BW Legal - Letter Of Claim - What Now?

Hanbobs

Hello Guys! Advice needed!

In a nutshell:

• Parking fine sent in post of August 2013 from EXCEL PARKING SERVICES LTD
• All letters ignored by myself
• Most recent letter to arrive is from DW Legal and is a LETTER OF CLAIM mentioning CCJs if I do not pay the sum of £154 within the next few days.

The details:

I received a parking fine in the post after parking in an EXCEL car park back in August 2013 at the Peel Centre in Stockport. At the time I was unaware of the parking charges until I received a spam type letter in the post issuing me with the fine and demanding I pay. Having looked online and after reading the advice at the time I decided to simply ignore the letters and cast them to the side as junk. For a while after receiving my first letter I received the usual letters from what I can only guess is another department working alongside Excel claiming to be acting on their behalf. Again, I ignored every letter that came my way. I also never made any attempt to get in touch with them or anyone demanding money on their behalf.

Recently I received similar letters from BW Legal regarding the same fine and also demanding payment. Again I ignored these and then I was sent a FINAL NOTICE threatening court action and a CCJ which again I ignored.

The most recent letter to arrive from BW Legal is a LETTER OF CLAIM. Please see below for details.

Any advice on what I should do next would be really helpful. Am I just panicking because of the mention of a CCJ and County Court Proceedings or have EXCEL stepped it up a notch and will this "case" go anywhere I don't pay up? :eek::mad:

Thanks in advance! :beer:

Further to our letter dated ...... where we requested that you either pay the Balance in full or provide your detailed grounds for disputing the PCN, by ......, we are yet to receive a payment and/or response to our letter.

Please pay the Balance by ...... to prevent legal action from being taken. For the avoidance of doubt the Balance relates to the £100 parking charge and £54 for our client's initial legal fees, which were detailed in the car park terms and conditions.

COUNTY COURT PROCEEDINGS

As we have previously brought this to your attention, in the event County Court proceedings are issued, we will be seeking recovery of not only the balance but our clients court fees, further solicitors costs and statutory interest which are estimated to be the following:

Principle Debt + Initial Legal Costs £154
Estimated Interest £24.15
Estimated Court Fees £25
Estimated Solictors Costs £50
Estimated Total £253.15

We also wish to bring to your attention the case of ParkingEye Limited v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67 in which the Supreme Court held that parking charges serve a legitimate commercial interest and are neither extravagant nor unconscionable. This case eliminates the main defence that you may have should your matter go to court and this case will be relied upon, by our client, in any County Court proceedings.

You should also note that if your claim has already processed through an Independent Appeal Service ("IAS") and an IAS has dismissed your appeal, then it is likely that a County Court will come to a similar conclusion and your defines will be unsuccessful.

If our client successfully obtains a County Court judgement ("CCJ") against you (which is likely), then a CCJ will be recorded on your credit file for 6 years unless you satisfy the CCJ in full within a month of the CCJ being entered. A CCJ on your credit file may affect your ability to obtain future credit and may affect your employability.

If you fail to comply with the CCJ order we reserve the right to take the following enforcement actions to recover your debt:

WARRENT OF CONTROL: A County Court Bailiff visiting your home.
ATTACHMENT OF EARNINGS: Your employer may be ordered to deduct payments from your wages.
ORDER TO ATTEND COURT FOR QUESTIONING: You being ordered to attend Court to disclose your financial circumstances.

In allowing you the opportunity to make representations and/or pay the balance before proceedings being issued, our Client has complied with the guidelines under the Independent Parking Committee Code of Practice ("the code") and its obligations under the Civil Procedure Rules ("CPR"). All previous correspondence in this matter will be brought to the attention of the Court should this point be raised.

To avoid proceedings being commenced and the above additional fees, costs and estimated interest being incurred, we request you pay the balance by ......

I am then given the option to call them if I am unable to pay the balance immediately.

So, is this letter official or just a load of BS?

Umkomaas

Do a search here and on PePiPoo - the forums are awash with these cases. All that could be asked has been asked and appropriate responses provided. Find some cases at the same point at which you are and follow the guidance.

In view of Theresa May's new personal intervention in all this you need to send a letter of complaint to her, including copying all the stuff you've received since this has boiled up again with you. Also send the same letter and copies to Sir Oliver Heald, Courts Minister. Send by snail mail.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3786132/I-ll-end-credit-rating-scandal-pledges-PM-acts-Mail-exposes-rulings-ruined-lives.html

By the way - it's BW Legal, not DW Legal (surely?).

Hanbobs

Thank you - it is BW Legal, I've amended this!