DCB LEGAL, PARKING EYE court claim

parkingfraudticket

Hi guys! Another one of these posts regarding these frauds. First of all - I just want to say that I HAVE read the newbies thread - multiple times. I have also searched the forums, and read a lot of other people's threads. This isn't an attempt at having the same multiple repetitive answers given to priors, but I'm genuinely quite confused, and of course, being new to this, do not want to make a mistake. I assume my position is not unique and it has happened countless times before.

With that said and out the way, I have received a letter from DCBLegal titled "Letter of Claim", client being ParkingEye, and "amount due" being £170.00.

It states

"We act for Parkingeye and write in respect of an unpaid parking charge(s). This is a formal Letter of Claim in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debit Claims.

Basis of Claim:

The vehicle with registration number [My vehicle license plate] ("Vehicle") was parked on private land ("Land") managed by our Client. The signs displayed on the Land set out the Terms of parking (i.e. "the Contract"). The Vehicle was parked in breach of the Terms and as such the Contract was accepted and a Parking Charge(s) was issued. You are liable as the Keeper or Driver. The details of the Parking Charge(s) can be found in the schedule at t he bottom of this letter. Payment was due within 28 days of the Parking Charge(s) being issued but remains outstanding.

The amount of debt is £170.00, which includes the Parking Charge(s) and debt recovery costs. If a claim is issued, further costs will be sought, together with accruing interest.

Next Steps:

Within 30 days of the date of this letter, you should either make payment using one of the methods detailed overleaf or complete the Reply Form and financial statement. Failure to do so is likely to result in a claim being issued without further notice Please visit www.dcblegal.co.uk/response to complete and submit the reply form and financial statement. You will also find an additional information sheet summarising your rights and responsibilities under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims.

Your attention is drawn to the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 and the Court's power to impose sanctions if you fail to pay or respond. Any such failure will be brought to the attention of the Court when considering costs. Any non-compliance with the Rules can increase liability for costs. The BPA Code of Practice requires us to make the customer (driver/keeper) aware of the implications of non-payment including, should the Court find against them, the risk to their credit rating.

We suggest you deal with this as a matter of urgency to avoid a claim being issued. You may wish to seek independent legal advice from a Solicitor or other free money advice organisation.

If you would like a "dispute resolution call" with our team, or a paper copy of the information sheet, reply form or financial statement, please call our office on the number provided.

Yours Sincerely,

Sarah Ensall

Head of Bulk Litigation"

So to provide context - I had followed the advice of ignoring the debt collector letters. The alleged date of breach happened sometime in 2023. Back then when I appealed it, they rejected my appeal but offered a "Gesture of goodwill" discount to £20 to pay for the fine, which further gives me inclination to think they don't have a strong case. I refused to pay this and after several letters and a couple years later have I now received this letter.

I have read Post 2, which explains it but I'm unsure of exactly how to go about doing this, theres many links and screenshots to things and I don't want to make a mistake.

Furthermore; as there was a hotel situated where the alleged breach happened, how should I reach out to the hotel to "complain" and attempt to get the fine cancelled? Walk in there and request somebody, or send an email to someone? And how should this be worded if so. Is it worth doing considering this is about something from a couple years back?

Due to this being in 2023, I don't have pictures of the car park or signage as it was long ago, but my issue was that I did not even park there (did not go into a parking bay), I was there to pick up a hotel customer who was leaving the establishment, and thats what my defence was based on - And they can refer to the car park cameras to verify this. I also do not remember exactly what I had said in my appeal as again - This was 3 years ago. Whats my next best course of action?

I would also like to state; which I don't know if this is important or not, but I do not own this vehicle anymore and it was sold.

I would like to thank all of you legends here in advance, and again apologies if this seems like a repetitive post for what you probably have answered multiple times - But the search function isnt that straight forward and trying to research for my own situation nets me over 7000 results, so you can understand why it might be a bit overwhelming.

Gr1pr

Just Email the LoC response template to the info@ email address at DCB LEGAL

Then come back to this thread when they issue a Money Claim

parkingfraudticket

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82075355#Comment_82075355

Hey thanks for getting back to me mate. Are you talking about the LoC response template being the generic one provided in post 2? The one below:

“Dear Sirs,

Your ref: [insert reference number]

Proposed legal proceedings

Claimant: [insert name of parking company]

I refer to your letter of claim.

I confirm that my address for service for the time being is as follows, and any older address must be erased from your records:

[Insert correct address here]

You should revert to your client because the 'propensity to pay' score in my case is zero, so any claim is hopeless and a waste of the court fee (whether 'fronted' by your firm or not). Move on to weaker victims.

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

Yours faithfully,“

With regards to the Plan A mentioned in the thread of complaining to the establishment, how should I go about doing so and is there a template for that, or has that ship already sailed?

Gr1pr

Correct, email it to dcblegal, then wait for the inevitable court claim

Probably already sailed, there are NO complaint templates, just posts in the Successful Complaints thread linked in the newbies sticky thread in announcements near the top of the forum

Coupon-mad

"I did not even park there (did not go into a parking bay), I was there to pick up a hotel customer who was leaving the establishment,"

I think we should start encouraging consumers to throw their weight around re the CMA announcement last week (read that first, in detail, including the 'open letter to parking operators' reminding them about fair consideration periods and the fact that driving round and picking up a passenger then leaving isn't a period of parking and is very similar to what Euro Car Parks are being formally investigated for: charging non-parked cars for parking).

As such, you could add a paragraph about the above and say if ParkingEye persist you will report your concerns and share your documents and these emails directly to the CMA without further notice.

😁

parkingfraudticket

Hi guys - Circling back to this.

I received the Claim Form as expected on the 21st September, issue is, I was on holiday, and I returned today to having the neighbour hand me the letter saying they dropped it off at his. Within the form it states I have 14 days to respond, today marks the 15th day. How should I proceed with this? I have proof of travel/tickets that I was abroad prior to receiving the letter.

Furthermore, what are the next general steps I should do now? The amount they're requesting now has gone up to £303.48

Le_Kirk

What is the date of issue of the claim form? Check your status page on MCOL and make sure you don't have a default judgment. If you don't try for the AoS, if it is not allowed, you will have to go straight to defence.

parkingfraudticket

Date of issue is 21st Sept. I read the paper in full now after an initial panic and I take it that the date it counts from is actually 5 days on from that date? So I have 14 days from the 26th September if I'm not mistaken?

If that is the case, how should I proceed? I have read the newbies thread in its entirety but the layout is quite confusing - and having to revisit it now when my last update was in July seems a bit overwhelming. Sorry I'm rushing, I just dont have much time left on this if my assumption above is correct.

parkingfraudticket

Fruthermore, the enclosed letters I have received are N9A and a N9B respectively, is this the letters I should've been expecting?

Gr1pr

Correct, so get the AOS online stage completed on MCOL ASAP

Then study the 8 steps carefully, in the defence template thread in announcements near the top of the forum

Follow them

Put the paperwork in a drawer, and please edit your thread title to something more suitable like

DCB LEGAL, PARKING EYE court claim

parkingfraudticket

Hey Gr1pr, appreciate the response on this thread again. Noted - I'll change the title.

With regards to the steps, I'm a little bit confused as theres multiple different links and some are updated whereas others arent.

For the AOS MCOL stage, I found two links on the thread.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gp4lan4cb225p7ajkoy6z/money-claim-online-How-to-Acknowledge.pdf?rlkey=pu8zhuiaxbva4cjdmge72nh4r&e=1&dl=0

The above and

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/66vzl2vy3l8mb2gs5b02r/MCOL-AOS-help-file.pdf?rlkey=ugcctwom3n4hm3eh6fmtsw17p&e=1&dl=0

Which one is the one to follow?

Thanks again