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#Post#: 111286--------------------------------------------------
Euro Car Parks/DCBL Letter of Claim - 4 mins consideration,
<10 mins over paid time
DIR By: butchos12
Date: February 26, 2026, 3:23 pm
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[left]Hi All
First time post, so forgive transgressions! I have also started
to respond to the claim by myself, so again please go easy on
mistakes this far.
Basic facts, May 2025, entered car park 10:35hrs , paid £2 for 2
hours, contactless at 10:39(50s), left 12:49(25s).
I did not receive the initial charge as I had failed to update
the V5. When I subsequently updated the V5, I received the
'Final Reminder' for £170 in Jan 2026. Picture of notice here
[img]
HTML https://ibb.co/7NZFQh6P[/img]
I responded, acknowledged that I was the driver (sorry, have now
noted this in 'read first'), but denied the claim, on the basis
that the fee was paid within 4 mins of entry and left the car
park less than 10 minutes over the paid for time.
In addition, I set out (with photo evidence), that I had in fact
been back in the car park at 10:28, but my toddler soiled her
nappy so I changed that in the car, hence I was anywhere near 10
mins over. I reserved the right to challenge on additional
grounds should the matter proceed.
I sent a separate letter requesting further information, asking
the following:
1. You have sent pictures of me driving in and out of the car
park, not any pictures of me parked. I therefore have no
information as to the time that I was actually parked. Please
provide details of the time that you claim I was parked for and
therefore why I was in contravention of the terms.
2. Please confirm whether you are a member of the British
Parking Association and confirm which version of the Code of
Practice applied at the time.
3. Please confirm the amount that you received for payment at
the time of parking, and the exact timing of that payment.
4. Please confirm the consideration period you have registered
with ATA.
5. Please confirm, following your answers to points 1, 2, and 3
and 4, why you consider that I have exceeded the mandatory grace
period as set out in the Code of Practice.
6. Please confirm, as required under the protocol, whether
interest or other charges are continuing.
7. Please confirm that DCBL is an approved DVLA ATA registered
debt collection agency.
In response, I received a letter of claim from DCBL [amend: DCB
Legal], and a response from Euro Car Parks.
The Euro Car Parks response said that the "signage on site is
quite clear and clearly sets out the rules and regulations of
the site and tariffs (if applicable.) By entering the site the
driver has accepted the contract ... A ticket matching your
registration was purchased for £2 this would have entitled your
vehicle to park for up to 2 hours according to the clearly
displayed tariff. Your vehicle entered at 1035 and exited at
12:49, a total stay of 2 hours and 14 minutes."
The P&D/permit purchased did not cover the date and time of the
parking and therefore the notice has been issued correctly."
[/i]
DCBL [amend: DCB Legal] emailed a link to respond to the LoC. I
used the electronic portal to respond, again denying the claim,
attaching my detailed letter including photographic evidence,
and reiterating my questions.
I received an email reply saying that despite my 'points of
discpute, I had not sent any evidence'. I therefore called DCBL
[amend: DCB Legal] asking why they were stating this. I was
informed that in facf the 'points of dispute' are the questions
I had put to them. I asked to speak to a lawyer as even on their
best case i had paid within 4 minutes and left <10 mins after my
paid for period, and this was before the extenuating
circumstances I cite above. I was told my case was 'not suitable
for escalation'. However, they acknoeledged that they needed to
respond to my requests for information and agreed to do so.
So, that's where I am currently. I am logging my time and have
at each point put them on notice as to costs.
Apologies, my scanner isn't working so I can't upload other
letters at the moment. Happy to set out more detail or scan in
other docs when i'm able.
Thanks in advance for any views and suggestions on next steps.
[Edit: in case useful, this car park is in the process of being
demolished and it is not possible to take photos of any signage]
[/left]
#Post#: 111287--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro Car Parks/DCBL Letter of Claim - 4 mins consideration,
<10 mins over paid time
DIR By: butchos12
Date: February 26, 2026, 3:25 pm
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HTML https://ibb.co/7NZFQh6P
Image did not seem to load in original post...
#Post#: 111288--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro Car Parks/DCBL Letter of Claim - 4 mins consideration,
<10 mins over paid time
DIR By: jfollows
Date: February 26, 2026, 3:26 pm
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Stop talking to DCBL. You are only opening yourself up to saying
something which could be used against you later. A Letter of
Claim from DCB Legal is more important.
#Post#: 111289--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro Car Parks/DCBL Letter of Claim - 4 mins consideration,
<10 mins over paid time
DIR By: butchos12
Date: February 26, 2026, 3:28 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Apologies, the LoC and the calls are with DCB Legal. Will amend
original post.
#Post#: 111290--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro Car Parks/DCBL Letter of Claim - 4 mins consideration,
<10 mins over paid time
DIR By: jfollows
Date: February 26, 2026, 3:34 pm
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OK, so there is a well trodden path in which DCB Legal will
issue a N1SDT court claim, but which - if defended - leads to a
99% certainty of a discontinuation before having to pay the
court fee. There are many cases documented here.
#Post#: 111291--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro Car Parks/DCBL Letter of Claim - 4 mins consideration,
<10 mins over paid time
DIR By: butchos12
Date: February 26, 2026, 3:41 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you. That's reassuring. So shall I just post updates here
when I next hear from them, or is it worth reviewing the other
cases on here to save your time?
#Post#: 111292--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro Car Parks/DCBL Letter of Claim - 4 mins consideration,
<10 mins over paid time
DIR By: jfollows
Date: February 26, 2026, 3:47 pm
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Both?
Basically the more documentation, the better, and the better
informed you are, the better. Also you can’t rely on anyone
here, not me for sure, to be around when you need us!
#Post#: 111303--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro Car Parks/DCBL Letter of Claim - 4 mins consideration,
<10 mins over paid time
DIR By: InterCity125
Date: February 27, 2026, 2:06 am
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Quick question - do you by chance have the original parking
ticket that you purchased on the day?
I ask this because that ticket often contains the 'expiry time'
of said ticket.
The parking operator's are lazy with regards to the technology
which they use to issue tickets meaning, that the expiry time is
often just (in your case) 2 hours after the precise time you
made payment - therefore, if the matter ever comes to court, you
could easily demonstrate that your 'confirmation of contract'
(aka the parking ticket) specifically set out the expiry time of
your parking session.
The 'expiry time' will of course be at odds with the operators
claim - they will use the 'time on site' argument which of
course never considers the time it takes to enter and find a
space / leave the space and leave plus your grace period.
The point being, that a confirmation of contract which states
the expiry time will always trump any parking operator assertion
that suggests your time on site exceeded your paid time.
Of course, if they wished, the operator could adopt a system
where the entered registration mark would be matched up with the
entry time and, as such, a ticket could be issued which stated
the expiry time based on their 'time on site' rules - they
choose not to adopt that method.
#Post#: 111380--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro Car Parks/DCBL Letter of Claim - 4 mins consideration,
<10 mins over paid time
DIR By: ixxy
Date: February 27, 2026, 9:35 am
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You're not going to win on your interpretation of what
constitutes parking, if you did it would put a wrecking ball
through the whole ANPR business model as the operator will have
no way of knowing when you started and finished parking.
InterCity125 makes a good point about expiry times, many
operators still use receipt templates from the era of pay and
display.
#Post#: 111421--------------------------------------------------
Re: Euro Car Parks/DCBL Letter of Claim - 4 mins consideration,
<10 mins over paid time
DIR By: butchos12
Date: February 27, 2026, 1:48 pm
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Thanks. I didn't retain the ticket, but their correspondence
does acknowledge a. the time of payment and b. that it entitled
me to 2 hours parking. This is why it seems such a nonsense to
me that they are even continuing the claim. But thanks. I'll
post next correspondence here.
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