Free Traffic Legal Advice

Thanks,

I sent that off, and got this email in return:

We write in response to your correspondence received in our office.
We now respond to the same as follows.

Schedule 4 (4)(1) of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (“the Act”) states “The creditor has the right to recover any unpaid parking charges from the keeper of the vehicle”. For the purpose of the Act; “keeper” means the person by whom the vehicle is kept at the time the vehicle was parked, which in the case of a registered vehicle is to be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be the registered keeper. The DVLA confirmed that you were the Registered Keeper at the time the parking charge was issued and as no transfer of liability has been received by our Client, they have the right to recover the parking charge from you as the Keeper of the vehicle.
 
The Notice to Keeper was issued to you. A copy is attached. You were afforded the opportunity to; appeal the parking charge, transfer liability to the driver (if it was not you) or make payment. Neither a successful appeal, nor an adequate nomination were received, yet payment remains outstanding.
 
The Final Notification Letter was 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.
 
Please note the timeframe in which to appeal the Parking Charge has expired. You were given the opportunity to lodge an appeal when the initial Notice was issued to you. Given that the case has been escalate to this firm for recovery action, the time to appeal has now elapsed and payment of the PC is now required.
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: -

You must quote the correct case reference () when making payment. If you do not, we may be unable to correctly allocate the payment. If further action is taken by us as a result of an incorrect reference being quoted, you will be liable for any further fees or costs incurred.

Thanks, that’s really helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to explain it.

I’ve never identified the driver in any correspondence, so it sounds like if ECP can’t rely on keeper liability under PoFA, they’d need to prove who was driving, which they don’t appear to have evidence of.

At this stage, is the best approach simply to ignore any further DCBL letters and wait to see if DCB Legal issue a Letter of Claim? If they do, I’ll come back here before responding.

Thanks again for your help.

Thanks for the advice on the SAR. I've now received ECP's response.

The SAR includes:

ANPR images of the vehicle entering at 12:06:53 and exiting at 12:38:59 on 03/08/2025.
DVLA response showing they requested and received my keeper details on 08/08/2025.
NTK dated 08/08/2025 and addressed to the correct DVLA address.
A final notification letter dated 07/09/2025.

I genuinely never received the NTK or final notification letter and only became aware of the charge when DRP started writing to me. However, ECP now have copies of both documents on file and the address shown is correct.

I've attached/redacted copies of the NTK wording. I note they are missing my latest correspondence past my initial email.

Given the above, do any PoFA or procedural issues remain that are worth pursuing, or does the NTK appear compliant on its face?

For context, the alleged contravention is "No valid payment or validation made to cover the duration of stay" at Weavers Wharf, Kidderminster. The stay was approximately 32 minutes.

Appreciate any views before I decide how to deal with any future DCB Legal correspondence.

Hi all, first post, looking for a sense check on where I stand before anything formal arrives.

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THE BASICS
Parking company: Euro Car Parks
Location: Weavers Wharf, Kidderminster
Date of alleged contravention: August 2025
Site type: ANPR, reason given as "no valid payment or validation to cover duration of stay"
My position: I am the registered keeper. The vehicle was sold a few weeks after the alleged contravention date.

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THE ISSUE
I never received the original Notice to Keeper. The first correspondence I was aware of was a letter from Debt Recovery Plus demanding £170. I believe the NTK may not have reached me due to the vehicle being sold shortly after the parking date.

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CORRESPONDENCE TIMELINE
Step 1 - My initial contact via ECP website contact form
Upon receiving the DRP letter I submitted a message via ECP's website requesting a copy of the original notice, photos, and confirmation of the original charge amount. I cited PoFA 2012 and noted ECP remains the legal creditor.

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Step 2 - ECP's response
ECP replied from a no-reply address stating they could not accept my correspondence as the matter had been passed to DRP, and that all communication must now go through them.

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Step 3 - My formal email to ECP appeals address
As I could not reply to the no-reply address I forwarded the chain to the appeals email listed on their website at the time. In this email I confirmed I was not refusing payment, offered to settle at the original charge amount, cited Schedule 4 PoFA 2012 noting ECP remains legal creditor and DRP has no independent standing, requested ECP either accept direct payment or confirm they were not pursuing the matter, and noted I did not consent to further third party data processing under UK GDPR. ECP never replied.

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Step 4 - Attempted further contact after DCBL letter arrived
When I later tried to chase via the appeals email I received an automated response stating that address is no longer in use, directing me to the website contact form. When I used the contact form I received an automated response saying the matter had been referred to DCBL and to speak to them. ECP have effectively closed off all direct communication routes.

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DRP LETTERS
I have DRP chaser letters dated 3rd November, 18th November, 3rd December and 31st December. I do not have the original DRP letter or any correspondence before early November as some letters were lost during a house move. No formal Letter Before Claim was received at any point during the DRP correspondence period.

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MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENT
After moving house I received my first ever letter from DCBL (Direct Collection Bailiffs Ltd) acting for ECP. The letter states £170 is owed, gives 14 days to pay or contact them, explicitly states it is NOT subject to High Court or bailiff action, and says they may recommend their client commence legal action.

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WHERE I AM NOW
No LBC. No court claim. First DCBL letter only at this stage. I have copies of my ECP correspondence and the four DRP letters available if helpful. I did not appeal via POPLA as I was unaware of the charge until the DRP letter arrived, by which point that window had long passed.

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MY QUESTIONS
Is the DCBL letter a standard pre-action step or does it indicate court action is genuinely closer?
Given the NTK was never received, is ECP's keeper liability position under PoFA 2012 weakened?
Should I respond to DCBL at all, or sit tight?
If a claim arrives, is £170 likely to be the enforceable amount or would a court reduce it?
Any known history of ECP/DCBL issuing claims for this site or at this value?
Given ECP have blocked all direct communication routes, does this strengthen my position at all?

Thanks in advance.

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