bwlegal Premier Parking Solutions County Court Claim!

Badlyindebt

Hello,


After reading the newbie section, I was unable to find any advice relating to a backdated claim by bwlegal.


In 2013 I took my 5 month old daughter into central Exeter and parked in a Premier Parking Solutions controlled private car park.


I paid £1.50 for 2 hours. Unfortunately at the time I went over the 2 hours by 11 mins, as I had to deal with a poonami!


I received a Parking Charge Notice for £100. I contacted Premier Parking Solutions and appealed the charge offering £0.50 for the 11 minutes and explained the reason for exceeding the parking time. My email is below;


[FONT=&quot]Premier Parking Solutions Ltd[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]PO Box 471[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Newton Abbot[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]TQ12 9FX

[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Without Prejudice[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Dear Sir or Madam,

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Invoice number: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Vehicle registration number: [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You issued me with a parking invoice on 15 April 2013, but I believe it was unfairly issued and I will not be paying your demand for payment for the following reason;

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]According to the Unfair Consumer Contract Regulations, parking charges on private land must not exceed the cost to the landowner during the period the motorist is parked there. In my case, the £100 charge you are asking for far exceeds the cost to the landowner of 13.75 pence for staying 11 minutes over my ticket expiry time.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The reason for going 11 minutes over my ticketed time was due to my 5 month old daughter requiring a nappy change, which could not be avoided.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
I am not admitting liability for this, however I am willing to pay you for the time I spent using the space. I hereby tender £0.50 in full settlement [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Yours faithfully,[/FONT]




This appeal was rejected, letter excerp below;


Further to your email of appeal received on 07/05/2013 regarding the above parking charge, I have now had the opportunity to review this case and my findings are below.



Parking at this site is only for vehicles that are parked in accordance with the site instructions, as detailed on signage on site. This signage is clear, in excess of industry standards and clearly details any charges that may be imposed should these restrictions be breached. The charge is set on the basis of the projected costs of recovering unpaid fees from motorists who do not comply with the terms of use and reflects the activities needed to undertake such action. It has been calculated in advance and is clearly
set out on the notices.nAt this site vehicles may only park in designated areas, with a valid ticket clearly on display at all times.


This ticket had expired and I therefore uphold our operatives decision to issue this parking charge notice. It is your responsibility to make sure you have a valid pay and display ticket on clear display at all times whilst at this site or any pay and display site, if the pay and display ticket has expired it is no longer valid.
It is also your responsibility to make sure you check the pay and display ticket before leaving your vehicle for the expiry time and date which is very clear and bold on the pay and display ticket, so you know when to return to your vehicle or to obtain a further pay and display ticket to extend your stay at the site.



We do not accept your migrating circumstances in this occasion as the crux of the matter is that the pay and display ticket was clearly expired. You must always make sure you purchase enough time at the pay and display machine to allow time for the time you will be away from your vehicle.



We are therefore unable to cancel the Parking Charge Notice as it was issued correctly and we will not consider this matter closed until we have received a payment of £100 to reach us by 12/06/2013 in order to avoid Debt Recovery proceedings; incurring additional costs. Please be aware that when appealing any further the charge will not be placed on hold.



I did not respond to their reply, as I expected they would not take the matter any futher. Since then the car park no longer exists and has been re-developed.


Earlier this year I received a message relating to BWLegal, which I responded to and told them I had disputed the charges as unreasonable.


I received no further contact until a letter arrived yesterday with a County Court Claim form enclosed. They are now asking me to pay £276.34;


Principal Debt £100
Interest £41.34
Court Fees £25.00
Solicitors Costs £110.00


If this goes to court then I may get a CCJ.


I have registered with money claim and issed an Acknowledgment of Service, which now gives me 28 days to defend this claim.


Not sure how to proceed and the best way to argue that £100 for going 11 minutes over the ticket expiration time, when I paid £1.50 for 2 hours of parking. I was a new parent, with my 5 month old daughter with pram and I was aware of the time my ticket ran out, however having to do a nappy change on the way back to the car made me arrive 11 mins late.



Your help will be most appreciated.

Castle

Badlyindebt wrote: »

Not sure how to proceed and the best way to argue that £100 for going 11 minutes over the ticket expiration time, when I paid £1.50 for 2 hours of parking. I was a new parent, with my 5 month old daughter with pram and I was aware of the time my ticket ran out, however having to do a nappy change on the way back to the car made me arrive 11 mins late.

The Equality Act 2010 covers mothers up to 26 weeks after birth:-
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/section/17

Badlyindebt

Thanks Castle, probably should have said I am a father.

The_Deep

£276 is far more than the Law allows for this sort of claim. The down market solicitors whom the PPCs engage know this, but, because they are solicitors, know that a lot of people will pay up.

It is in fact double charging and non claimable debt collectors' add ons. and is viewed by some hyudges as an abuse of process and the claim dismissed. Imo, this is fraud, or, at the very least, improper conduct.

Were this to get to court and they won, the judge would be unlikely to award the claimant more than £175 - £200.

I urge you to report this grubby law firm to their regulatory body, the SRA.

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/code/content.page

as I am sure they do not condone this conduct.

Badlyindebt

Thanks will do that as stage 1.


Can I question bwlegal's advocate right of audience, in case their advocate is not qualified?

beamerguy

Badlyindebt wrote: »

Thanks will do that as stage 1.


Can I question bwlegal's advocate right of audience, in case their advocate is not qualified?

Well BWLegal tend to send "rent a mouth legals" ..... learner driver types. We have seen many BWLegal rent a mouths where the defendant ended up feeling sorry for their incompetence

Do not get confused with a REAL solicitor and BWL. They are members of the SRA, we have no idea why they are still members with the rubbish they come out with but you have every right to issue a complaint to the SRA about their predatory methods
https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems.page

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Was you Claim Form sent from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton, or from somewhere else?

Badlyindebt

Hi KeithP


Issue date 12 Dec 18.
Yes it was


I have also noticedthat the claim has been placed over 6 years from date I received the Parking Charge Notice and my appeal decision. Thinking limitation act 1980

KeithP

Badlyindebt wrote: »

Issue date 12 Dec 18.

With a Claim Issue Date of 12th December and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 14th January 2019 to file your Defence.

That's four weeks away. Loads of time to produce a perfect Defence, but don't leave it to the very last minute.


When you are happy with the content, your Defence should be filed via email as suggested here:

Print your Defence.
1. Sign it and date it.
   
2. Scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
   
3. Send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
   
4. Just put the claim number and the word Defence in the email title, and in the body of the email something like 'Please find my Defence attached'.
   
5. Log into MCOL after a few days to see if the Claim is marked "defended". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive a copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to put you under pressure.
   
7. Wait for your DQ from the CCBC, or download one from the internet, and then re-read post #2 of [URL="https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread[/URL] to find out exactly what to do with it.

==============================

Badlyindebt wrote: »

I have also noticedthat the claim has been placed over 6 years from date I received the Parking Charge Notice and my appeal decision. Thinking limitation act 1980

In your opening post you told us:

In 2013 I took my 5 month old daughter into central Exeter and parked in a Premier Parking Solutions controlled private car park.

Any incident taking place in 2013 is less than six years ago.

Redx

bear in mind that your DEFENCE will need to address their POC + their charges and any other legal arguments you are putting forward

all the stuff you mentioned about what and why it happened is your WS which comes at the WS + Evidence stage, much nearer to the court hearing, its not a "defence" - so learn the difference

try starting with the concise defence by BARGEPOLE

and as mentioned above 2019 is the expiration for a 2013 incident (the 6 year rule) , its still 2018 at the moment !!!