Help with ignored PCNs and 2x DCB Legal court letters;(

Mut12345

Dear MSE I'm hoping you can help instill me with some confidence,

Ive had 2 PCNs harass me with letters for a few months now which I've ignored. 

1) EuroCarParks for Aldi in Nov '23

2) Total Carparks for a Camponile Hotel in Feb '25

Unfortunately I've been hit with two Court Claim letters from DCB Legal last week on 22/07/25,  following the advice on here I've done the Acknowledgement of service on MCOL, 

Now I'm wondering is it too late to try appeal/complain to the retailers? I've requested a call back from Aldi customer service who I was genuinely shopping at on that day and they are saying I need to submit an appeal to EuroCarParks before they can take action but this doesn't seem possible at this stage, or is there some way of doing this as they sound like they might be able to cancel that one?

Camponile have been less helpful and just gave me the email of Totalcarparks 

I'm just wondering is there any use in pursuing the retailers at this point or have I missed the boat and I should start drafting the defence?

Appreciate any advice, this forum is amazing and at least lifted my spirits after getting these disgraceful court letters.

Gr1pr

Its never too late to complain about it to the landowner or business etc, but at the moment you still Carry on defending the 2 separate MCOL N1SDT court claims, regardless 

Its too late for any appeals to anyone 

I suggest that you open a new thread for the claim 2 TCP claim,  leaving this one open for the ECP claim 

Start drafting each defence using the template defence by coupon mad in announcements at the top of the forum 

Post a redacted picture of the POC from the lower left of the claim form below for the ECP case, after hiding your VRM details first 

Do the same for the new TCP thread too

Mut12345

Gr1pr said:

Its never too late to complain about it to the landowner or business etc, but at the moment you still Carry on defending the 2 separate MCOL N1SDT court claims, regardless 

Its too late for any appeals to anyone 

I suggest that you open a new thread for the claim 2 TCP claim,  leaving this one open for the ECP claim 

Start drafting each defence using the template defence by coupon mad in announcements at the top of the forum 

Post a redacted picture of the POC from the lower left of the claim form below for the ECP case, after hiding your VRM details first 

Do the same for the new TCP thread too

Appreciate the response,

I've spoken to Aldi customer services and they are saying if I can get any kind of response from EuroCarPark that they've rejected any appeal that they can then try get it cancelled,

The problem is they don't seem to have any way to contact them to speak to someone by phone and there's no email address other than a form to fill on their website, should I still bother trying to persue this route?

Gr1pr

I wouldn't,  not when a live court claim has been issued against you,  tempus fugit  !   Clock is ticking 

I would concentrate my efforts on defending the claim against you,  same as all the hundreds of others on here 

Ps, start a new thread about the TCP DCB LEGAL  case

Coupon-mad

Mut12345 said:

Gr1pr said:

Its never too late to complain about it to the landowner or business etc, but at the moment you still Carry on defending the 2 separate MCOL N1SDT court claims, regardless 

Its too late for any appeals to anyone 

I suggest that you open a new thread for the claim 2 TCP claim,  leaving this one open for the ECP claim 

Start drafting each defence using the template defence by coupon mad in announcements at the top of the forum 

Post a redacted picture of the POC from the lower left of the claim form below for the ECP case, after hiding your VRM details first 

Do the same for the new TCP thread too

Appreciate the response,

I've spoken to Aldi customer services and they are saying if I can get any kind of response from EuroCarPark that they've rejected any appeal that they can then try get it cancelled,

The problem is they don't seem to have any way to contact them to speak to someone by phone and there's no email address other than a form to fill on their website, should I still bother trying to pursue this route?

You can't appeal. It's far too late. Forget it and defend. You need two threads as the claims are unrelated.

THEN STICK AROUND IN AUGUST:

If you want to be part of the push to change things in future, it's very important that people like you join us to reply to the new Public Consultation, to tell the Government that:

a) you have no faith in POPLA or the IAS and that there must be the SINGLE APPEALS SERVICE that the Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019 *almost* promised. As long as it is independent (and only ONE appeals service, not two involved in a race to the bottom) that will give a real option to resolve disputed cases out of court. This is why your cases both went to court, because there was no fair or impartial ADR dispute resolution available that any person has any faith in.

b).  THAT THE ENRICHMENT OF 'DEBT RECOVERY FEES' MUST BE COMPLETELY BANNED. DISPUTED CASES ARE NOT SOLVED BY A THUG THIRD PARTY DEMANDING MORE MONEY AND ENGINEERING A POINTLESS 'PAYMENT PLAN'.

c). Tell them about your experiences.

Responses are invited to the Consultation now but do your defence first then read our thread updates and pointers re what to say:

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

Do it in August pleeease! We will discuss it on that thread.

Mut12345

I am hoping to draft my defence for the above please

Issue date of claim was 22/07,

AOS was received 31/07

Points I want to make ,

* I was a customer at Aldi and overstayed by approx 13mins according to EuroCarParks (103mins in 90mins allowed stay)

*Dates back over 2+ years ago in Nov 2023

*My elderly diabetic father was with me at the time and was feeling faint with a hypoglycemic episode

3.) The charges relate to a date over 2 years ago which is an unreasonable amount of time for specific facts and evidence to be recollected. I, the registered keeper, was visiting the Aldi store on Church Farm, Warrington with my elderly Father (also a named driver on the vehicle) who suffers with diabetes. According to the claimant, EuroCarParks , we overstayed by 13 minutes on this date. My father who was suffering from a hyperglycaemic episode at the time was feeling faint and tired so required my attention, I took him to the nearest coffee shop on the high street to rest and hydrate immediately.

I will add paragraphs 1-10 from the template in addition to this, would appreciate any honest feedback and help! Thank you so much 

Car1980

Try not to use the word "overstayed". No need to even mention it to be honest.

Just explain about your father and Google Frustration of Contract.

Also state you were a legitimate customer of Aldi.

Mut12345

Car1980 said:

Try not to use the word "overstayed". No need to even mention it to be honest.

Just explain about your father and Google Frustration of Contract.

Also state you were a legitimate customer of Aldi.

Wondering if the below is any better? Is it worth trying to highlight that I was there for only 13 minutes over the 90mins allowed, and maybe mention something about 10mins grace period in relation to frustration of contract?

3.) The charges relate to a date over 2 years ago which is an unreasonable amount of time for specific facts and evidence to be recollected. I, the registered keeper, was visiting the Aldi store on Church Farm, Warrington with my elderly Father (also a named driver on the vehicle) who suffers with diabetes. According to the claimant, EuroCarParks , we stayed in the car park for only 103 minutes on this date. We were legitimate customers shopping in the ALDI store. My father who was suffering from a hyperglycaemic episode at the time was feeling faint and tired so required my attention, I took him to the nearest coffee shop on the high street to rest and hydrate immediately. I believe this to be a valid argument for frustration of contract, if any contract was indeed agreed with the claimant.

Gr1pr

Defences are written in the 3rd person,  no I or My etc

Too much detail,  keep it concise , don't add details that have no relevance,  because there is usually only one driver ( usually only one , unless the driving was shared between 2 drivers  )

Dont confirm overstaying, no admissions,  save detailed explanations for the correct stage,  the WS bundle in several months time 

I would say that by parking and shopping in Aldi, there was a Parking contract between the driver and claimant,  so I don’t think it should be in there at the end

Coupon-mad

Change this:

"I, the registered keeper, was visiting..."

to this

The Defendant was visiting...

Don't talk about going to a coffee shop on the high street. Remove that bit.

Add in the usual Equality Act wording. Search the forum for:

Equality Act time defence

You don't need the first sentence of your draft as the Template already makes that exact point higher up.

Mut12345

Coupon-mad said:

Change this:

"I, the registered keeper, was visiting..."

to this

The Defendant was visiting...

Don't talk about going to a coffee shop on the high street. Remove that bit.

Add in the usual Equality Act wording. Search the forum for:

Equality Act time defence

You don't need the first sentence of your draft as the Template already makes that exact point higher up.

Really appreciate the advice thank you so much. Have edited to third person and added in some wording about equality act, does this look OK? Also is it worth mentioning anything about signage?

3.) The defendant was legitimately shopping in the Aldi store on Church Farm, Warrington with their elderly Father who suffers with diabetes. According to the claimant, EuroCarParks , the defendant stayed in the car park for 103 minutes on this date. The father of the defendant suffered from a hyperglycaemic episode at the time, feeling faint and tired so required immediate attention which could be considered cause for frustration of contract. Furthermore, any persuit by the claimant could also fall within breach of the Equality Act 2010 (A.k.a disability discrimination - failing to provide reasonable adjustments for someone with a long term disability).