And what "evidence" did they attach to that email?
They are trying to shut down your “PAP non-compliant/provide documents” position by (a) asserting compliance, (b) asserting “appeal window expired”, (c) justifying the £70 add-on, and (d) saying they attached “evidence” but won’t provide anything else because it’s “disproportionate”.
Did they attach ANY of the following, and if so, which:
* the original PCN / Notice to Keeper (and any reminder letters)
• ANPR photos or windscreen photos
• a copy of the signage terms (ideally dated) and/or a site plan of sign locations
• a landowner authority/contract (or a witness statement asserting authority)
• a detailed breakdown explaining the principal sum and the added £70
Their “pre-estimate of loss” line is outdated/irrelevant in modern parking claims (they’re trying to sound authoritative). Likewise the “appeal window expired” point does not prevent you challenging liability pre-action, especially where you say you never received the original notices due to address issues.
So, the only thing we need from you right now is a list (or screenshots) of what was attached to DCB Legal’s email. Without that, nobody can sensibly draft the next reply because it may already be compliant (rare, but possible) or it may be the usual thin pack.
Before you FUBAR this any more than you have done so to date, stop everything you are doing and sit on your hands for a day or so. Your first big mistake was even considering communicating with a useless debt collector. They are powerless to do anything except to try and intimidate the low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree into paying out of ignorance and fear.
Luckily for you, without even seeing the Letter of Claim (LoC) and the subsequent one you will receive from DCB Legal for the (not so) Smart Parking PCN, both these companies use DCB Legal to issue their claims and as long as you now follow the advice you receive here, you will not be paying a penny to either of these unregulated private parking firms.
The first thing you UST do, because both firms hold two possible addresses for you, is to send their Data Protection Officers (DPO's) and the DCB Legal DPO is a Data Rectification Notice (DRN) that instructs them to update their records with your current address for service and to erase any other addresses they may hold. The highlighted words are there for a reasoning you should use them.
As for the LoC you have received for the ECP PCN, you can respond to info@dcblegal.co.uk and CC yourself with the following:
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]
You can use the exact same template to respond to the LoC you will receive about the (not so) Smart Parking PCN in due course.