DCB Legal for Euro Car Parks CNBC Claim form

Lostinadulthood

Hi all, thank you in advance for any and all advice. I admit I am terrified and struggling to wrap my head around everything. I received the following claim form on Friday, 02/05/2025.

Here are the facts thus far:

1.      I began receiving collection letters from DCBL in November 2024 for 3 separate cases: one for a single fine for a doctor surgery car park £170, one for a single fine for Euro Car Parks £170, one for three fines for Euro Car Parks £510. Total £850.

2.      I never received the original PCNs in the post due to my V5C not being up to date. I am originally from the USA and did not know it had to be updated alongside my DL and road tax every time I moved house (which has been a lot). I know ignorance is not a defence and I have now corrected this.

3.      My attempts to appeal/complain to Euro Car Parks directly were rejected due to the time that had lapsed and the case being passed to DCBL.

4.      Not knowing I had options, I offered a payment plan to DCBL of £50 per month if they combined the 3 cases and applied the amount to all. They rejected the offer stating it would exceed the maximum amount of time to pay back and the minimum they would accept was £96 per month. I declined and ignored further calls.

5.      I have only received a claim form for the case that includes 3 fines from Euro Car Parks.

6.      I parked there regularly for school and it is likely that I forgot to pay via the app on these days if I was running late.

7.      The car park in question is no longer owned by Euro Car Parks and is now an NCP car park.

8.      I submitted my AOS today.

I don’t want stress and overwhelm to cause me to make an error in the process. If you could link me to a similar case to draft my defence I would be very grateful.

Coupon-mad

Welcome! Don't panic!

Plenty of time.

Do the AOS first.

We can't link to a case because that would need us to search the forum which is unnecessary. Just use the Template Defence with the generic para 3 linked there already.

KeithP

Hello and welcome.

You have left you MCOL password clearly visible.

With a Claim Issue Date of 29th April, and having filed an Acknowledgment of Service('AOS') in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 2nd June 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 AOS has been filed, the MCOL website should be treated as 'read only'.

Lostinadulthood

Thank you, I will work on it this weekend and update. 

Lostinadulthood

Hi, I am drafting my defense and I hope you don't mind advising on the following:
Should I request copies of the evidence they have since I never received the original PCNs? I have PaybyPhone receipts for 2 of the dates listed, however I am sure I stayed over the amount of time that I paid for. I am struggling to know what defense I can claim. I have a diagnosed cognitive disability that affects my time management and memory. I will have forgotten to pay on entry on those 2 dates and then paid for the remaining time I would have been there once I realised, therefore paying for 3 out of 6 hours parking. The third date it seems I forgot to pay altogether. I used this carpark once a week for school and was always struggling to make it there on time, and my disability causes me to make errors like this regularly. 
Because the car park is now owned by another company, I am unable to use current signage in any evidence, and also feel that the fact I managed to successfully pay there on other occasions hurts my case. 
Due to the the dates being over a year ago I am unable to recall any exact details. 

Gr1pr

Not at this time,  dont ask for anything yet,  just concentrate on rebutting the POC on the claim form in your draft defence   ( no S in the word DEFENCE   ). Just use the template defence 

Coupon-mad

I have a diagnosed cognitive disability that affects my time management and memory.

You are legally entitled to more time for your money (extended free time, under the Equality Act 2010).

Did you ever appeal or dispute the charges and tell them this?

Do you have a Blue Badge?

Lostinadulthood

Thank you for your advice thus far, because I never received the PCNs and only found out about them when I received DCBL letters, any attempts to appeal to Euro Car Parks directly were refused. 

I have drafted this from the template, I would appreciate it if you notice any potential issues before I submit. 

3. Referring to the POC: paragraph 1 is denied. The Defendant is not indebted to the Claimant. Paragraph 2 is denied. The Defendant does not accept that a contravention occurred on 11/04/2024, 25/04/2024, or 16/05/2024 as alleged.  Whilst the Defendant is the registered keeper, paragraphs 3 and 4 are denied. The Defendant is not liable and has seen no evidence of a breach of prominent terms.  The quantum is hugely exaggerated (no PCN can be £170 on private land) and there were no damages incurred whatsoever.

 

3.1 Due to the length of time that has passed, the Defendant has no recollection of the dates in question. The Defendant has parked in this car park many times while attending college with evidence of PayByPhone transactions available to submit when required. The car park in question has since changed ownership, therefore the defendant is unable to obtain evidence of any signage close to where the vehicle was parked, showing the terms and conditions for use. The defendant has a diagnosed cognitive disability recognised by The Equality Act 2010 which affects memory, attention, and understanding.

Le_Kirk

Not sure you need or should be using your last sentence; don't give the claimant an excuse to say you forgot to pay.

1505grandad

"The car park in question has since changed ownership,......"

If you are going to use that I don't think it is a change of ownership  -  more likely change of car park operator  -  unless of course this is a rare event where the ppc actually are the owner/leaseholder.

Coupon-mad

I'd change it from this:

"The defendant has a diagnosed cognitive disability recognised by The Equality Act 2010 which affects memory, attention, and understanding."

to this:

The defendant has a diagnosed cognitive disability recognised by The Equality Act 2010 which means that they have 'protected characteristics' and struggle with cognitive function. However the Defendant has PaybyPhone receipts for two of the dates listed and is unable to recall the third event.