DCB LEGAL Car parking court request

nutty123

Be grateful for any help you are able to provide a desperate person, who may have left it to late to deal with?
I received court claim form from DCB Legal for parking charges in 2022
Then after research forum, not very well as new overwhelmed user!
i filled in the MCOL as advised.

started writing defence but haven’t completed or sent not sure if to send to DCB or claims response?
this morning received this
Any help gratefully received or do I just pay?  

It’s extortionate!!

DE_612183

Have you read the newbies thread?

You can still appeal to the land owner and your MP to get this cancelled.

but whatever you do - DO NOT PAY.

someone will be along shortly to clarify what you need to do and when by...

KeithP

You need to pay £312.56 to the Claimant because you did not respond to the Claim.

If you fail to pay promptly you will get a lasting County Court Judgment on file which will make it difficult for you to get credit for the next six years - think phone contract, mortgage deals, etc.

As the form says, you have one month to pay. You are nearly half way through that period already.

DE_612183

Is this one where judgement has been awarded by default - by mistake?

The note on the original claim form seems to indicate the OP completed the MCOL on 9th of November and judgement was awarded 6th December - is that enough time for the whole process to work?

nutty123

bit confused as to whether I pay?
completed MCOL can I send a defence to DCB or is it all to late? Thought that’s why I filled in MCOL?
sorry for my ignorance 

DE_612183

nutty123 said:

bit confused as to whether I pay?
completed MCOL can I send a defence to DCB or is it all to late? Thought that’s why I filled in MCOL?
sorry for my ignorance 

What has happened is that the claim has been made - but you should have had a chance to deliver your defence in front of a judge - either you ignored that letter of the letter has not gone out ( this sometimes happens )

In view of the fact you have not defended the claim ( thats not the response to MCOL - thats just an acknowledgement of  service ) - the claimant has been awarded judgement - ie You Lost

If you did not get a letter - ring the court up and ask them whats happened.

autumnwinter1901

What date did you file your acknowledgment of service? 

It appears this was not done in time which is why the claimant has applied for Judgment in default. You now have a court ordering you to pay the debt owed so will need pay this to the claimant in a timely manner to avoid a County Court Judgment. 

DE_612183

autumnwinter1901 said:

What date did you file your acknowledgment of service? 

It appears this was not done in time which is why the claimant has applied for Judgment in default. You now have a court ordering you to pay the debt owed so will need pay this to the claimant in a timely manner to avoid a County Court Judgment. 

On the first photo it looks like the AOS was completed in time.

KeithP

With a Claim Issue Date of 29th October, you had until Wednesday 18th November to file an Acknowledgment of Service.
As @DE_612183 points out, you appear to have done that on 9th November. That's good.

Having filed an Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you had until 4pm on Monday 2nd December 2024 to file a Defence.

You did not do that. No reminder is ever sent. You have the Claim Form which describes your filing deadlines.

As no Defence was filed within the timescale allowed, the Claimant has sought and got a Default Judgment against you.

My earlier post describes what you now need to do.

nutty123

Looks like I’ve learnt a very expensive lesson.
unforseen circumstances meant I lost track of time.
many thanks for all help and guidance received 

Umkomaas

The OP was the ideal victim and ostensibly one of the main target group for roboclaim solicitors. 

Had this been defended in line with forum advice, the claim would have undoubtedly been discontinued, with nothing to pay. It would have been a very much small beer 'loss' for DCB Legal, just tossed in the bin, a minor blip on the radar, the cost of doing 'business'. 

But, the bigger plan worked in this case. Catching a victim who does nothing, resulting in a highly inflated cost judgment in default, with ensuing CCJ, with that victim realising too late, having to play the inflated charge within the 1 month deadline to avoid credit damage. 

Or worse, finding out too late after the payment deadline and having their credit minced for 6 years. 

Or, even worse, finding out too late after the payment deadline, panicking and paying the judgment, thinking that sets the credit position back to 'healthy', yet wakes up the next morning to realise that it's done nothing of the sort to help, down £300+ and still having little creditworthiness until 2030!  The absolute worst of all scenarios!