N1SDT from DCB Legal

Aroundincircles

I have now put together my defence letter using all of the supplied template and amending slightly paras 2 & 3 as advised.  Please let me know if there are problems with my amendments.

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.  Due to the length of time between the alleged contravention and receipt of the PCN, 20 days, the Defendant is unable to recall who the driver was at the time of the contravention.

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 03/03/2023 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 £160 on private land) and there were no damages incurred whatsoever.

 3.1 The Defendant appealed the PCN and received confirmation of receipt but no decision.  Upon enquiring the Defendant received an explanation from Smart Parking Ltd claiming to have sent a response in the preceding month via Email, however, that Email was not received by the Defendant.  Following, the Defendant requested a POPLA verification code but was denied this information by Smart Parking Ltd who claimed to have provided the code in the (unreceived) email.  However, the POPLA code was absent from the copy of the Email supplied by Smart Parking.

Coupon-mad

That's all good. Can't fault it. 

Aroundincircles

Hi all, so following on from submitting my defence I have now received a letter from HMC&TS:

"I acknowledge receipt of your defence.  A copy is being served on the claimant (or the Claimant's solicitor). The claimant may contact you direct to attempt to resolve the dispute.  If the dispute cannot be resolved informally, the claimant will inform the court that he wishes to proceed.  The court will then inform you of what will happen.

Where he wishes to proceed, the claimant must contact the court within 28 days after receiving a copy of your defence.  After that period has elasped, the claim will be stayed.  The only action the claimant can then take will be to apply to a judge for an order lifting the stay."

Is this usual?  Do I need to do anything or just wait it out and hope that no news is good news?  Thanks

Gr1pr

All perfectly normal,  part of the process, so keep following the 12 steps in the defence template thread 

It will continue, the time for any discontinuance is months away,  just before they have to pay the hearing fee 

Aroundincircles

So I’m now at the N180 DQ stage. I’ve completed the form and want to email it as it needs to be submitted by tomorrow (26th). I’ve found the email address for the court office to use in the 8 steps. The letter also says I need to copy to the Claimant and that is stated as Smart Parking not DCB Legal. I don’t have an email address for Smart Parking, can anyone help? Should I also copy to DCB Legal? Thanks  

Gr1pr

I doubt that Smart Parking filed the claim,  the next box down will be dcb legal so CC them into the email 

No need to complete the paper form , instead download the N180 pdf document from the government website and fill it in,  then save it,  attach the saved document to your email and add the claim reference number to it,  then email to both parties 

Coupon-mad

Aroundincircles said:

So I’m now at the N180 DQ stage. I’ve completed the form and want to email it as it needs to be submitted by tomorrow (26th). I’ve found the email address for the court office to use in the 8 steps. The letter also says I need to copy to the Claimant and that is stated as Smart Parking not DCB Legal. I don’t have an email address for Smart Parking, can anyone help? Should I also copy to DCB Legal? Thanks  

Send NOTHING direct to a party that has chosen to use a solicitor for a matter involving legal work. That would be like buying a flat and trying to transfer the deposit monies direct to the seller!

Anyway, sooo glad you posted again now!

We need defendants like you. On or before 5th September (end of next week) please please do the government's Public Consultation.

See this thread: -

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6617396/parking-code-of-practice-consultation-8-weeks-from-11th-july-2025/p1

We need every poster to come back & complete this vital Consultation before the deadline.

We understand that you may need some pointers. It looks laborious, we get that. It doesn't matter; no knowledge is needed except re your own experiences so you can call out a scam industry and you'll protect millions of motorists and help change the law.

I've written some guidance on that thread. I have covered almost every question, providing ideas if you agree with our stance on things like DRFs, which we say must be banned.

Ordinary people like you are falling victim to this scam 15 million times per annum. Motorists need your voice added please!