DCB Legal - Letter of Claim for Euro Car Parks Ltd

EverythingCounts

Hello all,
Firstly just want to say I’ve read through the newbies thread a few times to understand where I’m currently at within the process and potential next steps and also read the thread relating to DCB Legals record of discontinuations.

I parked in a retail car park monitored by Euro Car Parks Ltd in July 2022. The maximum parking time was 2 hours, I stayed for just over 2 hours 10 minutes. The signage win the car park was good. So there is nothing I can really challenge here.

I moved house just before this incident and didn’t update my DVLA details, so all the early correspondence went to my old address so I didn’t see it. I updated my DVLA details in late 2022 and started receiving the debt collector letters in 2023, I ignored these.

I have recently received a Letter of Claim from DCB Legal, the usual standard letter by comparing it to some examples on here. I believe this is when I now have to start responding to them. I’ve seen the template email I should send etc.

However, my question is this… Do I actually have any defence if it goes to court as I did overstay in the car park, and didn’t receive the initial letters as I had not updated the DVLA. So on both accounts I’m at fault.
I’m willing to go to court if I have a chance of winning, and from the threads it seems DCB Legal nearly always discontinue. But are they likely to discontinue where it looks like I don’t have much going in my favour? I’m trying to determine if it’s worth the effort if I’m likely to lose.

Gr1pr

Have you studied the BPA CoP. ?  Where it allowed a grace period of a minimum of 10 minutes to leave the site. ?

So are you sure that you overstayed, or does the grace period indicate that it was not an overstay per se.  ?

Surely that would be a part of your defence, witness statement and exhibits, so much so that an appeal should have been made at the time, plus a subsequent appeal to Popla, based on that particular section, plus any other points too

A shame that you never received those letters due to moving 

But as its ECP and DCB Legal, its likely to be discontinued before the hearing fee is due 

Meanwhile, you can still get the landowner to cancel the PCN, plan A , which you should have started doing when the letters arrived 

Coupon-mad

Yes you'd win on the basis that there must be a consideration period on arrival (before parking) and a grace period minimum 10 mins at the end.

Judges apply fairness and the law, not the self-serving BPA CoP that (these days) pretends that any consideration period falls away once the person opts to park and remain.  We have loads of defences quoting the DLUHC definition of parking period.

EverythingCounts

Gr1pr said:

Have you studied the BPA CoP. ?  Where it allowed a grace period of a minimum of 10 minutes to leave the site. ?

So are you sure that you overstayed, or does the grace period indicate that it was not an overstay per se.  ?

Surely that would be a part of your defence, witness statement and exhibits, so much so that an appeal should have been made at the time, plus a subsequent appeal to Popla, based on that particular section, plus any other points too

A shame that you never received those letters due to moving 

But as its ECP and DCB Legal, its likely to be discontinued before the hearing fee is due 

Meanwhile, you can still get the landowner to cancel the PCN, plan A , which you should have started doing when the letters arrived 

I should clarify, I think it’s more like 14 to 15 minutes. So over 10 minutes, does that mean the grace period wouldn’t apply, or is there wiggle room here. I need to check exact times but I’m sure I was over any grace period.

I will try cancelling the PCN, even though it’s late in the process. It was a Lidl car park, so would I contact Lidl, or when you say landowners, you mean the actual company that owns this whole site, as there are a few shops there?

EverythingCounts

Coupon-mad said:

Yes you'd win on the basis that there must be a consideration period on arrival (before parking) and a grace period minimum 10 mins at the end.

Judges apply fairness and the law, not the self-serving BPA CoP that (these days) pretends that any consideration period falls away once the person opts to park and remain.  We have loads of defences quoting the DLUHC definition of parking period.

Okay thanks. This sounds hopeful, I thought I’d have no chance as it felt like the evidence was all against me.

As I said above I will have a go at getting it cancelled by contacting Lidl and maybe the company that owns the whole retail site.

Gr1pr

It will be the retail park management company, unlikely to be Lidl, so management company or landowner , the fact that Lidl is one shop of many doesn't make it a Lidl car park. ( Lidl tend to use Parking Eye. )

You mentioned 2 hours ten minutes, so I was going off your words in the first post 

Regardless, the driver may have had trouble finding a space, or exiting the car park 

Chances are that if a court claim is issued, they will probably discontinue before the hearing, next year , anyway 

KeithP

Where exactly did this parking event take place?

EverythingCounts

KeithP said:

Where exactly did this parking event take place?

Columbus Quarter Retail Park in Andover, Hampshire.

It’s a small retail park with a car park shared by Lidls, Starbucks and a couple of other shops. It’s Euro Car Parks Limited that monitor it and have come after me.

EverythingCounts

As I didn’t receive the initial letters from Euro Car Parks, due to them being sent to my old address, I’m presuming they would have given details of exact recorded timings of entering and leaving the car park.

If I want to get those car park entry and exit times, is that done via a SAR sent to Euro Car Parks? Would those timings be included in the SAR, or do you have to explicitly ask for them?

Also, is there any reason I shouldn’t ask for a SAR from Euro Car Parks at this stage? (Letter of Claim stage)

Gr1pr

Leave the SAR until a couple of months AFTER any court claim pack is issued, not before 

Less information is sometimes advantageous to you before the court process starts, sometimes curiosity kills the cat

Concentrate on plan A, getting it cancelled by the retail park management company or landowner 

Coupon-mad

EverythingCounts said:

...is there any reason I shouldn’t ask for a SAR from Euro Car Parks at this stage? (Letter of Claim stage)

Yep, so that their court claim will be all the weaker, because you can defend saying that the claim is vague.