CP+/DCB(L) ANPR PCN PAPLOC- Overstay - Moto Service Station Bridgewater

[Zimbird]

I am helping my son who is presently working in Greece.  

 

He has received a  Letter of Claim to our home address.  My 23 year old son has just finished university and was hit by the pandemic so is taking any job he can find.  Whilst at university in 2017, he had to help pay a few bills and therefore had a few part time jobs, including being a waiter, barman at festivals and events.  On this occasion he parked in a Motorway Carpark (Moto Bridgewater) after working late. He finished in the early hours of the morning and was so tired driving on the motorway that he pulled over to sleep in the car.  This was on 23.7.2017.

 

We appealed the initial Charge Order and told them at 4am the carpark was deserted and he was not harming anyone by just parking and not getting out of the car, all he needed to do was sleep.  Otherwise he was a danger on the road to other drivers including himself.   If I can remember the original parking fine (which I have left in Zimbabwe) he overstayed by an hour and left at roughly 9am.   He slept in the car.

 

His appeal was denied - but I was so incensed at the time that the appeal was denied, I said I would happily see them in court. There are always notices up on the motorway saying don't drive tired.

 

I thought it had gone away but we have just received this in the post below on 26th July 2021.

Your assistance here would be greatly appreciated too.

 

DCB Legal PAPLOC Moto Bridgewater 2.pdf

Edited August 19, 2021 by dx100uk
pdf sorted

[Bazooka Boo]

You've left the reg number on the letter. You need to remove it.

 

The general consensus is NOT to appeal as this can trip you up later.

 

How did you appeal and did you give them any names?

[dx100uk]

pdf sorted.

 

you need to reply with a snotty letter by 30 days

there are examples of what to write in this forum already 

 

pop your ideas up here 1st please.

 

it is NOT A FINE!!.

 

dx

 

[Zimbird]

Oh the car has been scrapped anyway - so the registration no longer exists.

But thank you.

I will compose a letter and then put it up for approval first.

[Zimbird]

Subject:  CP Plus Ltd t/a Groupnexus

PCN Ref: ……….

Amount Due: £170

 

I am the keeper of the vehicle, that is no longer, it was sent to the scrap yard over a year ago.

 

The offense that took place on 23 July 2017 at Moto Bridgewater is hardly an offense.

My son who was driving home, after working until 2am in the morning at a function, found himself going to sleep on the motorway.  This as you know can be fatal.

 

Being a responsible 19 year old, he decided to pull off the motorway immediately to save falling asleep at the wheel and causing possible damage to himself and a fellow motorist.

 

He stopped at the nearest motorway services, pulled over in a deserted car park (after all it was in the early hours of the morning!) and fell asleep.

He woke up 4-5 hours later and did not realise for one moment that he was in the wrong.  We feel he made the correct decision, especially as he adhered to messages on the motorway, telling him to stop if he felt tired to avoid accident.  

 

I was shocked that my initial appeal was not dropped.  We are totally prepared to go to court and believe the judgement will rule in our favour.

 

Please let me know how you wish to proceed.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Let me know your thoughts.  Sorry forgot to look up other examples.

[dx100uk]

Thats not a snotty letter.

 

use the ones already here

use our enhanced google search box

 

snotty letter dcb

 

you most certainly do not mention anything specific about the indecent

[FTMDave]

The snotty letter also needs to include a change of address, otherwise in a couple of months a second backdoor CCJ could well be on its way.

 

With different people being involved and three different countries, this is all getting a tad confusing.

 

Who did the fleecers send the Letter Before Claim to?  You?  Your son?

 

As Bazooka Boo asked, when you appealed in 2017 did you tell the fleecers who was driving the car?  This is very important.

 

 

[Zimbird]

I wrote to my son at the time:

 

 

I have appealed on your behalf for the parking at Moto Bridgewater.  You should get a copy of the appeal sent to you as I used your email address.  Please send me a copy when you get it.

Attached is proof.

It was quite weird that we both got Notices sent to us for the same parking offence, but at least I sent the same appeal to both.

Mum

The fleecers obviously sent the first letter to both my son and I at the same address - two different claims:

 

See below my appeal sent on 23.8.17

1
Further Information	I sincerely wish to appeal against the parking ticket fine that has been sent to me. My son ........ was driving the car at the time and stopped at the Moto Bridgewater services purely in the interest of safety to himself and other road users. Having felt tiredness, after working at a wedding in Cirencester, (...........) he pulled over at the services at 0344 to rest briefly on his journey home. He did not leave the car and inadvertently fell asleep. Also in his defence he was totally unaware that at the services there was a restriction on parking, he believed he could park freely and recover briefly before proceeding with his journey. Please also take into consideration the time of his parking. He was parked in an empty car park and certainly was unaware that he was contravening any parking restriction. We have always stressed to him, as a young driver (18 years old) to put safety first and never risk driving if he felt tiredness. We ask for your understanding in this matter and feel that he acted responsibly given the circumstances, therefore we request you waive the charges on this occasion. Thank you in advance for your kind consideration in this matter.
Submitted on

 

[FTMDave]

OK, thanks, but we need to know who the fleecers are threatening to take to court.  Who was the Letter of Claim sent to?

[Zimbird]

My son who was driving

[lookinforinfo]

dx100uk  you could try asking who was the letter of Claim sent by?

[dx100uk]

CP+ are the PPC, DCB(l) are the sols that sent the PAPLOC.

[lookinforinfo]

You may recall a few years ago Nicholas Bowen qc took Parking Eye to court for the same thing though possible a couple of hours less than your son's stay.

Sadly for us PE did not turn up on the day so we never got to know whether his defence would have worked. It may be that PE decided not to proceed as had they lost it would have given motorists many more avenues on which to challenge the greed of the parking crooks.

 

Sorry dx I was being a bit cheeky-not for the first time.

[FTMDave]

You need to get out of this mindset that you can do things on behalf of your son.  Of course you can help and advise him, but the legal dispute is between him and CP Plus, no-one else.  He needs to send off something like -

 

 

Dear DCB Legal,

 

Re: XXXXX

 

firstly, please note that I no longer live at XXXXX but instead at XXXXX.  Note that judges take an extremely dim view of solicitors deliberately writing to an address where they know full well the other party no longer resides.

 

Now, onto your Letter of Claim.  I had a good laugh at the idea you'd actually expect me to take it seriously and cough up!

 

I am writing to confirm that I have no intention of paying these absurd and false sums of money for allegedly breaking a fictitious contract with your client.  This whole claim is a nonsense, and I am sure any judge would agree.  Go and look up Nicholas Bowen saddos.

 

Your greedy client couldn't resist inventing £70 Unicorn Food Tax.  Nice own goal.  Judges don't appreciate claimants showing contempt for the court system.

 

Should your client wish to proceed with this farcical claim, I will be seeking recovery of costs on the basis of unreasonable behaviour, as well as damages for breach of GDPR.

 

I look forward to your deafening silence.

 

Yours,

 

COPIED TO CP PLUS LTD

 

 

As always, hang on a little while to see what the other regulars think.

 

I see on the Greek post office site  https://www.elta.gr/en-us/calculatepostage.aspx  that it would cost him €4.50 to send by priority + registered mail, so €9 in total, which is steep but worth it to avoid another backdoor CCJ.

 

However, in the long term you need to find a solution to legal letters turning up at an unchecked address.  In a sense you're "lucky" you've only hand private tickets.  There is a £1000 fine for not communicating to the DVLA where you can be easily contacted.  Is there not the address of a friend or relative in the UK you could use?  I ask having been in the same situation myself for years & years.

 

Now the fleecers "should" accept your son is in Greece and proceed accordingly but respect for the law has never been their strong point and you should prepare for the eventuality that the dishonest con artists will continue to write to the UK address.

[Zimbird]

Thank you I am going to read and re-read your advice.  

 

Ok I will share and get my son to follow the advice.  I think the letter is a great idea coming from Greece and I will make sure he gets proof from the post office etc. I might give them an address in Zimbabwe as his new address which is where he is staying when not working in Greece!

 

I am so grateful for the help.  I wish we had come to you in the first place when we received Parking Notice.  Would have saved a lot of time. If we get a response to the letter, I will come back to you.

 

We are prepared to go and stand in court and represent ourselves - as I feel strongly that people should not be exploited and harassed like this.

Cheers

 

BTW I have learnt my lesson, I am going to forward my post to a family member from now on.  I cannot go through hours of this ever again.  

 

[FTMDave]

Damn!  I've just checked the Letter of Claim and see it is dated 26 July and gives your son 30 days to reply.  They won't issue a county court claim on the 31st day but he needs to get a move on and send the letters tomorrow or on Monday.  I live in the EU myself and once you send stuff registered/recorded it takes a fortnight to get there instead of the usual 3-4 days.  Speed is of the essence here otherwise it'll be backdoor CCJ time again. 

 

In fact I would send three letters from his Greek address

   - one to the solicitors normal mail to speed things up

   - a second to the solicitors registered

   - a third to CP+ registered.

 

I know this is a pain in the backside but worth it to avoid another court claim.

 

I've tweaked the letter below to emphasise the change of address and thus not receiving the solicitors' letter until very late.

 

Well done in sorting out the UK address issue, as I say I'm in the same boat and it's always a welcome safeguard knowing someone you trust will immediately inform you of any mail that arrives that could be problematic.

 

BTW, when are you expecting to be back in Zimbabwe?  Just thinking of the timescales necessary to do what you need to do legally while you are in the UK.  Anyway - 

 

Dear DCB Legal,

 

Re: PCN XXXXX

 

firstly, please note that long ago I moved from XXXXX UK to XXXXX Greece which is why I have just become aware after a month of your Letter of Claim dated 26 July.  I am formally informing you and your clients of my new address and I would remind you that judges take an extremely dim view of solicitors deliberately writing to an address where they know full well the other party no longer resides.

 

Right, now onto your Letter of Claim.  I had a good laugh at the idea you'd actually expect me to take it seriously and cough up!

 

I am writing to confirm that I have no intention of paying these absurd and false sums of money for allegedly breaking a fictitious contract with your client.  This whole claim is a nonsense, and I am sure any judge would agree.  Go and look up Nicholas Bowen saddos.

 

Your greedy client couldn't resist inventing £70 Unicorn Food Tax.  Nice own goal.  Judges don't appreciate claimants showing contempt for the court system.

 

Should your client wish to proceed with this farcical claim, I will be seeking recovery of costs on the basis of unreasonable behaviour, as well as damages for breach of GDPR.

 

I look forward to your deafening silence.

 

Yours,

 

COPIED TO CP PLUS LTD

[dx100uk]

the letters do not need to be signed.

zimbard can send them 

[FTMDave]

But Zimbird would be sending them from the UK, stating the son lives in Greece.  I just thought the letters would look more convincing with Greek stamps on the envelopes.  And the fleecers might - emphasis on might - give up on him as he lives abroad.  As long as he does it on Monday he should be OK for time.

[dx100uk]

surely the only thing that could be p'haps be confusing would be a UK stamp and a UK sorting office stamp on the envelope, which no one would blink an eyelid at.

 

as for the letter itself it would have no indication it was posted in the UK nor hold a UK address. 

cant see either of those being a problem myself.

[Zimbird]

ok what we have done is we are sending tomorrow the two letters from Greece registered post with a Greek stamp.  

My son is also sending the second letter with the small amendments to both CP Plus and DCB Legal with a friend flying back to UK who will post it in the next 2 days. 

So 4 letters will go out to them with his Zimbabwe address on the first and his Greek address on the second.

Thank you for playing safe.  I think it is wise.

 

[FTMDave]

I don't think it's a good idea to give them two addresses.

 

It's confusing.  The fleecers could use this as an excuse to keep writing to the UK and it wouldn't look good to a judge either.  He should just tell both the solicitors and the fleecers where he is living now.

[Zimbird]

Ok then I will use the Zimbabwe address and Just say he is working in Greece.

 

[honeybee13]

So will you know if post is dellivered in Zimbabwe beteen now and when you arrive there?

 

HB

[Zimbird]

Yes my husband is going back at the end of September.

[honeybee13]

I don't really understand, the end of September is a month away. FTMDave said to tell the fleecers where your son is now. As in Greece.

 

Please wait to see what others think, but I'm not sure playing games like this is going to help.

 

HB