ECP DCB Legal - ticket for "parking" out of hours

mistake140

Hey all, looks like when it rains, it pours. Another small claims letter has come through for a previous parking ticket for "parking" out of hours. Apparently, out of store hours at Lombardy Retail Park in Hayes, you are only allowed to stay for I believe 15 minutes at max, or 30 minutes at max?

Either way, my AoS was filed, and now I need to submit my defence already and wanted to see if there are any tweaks to my defence you lovely people would advise me on?

The gist of it is I went in to grab a coffee for a long drive back from London to my town, and went in and noticed Costa had just shut. Saw an employee who's car I could hear from a mile away was barely cranking and giving the telltale click noise of a car that doesnt have enough juice to start, so I hooked up the jump leads I always have in the boot and let their battery charge up a small amount and got their car started - job done! My good deed for the week done, right?...

I then left in search of some coffee to keep me awake for the drive ahead. And of course I got a parking fine for "parking longer than allowed out of hours"

Here's what I have so far:

3. The Defendant entered Lombardy Retail Park initially to buy a coffee from Costa Coffee, but after arriving realised it had closed at 9pm – only a short while earlier.

4. The Defendant drove past Costa Coffee after realising the store was now closed and noticed an employee who was struggling to start their vehicle due to a flat battery.

5. The Defendant, who is a mechanic and carries the necessary tools then stopped to assist the employee by providing a jump start to their vehicle and advising them to have their battery changed.

6. The Defendant then left the retail park to find an alternative coffee shop that was still open.

7. At no point did the defendant park their vehicle or enter into any such contract in relation to parking at Lombardy Retail Park.

Thank you again for your unending help all!

Coupon-mad

Show us the POC and tell us who the Claimant is, because it's not DCB Legal.

mistake140

I've conveniently managed to misplace the letter with the PoC after providing my AoS, but the claimant is Euro Car Parks Ltd.

It was to do with entering the car park after shopping hours were closed as apparently their allowed time is reduced from 2 or 3 hours to about 15 minutes, which I exceeded. 

Gr1pr

So ECP via DCB Legal,  same as this one below 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6605975/county-court-letter-ecp#latest

Stick to the defence template thread example by coupon mad,  in announcements near the top of the forum 

There was no parking contract on offer, so dont start with the explanations or stories, so not what you wrote earlier 

What is the issue date from the claim form,  top right   ?

1505grandad

"It was to do with entering the car park after shopping hours were closed as apparently their allowed time is reduced from 2 or 3 hours to about 15 minutes, which I exceeded."

A heads-up  -  your Defence will only be concerned with what is stated in the PoC  -  is the above mentioned in the PoC?

Le_Kirk

Gr1pr said:

What is the issue date from the claim form,  top right   ?

1505grandad said:

A heads-up  -  your Defence will only be concerned with what is stated in the PoC  -  is the above mentioned in the PoC?

The OP has lost the POC so presumably the N1 claim form!

mistake140

Gr1pr said:

So ECP via DCB Legal,  sane as this one below 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6605975/county-court-letter-ecp#latest

Stick to the defence template thread example by coupon mad,  in announcements near the top of the forum 

There was no parking contract on offer, so dont start with the explanations or stories, so not what you wrote earlier 

What is the issue date from the claim form,  top right   ?

The issue date was 08/04/2025 so I'll be sorting and sending everything today - tomorrow will be the 33rd day after issue

1505grandad said:

A heads-up  -  your Defence will only be concerned with what is stated in the PoC  -  is the above mentioned in the PoC?

I've looked high and low but unfortunately can't find where I mustve put the letter... Not my proudest moment that's for sure

I'll look at the post linked above and see what I should add to my defence, and scrap what I've currently wrote! 

mistake140

Ah so I just read up, I've got the defence template from coupon-mad's annoucement, the above few lines in my original post is just what I was going to put as point 3 (no point pasting the rest of the template and making it more trouble for you all) 

So would I be better off defending stating that as I hadn't parked, I didn't enter into any sort of contract on offer?

Gr1pr

Monday at 4pm is your deadline,  never on a weekend 

Coupon-mad

Why not just use the suggested para 3 already linked in the Template?

mistake140

Coupon-mad said:

Why not just use the suggested para 3 already linked in the Template?

I've been a bit of a melon and either misplaced or binned the original forms after adding it to my MCOL account, so I can't even see my PoC any more. Would this section with just the date I've amended to the correct date be sufficient?

Also, you are entirely correct and I've edited my title - it's DCBL in this case, not DCB Legal.

Referring to the POC: paragraph 1 is denied. The Defendant is not indebted to the Claimant. Paragraph 2 is denied. No PCN was "issued on xx/xx/202x" (the date of the alleged visit).  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. The Claimant is put to strict proof of all of their allegations.