Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi everyone,

I am hoping to get some advice from the experts here on a Letter of Claim I have received from DCB Legal, acting for Euro Car Parks. I am the registered keeper and intend to deny the claim, but I wanted to run the situation past you all first.

Past experiences with Euro Car Parks have instilled a strict habit of ensuring valid paid parking is always in place, which is exactly why these events were recorded as they happened when parking could not be purchased.

Here is a quick breakdown of what happened:

• The driver entered the car park at The Priory Shopping Centre, Dartford around 16:50 on Saturday 16 August 2025.
• The driver immediately attempted to pay using the operator's designated RingGo app but kept receiving an error message.
• The driver was not simply waiting around until 17:00 for the free parking to commence; they made several genuine attempts to pay during this 10-minute window.
• After several failed attempts, the app refused payment at 16:59 and displayed a message: "Parking is currently free in this location. Please check nearby signs for when charges resume."
• Screenshots were taken at this point. These contain unalterable metadata showing the exact time, location, and system error, proving the driver was completely unable to pay despite trying.
• Physical signs state charges apply Monday to Saturday from 07:00 to 17:00. Because the app explicitly advised it was free just before this charging period ended, the driver relied on that information.

I later received a PCN claiming a breach for not having a valid pay and display ticket. I appealed as the keeper, explaining their system was at fault, but Euro Car Parks rejected the appeal on 8 October 2025. I missed their rejection letter at the time, which meant I also missed the POPLA deadline.

I have now received a Letter of Claim from DCB Legal dated 20 February 2026, pursuing £170. My stance is that a motorist cannot be penalised for breach of contract when the operator's own payment system makes it impossible to pay and explicitly says no tariff is due.

 I'd really appreciate your thoughts on whether this is a robust defence before I move forward.

Thanks very much in advance for your time and guidance. 

(Really sorry I'm such a noob I couldn't get the formatting right)











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Thank you so much for your response. For the life of me I can't seem to find the original PCN. I must have banished it the depths of hell after I responded. Thankfully, I've not outed the driver and have addressed everything from the presecptive of registered keeper.

Great idea, thank you will do just that.