Wrong number

27woody48

Last May parked my wife's car in local NCP Shrewsbury. Park there every day andabsent-mindedly put my number in machine. Got a £100 fine . Appealed explaining mistake sent copies of ticket and receipt (paid by card) and they said , yes, we can see you bought a ticket with the wrong number and that car did not enter the car park on that day .....but we are still gong to fine you. Took advice from threads in your forum and refused to pay. Their legal hounds BW Legal have now issued a county court summons against me for £245! I challenged the claim , but they have decided to continue and sent me a copy of the Direct Questionnaire they have lodge with the court in which they have opted to be referred to the small claims mediation service.
What do you suggest I do now? 27woody48

twhitehousescat

again , I think a case for mediation

why?

you paid , you simply entered wrong number , you entered the number of your car , and because they have not lost money , they have admitted that you paid and admitted that they accepted money for a car that was not on there land ,

at mediation offer them £2.50 that they spent getting info from the DVLA , ask them for a refund for the car that was not there , and suggest that they use this money to pay for the car that was parked .

let that lot be read out in court!

beamerguy

There is one serious problem with mediation .....
You will be dealing with an unknown person whose job it is to stop cases going to court. Their knowledge of how this scam works is limited.
BWLegal know this and in your case, they no doubt understand that being in front of a judge they will lose

With the information you have provided, I think you should expect BWLegal to be whooped by a judge and then you can claim your costs.

The courts are fully aware of BWLegal and the scam that is going on.

Plus BWLegal are attempting double recovery with their fake £60 add-on

BWLEGAL ADD ON A FAKE £60 ?
In addition to the 'parking charge', the Claimant's legal representatives, BWLegal, have artificially inflated the value of the Claim by adding costs of £60 which has not actually been incurred by the Claimant, and which are artificially invented figures in an attempt to circumvent the Small Claims costs rules using double recovery. >>>> thanks to bargepole

Read about the BWLegal failures here
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/72775365#Comment_72775365

twhitehousescat

NO

tell the mediator that you had no intention to not pay , you have/are willing to cover there costs (at the very beginning) , and as pointed out in the house of lords this week NCP are using "fines" (I know) as a way to prop there business up , this was frowned on and under new legislation any companies "propping up" businesses like this will be banned

NCP have not suffered loss (exc DVLA fee) , they have admitted no loss

tell this to the mediator , you have tried your best to resolve it , but ncp are being vindictive

let your views and words be read out in court , show the judge the way this lot work and ask for some common sense

The_Deep

£245 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. 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.

The whole industry is a scam, relying on threats of court, and the public's ignorance of the Law, A bill is currently before parliament which will regulate the scammers, many of whom are ex-clampers.

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 Second Reading in the Lords this month, and, with a fair wind, will l become Law later this 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.

beamerguy

twhitehousescat wrote: »

NO

Suppose it's now in the hands of the OP as to which way he wants win or lose.

I went down the mediator route a few years ago and it was pointless

beamerguy

The_Deep wrote: »

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

100% every time

twhitehousescat

in your case , telling the mediator he was a To%%%% would not have sounded good in court ,

in this case use it to its advantage , show the judge that you are being reasonable , and that this lot are trying to get £245 , when they admit that there has been no loss

beamerguy

twhitehousescat wrote: »

in your case , telling the mediator he was a To%%%% would not have sounded good in court ,

in this case use it to its advantage , show the judge that you are being reasonable , and that this lot are trying to get £245 , when they admit that there has been no loss

You know I had a feeling at the time someone was listening in, so that was you ???

I understand what you are saying but the pleasure in this case must be watching the judge do his job and whoop them and the extra pleasure of claiming costs

beamerguy

AH, forgot, BWLegal print off all the pages on this forum that purports to them :rotfl:

Fruitcake

The regulars don't normally suggest mediation, but I can see the cat's point of view here.
As far as I know the OP has the option to decline anything suggested by the mediator if they don't like it, so there is nothing to be lost here except time.