DCB Legal £9,000 Smart Parking Claim – Need Help Fighting Back

Coupon-mad

I have no time (ever!) to handle cases personally - I never do but I'm also preparing for a holiday - and nor does @troublemaker22 have capacity because I asked him the other day about another case.

ChirpyChicken

Coupon-mad said:

I have no time (ever!) to handle cases personally - I never do but I'm also preparing for a holiday - and nor does @troublemaker22 have capacity because I asked him the other day about another case.

Lady of leisure...🤣
Draft up your defence based on no keeper liability and get it done done with a statement of truth with the n244 and confirmation of exemption from fees ( you will have been given a reference number )
Get it submitted by friday latest. I can't add anything further really i am afraid . 
Good luck 

Come back when you have an update on the case and its allocated to your local court. Everything you need to do has been given on this thread
Do not hang around any more asking questions just follow what you have been advised.

A4BZ

All sent off.
Here’s a link to the N181 and N244 if anyone wants to share their thoughts or has a spare moment to glance over. 

https://we.tl/t-3MND9FEmYY

The link expires in 3 days.

Thanks again for your assistance. 

ChirpyChicken

Let us know when it goes to your local court 
With mediation just tell them no offer (when it happens)
This case will most likely NOT be adjourned until he is released.(given the date of release) It will be heard via CVP and your partner will appear via video link from prison. How successful that is down to the prison he is in and will require your partner to do the relevant notification to the prison authorities when the hearing date is given 

A4BZ

Ok, thank you all again.
I will update you accordingly.

A4BZ

Hi all,

Just a quick update on where things currently stand, and I’d really appreciate any thoughts on the latest developments.

Because this thread has been inactive for a little while, by way of recap this is the Smart Parking / DCB Legal claim for around £12,587.40, arising from multiple ANPR parking charges originally pleaded at £9,010, with the remainder being made up of fees and add-ons.

The claim has now been allocated to the Small Claims Track and listed for a CVP hearing on 2 July 2026 at 2pm at Norwich County Court. The court has also made a further order confirming that, because my partner is in custody, his attendance at the final hearing is considered both necessary and desirable in the interests of justice, and that the prison is to make arrangements for him to attend by video link.

As set out previously, our position has been that:

• my partner has been in custody since February 2024
• he suffered a serious brain injury in October 2023
• there were multiple address changes over the relevant years, followed by moves through HMP Pentonville and now HMP High Point
• he did not receive most, if any, of the original notices reliably
• and he has no income or savings, with accounts/funds frozen by the police

We also raised the issue of Sarah Ensall’s authority to sign and issue litigation documents on behalf of DCB Legal, including the pre-completed N181 / Directions Questionnaire that was sent out on their side. Emails were sent on 27/09/2025 and again on 02/10/2025 to DCB (including to the COLP contacts we had at the time), specifically asking for written confirmation and documentary proof of her authority. We received no substantive response at all to those points.

The first actual response from DCB came much later, on 11 March 2026, from Holly Slater (Paralegal), asking for proof of my power of attorney and details of my partner’s sentence. Those were provided the same day.

Then, on 13 March 2026, DCB responded stating that their client is prepared to accept £5,000 in full and final settlement, instead of pursuing the full balance of £12,587.40, and asked for confirmation within 14 days if agreeable.

So this now leaves us with a few questions that I’d really appreciate views on:

1. What do people make of the £5,000 offer?
   To me, it suggests they do not feel entirely comfortable about recovering the full amount at hearing, but I’d welcome others’ views.
2. Does the Sarah Ensall / litigation-authority issue still have real force at this stage, particularly in light of the lack of any proper response and the recent authority already mentioned earlier in this thread?
3. How would people now prioritise the defence points?
   My understanding is that the strongest arguments remain:
   • no keeper liability / non-POFA compliance
   • strict proof of driver identity
   • inflated / unjustified add-ons
   • signage / contractual issues
   • and then the litigation-authority point as an additional procedural issue
4. Would anyone respond to the £5,000 offer at this stage, or simply continue preparing for hearing?
   We are not in a position to accept that figure.

I’ll attach:

• the recent Holly Slater / settlement email chain
• the earlier emails sent to DCB regarding Sarah Ensall’s authority
• the Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track hearing (N157)
• and the General Form of Judgment or Order (N24)

Any thoughts on where this now leaves matters would be really appreciated.

Thanks again for all the help so far.

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Car1980

They know they're screwed. The last thing they expected was for their victim to be incarcerated and for there to be no way to enforce any judgment.

I would let them know you decline their offer.

Coupon-mad

What do people make of the £5,000 offer?

Desperation by them! Hilarious!

They know they'll almost certainly never get a penny because even if a judge upholds some PCNs, why would your partner pay?

To me, it suggests they do not feel entirely comfortable about recovering the full amount at hearing, but I’d welcome others’ views.

They know they'll likely never get any money. These offers are their last throw of the dice before they have to pay a very hefty hearing fee.

• What's their deadline for that?
• What's your partner's deadline for filing & serving a WS and evidence?

Does the Sarah Ensall / litigation-authority issue still have real force at this stage, particularly in light of the lack of any proper response and the recent authority already mentioned earlier in this thread?

Yes it currently does but the case is such a bombshell that it was appealed and we expect the decision in April-ish. We can't tell which way it might go. Keep your eye on it by googling for 'Mazur' news weekly, or asking us a few days before the hearing, just in case it needs dropping.

How would people now prioritise the defence points?
My understanding is that the strongest arguments remain:

no keeper liability / non-POFA compliance

strict proof of driver identity

inflated / unjustified add-ons

signage / contractual issues

and then the litigation-authority point as an additional procedural issue.

Yes, you have a good grip on this. Plus Mazur v Speechlys if the appeal on that case goes the right way. Especially as the generic POC that Sarah Ensall signed off actually lies about the POFA 2012 and 'keeper liability' applying.

That should be hammered home. Smart never used that Act before 2025.

Would anyone respond to the £5,000 offer at this stage, or simply continue preparing for hearing?

I would reply and say he doesn't owe anything as there is no evidence of who was driving on any occasion and the vehicle had more than one driver over the years. It was Smart Parking's active choice never to use the POFA Schedule 4 provisions for keeper liability so the entire claim is meritless and the unqualified signatory of the claim Particulars lied about that Act applying, despite knowing full well (as a bulk litigator handling all Smart Parking's tens of thousands of claims recently) that their client never used that wording until 2025.

This will be pointed out to the judge.

Either way, the Defendant is incarcerated and will offer nothing and will pay nothing regardless of outcome, so the £335 hearing fee and advocate's fee will be money down the drain. DCB Legal should refer back to their client and move on to more easily duped victims who aren't in prison.

ChirpyChicken

Indeed as above he will never pay a penny if he lost as it can not enforced. Dcbl are that stupid they would try and get a writ served to him for HCEO attendance at a prison. Now that would be funny

End of the matter for him and for you. I hope when this matter is over he gets released as planned (I realise its a few years away) and this is really a minor bump in the road and you have bigger fish to fry

DE_612183

This is one that should definitely make the headlines - should there be an initiative to get press and other media involved in this one?

I realise that @A4BZ may not want the publicity