Letter Before Claim DCB Legal

Jwills1984

Hello, 

Thank you for all the good work you do. 

I received multiple letters from Smart Parking. Ignored as per the advice on this forum. They then sold my debt etc. 

I have now received a Letter Before Claim from DCB. I read the second part of the newbies thread and have sent the standard letter template to info@dcblegal (see below).

I have a specific question about contacting the landowner. The landowner was my dad's local pub, when he was well enough to visit, and when I initially went in with the parking charge letter threatening bailiffs they told me they had sacked smart parking because they were unhappy with the service and that they felt they couldn't do anything about it now. I'm wondering if I should now go in with the LBC and ask them again to give some kind of written waiver (as they are the landowner that DCB are supposedly acting on behalf of). 
Would this help? 
They have no skin in the game as they no longer employ Smart Parking and seemed reasonable enough.

I'm also wondering what the next step is after sending the response below. I know I have requested a 30 day delay but what now? 





Dear Sirs,

Your Ref. 7*************

Proposed Legal Proceedings

Claimant: DCB Legal Ltd

I refer to your your letter of claim.

I confirm that my address for service for the time being - assuming you don't faff about and delay any claim - is as follows, and any older address must be erased from your records:

1********

C********

North *****

********

The alleged debt is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

I am sourcing and seeking independent debt advice and as such, I formally request that this matter be put on hold for an additional 30 days, in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims 2017 ('the PAP').

I note that the amount being claimed has increased by a hugely exaggerated amount which the Government called "extorting money from motorists".

Don't send me your usual blather about that.

I have two questions, and under the PAP I am entitled to specific answers:

1. Am I to understand that the additional £70 represents what you lot dress up as a 'Debt Recovery' fee, and if so, is this nett or inclusive of VAT? If the latter, would you kindly explain why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT?

2. With regard to the principal alleged PCN sum: Is this damages, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking?

Yours faithfully

Gr1pr

They have definitely NOT sold the alleged debt, it stays with them, always 

DCB legal are acting on behalf of Smart Parking,  not the landowner ( its almost always the private parking company that is contracting out obtaining the outstanding amount to a legal company or solicitors,  standard practice in most cases, including yours  )

Wait for their template reply and file it

Then await the inevitable N1SDT court claim pack from the CNBC in Northampton using MCOL to arrive in the post in the next couple of months 

Gr1pr

They want your phone number in order to harass you , you will provide it on your N180 submission in order for the mediation service  ( not DCB Legal   ) to contact you at the compulsory mediation stage 

Giving them a valid monitored email address is no problem,  probably a good idea so that they can send you their N279 NoD document next year,  when they chicken out,  same as all the other cases on here 

Jwills1984

Great, so nothing more to do apart from confirm my email address? 

Thanks for the help. What will happen next after the 30 days is up? 

Gr1pr

You study post 2 in the newbies sticky thread in announcements near the top of the forum by coupon mad,  then study the first 2 posts in the defence template thread in announcements too

Jwills1984

I have  now had a claim form from DCB legal. 

I assume I should send the acknowledgement of service to extend the deadline to 28 days? 

Then I look at post 2 in the newbies thread then the defence thread. 

Please can someone link these things and make it very easy for me. I have Lyme disease, currently off work and shattered all the time. I don't want to fold and give these people money just because I'm ill. 

I would appreciate any help to make this easier. 

Gr1pr

Login to your government gateway account first,  then navigate to MCOL and complete the AOS online,  not post , not email , after reading post 1 in the following thread 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6108153/template-defence-to-adapt-for-all-parking-cases-with-added-admin-dra-costs-edited-in-2025/p1

What does the POC state on the lower left of the claim form   ?

Post a redacted picture of the POC from the lower left of the claim form below after hiding the VRM details first 

Post the Issue date from the top right of the claim form below too