DCB Legal Claim Form issued for PCN (Secure Parking Solutions Ltd)

autumnwinter1901

So I have been issued a claim form from DCB Legal in relation to a PCN that was allegedly issued in February 2020. I had parked in a space for the legitimate purpose of attending a nearby university. I paid for a pay and display ticket for the full price of £2.60 and displayed it in my dashboard and that was the last I thought of it. Until around October/November 2020 when I began receiving debt recovery letters from a firm named QDR Solicitors.

They were claiming £182 for an outstanding PCN. I contacted them straight away and provided evidence of payment and a photograph of my Pay and Display ticket (which luckily I still had) which was valid for the duration of my stay. They explained that the period for appeal had passed as this had occurred in February and that their client was now seeking payment of the PCN. Apparently the PCN had been issued in February 2020 to my home address (which they have supplied an image of). I was staying at a temporary address with my grandparents whilst studying (in Birmingham - my home is up North) and would usually travel back and forth every other week or so, however, being February 2020 and the restrictions for travel coming in due to covid, I did not end up going home for best part of the year - an this is when I received my first letter. What happened to any sent prior I do not know as I was not there. 

Anyway, I contacted Secure Parking Solutions and explained the same, providing evidence that I had paid and they basically told me they would not engage with me and they wanted the full sum for the PCN. I let it be as I was not accepting that this debt was owed, and four years on (and multiple other debt recovery agencies later) I began receiving letters from DCB Legal. They sent me a Letter of Claim back in September, which I responded to outlining my intention to defend the claim, and they have issued a claim against me on 10 December this month. I would like to add the amount of the claim has changed and is now £170 opposed to the original £182 - which tells me no "debt recovery fees" have actually been paid or incurred and they are trying to mislead both myself and the court. 

I have read the various threads however I have not seen too much information about what happens when I can prove I actually purchased the ticket. I have been provided with an image in previous correspondence which shows the ticket on my dashboard facing upside down - if I was a betting person I would guess that when I have closed my door it has blown over so they are claiming breach of contract as their terms state the ticket "must be clearly displayed". They have sent me an image of the signs which state this with a time and date stamp on. 

This is absolutely ridiculous to me, clearly pursing the PCN in order to make a profit as businesses do but in this case it just appears a huge waste of the courts time with absolutely no merit given I used the car park honestly and can provide evidence that full payment was made for the duration of my stay. The amount they are now claiming is £324.36 including court fee, interest and legal rep costs - for a £2.60 ticket that I already paid for!

I have filed my Acknowledgment of Service stating my intention to defend the claim online this morning - if anyone could provide any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Gr1pr

Date of issue from the claim form   ?

Date that AOS was completed   ?

How much was the PCN  ?  £100  ? .  Or less  ?

Check if the dates on the POC are correct   , lower left 

Post a redacted picture of the POC,  after hiding the vrm details first 

Umkomaas

I have filed my Acknowledgment of Service stating my intention to defend the claim online this morning - if anyone could provide any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. 

1. Can you give us the Date of Issue shown on the County Court Claim form. Once we have that, regular contributor @KeithP will be along to give you some key dates and actions to take in getting this all underway. 

2. Please provide a redacted copy of the Particulars of Claim (PoC) box. 

3. Do not defend the claim online. That severely restricts the amount of detail you can place before the court, and any formatting of the document you make will go through the mincer. Attach a Defence to an email. 

4. Small fry parking firm, not noted for uber litigiousness. But, the best news on this front is that they are being represented by DCB Legal. If you haven't already read the following thread, please do so.  Read the first few posts, then randomly look at a smattering of others (and any, if at all, relating to Secure Parking Solutions). 'Play the game' on the claim, following forum advice and guidance, and you'll find your case listed in the thread sometime around the middle of next year. 

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

autumnwinter1901

Issue date on the claim form is 10 December 2024. 

AoS completed today, 17 December 2024. I will make sure I email my defence across opposed to filing online.

PCN was for £170. 

Dates I am assuming are correct from their end however I wouldn't like to make comment as I aren't sure. As mentioned I only became aware of this PCN months after it was allegedly issued.

Redacted PoC attached.

Thank you for your help  

KeithP

autumnwinter1901 said:

Issue date on the claim form is 10 December 2024. 
AoS completed today, 17 December 2024. I will make sure I email my defence across opposed to filing online.

With a Claim Issue Date of 10th December, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 13th January 2025 to file a Defence.

That's nearly 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 at the second post in the NEWBIES thread.

Don't miss the deadline 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'.

Coupon-mad

The date in the POC is never correct so you will be including that.  In fact you will ONLY be adding that date to paragraph 3!  It is all already written for you.

Just copy any other DCB Legal case defence from November/December.

Browse the forum. 

Gr1pr

The PCN was definitely NOT  £170,  probably £100, its never more

Ideally check the date of it against the alleged date 

Follow the advice above,  no deviations

autumnwinter1901

Hello, I have started my defence and used the template from the Newbies thread. I have amended the first few paragraphs in relation to the facts alleged in the POC. Does this look along the right lines? Any advice would be appreciated and taken  

...........

1.        Paragraph 1 is denied. The Defendant denies that the Claimant is entitled to relief in the sum claimed, or at all.  It is denied that any conduct by the driver was in breach of any term.  Further, it is denied that this Claimant (understood to have a bare licence as agents) has standing to sue or form contracts in their own name. Liability is denied, whether or not the Claimant is claiming 'keeper liability', which is unclear from the boilerplate text in the Particulars of Claim ('the POC').

 Facts Known to the Defendant

2.        The facts in this defence come from the Defendant's own knowledge and honest belief.  Conversely, the Claimant sets out a cut-and-paste incoherent and sparse statement of case. The POC appear to be in breach of CPR 16.4, 16PD3 and 16PD7, and fail to "state all facts necessary for the purpose of formulating a complete cause of action". The Defendant is unable, on the basis of the POC, to understand with certainty what case, allegation(s) and what heads of cost are being pursued, making it difficult to respond. However, the vehicle is recognised and it is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper and driver.

 3.        The Defendant was not aware of this PCN until November 2020 so is unable to confirm or deny paragraph 2. 

 4.        Whilst the Defendant was the keeper and driver, the rest of paragraphs 3 and 4 are denied and the Defendant denies being liable for any breach.  The quantum is hugely exaggerated (no PCN can be £170 on private land) and there were no damages incurred whatsoever. The Claimant is put to strict proof of all of their allegations.

5.        On 12 February 2020 the Defendant’s vehicle XXXXX (“the Vehicle”) was parked at Buckingham Street Car Park (“the Land”) whilst the Defendant attended a nearby university. The Defendant would regularly use this car park, along with others, for this purpose. The Defendant purchased a ticket that was valid for the duration of stay at the pay and display machine located on the Land. The Defendant paid for this ticket in full at the time of purchase. The Defendant then displayed the ticket on the front dashboard of the Vehicle. On returning to the Vehicle, the Defendant left the car park within the required time frame and thought nothing further of this stay. The Defendant only became aware of a parking charge notice issued by the Claimant (“ the PCN”) in November 2020. 

Gr1pr

Should be more like this example,  where the POC are denied and I bet that the date was incorrect , so deny it and put them to strict proof, your example talks about paragraphs   ( points   ) but doesn't state what is meant 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6576011/cel-dcb-legal-pcn-cnbc-claim-defence-assistance-required-please

KeithP

The first few words of the first paragraph of your Defence are "1.  Paragraph 1 is denied.".
My first thought was, and I imagine that of the Judge would be, 'what on earth are they talking about?'
Perhaps you need to mention that you are referring to sentences in the Particulars of Claim as stated on the Claim Form.

Coupon-mad

I don't know why you didn't just follow my advice?  There was no need to write anything.

Here you go:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6576011/cel-dcb-legal-pcn-cnbc-claim-defence-assistance-required-please

That's a new standard para 3 especially for DCB Legal cases. Easy, innit?