Given the move is now imminent (next month), there are two sensible ways to handle the address issue and avoid any unnecessary mishaps while this claim is waiting to be transferred to your local county court.
First, it helps to be clear what stage the case is at. You have filed the N180 and completed the mandatory mediation call. The next step is allocation. Any day now, the case should be transferred to your local county court and that court will then issue directions, including the hearing fee deadline. In practice, this is exactly the point at which DCB Legal always discontinue defended low-value parking claims. That is why I am not concerned about this claim running all the way to a final hearing, provided you do not create any avoidable procedural problems in the meantime.
Your options now are:
Option 1: Do nothing until allocation, then update addresses properly once the local court is identified (recommended at this point)
Because allocation is imminent, it is usually cleaner to wait until you receive the Notice of Transfer/Allocation and we know which local county court has the file. Once that happens, you can update the address formally with the court and, in parallel, inform DCB Legal and ECP. This avoids correspondence going to the wrong court office and reduces the risk of administrative confusion.
Option 2: Notify immediately if your current address will stop being reliable before allocation
If there is any real risk that post at your current address will not be monitored over the next few weeks (for example, you will physically leave before completion, the property will be empty, or you will not have a reliable way to receive and act on letters), then you should notify now. The goal is not to “help” the claimant. The goal is simply to ensure that any directions order is not sent to an address where you will never see it.
If you can keep your current UK address reliably monitored until allocation occurs, Option 1 is the neatest approach.
Who needs to be notified, and in what order
1. The court (top priority)
The court record is what matters. If you move and the court is still using the old UK address, you risk missing directions, deadlines, or a hearing notice.
2. DCB Legal (second priority)
They should be told at the same time as (or immediately after) the court is updated, so they cannot later claim they served something at your “last known address”.
3. ECP (lowest priority)
ECP are the claimant, but DCB Legal run the litigation. Informing ECP separately is optional and not essential if DCB Legal are informed. If you do inform ECP, it should be identical and purely administrative.
What to send when the time comes
Once allocation has happened and we know the local county court, you will send a short notice giving:
• the claim number
• your full name
• your existing address (the one currently on the claim)
• your new address for service
• the effective date of the change (for example, the completion date or the date you leave the UK)
• a clear statement that this is your address for service of documents in this claim and that all future correspondence must be sent there
If you have a settled foreign address with proof (utility bill, bank statement, tenancy document, etc.), you can provide that as your address for service. If you do not yet have a settled foreign address, the safest alternative is a reliable UK address (a trusted family member) purely for service, with the agreement that anything from the court is opened immediately and scanned to you. The only objective is to ensure you do not miss a court order.
Why this is worth doing even though DCB Legal will 99.9% discontinue
The claim is very likely to be discontinued once the local court issues directions and the hearing fee deadline approaches. That is standard DCB Legal behaviour on defended low-value parking claims. However, the purpose of updating the address is to avoid the only realistic “SNAFU” that can still happen before discontinuance, which is an avoidable procedural problem caused by missed post.
The remote risk if you do not update the address
If you move abroad and do not update the court and DCB Legal, there is a small risk that the local court issues directions to the old address, you do not see them, and you miss a deadline. If a court order is ignored and there is no response when required, the claimant can ask the court to enter judgment in default. In the real world this is extremely unlikely in a defended case with DCB Legal, but it is not impossible if the court sends something you never receive and a deadline passes without compliance. This is why the address update is sensible: it prevents the only mechanism by which a problem could arise while you are waiting for discontinuance.
What effect a default CCJ would have on you
For the purposes of your move abroad, it is unlikely to affect your day-to-day life. The practical issue is only if you retain UK connections. A CCJ remains on the England & Wales register for six years. If, within that six-year period, you decide to return permanently to the UK, apply for UK credit, rent a property, obtain a mortgage, or undergo a credit-based check, it may cause problems. Similarly, if you maintain a UK financial interest such as a UK bank account with funds, or any UK assets, that is where any enforcement effort would be directed (even though for this value it is almost never pursued). If you are severing UK ties completely and will not return, it is mostly a nuisance rather than a real-world threat, but it is still better not to leave an avoidable procedural risk hanging.
So, the sensible plan from here
• If your current UK address will remain reliably monitored over the next few weeks, wait for the case to be allocated to your local county court and then notify in priority order: court first, then DCB Legal, then ECP only if you want belt-and-braces.
• If there is any chance your UK post will not be monitored before allocation, notify sooner rather than later so you do not miss a directions order.
• Either way, the aim is not to assist the claimant; it is simply to prevent missed correspondence while you wait for the discontinuance that is overwhelmingly likely to happen once directions are issued and the hearing fee deadline arrives.
For the mediation call, the only requirement is for you "attend" the call. It is not part of the judicial process and no judge is involved.
This is what I advise you to say when you receive the call from the mediator:
“Before I set out my position, please confirm from the claimant’s side:
• the full name of the person attending for them;
• their role/position at their legal representative’s firm; and
• whether they hold written authority to negotiate and settle today.
Please relay that back to me before we continue.”
After the mediator calls back...
If identified and authority confirmed:
“Thank you. I’m content to proceed on that basis. My settlement offer is £0, or I invite the claimant to discontinue with no order as to costs.”
If no/unclear authority:
“Please record that the claimant’s attendee has not confirmed settlement authority. My position remains that liability is denied and my offer is £0, subject to prompt approval by an authorised solicitor if they choose to discontinue.”
If the mediator probes your defence:
”In what capacity are you asking that question? Are you legally trained? If not, please refrain from offering opinions. I will be reporting any attempt to do so as inappropriate.”
All you need to know is the name and the position of the person acting for the claimant and report that back to us. It will be over within minutes. Complete waste of time otherwise.
All normal. Just follow this advice:
Having received your own N180 (make sure it is not simply a copy of the claimants N180) or been notified on MCOL that yours has been sent, do not use the paper form. Ignore all the other forms that came with it. you can discard those. Download your own N180 DQ here and fill it in on your computer. You sign it by simply typing your full name in the signature box.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/673341e779e9143625613543/N180_1124.pdf
Here are the answers to some of the less obvious questions:
• The name of the court is "Civil National Business Centre".
• To be completed by "Your full name" and you are the "Defendant".
• C1: "YES"
• D1: "NO". Reason: "I wish to question the Claimant about their evidence at a hearing in person and to expose omissions and any misleading or incorrect evidence or assertions.
Given the Claimant is a firm who complete cut & paste parking case paperwork for a living, having this case heard solely on papers would appear to put the Claimant at an unfair advantage, especially as they would no doubt prefer the Defendant not to have the opportunity to expose the issues in the Claimants template submissions or speak as the only true witness to events in question.."
• F1: Whichever is your nearest county court. Use this to find it: https://www.find-court-tribunal.service.gov.uk/search-option
• F3: "1".
• Sign the form by simply typing your full name for the signature.
When you have completed the form, attach it to a single email addressed to both dq.cnbc@justice.gov.uk and info@dcblegal.co.uk and CC in yourself. Make sure that the claim number is in the subject field of the email.
Easily dealt with and if you follow the advice given here, you will not be paying a penny to ECP. For now, all you have to do is respond to the Letter of Claim (LoC) by email to info@dcblegal.co.uk and CC yourself with the following:
Dear Sirs,
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
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.
Yours faithfully,
[Your name]
Eventually, a claim is going to be issued. However, it is easily defended with our advice and there is the 99.9% likelihood that it will be struck out or discontinued before they have to pay the £27 trial fee. You can do a search of the forum for other DCB Legal issued claims. Their M.O. is to hope that you are low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree and will pay up out of ignorance and fear.
Keep us informed with progress and we will advise further when the claim is issued.