*Please help* Letter of Claim from BW Legal

egeneics

Hi all,

I just received a letter of claim from BW legal on behalf of Secure-a-Space regarding a Private PCN early this year. The threat of a court action has unravelled all of my initial bravado. Can anyone please help?

To begin with I was unaware at the time of this forum and took the 'ignore approach'. I did not respond to Secure-a-Space, the debt collectors, and the first few letters from BW legal. I also did not appeal within 28 days of getting the charge

I have now read the newbie faq, realised my mistake, and sent BW legal an email requesting for more information. They replied requesting for more information before they would even consider dealing with me.

I will include details of the alleged offence, letter of claim from BW Legal, my email response and BW Legal's final response here.

What do I do next? Do I provide them with the info they require from me? Do i contact the PPC, have my responses to them so far been adequate?

The PCN was given for parking in an area not designated as visitor parking. I do not think the signs were clear enough, the area had no yellow markers even though the road leading up to where I parked had yellow lines. I only moved into the new property and assumed the area was a designated pickup/loading bay.

Email to BW Legal
***************************************************************************************************
From: John Doe
To: Contact <C6@bwlegal.co.uk>
Subject: Letter of Claim

Thank you for your letter on xxxxxxxxxx.

I earlier requested for details of the basis upon which money was being claimed over the phone. I requested for copies of all letters sent to me, and all photographs taken of the vehicle at the relevant time plus, photographs of the signage, but you were unhelpful and refused this request

Your letter contains insufficient detail of the claim and, again, fails to provide the photographic evidence and correspondence. It does not even say what the cause of action is. Nor does it contain any mention of what evidence your client intends to rely on, or enclose copies of such evidence.

Your client must know that on 01 October 2017 a new protocol is applicable to debt claims. Since proceedings have not yet been issued, the new protocol clearly applies and must be complied with.

Your letter clearly breaches both the requirements of the previously applicable Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct (paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c)) and the new Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (paragraphs 3.1(a)-(d), 5.1 and 5.2. Please treat this letter as a formal request for all of the documents/information that the protocol now requires your client to provide. Your client must not issue proceedings without complying with that protocol. I reserve the right to draw any failure of the Claimant to comply with the protocol to the attention of the court and to ask the court to stay the claim and order your client to comply with its pre-action obligations, and when costs come to be considered.

Nobody, including your client, is immune from the requirements and obligations of the Practice Direction.

Your letter also states that an income/expenditure form requires completing. This is totally misleading, as it only relates to anyone who admits the debt.

I require your client to comply with its obligations by sending me the following information/documents:

1. An explanation of the cause of action
2. Whether they are pursuing me as driver or keeper
3. Whether they are relying on the provisions of Schedule 4 of POFA 2012
4. What the details of the claim are (where it is claimed the car was parked, for how long, how the monies being claimed arose and have been calculated, what contractual breach (if any) is being claimed)
5. A copy of the contract with the landowner under which they assert authority to bring the claim
6. A copy of any alleged contract with the driver
7. A plan showing where any signs were displayed
8. Details of the signs displayed (size of sign, size of font, height at which displayed)
9. If they have added anything on to the original charge, what that represents and how it has been calculated.

I am clearly entitled to this information under paragraphs 6(a) and 6(c) of the Practice Direction. I also need it in order to comply with my own obligations under paragraph 6(b).

If your client does not provide me with this information then I put you on notice that I will be relying on the cases of Webb Resolutions Ltd v Waller Needham & Green [2012] EWHC 3529 (Ch), Daejan Investments Limited v The Park West Club Limited (Part 20); Buxton Associates [2003] EWHC 2872, Charles Church Developments Ltd v Stent Foundations Limited & Peter Dann Limited [2007] EWHC 855 in asking the court to impose sanctions on your client and to order a stay of the proceedings, pursuant to paragraphs 13 ,15(b) and (c) and 16. I will draw to the court the fact that I have expressly requested this information in early 2017, yet your client has yet to provide it.

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.

**************************************************************************************************

BW Legals response
*************************************************************************************************
From: Contact <C6@bwlegal.co.uk>
To: John Doe
Sent: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Letter of Claim

Good Morning

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

Should you wish to discuss this matter via email, please confirm the following:

1.Please complete your full name
2.Please provide first line of your address
3.Please provide your postcode

You can also contact us by signing In or registering to our Online Portal at xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Should you have any queries please contact our office on 0113 323 4485.

Kind Regards,
bwlegal
******************************************************************************************************

Quentin

Don't complete the forms they included with the LBCCA


But no reason not to confirm your ID if that's in connection with your SAR request

beamerguy

The reason they do this is because your email does not confirm who you are

Just respond giving the details they already have

Your name and address as per you registration with the DVLA
THAT IS THE KEEPER ONLY

NO PHONE NUMBER AND NO GOING ON THEIR WEB PORTAL
NO RINGING THEIR NUMBER

No phone number because BWLegal harass people

The_Deep

It is not an offence, it is an invoice for an alleged breach of an alleged contract. It is a scam,

How much are they claiming?

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of alleged contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and others have already been named and shamed in the House of Commons as have Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each week, hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned. They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

The problem has become so widespread that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. It has even been suggested that some of these companies have links with organised crime.

Watch the video of the Second Reading and committee stage in the House of Commons recently. MPs have a very low opinion of this industry.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-07-19/debates/2b90805c-bff8-4707-8bdc-b0bfae5a7ad5/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill(FirstSitting)

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by in the not too distant future..

egeneics

I will respond to them and update the thread with their response

egeneics

beamerguy wrote: »

The reason they do this is because your email does not confirm who you are

Just respond giving the details they already have

Your name and address as per you registration with the DVLA
THAT IS THE KEEPER ONLY

NO PHONE NUMBER AND NO GOING ON THEIR WEB PORTAL
NO RINGING THEIR NUMBER

No phone number because BWLegal harass people

Can I provide my DoB as well?

KeithP

egeneics wrote: »

Can I provide my DoB as well?

Why would you want to do that?

egeneics

KeithP wrote: »

Why would you want to do that?

I am unsure what I have to provide for them to action my request.

This was BW Legal's response when I provided my name and address

***********************************************************************
Thank you for contacting BW Legal.

Your email has been received and will be dealt with as soon as possible.

Before we are able to reply we need you to confirm a few Data Protection Questions which we have specified below.

If your email does not contain the below information, we kindly request you resend your email with the required information to enable us to deal with your query effectively.

BW Legal Reference:
Full Name:
First Line of Address:
Postcode:
Date of Birth:
Telephone Contact Number:
Authorised Email address:
Confirmation you wish for us to correspond with you via this address (Yes/No):

************************************************************************************************
is there any reason why I should not provide it? To be honest at this point I don't know what I should or should not do.

Thanks

beamerguy

BW Legal Reference:
Full Name:
First Line of Address:
Postcode:

^^^^^^^^^^
Confirmation you wish for us to correspond with you via this address (Yes/No):

This is all you provide, info they already have.

SEND ONLY AS THE KEEPER

NO PHONE NUMBER <<< because they harass people by phone
NO DATE OF BIRTH >>>> nothing to do with them

They do this to confirm you are the person you say you are

They are NOT a firm to trust with any further personal info

KeithP

That's not the list that you showed us in post #1 - hence the question "Why would you want to do that?"

I would not supply DoB.

I would not supply a telephone number.

egeneics

KeithP wrote: »

That's not the list that you showed us in post #1 - hence the question "Why would you want to do that?"

I would not supply DoB.

I would not supply a telephone number.

Yes, when I respond with my name and address, I received another (probably automated) email from them requesting for even more information.

I will not provide the information.

Thanks