Letter of Claim BW Legal for Britannia Parking PCN

Bellebelle42

Hello,

EDITED TO CORRECT - Letter before Claim received 13th December. Last written response from BW Legal dated 8th January

I have been through all the relevant information on the pinned post, and have responded as suggested with an SAR to Britannia and to BW Legal. They have now responded with the relevant information and stated they will no halt the process of their claim.

My situation is an ignored Postal PCN, stupidly I know, and subsequent Debt Collection letters which has now resulted in the Letter of Claim from BW Legal citing a claim of £160.

All the information seems to be in place.

My one potential position is that they cite the reason for claim as due to a failure to make a valid payment, when in fact the SAR information includes clearly a payment made for 3 hours but that there was a period of overstay (beyond the courtesy expected time), I am not sure if this is useful

The other thing to note is that the driver has a medical condition which the DVLA are aware of and which prevents them from driving if having an attack.

Do I now need to respond to BW Legal in the timescale originally stated, I don't want to let them know my intended evidence if it is not going to prevent the claim going to court, but if it will then I am happy to do so, or do I just wait for the claim form to arrive.

I appreciate the help!

Many thanks,

Belle

The_Deep

The other thing to note is that the driver has a medical condition which the DVLA are aware of and which prevents them from driving if having an attack.

That sounds useful, can you link it to the Equality Act 2010? Service providers are required by law to make "reasonable adjustments"
for people with "protected characteristics" under the Act

https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/equality-act-2010/what-equality-act

also, get your MP involved as it is the will of Parliament that these scammers, (very often former clampers), be put out of business.

Hopefully that will take place in the near future. The Bill has passed through the HOC without hitch, and goes to the Lords soon. In the meantime involve your MP, the poor dears are buckling under the weight of complaints about these scammers.

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. Is has been suggested by an MP that some of these companies may have connections to organised crime.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, (especially 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.

Sir Greg Knight's Private Members Bill to curb the excesses, and perhaps close down, some of these companies passed its Third Reading in late November, and, with a fair wind, will become Law next year.

All three readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 6-7 hours), and published in Hansard. MPs have an extremely low opinion of the industry. Many are complaining that they are becoming overwhelmed by complaints from members of the public. Add to their burden, complain in the most robust terms about the scammers.

Le_Kirk

Have you rebutted the Letter Before Claim (LBC)? Was it a proper LBC giving you 30 days to respond, including the Particulars of Claim (POC) and including financial forms? You wait until you get court papers, then do an Acknowledgement of Service (AOS) before submitting your defence. Go here for advice on the process.

Bellebelle42

Thank you for your help. I have rebutted the LBC as advised and will now wait, no email response since last week so I imagine I now just wait for the papers to arrive.

Thank you for the links, very helpful, I will update if anything changes,

nosferatu1001

MEdical condition - if this is why the overstay ooccurred, then "frustration of contract" applies
This shoudl have been raised inthe LBC rebuttal, stating evidence of the pre-existing condition can be supplied.

Bellebelle42

Thank you, yes I did state this in the rebuttal but as yet no response or request for proof of the condition.

Coupon-mad

Send proof of the condition, NOW - no waiting to be asked.

Bellebelle42

So, an update, they responded with a standard... the time to appeal has now passed etc etc, and I have now received a claim letter. I have acknowleged service and will now put together a defence to share for comment.

I did wobble when the papers arrived, but I am determined to fight this ridiculous claim.

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Did it come from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton, or from somewhere else?

Bellebelle42

Hi,

Issue date is 11th February, and yes it is from Northampton

KeithP

Bellebelle42 wrote: »

Issue date is 11th February, and yes it is from Northampton

With a Claim Issue Date of 11th February, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 18th March 2019 to file your Defence.

That's nearly three 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 the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread to find out exactly what to do with it.