Just received Letter of Claim

trotbot

Hi All,

Thank you in advance for any assistance provided.

We have not responded to any previous letters from the client or their legal representation. Basically we believe the PCN is unwarranted and they do not deserve any of our time, however we have now received a letter of claim and clearly must act.

Background:
• The car is leased and the lease company redirected the correspondence.
• The driver in question is not the keeper of the car. All Correspondence since the lease company redirected has been addressed to the keeper.
• The car park in question serves a number of shops, all except KFC were closed and they were out of chicken at this time.
• The car park was 70% empty when the driver arrived and departed.
• The car park is 1 mile from our house and we have used it for years, never noticing any signage suggesting there are time restrictions.
• After receiving the first letter I went to KFC (Which had chicken ) using the same car park and tried to read the signage. It was impossible due to lack of lighting. I have 20/20 vision and could not make out most of the text. Sadly I didn't take a photo at this time and the clocks moved forward two weeks later )
• Three other work colleagues parked in the same car park that evening completely oblivious to any signage claiming timing restrictions. All of whom have received a letter from the same client.

Please forward any advice on next moves. I have tried reading the newbies section on a number of occasions, but find some detail conflicting. Sorry if that is just my misunderstanding and I certainly mean no offence.

The following is and OCR copy of the latest letter received from bwlegal.

13 August 2018
[CENTER]LETTER OF CLAIM [/CENTER]
Dear XXXXX XXXXXX

Our Client: Total Parking Solutions Limited Parking Charge Notice (PCN): CAMERA
Account Number: XXXXXXXX Date of Contravention: 00 XXXXXX 2018
Vehicle Registration: XXXXXXXXX Balance Due: £000.00
Contravention Description: The vehicle exceeded the maximum stay time
Contravention Location: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We have been instructed by Total Parking Solutions Limited to commence legal action in the form of issuing a Claim against you in the County Court in respect of the above debt. If payment or a response is not received before 16 September 2018, we are instructed to issue a Claim against you in the County Court without further notice. If you dispute this debt, please tell us why so that we can help resolve this matter.

Estimated Claim
Such legal action may result in you being liable for court fees, solicitors' costs and statutory interest which are estimated below.

Enclosures
Enclosed with this letter are:
• Information Sheet: a sheet explaining what to do next, including how to avoid Court action
• Reply Form: a form to complete and return containing four sections.
• Income and Expenditure Form: a form to complete and return to outline your financial circumstances.

Principal Debt + Initial Legal Costs £124.00
Estimated Interest £3.46
Estimated Court Fees £25.00
Estimated Solicitors' Costs £50.00
Estimated Total £202.46

What You Need To Do Now
Payment of £124.00 or your reasons for non payment are required by 16 September 2018 to avoid the above legal action. If you are unable to pay the Balance in full, Our Client is willing to enter into a payment arrangement which is affordable for you taking into account your financial circumstances.

How to Get In Touch
• Online
Manage your account at bwlegal.co.uk. You can complete the Reply Form and our income and expenditure online, make a payment, set up an affordable payment arrangement and speak to us by webchat,

Footer waffle "BW Legal is a trading style of BW Legal Services Limited which is a company registered in England and Wales under Company Registration No: 07966978
Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority under 1\10: 569773
Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of consumer debt collection under Reg No: 619068
VAT Registration No: 971 854092
The Collections TeamXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" Footer end

• Speak to us or email us
Call us today on 0113 8874139 or email us at
contact@bwlegal.co.uk to discuss this matter with one of our helpful team.
• By post
Complete and return the attached Reply Form to us at the address at the foot of this letter by 16 September 2018.

Pre-Action Protocol For Debt Claims
This letter is being sent to you in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules Pre-Action Protocol for debt claims, a link to which is contained on the foot of the enclosed information sheet. In particular, we refer you to paragraph 7, which sets out the expectations of the court in terms of complying with the Protocol.

Particulars of Debt
On 21 February 2018, you were granted a limited contractual licence to enter the land known as ("Site"), which is managed and operated by Our Client. In return, you were to abide by certain terms and conditions ("Terms and Conditions") which were prominently displayed on the signage erected in situ by Our Client. On 21 February 2018, you breached the Terms and Conditions by The vehicle exceeded the maximum stay time ("Breach"). The Breach resulted in Our Client issuing a Parking Charge Notice ("PCN") on 15/03/2018 which, despite our client's attempts to engage with you and agree a suitable payment arrangement, remains unpaid.

Statement of Account
The following summary statement shows the transactions applied to your account since the PCN was issued by Our Client:

Statement For the Period: 21 February 2018 to 13 August 2018
Principal Balance £70.00
Total Payments £0.00
Total Adjustments £0.00
Total Interest £0.00
Total Debt Recovery Costs £54.00
Current Balance £124.00

Our Client's entitlement to the total Debt Recovery Costs referred to in the table above is expressed in the Terms and Conditions, which you accepted upon entering the Site. Such costs are recoverable in any event under the relevant Parking Code(s) of Practice.

Warning of Court Proceedings
If payment or a response is not received from you by 16 September 2018 we are instructed to issue a County Court Claim without further reference to you, together with applying the interest, fees and costs highlighted on the previous page.

If payment or a response is not received following a County Court Claim, a County Court Judgment ("CCJ") may be entered against you. If a CCJ were to be entered, it would be recorded on your credit file for 6 years unless you pay the Judgment debt in full within a month of the CCJ being entered. A CCJ on your credit file may affect your ability to obtain future credit.
If a CCJ were to be entered and you were to fail to comply with the CCJ order, we may apply to the County Court to take further enforcement action which you would be notified of separately.

We Look Forward To Hearing From You
Our helpful team would like to work with you to reach a solution without the need for Court proceedings to be issued and it is therefore important that you get in touch before 16 September 2018.

Yours faithfully
BWLegal


Again thank you in advance for any assistance.

onlyfoolsandparking

Same old BW legal BS!!!!


You need to read the NEWBIES thread on how and what to do with this.


All the answers to your questions are there.

trotbot

onlyfoolsandparking wrote: »

Same old BW legal BS!!!!


You need to read the NEWBIES thread on how and what to do with this.


All the answers to your questions are there.

Thank you for the swift response however as stated I have tried reading the newbies section on a number of occasions, but find some detail conflicting. Sorry if that is just my misunderstanding and I certainly mean no offence.
There is almost too information and I am finding it difficult to nail down the particulars I require to build my defence. Please also bear in mind I am trying to do this while entertain three young children !

onlyfoolsandparking

No problem (three young children, I'm with ya lol).


You need to search LBA, LBCCC response letters, they are there in the NEWBIES section. Your not at the Court stage yet and that may not even come.


A firm robust response is required as they certainly haven't met the PAP and again that is in the NEWBIES section.


I cant post links but one of the regulars will and point you in the right direction, you do NEED to read, read and read again the NEWBIES section, everything is in there including how to reply to the letter you have received.

Redx

you should have stated what you find is conflicting so that we could assist you and bring light to the darkness

there is no doubt in MY mind that you should be editing your posts and removing any idea of who was driving

the DRIVER drove on the say

the KEEPER has received all the subsequent paperwork


if you have an LBC (which it seems that you have) , then it needs to be rebutted as post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread tells you to do

ideally you search for , find and read recent 2018 LBC rebuttals and adapt one to send back (dont fill in their paperwork)

trotbot

Thank you both for the responses.

@onlyfoolsandparking - Cheers buddy, I'll get them to kip this evening and go over the newbies section with a fine tooth comb.

@Redx - Hopefully the necessary adjustments have been made to driver and keeper references. Thank you for the heads up and directing me to #2 of the Newbies thread.

I think my major issue is in the terminology around the types of letter received by the keeper.
The most recent letter is titled "Letter of Claim". None of the previous letters had such a title and looking through the newbie section I could not find references to a "Letter of Claim", but plenty on LBC's, LBA's and LBCCC's. Are they all basically the same thing - A warning that the client has instructed their legal representatives to take legal action, but not as of yet or are they fundamentally different?

Thanks again

Coupon-mad

Pretty much the same thing, yes, but if the letter gives 30 days and includes the LBCCC 'reply forms' then it's a *proper one* - not just a scary letter tactic - and more likely to proceed to a claim, IMHO.

See the reply I've just given to another poster this afternoon about a UKCPS LofClaim.

Saves us retyping everything if people read other threads more. Spare our fingers!

Redx

yes , they are or mean the same acronym , there is no single "name" for them, plus its changed over the years. as CM says , including the new PaP forms and the 30 day deadline and the legal action warning means its genuine as an LBC (or letter before claim, or LBCCC, or any similar made up name)

a simple search of the forum reveals similar debates and threads from 2018, like this one

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5877978/bw-legal-letter-of-claim

and this one

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5869553/letter-of-claim-from-bwlegal

you are not the first person to get one of these, plenty of examples on this forum, just do the research to find something recent and suitable


reading other similar threads will help your understanding of this topic

trotbot

Thank you Coupon-mad, I will endeavour reduce your typing . There are just so many threads to trawl through, I ended up with 30 tabs open on chrome earlier.
I will read over your recent response regarding UKCPS LofC.
Something of interest I did just notice. The date of the letter is 13th Aug, yet only received today. The carrier pigeon must've got lost on the way .

trotbot

Ok Redx, so the 'simple search' links you pointed out I had already found via a 'simple search' on Google, neither of which are conclusive.
The first link refers to a 6 yr old case which resorts to bickering. The second suggests BWLegal will continue and has conflicting arguments, such as nosferatu1001 asking why phoenixfree is using the template appeal, when he/she seems to have followed the guidance of LoadsofChildren123 from #2 on the newbies thread. The final comment on that thread is yours trying to explain PAP.

Sorry if I seem short, but I cannot discern anything of genuine use from those threads and found your tone a little condescending. Please tell me if I am way off the mark.

I will continue to draft a response based on the information contained within the Newbies thread.

Redx

I just tell it how it is , no fear , no favour

I found those 2 threads using the drop down forum search box (not google) in a couple of minutes, both are recent as they are august 2018 threads , plus they had useful comments by solicitors etc giving free advice that you could have bookmarked and followed in your own case, yet you have completely dismissed them out of hand ! if you cannot see how they are useful to you then I think you will struggle from now on

my point is that there are dozens of B W LEGAL LBC threads on here , they are posted almost daily by various members and you can easily use the same search method and find a suitable one to use

you were being pedantic over the name of the letter you received , its not our fault that multiple names exist for the same thing, plus I didnt tell you to google it , I told you to use the forum search

the examples were not designed to definitively sort out YOUR problem or to do it all for you , that is your job

recently there seems to be a tendency on this forum for newbies to shoot the messenger" instead of taking free , impartial advice onboard

my current stance is not to help that person any further because they do not deserve the help if they would rather bicker about how they got the advice they need. I tell it how it is and dont care how it is taken, this isnt facebook or whatsapp, I am not your friend, I am somebody with 6 years of knowledge that sometimes has to explain matters as if to a 4 year old , because sometimes that is what it takes to get the point across. this is a legal matter, not a debate about the weather

so I wont bother replying again as there are plenty of others that need the help and accept it, especially when they do not understand the topic , like this thread which reached a successful conclusion despite their ignorance of the topic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5833054/advice-please-regarding-parking-charge-notice-issued-by-care-parking-at-stretford-tram-station