Claim Form for PCN received

BusyGuyZZZ

Hello all, hope this thread helps anyone who is as lost as I am trying to find a way through this.

In December 2024 I parked my car in a carpark that is supervised by Euro Car Parks Ltd. Having done so quite frequently and knowing that it allowed me to do so for 3h I didn't think much of it. Turns out that ECP changed the duration of the parking allowance from 3 to 2h and sent me a PCN to pay. Having had previous with them where I tried to plea with them and the only answer I had was "pay pay pay" I decided to follow the advice shown here and ignore all the correspondence I received for the past year from DCB Legal threatening with bailiffs and court action but I kept photos of all the letters. From what I read around in the Forum is the same kind.

Now I am a bit stranded as I received a Claim Form N1SDT with the County Court where they're making a claim against me.

I read the BPA code of conduct where they say that reasonable notice must be given to car park users that the T&Cs change (ie 3 to 6 months) and that it should be obvious upon entrance that they changed, all the signs in the carpark must be the same, etc. Turns out that in this particular car park they're not consistent and the sign I looked at was still showing 3h instead of 2h. I have also been collecting evidence like an KentLive news report where it states that they changed the time limit on the 6/1/25 when my PCN is from 12/24. 

Link - kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/two-hours-isn-t-enough-confusion-over-sudden-changes 

Based on the above, I think I genuinely didn't misuse the carpark but they keep on escalating their tone and seems they'll get to a court hearing.

I read the Newbies post but I think it is fair to say that it got me even more confused.

Any help would be hugely appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.

Gr1pr

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

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

Study a few recent ECP DCB LEGAL claims over the last 3 months to see what they wrote in the paragraphs 2 & 3

Use the template defence by coupon mad in announcements,  don't overthink this stage

BusyGuyZZZ

Thank you for the reply and help Gr1pr.

Where would I find the recent claims?

As I understand there is a good 10 paragraphs that I should use to my reply but only paragraph 3 is mine to change as per the Template thread?

Bear in mind I only received this letter on the 25th.

Gr1pr

Login to MCOL and complete the AOS online stage ASAP,  if not done already 

Look through the first dozen pages of this forum looking for recent claims that predate yours

Paragraph 3 is definitely adapted to suit, but the template defence also has recommendations for an ending to paragraph 2, so study both paragraphs,  as I clearly stated, because both paragraphs have recommendations, in bold

BusyGuyZZZ

I am trying to do this, I managed to log in with the Claim No and the password, the browser restarted as there was an update, I am now trying to login again and states "Claim number or password is incorrect."

I attempted to login a few times having logged out from the MCOL and back in but keeps on coming up with the same error?

Thanks on the advice for paragraphs 2 and 3 🙏

BusyGuyZZZ

Just figured that this case was further down on the page as I had retrieved it to my profile

Gr1pr

Possibly this one 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6642439/euro-car-parks-have-sent-a-court-order-and-tribunal#latest

BusyGuyZZZ

AOS is now completed.

Will also have a read through the different threads as advised.

What comes next? 🙏

Gr1pr

Study the 8 steps in the defence template thread in announcements near the top of the forum 

Defence is definitely next 

BusyGuyZZZ

Gr1pr said:

Possibly this one 

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6642439/euro-car-parks-have-sent-a-court-order-and-tribunal#latest

this is great!! thank you for this example as it certainly helps me understand what I can write down and how. I'll be writing it shortly and will appreciate feedback.

I spend a bit of time reading through some successful cases https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6377263/dcb-legal-record-of-private-parking-court-claim-discontinuations/p1 and can tell you that I'm feeling a lot better today.

The lengths these companies go to bully the general public is ridiculous!! How does the government not rule them as fraudsters and therefore illegal is beyond me.

It is safe to do so that anyone feels like a criminal when they see "The County Court" stamp as it doesn't get more official than this. To read that they're taking up to 1/3 of the claims is a huge drain of the public services and it must be putting the general public at a loss in hundreds of millions a year.

Once again Gr1pr, thank you so much for your help thus far. 🙏🙏🙏

Gr1pr

You do have a lot of catching up to do 

The tory government passed the Private Parking Bill in 20189, but have had numerous stumbling blocks in trying to implement it since then

Currently the MHCLG are digesting the feedback in the public consultation survey from a few months ago,  with the hope that regulation may kick in next year 

This is a civil court matter,  not a criminal one, so it's issued from the single government business centre in Northampton,  the CNBC,  using the Money Claim service