GBP MANAGEMENT LTD - DCB Legal LTD claim 2025

Alkemia

Hi, 
I wanna first start by thanking you guys for all your work in the forums and for the Newbies threads letting me know I can fight against this claim. 

A breakdown of the events as I remember them. 

• Took place in a residential car park managed by GBP Management Ltd.
• I'm the driver, but my relative is the registered keeper  and the one being sued.
• The car park is adjacent to a different relatives home. with a Bus stop in front of the home and the whole carriageway with Red Routes, there would be no place to unload groceries safely except this area. 
• I was briefly parked, sitting in the car, waiting for the relative to finish storing groceries as we had to leave after. I was there for a few minutes. 
• Several parking bays were free at the time - no obstruction.
• A parking officer approached, and I:
• Informed him I was not parked as I was inside the car
• Offered to move immediately
• He ignored me and took pictures, he might of wrote something in a device or book (I'm not sure I'm remembering the last part correctly but he definitely took pictures of the plate) and left without talking to me. 
• The first letter we received I believe is the £127 charge, if I'm remembering correctly we were never sent anything before then even though they stated they had sent us something beforehand. I'm not sure about this so I've left it out. 

--------------------------
I ignored all parking charge letters and letters of claim. received court claim. Issue date 09/09/2025 amount £286

I followed the Newbie Thread and submitted AOS on 20/9/2025 stating to defend all of the claim. That should mean that i have until 7/10/2025 to file my defence. 
I'm drafting a defence using the defence template and would like feedback. 

2. Removed "The Defendant has little recollection of events, save as set out below and to admit that they were the registered keeper." added: "The Defendant was not present at the time of the alleged incident but relies on the facts provided by the driver."

3. The Defendant was not the driver on the material date and denies any liability. The vehicle was being used by a close family member who remained inside the car throughout a short stop to assist a nearby resident with unloading groceries. The car was not left unattended and was not obstructing any other vehicle or bay; several parking bays remained unoccupied. When the Claimant's operative approached, the driver immediately offered to leave, but this offer was ignored. The Claimant's operative took pictures and left, without allowing any grace period or opportunity to comply. The conduct was heavy-handed, unnecessary, and wholly disproportionate.

 OR

3. The Defendant was not the driver on the material date and denies any liability. The vehicle was being used by a close family member who remained inside the car throughout a short stop to assist a nearby resident with unloading groceries. The resident’s property is directly adjacent to a bus stop and the whole carriageway with red routes. There is no public parking nearby, making the private car park the only practical and safe place to briefly stop. The vehicle was not left unattended and was not obstructing any other bay; several spaces were unoccupied. When the Claimant's operative approached, the driver immediately offered to leave, but this was ignored. the Claimant's operative took pictures and left without providing any reasonable opportunity to comply. The conduct was disproportionate and does not meet the standards of fair or reasonable contract enforcement.

at the end included 

Statement of Truth:

I believe that the facts stated in this defence are true. 

[Relative's Full Name] 

[Date]

Please let me know if these are any good, what to change or should i start over. Thanks in advance for your time. 

Coupon-mad

That NTK was unlawful as ZZPS added £27 at the ordinary stage of your first notice by post.

Under the POFA Schedule 4 there is a maximum sum: the keeper cannot be faced with a NTK demanding more than the driver faced on the day on the windscreen PCN.

I bet it also adds £1.95 on the back, too?!

You do not sign/date or add this to the template defence, when putting it in on MCOL ...and by the way this Statement of Truth is about 6 years out of date!

Statement of Truth:

I believe that the facts stated in this defence are true. 

1505grandad

"The Claimant's operative took pictures and left, without allowing any grace period or opportunity to comply. The conduct was heavy-handed, unnecessary, and wholly disproportionate"

Just checking  -  was a Notice to Driver issued at the time?

Alkemia

I didn't receive anything on the day that the operative came to take picture. He took pictures, I told him I wasn't parking and offered to leave immediately, he ignored me and carried on doing his thing and left. 

Coupon-mad

Alkemia said:

I didn't receive anything on the day that the operative came to take picture. He took pictures, I told him I wasn't parking and offered to leave immediately, he ignored me and carried on doing his thing and left. 

So:

- there was no Notice to driver

- there was a non-allowed NTK  (too high, added £28.95)

The keeper wasn't driving = untouchable.

Alkemia

No appeals, had no contact with them whatsoever. I am the driver. The one being taken to court is a family member as they are the registered keeper. 

Alkemia

your correct they did add a handling fee of £1.95 on the back

Car1980

5) The maximum sum which may be recovered from the keeper by virtue of the right conferred by this paragraph is the amount specified in the notice to keeper.

parking charge”—

(a) in the case of a relevant obligation arising under the terms of a relevant contract, means a sum in the nature of a fee or charge.

The POFA doesn't allow any more than £100 to ever be recovered from the keeper. Nothing in the contract about £27 and it's a breach of the code of practice anyway. 

Even if the RK was the driver, it would be capped at £100 anyway as absolutely nothing about recovery charges on their sign. 

Arguably fraud if people are paying £197 to these clowns.

Coupon-mad

Alkemia said:

I didn't receive anything on the day that the operative came to take picture.

He took pictures, I told him I wasn't parking and offered to leave immediately, he ignored me and carried on doing his thing and left. 

Coupon-mad said

So:

- there was no Notice to driver

- there was a non-allowed NTK  (too high, added £28.95)

The keeper wasn't driving = untouchable.

Alkemia said:

No appeals, had no contact with them whatsoever. I am the driver.

The one being taken to court is a family member as they are the registered keeper. 

your correct they did add a handling fee of £1.95 on the back

Car1980 said:

5) The maximum sum which may be recovered from the keeper by virtue of the right conferred by this paragraph is the amount specified in the notice to keeper.

parking charge”—

(a) in the case of a relevant obligation arising under the terms of a relevant contract, means a sum in the nature of a fee or charge.

The POFA doesn't allow any more than £100 to ever be recovered from the keeper. Nothing in the contract about £27 and it's a breach of the code of practice anyway. 

Even if the RK was the driver, it would be capped at £100 anyway as absolutely nothing about recovery charges on their sign. 

Arguably fraud if people are paying £197 to these clowns.

I agree.

The keeper has a complete defence and cannot be held liable in law. And DCB Legal's POC is misleading the court about that:

Le_Kirk

With an issue date of 09/09/25 and having completed the AoS in a timely manner

your defence deadline date is 4.00 p.m. on 13/10/25