It’s only DCB Legal. You can ignore or, if it were me, I would respond with the following:
Subject: Your Letter of Claim – Ref: [reference number]
Dear Sirs,
Thank you for your latest template response.
You have still failed to comply with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims and the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct. In particular, you have not provided:
• A copy of the landowner contract conferring authority to enforce and litigate;
• A contemporaneous photograph of the signage in situ on the material date and a site plan of sign locations;
• The precise contractual term(s) allegedly breached;
• A proper breakdown and legal basis for the inflated sum claimed.
Your selective quotation from Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 is noted. You will be well aware that any right to recover from a keeper under paragraph 4(1) is expressly conditional upon full compliance with the mandatory requirements of the preceding paragraphs, which is denied.
Your attempt to dress up a plainly unrecoverable £70 “debt recovery” add-on as a “contribution to costs” is likewise noted. You will be aware of the growing body of County Court authority treating such sums as an abuse and unrecoverable in small claims proceedings.
In light of your continued non-compliance with the Protocol and your refusal to provide the basic documents requested, there is nothing further to discuss at the pre-action stage. Should your client commence proceedings, the claim will be defended, your conduct will be brought to the Court’s attention, and an order for costs will be sought.
For the avoidance of doubt as to my position, I refer you to the reply given in Arkell v Pressdram [1971].
Yours faithfully,
[Name]
You've chopped the top off that letter. Just respond by emailing the following to info@dcblegal.co.uk and CC yourself:
Subject: Response to your Letter of Claim Ref: [reference number]
Dear Sirs,
Your Letter Before Claim contains insufficient detail of the claim and fails to provide copies of the evidence your client places reliance upon, putting it in clear breach of the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims.
As a supposed firm of solicitors, one would expect you to comply 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 exist to facilitate informed discussion and proportionate resolution. You may wish to reacquaint yourselves with them.
The Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols (Part 3), require the exchange of sufficient information to understand each other’s position. Part 6 clarifies that this includes disclosure of key documents relevant to the issues in dispute.
Your template letter refers to a “contract” yet encloses none. That omission undermines the only foundation upon which your client’s claim allegedly rests. It is not possible to engage in meaningful pre-litigation dialogue while you decline to furnish the very document you purport to enforce.
I confirm that, once I am in receipt of a Letter Before Claim that complies with para 3.1(a), I shall seek advice and submit a formal response within 30 days, as required. Accordingly, please provide:
1. A copy of the original Notice to Keeper (NtK) and any notice chain relied upon to assert PoFA 2012 liability.
2. A copy of the contract you allege exists between your client and the driver, being an actual photograph of the sign(s) in place on the material date (not a stock image), together with a site plan showing the sign locations.
3. The precise wording of the clause(s) allegedly breached.
4. The written agreement between your client and the landowner evidencing standing/authority to enforce and to litigate.
5. A breakdown of the sums claimed, identifying whether the principal sum is claimed as consideration or damages, and whether the £70 “debt recovery” add-on includes VAT.
I am entitled to this information under paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c) of the Practice Direction, and I require it to meet my own obligation under paragraph 6(b).
If you fail to provide the above, I will treat that as non-compliance with the PAPDC and Pre-Action Conduct and will raise a formal complaint to the SRA regarding your conduct. I reserve the right to place this correspondence before the Court and to seek appropriate sanctions and costs (including, where appropriate, a stay and/or other case management orders).
Until your client complies and provides the requested material, I am unable to respond properly to the alleged claim or to consider my position. It would be premature and a waste of costs and court time to issue proceedings. Should you do so, I will seek immediate case management relief pursuant to paragraph 15(b) of the Practice Direction and an order compelling provision of the above.
Please note, I will not engage with any web portal; I will only respond by email or post.
Yours faithfully,
[Your name]