Excel Parking & BW Legal

kurt82

Well there have been plenty of posts about these guys and I know there's plenty of advice about how to approach appeals etc but unfortunately my case has progressed somewhat.

I first got a fine back in August 2015 at The Peel Centre in Stockport. I did actually buy a ticket but only after going into a couple of shops and realising I hadn't bought one. I thought as no ticket was on my car I'd been given 10 minutes grace or there were not parking attendants but a week later I got a letter through the post asking for a £60 fee.
I phoned them and explained that I bought a ticket after about 10 minutes of being in the car park but they said it was over 10 minutes before the purchase of any ticket. I said I didn't agree with the fine but didn't get anywhere with the person on the phone.
I looked at advice online and asked friends and decided to ignore it and not pay. I got a few more reminder letters with the price increasing but eventually they stopped and I heard nothing for the last 6 months. I recently applied for a credit score and noticed there was a CCJ from Northampton county court on my file at a previous address. I contacted them and they said the case was with BW Legal and related to a parking fine. I contacted BW legal and explained that I'd heard nothing of any CCJ and that they'd been trying to contact me at a previous address. The fee is now at £256 and I have a CCJ against me and I'm told that if I wish to appeal this it will cost me £250.
I checked with the DVLA and my car was registered at the previous address at the time of the initial ticket being issued and wasn't registered at my new address until September. That may well mean I'm snookered? As much as it pains me I may have to just bite the bullet and pay it after all unless anyone has any suggestions?

Fruitcake

The advice to ignore has not been given here since the law changed in 2012.

You can apply for a set aside judgement which will cost 255 quid. If you win you will get it back and the CCJ will be cleared. Alternatively I think you can pay it so it will appear as satisfied but still appear on your credit rating.

kurt82

Yeh I'm not confident I'd win all things considered and I don't want to double the costs so looks like I'll have to pay. At least this can serve as a reminder to people that ignoring it can come back to bite you

The_Deep

Probably the wisest decision. I believe that you can add a comment on your credit record as it appears that neither you nor DVLA acted incorrectly

kurt82

Yeh I'm told this will stay on my credit score for a few years which is a shame but I just want the matter finished with now. If there's an option to add a note to my file I certainly will though, thanks!

Coupon-mad

kurt82 wrote: »

Yeh I'm told this will stay on my credit score for a few years which is a shame but I just want the matter finished with now. If there's an option to add a note to my file I certainly will though, thanks!

Why are you not trying to get this set aside, so you can have the judgment fully removed and then attend a hearing? Same as this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5518411

Set aside costs £255 to the court, as explained there in that thread, act pretty quickly. At least there would then by no CCJ and you could defend the claim and we'd assist you to write a defence. Even if you then lost at a hearing there would be no CCJ if you then paid the £170 or so if you lose.

Do you qualify for fee waiver, re any benefits, to mitigate the £255 court fee? Although you need to decide fairly quickly what to do, do not rush to pay them today/this week. It is worth spending some days mulling over your options instead of just paying the company £256 but still having the CCJ marked 'satisfied' but lingering on your file stopping you getting credit.

I've dubbed this the new form of clamping. It's worse because instead of just clamping cars and holding them to ransom, it 'clamps the finances' of the public.

Please complain to your MP and also to Watchdog, who are likely to be putting together a new series to start next month or so. You can report your story online just by filling in some boxes on the BBC website. This new form of 'clamping finances' by private parking firms who only have an old address and no incentive to bother to locate their victims properly and ensure that claim paperwork is received by their victim (and you are a victim), needs more publicity and public outrage.