Letter of Claim & County Court Help

lanethomp

Just want to say good luck! My thread relates to the same car park, NCP, BW Legal, and interestingly claim issued on the same date.

Looks like NCP have instructed BWL on a job lot of these recently.

Just a note to say that ANPR was introduced in this car park in Feb, prior to that it was pay and display and parking operatives. I suspect the signage changed around that time.

Good luck!

Coupon-mad

Just a note to say that ANPR was introduced in this car park in Feb, prior to that it was pay and display and parking operatives. I suspect the signage changed around that time.

You should both use that in your defences/witness statements.

If your PCNs were before the change, then you can argue that clearly the parking firm has decided their signage was inadequate and has added more signs since the parking event.

If your PCNs were after the change to ANPR, you can argue that the BPA CoP requires in para xx (look it up) that additional signs are placed around a car park if restrictions or enforcement rules change in any way, to ensure that patrons familiar with the area understand the new rules and that they are entering into a contract that is different than it used to be on that land.

Tropicaldream

Just want to say good luck! My thread relates to the same car park, NCP, BW Legal, and interestingly claim issued on the same date.

Looks like NCP have instructed BWL on a job lot of these recently.

Just a note to say that ANPR was introduced in this car park in Feb, prior to that it was pay and display and parking operatives. I suspect the signage changed around that time.

Thanks Lanethomp, you also and thanks for the advice on the ANPR installation i wasnt sure when these got put in.

If your PCNs were before the change, then you can argue that clearly the parking firm has decided their signage was inadequate and has added more signs since the parking event.

The signage is pretty much same as the images on google street view so it was poor, they installed the additional signs same time as ANPR in Feb - i will add this into my defence.

Thanks again for your help

Tropicaldream

I have submitted my defence - i will keep you updated

Tropicaldream

Update:

I have received the following response from BW Legal (I have started with my initial email to give the responses some context)

My email

Dear BW Legal,


I write in response to your "letters of claim" dated XXth & XXth August 2018, the contents of which are noted. As registered keeper i have no idea about the parking charges and have previously responded to the letters received from your client on 6th April in relation to the claim on 21st March with an appeal requesting additional information which I have not received! I have not seen the original PCN for the Claim on the XXrd April.



I have since received two letters from Trace Debt Recovery and responded to both on XXth and XXth June 2018 respectively requesting additional information with no response to either!. As these claims would appear to be the same I would like these claims to be amalgamated using res judicata into a single claim again as i have already requested on my second letter to Trace Ltd.



As the pre action protocols expect us to exchange sufficient information to understand each others position please forward to myself the original parking charge notice for the claim on the XXrd April and a picture of the signs at the location as well as the operators contract which allows them to operate at the site (or indeed confirmation they own the land in question).


As well as the information already requested please answer the following questions :-


What type of car park is it ?


What contravention gives a cause of action ?


Who contravened your rules ?


Who you are pursuing ?


Have you followed the rules laid down in the Protection of freedoms act 2012 schedule 4 ?


How is the £60 extra made up on each claim?


Not only will this information help comply with the pre action protocols it will also help achieve the overriding objective.


Having done some research on your claims i request that if you ignore my requests for information that your claim complies with


CPR 16


Contents of the claim form

16.2

(1) The claim form must –

(a) contain a concise statement of the nature of the claim


Contents of the particulars of claim

16.4

(1) Particulars of claim must include –

(a) a concise statement of the facts on which the claimant relies;


Practice direction 16


Other matters to be included in particulars of claim


7.5 Where a claim is based upon an agreement by conduct, the particulars of claim must specify the conduct relied on and state by whom, when and where the acts constituting the conduct were done.


CPR 22


Documents to be verified by a statement of truth

22.1

(1) The following documents must be verified by a statement of truth –

(a) a statement of case


Practice direction 22


Who may sign the statement of truth

3.1 In a statement of case, a response or an application notice, the statement of truth must be signed by


(2) the legal representative of the party or litigation friend.


3.7 Where a party is legally represented, the legal representative may sign the statement of truth on his behalf. The statement signed by the legal representative will refer to the client’s belief, not his own. In signing he must state the capacity in which he signs and the name of his firm where appropriate.


3.9 The individual who signs a statement of truth must print his full name clearly beneath his signature.


3.10 A legal representative who signs a statement of truth must sign in his own name and not that of his firm or employer.

Practice direction 7E

Signature

10 Any provision of the CPR which requires a document to be signed by any person is satisfied by that person entering their name on an online form.

Until your client has complied with its obligations and provided this information, I am unable to respond properly to the alleged claim and to consider my position in relation to it, and it is entirely premature (and a waste of costs and court time) for your client to issue proceedings. Should your client do so, then I will seek an immediate stay pursuant to paragraph 15(b) of the Practice Direction and an order that this information is provided.

I await your response.
Yours sincerely

BW Legal's Response:

Good Afternoon



Thank you for your email, the contents of which have been noted on file.



For the avoidence of doubt please see attached all correspoindence and photographic evidence for the referenced Parking Charge
Notices (PCN).



As established members of the British Parking Association, Our Client adheres to their Code of Practice for Private Enforcement on Private Land and Unregulated Car Parks ('Code of Practice'). This Code of Practice gives recommendations in regards to the signage within the Car Park. The signs within the car park comply with the recommendations in the Code of Practice and are therefore deemed reasonable.



- The Car Parking site is privale land managed by Our Client

- In reference to T0965524 Our Client's cause of action is that you breached the terms and conditions of the contract which you entered into by parking your vehicle in the car park, by failing to make payment of the parking charge
in reference to T0962697 Our Client's cause of action is that you breached the terms and conditions of the contract which you entered into by parking your vehicle in the car park, by parking longer than the time paid for.

- Our Client contravened the rules of the site

- Our Client is pursuing you as the registered keeper of the vehicle on the date of the contravention. Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 sets out the procedure that should be followed if the registered keeper was not driving the vehicle on the date which the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) was issued. It details that the keeper has 28 days from the date of the Notice to Keeper to disclose driver details. As these details were not forthcoming, Our Client is entitled to purse you as the registered keeper of the vehicle.

- Our Client has followed the rules laid down in the Protection of freedoms act 2012 schedule 4

- £100.00 for both Parking Charge Notices. Additionally, you are also liable for our £60.00 instructions fee for each PCN as your file has been passed to us.



Should you wish to discuss this mater further, please contact our office on 0113 323 4485.


Kind Regards,
bwlegal

In their response they have attached photos from the ANPR camera capturing the vehicle entering and exiting the car park as well as the original PCN. (Both pictures entering the car park are in good light, pictures leaving are at night).

In their response they haven't answered a number of the questions and there are no photos of car park signage which i am going to include within my response to them. Any help or advice on what to include / not to include within the response would be appreciated?

Thanks

Tropicaldream

Hello,

Any advice on the last post please?

Thanks

System

Any advice on the last post please?

They've had plenty of time to match the personal information to you as a poster. What are they saying now?

KeithP

- Our Client contravened the rules of the site

Was that their answer to your question "Who contravened your rules ?"?

What a joke these people are.

Obviously 'contravened' is too big a word for them to understand. :rotfl:

Umkomaas

KeithP wrote: »

Was that their answer to your question "Who contravened your rules ?"?

What a joke these people are.

Obviously 'contravened' is too big a word for them to understand. :rotfl:

Maybe they meant 'contrived'.

Coupon-mad

Our Client contravened the rules of the site

You have to seize the chance to write back and thank them for that admission, and ask:

- in what way did their client contravene?

- if they are also saying the driver contravened something, please supply all evidence of 'not paying' and the second one 'parking after expiry of a PDT' and you also require all photos, and the unaltered (and verified/signed as accurate) PDT machine records of payments from the material time/dates.

- plus any evidence as to who the driver was on each occasion

- and advice as to whether the client is relying on the POFA, or is wrongly assuming the keeper was the driver.

State that their client's Data Protection Officer must treat this a SAR and supply all data available, whether listed above or not..