I've received a DCB Legal Letter of Claim

*_pinkspidah_*

Hello to all those who read this. I am seeking clarity on my next steps and would appreciate your help. I got a letter of claim from DC Legal:



Regarding this:

I responded by email on the 26th of November, with the following:

I refer to your letter of claim.

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

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

I do not recognise the location of the alleged contractual breach and am unsure who was driving, except to know that it was not me, the Registered Keeper.

I note that the amount claimed appears to be hugely exaggerated, which the Government called 'extorting money from motorists'. Please don't send me your usual rhetoric regarding this. 

I have two questions under the Pre-Action Protocol, to which I am entitled specific answers:

1. Is the additional 'Debt Recovery' fee net or inclusive of VAT? If the latter, would you explain why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT?

2. Concerning the principal alleged PCN sum, could you let me know if this is damages, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking?

I look forward to answers as soon as possible, as you are obligated to under the Pre-Action Protocol.

I then received this response on the 4th of December:

We write to acknowledge safe receipt of your formal response to our Letter of Claim sent to you in respect of this matter.

Having considered your response, our position in respect of this matter remains as per our Letter of Claim. We note that despite your points of dispute, there is an absence of any evidence in support of the same so that we may consider this with our Client. If you do have evidence which you believe supports your dispute, please furnish us with the same within the 30 days afforded to you.

As it stands, the initial 30 day timeframe under the Pre-Action Protocol remains, and County Court proceedings will be issued following expiry of this 30 day period, without any further reference to you.

We strongly recommend that you contact a member of our dispute resolution team on 0203 838 7038, as a matter of urgency so we may discuss this matter with you and avoid a Claim being issued against you.

I believe I have until the 13th of December to submit anything further. 

Many thanks for your assistance with this.

Gr1pr

OK, you are correct so far,  ignore their response and wait for the inevitable N1SDT court claim pack from the CNBC in Northampton using MCOL to arrive in the post in due course 

Then follow post 2 in the newbies sticky thread in announcements near the top of the forum by coupon mad,  plus follow the 8 steps in the defence template thread in announcements too, using the template defence by coupon mad on MCOL 

*_pinkspidah_*

Thank you for your response. I did wonder if it was worth replying with the fact that a Blue Badge isn't wholly indicative of a disability and therefore not something that would hold up in court, or the absence of a specified  'period parked' on the initial parking change letter would make it invalid?

Gr1pr

Nothing makes an invoice ( pcn ) invalid,  but it may be unenforceable in law

The Equality Act 2010 is used to indicate disability,  a blue badge is merely an indication of need and possibly reasonable adjustment 

The solicitors don't care about the minutia or case,  unlike the victim, meaning you,  the solicitors will follow their clients instructions,  regardless,  because they get paid to do so 

This is an unstoppable train, going through stations, hazards,  fog , snow and slippy ice and obstacles like  leaves on the line, usually with a discontinuance once they cannot bully the victim into paying, it's a tried and tested system with tens of thousands of cases per annum in play,  probably hundreds of thousands 

*_pinkspidah_*

Thank you again for your response. I understand and will follow as advised.

*_pinkspidah_*

I have now received a Claim Form with an issue date of the 16th Jan 2026. Neither of the questions I asked DCB Legal under the Pre-Action Protocol has been answered.

I filed an Acknowledgement of Service on the 24th January.

The Particulars of the Claim are as follows:

The Defendant is pursued as the driver of the vehicle for breach of the terms on the signs (the contract). Reason: Parked in a disabled space without displaying a valid badge.

In the alternative the Defendant is pursued as the keeper pursuant to POFA 2012, Schedule 4

And the Claimant claims £170.00 being the total of the PC and damages. Interest at a rate of 8% per annum pursuant to s.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 from the date hereof at a daily rate of £0.02 until judgment or sooner payment. Costs and court fees.

I have been to the location above, but am a bit lost and would appreciate further guidance. What timeframe do I have to adhere to? Which part of the template would need to be amended and what is my best line of defence as the registered keeper?

Thank you.

Gr1pr

So its UKPC via DCB LEGAL, issue date is 16th January and AOS date was 24th January, so the defence deadline date is now 4pm on Wednesday 18th February

Use the template defence in announcements near the top of the forum, 10 paragraphs

Adapt paragraphs 2 & 3 ( after studying several UKPC DCB LEGAL cases and defences over the last 6 months or so first. )

Le_Kirk

With an issue date of 16/01/26 and having completed the AoS in a timely manner your defence deadline date is 4.00 p.m. on 18/02/26

Coupon-mad

Did you show UKPC your blue badge in an appeal or later dispute?

If yes, add that to your para 3 where you talk about having 'protected characteristics' under the Equality Act 2010. Or copy another Equality Act defence point 3 already written on the forum. They are common and pretty easy to find by careful keyword searching.

*_pinkspidah_*

Thank you for your responses. I'm overwhelmed by the wealth of information available on this forum! I want to defend this as the Registered Keeper and not the Driver. I have maintained this position with UKPC from the outset and have only sent one response to them (see above), and made no appeal or dispute aside from this.

I mentioned the Equality Act (above) because I discovered a blue badge wasn't legally required in a private car park. I mentioned the missing 'period of parking' because I thought this needed to be specified on the parking charge to be 'compliant'.

This is a photo of the sign from Notice to Keeper:

Along with their perspective photo:

Would I be successful?

Gr1pr

Depends on what you mean by successful

Its very unlikely to reach an actual hearing in court, meaning that all the arguments wont be seen, heard or mulled over by a judge, in court

More likely that a Money Claim will be issued, followed eventually by a discontinuation, just before the court deadline dates

So it likely to peter out, so in that sense, a success due to the usual pattern of discontinuation near the end