DCBL Debt Collectors 3 claims and one already went to CCJ

Bigbum14

Unfortunately I missed a letter and lost the chance to ‘acknowledge ‘a claim against me. The claim is for a parking charge with SMART PARKING which was £60 and now has got to £275 with unreasonable charges.... if i have the judgement set asside i will still have to pay 300 and fight it. It makes more sense to just pay DCBL debt collectors - although it kills me. ( for anyone who thinks they don't take it all the way to court they are wrong)

unfortunately - i have two other final demands for two other alleged parking incidents now with DCBL (through euro parks) which they are claiming are now 170 each. I cant be bothered with the legal action they may take but i really cant afford to pay them 170 x2 ontop of 275.

I do not know if i was the driver and can not recall anything about the incidents, I have not seen any prior communication from Euro Parks either.

could I offer a lower 'without PREJUDICE' amount perhaps to save the headache? Any advice please

Coupon-mad

"It makes more sense to just pay DCBL debt collectors - although it kills me. ( for anyone who thinks they don't take it all the way to court they are wrong)".

Yes and no.

We know our stuff and we aren't wrong! Truth is, they don't proceed to hearings but because you sadly dropped the ball and failed to do the - dead easy - defence stage, your case had no hearing and you lost with no judge even looking at it.

And it DOESN'T make sense to pay in full. Either:

• As long as you are well within the 30 days to pay it off, email an offer to settle to one of the solicitors - @ChirpyChicken knows who to contact;
• Or
• Apply to set aside the CCJ and include in your Draft Order that Smart Parking pay your costs, given they (in fact DCB Legal) lied about the POFA in the particulars of claim AND failed to respond to an appeal.

You (hopefully, from reading this forum) now realise that, if you'd defended using our template, DCB Legal would have discontinued the Smart Parking claim before the hearing and you'd have paid nothing?

And … do you realise that is exactly what will happen with your Euro Car Parks claims as well? It is a complete cinch!

All you needed to do was use the Template Defence. Get it right this time for the Euro cases.

Bigbum14

Hello - thanks so much for your reply. So you're saying with Euro Parks let it go to a court order and then deal with it with the Template Defence? ( are you able to direct me to this please?)

you said ''Apply to set aside the CCJ and include in your Draft Order that Smart Parking pay your costs, given they (in fact DCB Legal) lied about the POFA in the particulars of claim AND failed to respond to an appeal.''

Yes unfortunately i didn't even see the order for the smart parking one until after the judgement had been passed. I have applied to set asside the CCJ but the cost is £300!!! The draft order has already been submitted too unfortunately - . Unfortunately I didn't appeal before any final demand and would rather just have it done with. …. the other I am prepared to fight but dont want to end up loosing and paying £600……. (i dont have any evidence of the days in question and no recollection of any details including who was driving)

• Apply to set aside the CCJ and include in your Draft Order that Smart Parking pay your costs, given they (in fact DCB Legal) lied about the POFA in the particulars of claim AND failed to respond to an appeal.

Are you able to point me in the direction of defence

Bigbum14

apologies - last comment sent before I could tidy up the text.

also - should I respond to DCBL legal at the final demand stage …I have responded to one already

Subject: Dispute of Alleged Debt – Ref: ——

Dear Sir/Madam,

I write as the registered keeper of vehicle ——in relation to your letter dated ———concerning an alleged unpaid parking charge issued by Euro Car Parks Limited – ——

I do not acknowledge any debt to your company or your client and formally dispute liability for this charge.

In order to properly investigate this matter, I require the following documentation and evidence:

1. A full copy of the original Parking Charge Notice (PCN) and any Notice to Keeper allegedly issued.
2. Clear, unedited, and timestamped photographic evidence of the alleged contravention, including the vehicle and relevant signage.
3. A copy of the contract or agreement you rely upon between your client and the landowner/occupier, including full details of the authority to issue and pursue parking charges at the site.
4. Photographs of the signage in place at the location on the date of the alleged incident, demonstrating the terms and conditions in force.
5. A detailed statement of account showing how the sum demanded has been calculated, including the original charge, any additional fees, and the legal basis for those additions.
6. Strict proof of the identity of the driver you allege was responsible at the material time, including how this conclusion has been reached.

Pending receipt of the above information, this matter is formally disputed and must be placed on hold. Any further enforcement action or escalation while the dispute remains unresolved will be noted.

Please provide the requested information within 30 days of the date of this letter.

Yours faithfully,

Nellymoser

Template defence and NEWBIES!! PRIVATE PARKING TICKET? OLD OR NEW? **READ THESE FAQS FIRST! Both are Announcement threads pinned at top of the 1st page directly above the start of the thread list.

You may have saved yourself the headache if you'd read them first. Sounds like there maybe an issue with your address if you missed the claim letter AND Euro x 2 pcn letters. Check your V5C shows your current address. NEWBIES POST 4 - Debt Collectors Letters covers changed address.

Read and study NEWBIES POST 2 - SMALL Claim, where you'll find how to reply to a LOC/LBC, confirm your address for service of papers and deal with a claim form. And near the bottom is CCJ info and advice.

You only need to study first two posts in the Template defence thread.

And if you read some posts in Umkomaas thread you'll realise DCB Legal regularly discontinue court cases before the hearing fee needs paying.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81990080#Comment_81990080

Le_Kirk

The one that has incurred a CCJ you need to deal with by setting aside promptly. Once it has been set aside you can consider the defence of the underlying claim but only if the judge does not strike out the claim at your set-aside hearing. Regular @Nellymoser has pointed you to the template defence thread.

Bigbum14

I’m planning to just pay them - I can’t have the headache of dealing with 3 x the paper work at the moment unfortunately. I believe my address is up to date I have no idea why I haven’t received letters and also received the order late. Given that the parking tickets were for overstays in a free car park and I have no idea of the details at present do I still have a chance to win this ? It’s a possibility I was not the driver and also possible my disabled mum was travelling in the car but I have no way of remembering or finding out so long after the event

Le_Kirk

If you are going to pay (not recommended by this forum) is the one that is already a CCJ still in time to be paid, i.e. within 30 days of issue? If not, it won't be cleared just marked as "settled" and will give you credit issues for six years.

Bigbum14

yes within 30 days. I'm considering paying county court claims . org to deal with the other two as I have a family and other stuff to be doing. Any thoughts on this company? Is it legit??? Thanks for your input

Coupon-mad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81993753#Comment_81993753

Never heard of them. Flipping heck if you are going to get a legal firm involved, use one we recommend: Contestor Legal who are parking specialists.

Bigbum14

RIGHT ! I think i'm going to fight the judgement! I've already applied to have it set aside. Now I need to pay the court fee….

DCBL didn't even send a notice before claim!!! The first I heard was a 'Claim form' from the Department for Work and Pensions which arrived at my address after the judgement had already passed.

Is any one able to help with defense strategy please? Having not seen the original tickets from the parking company I am in the dark about the details such as length of duration etc.