Please help with dcb legal ltd letter of claim

MuscleMoose

Hello everyone,

After many powerless debt collector letters I finally recieved a letter of claim from dcb legal ltd. I have read newbies thread and followed all directions so far. Now, I hope I understand correctly, I need to write a response. I have drafted an email and would like to ask you for your opinion on it please. 

____________________________________________

Here is the drafted response:

Dear Sirs,

Your Ref: xxx 

Proposed Legal Proceedings 

Claimant: Euro Car Parks

I refer to your Letter of Claim dated [date].

I confirm that my address for service is as follows, and request that any previous addresses be erased from your records: 

[address]

I formally deny any debt owed in relation to this matter and confirm that any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

I am currently seeking independent debt advice regarding this claim. In accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules and the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims 2017 ('the PAP'), I formally request that this matter be put on hold for a period of 30 days to allow me sufficient time to obtain this advice and prepare my defence.

I note that the amount being claimed has increased significantly beyond the original Parking Charge Notice. I consider these additional charges to be an unenforceable penalty and disproportionate to any alleged loss suffered by your client.

My grounds for disputing this alleged debt include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Proof of Payment: I hold a bank statement from the day of the alleged contravention which demonstrates that I paid the correct amount for parking and did not overstay.
• Lack of Evidence from Claimant: Your client, Euro Car Parks, has failed to provide any evidence of the alleged contravention or "breach of contract."
• Failure to Receive Notice to Keeper: I did not receive a Notice to Keeper (NTK) in any form. The first correspondence I received regarding this matter was your firm's letter, demanding an exaggerated amount of £170.00. This failure to issue a valid NTK has deprived me of my statutory right to challenge the Parking Charge Notice at an earlier stage.

In accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, I require clarification on the following points to understand the basis of your claim:

1. Am I to understand that the additional £70 represents what you term a 'Debt Recovery' fee? If so, please confirm whether this amount is nett or inclusive of VAT. If the latter, please provide a detailed legal justification for why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT.
2. With regard to the principal alleged PCN sum: Is this being claimed as damages for breach of contract, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking under a contractual agreement?

I look forward to your prompt response and the requested pause in proceedings.

Yours faithfully,

[signature]

____________________________________________________________________

Is that response correct? Are reasons for disputing in the right place? Do I need to send the bank statement as an attachement with that response or is it too early yet?

Thanks so much for all your help.

Gr1pr

Just email the template response,  no attachments,  no evidence,  save your ammunition for the inevitable fight 

MuscleMoose

Thanks so much, that is very usefull information, I will do that. 

MuscleMoose

Hello, I have an update on my PCN.

I have recieved a response from dcb legal to my email. 

Here it is: 

We write in response to your correspondence received in our office.

We now respond to the same as follows.

In accordance with the British Parking Association (BPA) Code of Practice, where the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) becomes overdue and before Court proceedings have commenced, a reasonable sum may be added for the debt recovery fees. The correct recovery fees have been added and will not be removed. As such, the outstanding balance of £170.00 remains payable to prevent further action. The HMRC ‘VAT Supply and Consideration manual’ (VATSC06140), which was last updated on 02 September 2020, confirmed that parking charge notices falls out of the scope of VAT.

 

In relation to the comments concerning damages, the sum added is a contribution to the actual costs incurred by our Client as a result of your non-payment. Our Client’s employees have spent time and material attempting to recover the debt. This is not our Client’s usual business and the resources could have been better spent in other areas of the business. Had you of paid as per the Contract, there would have been no need for recovery action so the amount due would not have increased.

You now have 30 days from the date of this email to make payment of £170.00. Failure to make payment will result in a Claim being issued against you without any further reference.

Payment can be made via bank transfer to our designated client account: -

• Account Name: DCB Legal Ltd Client Account
• Sort Code: xxxxx
• Account Number: xxxx

You must quote the correct case reference (xxxxxxxxx) when making payment. If you do not, we may be unable to correctly allocate the payment. If further action is taken by us as a result of an incorrect reference being quoted, you will be liable for any further fees or costs incurred.

We would ask that you kindly furnish us with your most up to date telephone number, this can be emailed to us at info@dcblegal.co.uk. 

Alternatively, you can contact DCB Legal Ltd on 0203 838 7038 to make payment over the telephone or online at 

Kind Regards,

 xxxxxxxxx

___________________________________

My question is, what are the next steps from now? Obviously, I will not send them my up-to-date phone number; no way. They have my email address, and that is way too much. Please advise.

Thanks so much!

Gr1pr

Same as all the others we see,  study the newbies sticky thread in announcements,  especially the 4th and 2nd posts, so ignore them and wait for the inevitable court claim 

Coupon-mad

Yawn (not at you, at them):

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81575298/#Comment_81575298

Here we are yet again, same old Groundhog Day DCB template reply we see several times every day. We don't need to see it:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81576334/#Comment_81576334

We'll drown if we keep getting these posts and then we won't be able to help at the stage when you all really need us (which isn't now).

Anyway, IMPORTANTLY we are glad you posted this month because we really hope to see you again here in a week or two, to do the Public Consultation on private parking rip-offs.

Responses are invited to the Consultation now:

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

Do it this month pleeease! We will discuss it on that thread next week if you want ideas. please bookmark that thread and come back!