Free Traffic Legal Advice

Live cases legal advice => Private parking tickets => Topic started by: Gaz88 on June 02, 2025, 03:20:18 pm

Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: jfollows on April 25, 2026, 02:50:25 pm
No
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on April 25, 2026, 12:45:08 pm
Thanks, shouldn't I reply to them?
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: RichardW on April 25, 2026, 12:40:44 pm
Well, unless you want to pay, just got to wait it out till they issue a claim.
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on April 25, 2026, 12:38:43 pm
Bumping this hoping someone might help  :)
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on April 18, 2026, 08:31:03 pm
Quick update on this, here is the email I sent to DCBL along with their reply. All they included in their reply was the original NTK, my appeal to MET, the reply from MET, a copy of the parking charge final reminder, and ANPR images of my vehicle.



Your Letter Before Claim contains insufficient detail of the claim and fails to provide copies of evidence your client places reliance upon and thus is in complete contravention of the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims.

As a firm of supposed solicitors, one would expect you to be capable of crafting a letter that aligns with paragraphs 3.1(a)–(d), 5.1 and 5.2 of the Protocol, and paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c) of the Practice Direction. These provisions do not exist for decoration—they exist to facilitate informed discussion and proportionate resolution. You might wish to reacquaint yourselves with them.

The Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols (Part 3), stipulate that prior to proceedings, parties should have exchanged sufficient information to understand each other’s position. Part 6 helpfully clarifies that this includes disclosure of key documents relevant to the issues in dispute.

Your template letter mentions a “contract”, yet fails to provide one. This would appear to undermine the only foundation upon which your client’s claim allegedly rests. It’s difficult to engage in meaningful pre-litigation dialogue when your side declines to furnish the very document it purports to enforce.

I confirm that, once I am in receipt of a Letter Before Claim that complies with the requirements of para 3.1 (a) of the Pre-Action Protocol, I shall then seek advice and submit a formal response within 30 days, as required by the Protocol. Thus, I require your client to comply with its obligations by sending me the following information/documents:

1. A copy of the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) that confirms any PoFA 2012 liability
2. A copy of the contract (or contracts) you allege exists between your client and the driver, in the form of an actual photograph of the sign you contend was at the location on the material date, not a generic stock image
3. The exact wording of the clause (or clauses) of the terms and conditions of the contract(s) which is (are) relied upon that you allege to have been breached
4. The written agreement between your client and the landowner, establishing authority to enforce
5. A breakdown of the charges claimed, identifying whether the principal sum is claimed as consideration or damages, and whether the £70 “debt recovery” fee includes VAT
6. The full name and role of the person with conduct of this matter and their regulatory status/authorisation to conduct litigation

I am clearly entitled to this information under paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c) of the Practice Direction. I also need it in order to comply with my own obligations under paragraph 6(b).

If your client does not provide me with this information then I put you on notice that I will be relying on the cases of Webb Resolutions Ltd v Waller Needham & Green [2012] EWHC 3529 (Ch), Daejan Investments Limited v The Park West Club Limited (Part 20) Buxton Associates [2003] EWHC 2872, Charles Church Developments Ltd v Stent Foundations Limited & Peter Dann Limited [2007] EWHC 855 in asking the court to impose sanctions on your client and to order a stay of the proceedings, pursuant to paragraphs 13, 15(b) and (c) and 16 of the Practice Direction, as referred to in paragraph 7.2 of the Protocol.

Until your client has complied with its obligations and provided this information, I am unable to respond properly to the alleged claim and to consider my position in relation to it, and it is entirely premature (and a waste of costs and court time) for your client to issue proceedings. Should your client do so, then I will seek an immediate stay pursuant to paragraph 15(b) of the Practice Direction and an order that this information is provided.

Here is the response I received;

We write in response to your correspondence received in our office.
We now respond to the same as follows.
 
Please find attached all relevant evidence we hold on the matter, as per your request.
 
If there are any documents that you have requested, but that are not attached, it is because we have deemed the request to be disproportionate and/or not relevant to the substantive issues in dispute. We respectfully draw your attention to paragraph 2.1(c) of the Protocol and remind you that both parties are expected to act reasonably and proportionately.
 
In relation to the Parking Charge, when parking on private land, the contractual terms of the site are set out on the signs. You are entering a contract, agreeing to the terms by parking, and staying on the site. Parking in breach of the terms as stipulated on the signage means that you are then breaking the terms of the contract.
 
A Notice to Keeper was issued to you. A copy is attached. You were afforded the opportunity to; appeal the parking charge however you did seem it did not yield the desired outcome. You had an opportunity to escalate it further to an independent appeals services.
 
A Reminder Notice was also issued to you. A copy is attached. This notice reiterated that payment was outstanding and confirmed that legal action may be taken, and additional costs incurred if the parking charge was not paid.
 
You now have 30 days from the date of this email to make payment of £170.00. Failure to make payment may result in a Claim being issued against you without any further reference.
Payment can be made via bank transfer to our designated client account.



Could anyone kindly advise on what I should do now?

Many thanks!
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on April 11, 2026, 08:51:39 am
Many thanks for your reply, I managed to find a similar thread so used the response from that and sent to DCBL.

Awaiting their reply and will update here once I hear back.

Thanks again and have a good weekend!
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: DWMB2 on April 07, 2026, 08:45:46 am
If you can draft something up based on other similar cases we can advise. A response to a Letter of Claim needn't be war and peace, it's just setting out your position and the reasons you dispute the alleged debt.
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on April 04, 2026, 05:57:45 pm
.
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on April 02, 2026, 03:39:26 pm
Anyone? Would really appreciate some help with this please guys
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on March 24, 2026, 12:48:34 am
They basically weren’t interested and fobbed me off and said that neither they, nor MET parking had done anything wrong. Either they didn’t read the complaint properly or just couldn’t be bothered to act on it. It seems like bit of a lost cause complaining to them
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: InterCity125 on March 23, 2026, 01:35:44 pm
Could I just establish what response you had from the DVLA submission?
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on March 23, 2026, 12:41:09 pm
Yes please. Here is what the letter said, If someone could draft a reply I’d really appreciate it.

“We act for Met Parking Services Ltd and write in respect of an unpaid parking charges). This is a formal Letter of Claim in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims.

Basis of Claim
The vehicle with registration number XXXXX ("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 the bottom of this letter. Payment was due within 28 days of the Parking Charges) being issued but remains outstanding.
The amount of the 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 at 8% above base rate per annum pursuant to s69 of The County Courts Act 1984.

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 0203 434 0427.”
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: InterCity125 on March 22, 2026, 07:50:48 am
We can come up with a short and sharp reply.
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on March 21, 2026, 09:49:12 pm
Hi everyone,

This one went quiet for a while but I have now received a Letter of Claim from DCB legal solicitors.

Seems like the scammers haven’t given up yet!

Would appreciate any advice.

Many thanks!
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on March 09, 2026, 09:35:07 pm
.
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on July 02, 2025, 12:09:00 pm
Thank you. Will update further if I hear any more
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: jfollows on July 02, 2025, 12:05:40 pm

I have now received a debt recovery letter (see attached). Should I just ignore it?

Thanks again for everyone’s help to defeat these crooks!
Yes
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on July 02, 2025, 11:55:45 am
Thank you so much, I’ve only just seen this but will certainly make the complaint to the DVLA as you have recommended.

I have now received a debt recovery letter (see attached). Should I just ignore it?

Thanks again for everyone’s help to defeat these crooks!

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Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: b789 on June 03, 2025, 08:53:35 pm
Follow the advice and you won't be paying a penny to MET. Yes, this will go to litigation but it will never reach a court hearing as it will either be struck out or discontinued.

They hope you are low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree and will end up paying out of ignorance and fear.

MET have no right to pursue the Keeper if they do not have any identity for the driver. They are using the Keepers data unlawfully and you should report them to the DVLA. Here’s how to make a DVLA complaint:

• Go to: https://contact.dvla.gov.uk/complaints
• Select: “Making a complaint or compliment about the Vehicles service you have received”
• Enter your personal details, contact details, and vehicle details
• Use the text box to summarise your complaint or insert a covering note
• You will then be able to upload a file (up to 19.5 MB) — this can be your full complaint or supporting evidence
That’s it.

The DVLA is required to record, investigate and respond to every complaint about a private parking company. If everyone who encounters a breach took the time to submit a complaint, we might finally see the DVLA take meaningful action—whether that means curtailing or removing KADOE access altogether.

For the text part of the complaint the webform could use the following:

Quote
I am submitting a formal complaint against MET Parking Services, a BPA Approved Operator Scheme (AOS) member with DVLA KADOE access, for breaching the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP) after obtaining my personal data.

While the Operator may have had reasonable cause at the time of their KADOE request, their subsequent misuse of my data—through conduct that contravenes the PPSCoP—renders that use unlawful. The PPSCoP forms an integral part of the DVLA’s governance framework for data access by private parking firms. Continued access is conditional on compliance.

The DVLA, as data controller, is obliged under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 to investigate and take enforcement action when data is misused following release. This complaint is not about whether the data was obtained lawfully at the outset, but whether its subsequent use breached the terms under which it was provided.

I have prepared a supporting statement and included an official airport boundary map annotated to show that the location of the alleged contravention is under statutory control and not relevant land for the purposes of PoFA. I request a full investigation and confirmation of receipt with a reference number.

Then you could upload the following as a PDF file for the formal complaint itself:

Quote
SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Complaint to DVLA – Breach of KADOE Contract and PPSCoP

Operator name: MET Parking Services
Date of PCN issue: 07/04/2025
Date of alleged contravention: 01/04/2025
Vehicle registration: [INSERT VRM]

I am submitting this complaint to report a misuse of my personal data by MET Parking Services, who obtained my keeper details from the DVLA under the KADOE (Keeper At Date Of Event) contract.

Although MET Parking Services may have had reasonable cause to request my data initially, their use of that data afterwards amounts to unlawful processing. This is because they have acted in breach of the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP), which is a mandatory requirement for access to DVLA keeper data. The PPSCoP forms part of the framework that regulates how parking companies must behave once they have received keeper data from the DVLA.

The KADOE contract makes clear that keeper data may only be used to pursue an unpaid parking charge in line with the Code of Practice. If a parking company fails to comply with the PPSCoP after receiving DVLA data, their use of that data becomes unlawful, as they are no longer using it for a permitted purpose.

In this case, MET Parking Services has breached the PPSCoP as follows:

• They claimed keeper liability despite the location of the alleged contravention (Southgate Park, Stansted Airport) falling within the boundaries of land under statutory control and therefore not qualifying as “relevant land” under Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012.

This directly contravenes PPSCoP Section 8.1.1(d), which prohibits operators from stating or implying that a keeper is liable under PoFA when the land is not relevant land.

This is not a minor or technical oversight. It is a clear misrepresentation of legal liability and a breach of the terms under which DVLA data is provided. It follows that MET Parking Services is now using my data unlawfully because their purpose (to pursue the keeper under PoFA) is not a valid one.

I have attached:

• A copy of the official Stansted Airport boundary map showing that the alleged contravention location lies within the airport’s statutory boundary
• A copy of the Notice to Keeper issued claiming Keeper liability where it is not lawful to do so
• This supporting statement

The DVLA remains the Data Controller for the data it releases under KADOE and is therefore responsible for ensuring that personal data is not misused. I am requesting the DVLA to investigate this breach and to take appropriate enforcement action. This may include:

• Confirming that a breach has occurred
• Taking enforcement action against the operator
• Suspending or terminating their KADOE access if warranted

Please confirm receipt and provide a reference number for this complaint. I am happy to provide further details if needed.

Name: [INSERT YOUR NAME]
Date: [INSERT DATE]

Also append this map to the supporting statement:

(https://i.imgur.com/fujP4zk.jpeg)
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on June 03, 2025, 11:23:39 am
Great, thanks so much. Will keep posting updates here and hopefully defeat these scammers!
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: jfollows on June 03, 2025, 11:11:01 am
Thanks so much for the advice. Is there any chance it could turn in to a costly court / legal battle?

I’m loathed to pay them a penny but also don’t want to spend a fortune trying to beat them.
No, it’s usually only a paperwork battle, so as long as you keep on top of things and observe deadlines (with advice here) you’ll be good.
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on June 03, 2025, 10:24:44 am
Thanks so much for the advice. Is there any chance it could turn in to a costly court / legal battle?

I’m loathed to pay them a penny but also don’t want to spend a fortune trying to beat them.
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: DWMB2 on June 02, 2025, 10:30:18 pm
The ball is essentially in MET's court, as far as next steps.

They will pass the matter to a debt collector. This debt collector will send various scary-sounding letters in an attempt to get you to pay. Debt collectors are powerless, and can be ignored. Eventually, the debt collector will get bored and pass the matter back to MET, who may decide to take the matter to court. If they do, they'll probably farm this out to one of the various incompetent legal firms that handle these bulk cases. If you receive a 'Letter of Claim' from one of these legal firms, return here for advice.
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on June 02, 2025, 09:52:58 pm
Thanks for your reply. Yes unfortunately it’s past that now.

Would love to hear if anyone knows what my options are
Title: Re: Stansted Airport
Post by: jfollows on June 02, 2025, 04:10:21 pm
POPLA codes are actually valid for 32 or 33 days, you may still be in time
Sorry, even if they are you’re still too late, I misread your dates originally.
Title: Stansted Airport
Post by: Gaz88 on June 02, 2025, 03:20:18 pm
Hi everyone, I’m new here and after some advice regarding a Notice to Keeper at the infamous Southgate parking Stansted Airport.

I received a Notice to Keeper stating that the driver of my vehicle was parked incorrectly, see attached PCN.

I appealed to MET Parking as follows;

“I am the registered keeper. MET cannot hold a registered keeper liable for any alleged contravention on land that is under statutory control. As a matter of fact and law, MET will be well aware that they cannot use the PoFA provisions because Stansted Airport is not 'relevant land'.

If Stansted Airport wanted to hold owners or keepers liable under Airport Bylaws, that would be within the landowner's gift and another matter entirely. However, not only is that not pleaded, it is also not legally possible because MET is not the Airport owner and your 'parking charge' is not and never attempts to be a penalty. It is created for MET’s own profit (as opposed to a bylaws penalty that goes to the public purse) and MET has relied on contract law allegations of breach against the driver only.

The registered keeper cannot be presumed or inferred to have been the driver, nor pursued under some twisted interpretation of the law of agency. Your NtK can only hold the driver liable. MET have no hope at POPLA, so you are urged to save us both a complete waste of time and cancel the PCN.”

Of course Met Parking declined my appeal and gave me a POPLA verification code. However I have been working away for over 3 weeks and have now unfortunately missed the 28 day appeal deadline (deadline was 23 May but I only got home on 31 May).

Have I missed the opportunity to defeat these crooks or would anyone be able to kindly point me in the right direction of what to do next?

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