CEL DCB Legal court claim

Pcngone

Hi guys, 

I’m requesting help on behalf of a friend and I don’t know what to advise him so told him to hold fire until I got some feedback from you guys!

so from what I’ve been told in summer 2023 he visited a retail carpark and stayed within the 75 min free parking duration. 2 months later he received a pcn through the post from a company called civil enforcement ltd. He then immediately contacted the retail manager and was told they would contact the firm to get this removed. However he received a letter from the firm again a month later. He again contacted the retail manager and was told to ‘ignore’ the firm. A month later another letter was received from civil enforcement ltd with an increased parking charge. He again ignored this and then dcbl started to send him letters. He AGAIN contacted the retail manager and was told ignore as it’s just a letter chain and will never get to court. Now after several letters from dcbl we fast forward to nov 2024 he has no received a letter from ‘hm courts and tribunals service’ saying someone claims you owe them money and the claim is attached to this letter and if this letter is ignored the claimant could request a CCJ.

Now the attach letters have a heading saying ‘claim form, with details of the claimant (civil enforcement ltd) and address for sending documents and payments (dcbl legal ltd). On these letters is a response pack which tells you to complete either an admission form, defence form, or acknowledgment of service. 

This is when he has no contacted me asking him what to do as he feels a response should now be given.

I apologise if dealing with this has been detailed in the newbies section but I’m really unable to make sense of it and require your guys advice.

thanks In advance!

Johnersh

No. He is now being sued.

An acknowledgement of service and a court defence will be required - there is a need to act promptly, so read the documents (and this forum) carefully.

moneysaver1978

Have you or your friend seen this https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/private-parking-tickets/? 

KeithP

You are wrong to suggest that response. That is a response to a Letter of Claim. you are past that point. Do not send that email.

What is the Issue Date on the Claim Form?

Can you please show us a picture of the Particulars of Claim - with all the personal detail hidden of course.

Has an Acknowledgment of Service been filed?
If so, upon what date did that happen?
The Defendant's MCOL Claim History will have the definitive answer to that.

Pcngone

KeithP said:

You are wrong to suggest that response. That is a response to a Letter of Claim. you are past that point. Do not send that email.

What is the Issue Date on the Claim Form?

Can you please show us a picture of the Particulars of Claim - with all the personal detail hidden of course.

Has an Acknowledgment of Service been filed?
If so, upon what date did that happen?
The Defendant's MCOL Claim History will have the definitive answer to that.

Hi Keith, the issue date is 27 nov 2024

KeithP

You have left the vehicle's registration mark and your friend's MCOL password clearly visible in that image.

I'll assume an Acknowledgment of Service has not yet been filed.

With a Claim Issue Date of 27th November, you have until Monday 16th December to file an Acknowledgment of Service, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. 

To file an Acknowledgment of Service, follow the guidance in the Dropbox file linked from the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 30th December 2024 to file a Defence.

That's four weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence, but please don't leave it to the last minute.

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look again at the second post on the NEWBIES thread - immediately following where you found the Acknowledgment of Service guidance.

Don't miss the deadline for filing an Acknowledgment of Service, nor that for filing a Defence.

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website. Once an Acknowledgment of Service has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.

Everywhere I have written 'you' or 'your' I do of course mean the named Defendant. 
Everything must be done in the name of the named Defendant.

Umkomaas

Does your friend have written confirmation from the retail manager that he has instructed CEL to cancel the PCN?  If not, he needs to get that urgently as that will form part of his evidence submission with his Witness Statement. 

As this is now at the business end of things, your friend himself should be here on the forum, not you passing on messages back and to. Just so risky. Chinese whispers. 

Coupon-mad

i have tried to read post 2 on the newbies forum about small claims but I’m not able to make sense of it,

Tell us what part you are struggling with?

I think you and your friend will get it when you read it again properly.

I believe that a Template Defence where the D merely has to add one paragraph was easy; we've even had people for whom English isn't their first language absolutely nail it & win.

Pcngone

Umkomaas said:

Does your friend have written confirmation from the retail manager that he has instructed CEL to cancel the PCN?  If not, he needs to get that urgently as that will form part of his evidence submission with his Witness Statement. 

As this is now at the business end of things, your friend himself should be here on the forum, not you passing on messages back and to. Just so risky. Chinese whispers. 

Hi umko, he can get this information upon request and I will tell him to do this. Unfortunately my friends not fluent in English so it would be hard for him to be on here without assistance. 

Pcngone

KeithP said:

You have left the vehicle's registration mark and your friend's MCOL password clearly visible in that image.

I'll assume an Acknowledgment of Service has not yet been filed.

With a Claim Issue Date of 27th November, you have until Monday 16th December to file an Acknowledgment of Service, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. 

To file an Acknowledgment of Service, follow the guidance in the Dropbox file linked from the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 30th December 2024 to file a Defence.

That's four weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence, but please don't leave it to the last minute.

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look again at the second post on the NEWBIES thread - immediately following where you found the Acknowledgment of Service guidance.

Don't miss the deadline for filing an Acknowledgment of Service, nor that for filing a Defence.

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website. Once an Acknowledgment of Service has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.

Everywhere I have written 'you' or 'your' I do of course mean the named Defendant. 
Everything must be done in the name of the named Defendant.

I really appreciate your feedback and will start this week. I will come back here for any further assistance 

Umkomaas

Pcngone said:

Umkomaas said:

Does your friend have written confirmation from the retail manager that he has instructed CEL to cancel the PCN?  If not, he needs to get that urgently as that will form part of his evidence submission with his Witness Statement. 

As this is now at the business end of things, your friend himself should be here on the forum, not you passing on messages back and to. Just so risky. Chinese whispers. 

Hi umko, he can get this information upon request and I will tell him to do this. Unfortunately my friends not fluent in English so it would be hard for him to be on here without assistance. 

I'd make sure he was instantly contactable when we're trying to get clarification on points that will emerge as this progresses. We are dealing with dozens of cases (some complicated) every hour, so if responses aren't forthcoming quickly, the case slips down the forum and details in our minds (certainly mine) get hazier as time elapses.