Received a letter today from DCBL regarding an alleged parking offense in a local car park connected to a council run leisure Centre.
Parking limit is 2.5 hours but DCBL claim I overstayed my welcome and I need to pay £170 or have a nice man knock at my door.
DCBL offer no evidence of the length of time I was parked. No mention in my letter and no photographic evidence to validate their claim. The letter implies that I’ve already received a letter and have ignored it. This is not the case. This is the first I’ve heard of this alleged offense which took place on 11/12/23.
Ignore the letter or is there another route I should take? TiA
No "offence" has been committed so stop calling it that. DCBL have not issued the "ticket". Have a read of their letter and see who they are acting on behalf of.
DCBL are only a debt collector and have no authority to do anything to you. They are hoping you are low hanging fruit on the gullible tree and will succumb to their threats. They have no power and you can safely ignore DCBL. Do not attempt to communicate with them, at all!
Now, please read the
READ THIS thread and provide us with the detail requested.
If this is the first you have heard about this, check the address on your V5C logbook. Nine times out of ten people move house and update their licence but not the V5C. Go check now.
Once you've read the READ THIS thread and complied with what is asked of you, you will likely get more advice that will be of use to you.
First letter received. Title
Notice of debt recovery - unpaid parking charge £170.
Goes on to say I have an unpaid charge and DCBL have been instructed by their customer to collect the debt. The customer as it states on the letter is Civil Enforcement Ltd.
Parked in same car park for the last 6 months on a regular basis. The signage is there ( max stay 2.5 hrs) but it’s not exactly obvious.
The letter then goes on to say that I have 14 days to pay. This case is not subject to high court of bailiff action however if you fail to contact us we will recommend to our client the commencement of legal action.
Location? V5C address correct?
All we know is that you were issued a speculative invoice for an alleged breach of contract from an unregulated private parking company of ex-clampers that goes by the name of Civil Enforcement Ltd.
You've already been advised to ignore DCB Ltd. Ignore everything they mention about anything. They can recommend to their client that you be tarred and feathered, it makes not one iota of difference. The words "court" and "bailiffs" are just inserted to intimidate you. They are powerless to do anything.
DCB Ltd are not a party to the contract the driver has allegedly breached. You, as the keeper of the vehicle, may be liable or you may not. It will depend on what the actual alleged breach of contract is and how they have worded their Notice to Keeper (NtK) that you have not received.
V5 address correct. Location..council run leisure Centre car park in Hertford.
We need to see the docs themselves(hosted externally), pl do not try to transpose.
We need to see the docs themselves(hosted externally), pl do not try to transpose.
Or we could try reading the OP's post where he explains that he never received the original notice(s).
Email a complaint to Civil Enforcement stating that you never received the original NtK and that under the BPA CoP rule 23.8 as you never received the original NtK, you were unable to appeal. Unless they are able to provide strict proof of posting the NtK, they should re-issue the NtK. Failure to comply will result in a complaint to the BPA.
The operator must have a process for considering appeals received outside of the normal 28-day period allowed for lodging an appeal where the appellant provides evidence of exceptional circumstances for the appeal not being lodged within the normal timeframes – where the addressee only discovers and can show that a parking charge notice has been issued in their name after the 28-day period the period must restart and any enforcement, excluding court action, must be paused.
It's a very wishy washy paragraph that is almost impossible to prove. However, the BPA have added this to the latest CoP, probably because they know that the upcoming legislation will require them to re-issue PCNs that are not received. They will wan their members to start abiding by these new rules in preparation for the introduction of the Parking on Private Land (Code of Practice) Act 2019.
It is not an appeal as they will not accept one at this stage. Whilst you cannot prove you received one, they equally cannot prove they sent one. The NtK should be reissued and the clock started again. You will be able to lodge a POPLA appeal if they then reject your original appeal.
Ok so it appears there has been a faux pas. When I asked someone if the V5 had the correct address on they said yes. What they actually meant to say is no. This has now been rectified. But.. If my V5 has/had the incorrect address on how did DCBL get my new/current address?
Ok so it appears there has been a faux pas. When I asked someone if the V5 had the correct address on they said yes. What they actually meant to say is no. This has now been rectified. But.. If my V5 has/had the incorrect address on how did DCBL get my new/current address?
A simple credit reference search.
This is good though. You can now evidence that the original NtK was never received.
Whilst you could face a real “fine” up to £1,000 for not updating your details, It is highly unlikely. It is not surprising that so many people forget to update their V5C or are unaware that updating their drivers licence has nothing to do with the V5C even though it is the same agency that deals with it.
So, now you write to CE and explain that you did not receive the original NtK as it was sent to an old address. They should now re-issue the NtK to you, the keeper, at your current address and they should restart the clock and allow you to appeal as per BPA CoP rule 23.8.
Also inform them that you have sent a
data rectification notice to their DPO with an
instruction that they must
update their records with your
current address for service and they must
delete your old address.
The data rectification notice should go to their DPO whose details can be found in CEs privacy policy on their website. Use the words underlined above in your email to the DPO.
So now I’ve been sent a copy of a letter I didn’t receive (wrong address) and this has come from CEL who apparently run the council owned car park.
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When I asked someone if the V5 had the correct address on they said yes. What they actually meant to say is no. This has now been rectified. But.. If my V5 has/had the incorrect address on how did DCBL get my new/current address?
??
You asked someone whether your V5C had the correct address? Who is the registered keeper?
IMO, because of this revelation CEL have no obligation to re-issue the NTK (and wind back their clock) because the keeper failing to maintain current DVLA V5C details is not an 'exceptional circumstance'.
But as you're beyond any stage prescribed under PoFA or the creditor's code of practice you might as well tell them because the ball's in their court anyway as regards the next step.
The car is in my name but a family member is the main driver of the car and has the V5 in their possession.
You're going to have to explain that.
Whose name is on the V5C?
Whose address is on the V5C?