Free Traffic Legal Advice

Don't ignore a Letter of Claim (LoC). However, they are going to issue a claim. The good thing is that any claim issued by DCB Legal, as long as it is defended, is either struck out or discontinued.

DCB Legal is acting on behalf of a private parking company. Which company? Do you still have the original Parking Charge Notice (PCN)? It will have either been issued as a Notice to Driver (NtD) which would have been stuck to the windscreen or as a postal Notice to Keeper (NtK).

We do not need to see any reminders or debt recovery letters.

READ THIS FIRST - Private Parking Charges Forum guide

READ THIS FIRST - Private Parking Charges Forum guide

In order to be able to provide advice, we need more information - please read the thread linked to above and provide as much of the information it asks for as you are able to.

You are either the Registered Keeper or you aren't. There is no legal reference to the "owner" in parking contractual disputes. If you have not previously engaged with ECP about this matter, they have no idea who the driver is and you are under no legal obligation to provide those details to an unregulated private parking company.

If you are low-hanging fruit on the gullible tree, then you can go ahead an pay the £100 charge and the added fake £70 fee. Otherwise, you can take our advice and respond to the Letter of Claim (LoC) from DCB Legal and, when it arrives (it will), defend the claim.

No one who defends a claim from ECP issued by DCB Legal pays a penny of they follow our advice as it will either be struck out of discontinued. Your choice.

I suggest you respond as follows, by email to info@dcblegal.co.uk and you also CC in yourself as long as you have not previously engaged with ECP in any appeals process:

Dear Sirs,

Your Letter of Claim, dated 28th April 2025, 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.

I am the registered keeper of the vehicle. I am not obliged to identify the driver and I decline to do so. As there is no legal presumption that the keeper of a vehicle was its driver on any particular occasion, your client cannot pursue me as driver as per VCS v Edward (2023) [H0KF6C9C].

As you and your client are well aware, there can be no keeper liability as defined in Schedule 4 to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 as they have already stated that they are not relying on the Act. So your client cannot pursue me as keeper.

As your client cannot pursue me as driver or keeper, it would be an abuse of the court’s process for your client to issue a claim against me and I will defend any such claim vigorously and seek costs in relation to your client’s unreasonable and vexatious conduct under Part 27.14(2)(g)

As your letter lacks specificity and breaches the requirements of the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (paragraphs 3.1(a)-(d), 5.1 and 5.2) as well as the Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct (paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c)), you must treat this letter as a formal request for all of the documents/information that the protocol now requires your client to provide. Your client must not issue proceedings without complying with that protocol.

As solicitors you must surely be familiar with the requirements of both the Practice Direction and the Pre-Action Protocol for debt claims and your client, as a serial litigator of debt claims, should likewise be aware of them. As you (and your client) must know, the Practice Direction and Protocol bind all potential litigants, whatever the size or type of the claim. Its express purpose is to assist parties in understanding the claim and their respective positions in relation to it, to enable parties to take stock of their positions and to negotiate a settlement, or at least narrow the issues, without incurring the costs of court proceedings or using up valuable court time. It is embarrassing that a firm of Solicitors are sending a consumer a vague and un-evidenced 'Letter Before Claim' in complete ignorance of the pre-existing Practice Direction and the Pre-Action Protocol.

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. An explanation of the cause of action
2. whether they are pursuing me as driver or keeper
3. whether they are relying on the provisions of Schedule 4 of POFA 2012
4. what the details of the claim are; for how long it is claimed the vehicle was parked, how the monies being claimed arose and have been calculated
5. Is the claim for a contractual breach? If so, what is the date of the agreement? The names of the parties to it and provide to me a copy of that contract.
6. If the claim is for a contractual breach, photographs showing the vehicle was parked in contravention of said contract.
7. Is the claim for trespass? If so, provide details.
8. Provide me a copy of the contract with the landowner under which they assert authority to bring the claim, as required by the BPA/IPC Private Parking Single Code of Practice (PPSCoP).
9. a plan showing where any signs were displayed
10. Photographs of the signs displayed (size of sign, size of font, height at which displayed) at the time of any alleged contravention.
11. Provide details of the original charge, and detail any interest and administrative or other charges added
12. Am I to understand that the additional £70 represents what is dressed up as a 'Debt Recovery' fee, and if so, is this nett or inclusive of VAT? If the latter, would you kindly explain why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT?
13. With regard to the principal alleged PCN sum: Is this damages, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking?

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

Hi again:) So as I said before, I did send an email with your suggested template. Today I received that response and some attached photos.I will post all photos they sent me too. This is they email:Dear Ewa Grzebinoga, 

We write in response to your correspondence received in our office on 15th May 2025.

It is our position that the Letter of Claim (LOC) is compliant with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (the Protocol). The LOC provides adequate information for you to identify the debt that our Client is seeking to recover. We respectfully draw your attention to paragraph 2.1(c) of the Protocol and remind you that both parties are expected to act reasonably and proportionately.

As per your request, please find attached the evidence we hold concerning the Parking Charge issued on 18th February 2024. If there are any documents that you have requested, but that are not enclosed with this email, it is because we have deemed the request to be disproportionate and/or not relevant to the substantive issues in dispute.

The sum added is a contribution to the actual costs incurred by our Client as a result of your non-payment. Our Client’s employees have spent time and material attempting to recover the debt. This is not our Client’s usual business and the resources could have been better spent in other areas of the business. Had you of paid as per the Contract, there would have been no need for recovery action so the amount due would not have increased.

Please note, the HMRC ‘VAT Supply and Consideration manual’ (VATSC06140), which was last updated on 02 September 2020, confirmed that Parking Charges fall out of the scope of VAT. 

You now have 30 days from the date of this email to make payment of the outstanding balance of £170.00. Failure to make payment will result in a Claim being issued against you without any further reference.

Payment can be made via bank transfer to our designated client account: -

Account Name: DCB Legal Ltd Client Account 
Sort Code: 20-24-09 
Account Number: 60964441
You must quote the correct case reference (120673.102219D) 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.

Alternatively, you can contact DCB Legal Ltd on 0203 838 7038 to make payment over the telephone or online at https://dcblegal.co.uk/response/pay-online/.

Kind Regards,

 

Emily Maloney

 

DCB Legal Ltd 

 
Would you help me with the next step, please?  Any advice I can follow?
I'm still unsure if the driver purchased a ticket. The notice letters which attached were sent to the wrong address (previous address- the driverer holds from 2020 driver's licence with the current address).

Thank you in advance. 

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

The notice letters which attached were sent to the wrong address (previous address- the driverer holds from 2020 driver's licence with the current address).

if you are the Registered Keeper and your V5 does not show your current address you MUST update it without delay. it is an offence not to do this.
note updating your drivers licence DOES NOT update your V5

Hello So I received today response from DCBlegal on the email I sent.I basically copied and pasted last template from helpful b789 (about not enough evidences)

The response from DCBlegal :
We write in response to your correspondence received in our office on 13th June 2025. 

As previously advised, if there are any documents that you have requested, but that are not include within any of our correspondence, it is because we have deemed the request to be disproportionate and/or not relevant to the substantive issues in dispute. We respectfully draw your attention to paragraph 2.1(c) of the Protocol and remind you that both parties are expected to act reasonably and proportionately

The amount owed is no more than the original amount of the Parking Charge plus the recovery fee. Furthermore, our Client is a member of the British Parking Association and pursuant to 24.1b, “Where a Parking Charge becomes overdue and before Court Proceedings have commenced, a reasonable sum (which covers the cost of recovering debt) may be added for the debt recovery fees. This sum must not exceed £70 unless prior approval from the BPA has been granted”. No VAT has been added as the sum owed is a legally owed debt.

It is noted that you are refusing to name the driver on the date in question. It is therefore our position that as the initial notice was issued to you under Schedule 4 (4)(1) of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which states “The creditor has the right to recover any unpaid parking charges from the keeper of the vehicle”; and as no transfer of liability has been received by our Client, the Client have the right to recover the parking charge from you as the Keeper of the vehicle.

You now have 14 days from the date of this email to make payment of the outstanding balance of £170.00. Failure to make payment will result in a Claim being issued against you. 

Payment can be made via bank transfer to our designated client account: -

Account Name: DCB Legal Ltd Client Account   
Sort Code: 20-24-09   
Account Number: 60964441
You must quote the correct case reference (120673.102219D) 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.

Alternatively, you can contact DCB Legal Ltd on 0203 838 7038 to make payment over the telephone or online at https://dcblegal.co.uk/response/pay-online/.

Kind Regards,

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you think they won't leave me alone ? No any attachment about in ticket machine was working. Nothing . Please advise me what to do It is simply unfair, they do not have any knowlegde if everything was working fine and I have to pay for that . I dont understand that world anymore.
Any advice will be much appreciated..  thank you

b789, you are my hero, seriously I did that. I will inform you if they will send something more.. Thank you a lot