the sign poorly illuminated.I cannot find anything, or any trace of me appealing that PCN(had I done so), it was 5 years ago. So I was hoping they would send pictures of the sign through a SAR- the ones they usually take when issuing a PCN. Would you still advise to pursue a SAR then? Or is this even necessary from my end?I have no other evidence than my word, potentially somebody else that now moved outside UK. Trying to think ahead.
Thank you.

Coupon-mad

Not needed. Sit tight!

Canon7601

Hi @Coupon-mad . I was just wondering, they replied to my email and said failure to pay means a claim without any further reference. Does this mean I won't know if they will pursue this in court?My concern is that I will be gone for a month and a half this summer and if in the meantime the claim follows and I am not aware, how do I work around it? 

"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."

Thank you

Gr1pr

If they were to issue a court claim against you using MCOL,  the CNBC in the would post an N1SDT court claim pack to your address,  so you should know about it if it happens 

You must make sure that your mail is opened every week whilst you are away,  no exceptions

Canon7601

Thank you, @Gr1pr. Hope you have a nice evening!