Another dcblegal claim

Overnight_oats

Hi there. 

This seems like a strong and supportive community on here so I’m starting my own thread to get advice on my dcblegal county court claim.  

I think it’s a pretty standard case but I’ll provide a very brief background. On 7th Oct 2020 I parked in a car park and for various reasons didn’t get out the car and then left. I’m pretty sure I exceeded the grace period but can’t remember. I had demands etc for about a year or 18months. I wrote to them at the time but can’t remember what I said. I hadn’t heard anything since (3 year plus) but this summer started getting demands again (£170- insufficient time paid). Then I received a letter of claim which I should have replied to but didn’t. I now have a county court claim dated 27th Aug. Dcblegal representing smart parking Ltd. I wrote to the actual car park owner but they have said they can’t intervene. 

I have filed the aos and written to dcblegal Pursuant to CPR 31.14 asking for the following

1. A copy of the original Parking Charge Notice (PCN).
2. Copies of any photographs taken of the vehicle at the time of the alleged contravention.
3. A copy of the contract or agreement authorising the claimant to operate on the land and issue charges.
4. A copy of the signage in place at the location on the 7/9/2020.
5. A breakdown of the sum £326.44 claimed, including any additional charges, fees, or interest. 

I now have till - is it 28 days plus 5 from issue date (27th Aug) to file my defence from the initial template on the newbies via email.  

I’ll sort that and post my edited bits here and see what you guys think if that’s ok.  I’m not sure I have a strong defence really. I’m hoping that the time lapse in the demand will prove significant but to be honest I don’t really know.  

Like everyone else I’m find this very stressful and worrying. I think like many people I’m tempted to pay it but £326.44 is obviously not reasonable. Someone said that even if I loose the case the fine will only be what they’ve asked for rather than any additional costs? Is that right. Plus wouldn’t get a ccj unless I didn’t pay any judgement promptly. 

Many thanks 

Regards J

Gr1pr

Yep, thats all OK, study the following thread in order to create your paragraph 2 ending,  plus paragraph 3, plus adding a new paragraph 4 and possibly a new paragraph 5 too,  shunting the rest of the template defence to say 6 to 12, meaning that it will be 11 or possibly 12 paragraphs in total 

If you adapt their case or a similar case to your own case,  it's maybe 15 minutes work for you 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6627312/smart-parking-defence-feedback-please#latest

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6623350/letter-from-dcb-legal-parking-fine#latest

29th at 4pm is the deadline,  no CCJ if a loss is paid promptly,  the sooner the better,  typically around £212

Coupon-mad

Someone said that even if I loose the case the fine will only be what they’ve asked for rather than any additional costs? Is that right. Plus wouldn’t get a ccj unless I didn’t pay any judgement promptly. 

Yep - all true.

But you won't lose: they'll discontinue in 2026. No hearing, no costs, no CCJ, no risk.

Overnight_oats

Thanks gr1pr. Quite a bit in those two cases you’ve linked to. Neither seem to mention the outcome of their cases.  

Hi there coupon mad.  

A lot of the threads/posts of cases on here seem to peter out. Whether people get a discontinuation or they end up paying a reduced fee to make it go away and are sort of embarrassed to admit it I don’t really know.  Do you think the time lapse between initially chasing me and then starting again is significant? I did write to them when I was initial fined and sent them a cheque for a fiver 🙂 which they sent back. It was 5 years ago and hand written so I genuinely can’t remember what I wrote. I do wonder if the payment machine could possibly have been malfunctioning. 😳

I’m going to wait a week before constructing my defence as I’ll see if they reply to my request for information by then.  

Regards

Gr1pr

Its not significant,  claimants have 6 years in England and Wales to sue somebody else 

A money claim like these are a game of chicken,  most cases we help with are discontinued or fail due to claimants and lawyers failing to make payment or file WS bundles etc

A few do go to hearings so we see outcomes in those cases 

Outcomes can take anything from 9 months to a couple of years once the claim starts

In Smart Parking cases we expect to see a discontinued claim before the hearing fee is due, so 6 to 12 months after the claim issue date

SMART PARKING have only recently started issuing claims for old unpaid PCN's,  so you won't find outcomes of their cases yet

Coupon-mad

Overnight_oats said:

Thanks gr1pr. Quite a bit in those two cases you’ve linked to. Neither seem to mention the outcome of their cases.  

Of course not! Like yours, these are new claims. Just defended so far - early days. They'll all be discontinued in 2026.

Whether people get a discontinuation or they end up paying a reduced fee to make it go away and are sort of embarrassed to admit it I don’t really know. 

Looks like you haven't read Umkomaas' DCB Legal discontinuances thread with over 650 cases proven... ! Look around. Search the forum. You'll see the pattern.

Do you think the time lapse between initially chasing me and then starting again is significant?

Not in the slightest.

All the Smart claims on here - and we have HUNDREDS this summer, search the forum! - are about PCNs that were from 2020, 2021 or 2022.

Smart have merely stored the data then seen the opportunity and handed a massive batch to DCB Legal to 'milk' dormant cases and turn them into money, by finding the majority of duped victims who actually think they have a fine and think it has to be paid!

This is what DCB Legal do. Bulk litigation of old PCN cases. Smart are a new client for them.

These are ALL BEING DISCONTINUED before hearings. You will pay nothing.

1505grandad

https://www.dpocentre.com/data-retention-and-the-gdpr-best-practices-for-compliance/

"Under the GDPR, the key requirement for data retention is that the chosen duration must be justified, and this decision must be documented."

Presumably then the chosen duration is purely for extra interest on claims  -  wonder if this is documented

As per KADOE:-

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/current_dvla_kadoe_agreement_for/response/2567601/attach/4/FOIR11172 UK Car Park Management Ltd Redacted.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1

D6. Retention of Data and Evidence

D6.1. In accordance with Data Protection Legislation, the Customer shall retain each item of Data only for as long as is necessary with reference to the Reasonable Cause for which it was shared

Overnight_oats

Hi guys. 

Many thanks for your input and comments. This is my rough defence draft and a copy of the claim form for reference. Any comments or suggestions you may have are much appreciated.   

Defence 

2. The allegation(s) and heads of cost are vague and liability is denied for the sum claimed £326.44, or at all. At the very least, interest should be disallowed; the massive, almost 5 year, delay in bringing proceedings lies with the Claimant. This makes retrieving material documents/evidence difficult, which is highly prejudicial. The Defendant seeks fixed costs (CPR 27.14) and a finding of unreasonable conduct and further costs (CPR 46.5). The defendant has little recollection of events, save as set out below and to admit that they were the registered keeper.

3. The defendant has requested further information and disclosure of documents pursuant to CPR 31.14 and part 18, but the claimant has failed to provide the same.

4. Referring to the POC: paragraph 1 is denied. The Defendant is not indebted to the Claimant. Paragraph 2 is denied. No PC was "issued on 07/09//2020" (the date of the alleged visit).  Whilst the Defendant is the registered keeper, paragraph 3 is denied. The Defendant has no recollection of the circumstances surrounding the purported PCN 5 years ago and 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.

5. The signage at the locations is denied to have been sufficiently clear, prominent and capable of forming a contract with the defendant. The claimant is put to strict proof of adequate signage, including its location, size, wording and lighting.

6. The protection of freedoms act 2012, schedule 4, sets out strict conditions that must be met in order to hold a registered keeper liable. The claimant is put to strict proof of compliance. As outlined in Paragraph 4 of the Claim, the Claimant seeks to rely on Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (POFA) to pursue the Defendant as the registered keeper of the vehicle, but the Claimant has never used the POFA 2012 and has never been able to hold registered keepers liable, so the solicitor signatory of the statement of truth on this claim is misleading the court by citing that law. As a result, the Defendant denies any liability as the keeper of the vehicle.

Coupon-mad

Yep that's good but to fit it in on MCOL you may have to remove the final para of the Template (currently para 10 before your additions) which is optional.

Then:

FIGHTBACK ALERT:

Please do the government's Public Consultation. We need every poster to complete this vital survey before the deadline.

See this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6617396/parking-code-of-practice-consultation-now-extended-closes-friday-26th-september/p1

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 to help focus new posters on the issues. I've 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.

CLOSES ON FRIDAY 26th SEPTEMBER.

By the way there are approx ten links to Smart Parking Claim threads just like yours on page 14 of that thread. All exactly the same and all will end up discontinued.

But sadly the Government has not yet got it right so we need all posters to respond because this rip-off farce cannot continue.

Le_Kirk

Some useful dates: -

With an issue date of 27/08/25 and providing you complete the AoS after 01/09/25 and before 15/09/25

your defence deadline date is 4.00 p.m. on 29/09/25