BWLegal / Brittania - small claims.

lemonizer

Hi all,

After about 3 hours trying to read up on BWlegal and the relative defenses given. I think I've done enough due diligence to ask a few questions.

Firstly the background:

Car was parked in a ex NCP carpark which was recently (at the time of parking) converted from a operator to ANPR/pay and display one. During the conversion period we had many days when machines didn't work and generally no-one know what was going on.

I received a 'PCN' for non payment which was based solely on two pictures of my car entering and leaving the car park. I no longer have the original parking ticket.

Currently BWLegal (as a representative) of Britannia car parks wish to take me on the small claims track for ~£250.

Since there is zero risk to defending, what should I do? All I want is for them to 'prove' I didn't pay and I'm happy to so do but equally I'm not going to give them money on the back of two photos. That would be silly.

Foolishly when the county court stuff came I wrote a 'prove it' letter to Brittania, they say they have no further comments to make.

Help!

David

Umkomaas

BRITANNIA or NCP / BWL CASES

As you will see from the first few pages of the forum, there is an onslaught by BWL on behalf of Britannia or NCP (and a few other hitherto court-shy PPCs) which is being conducted on an industrial scale - roboclaims.

You are caught in a one-way traffic flow where you must fight or pay - there is no longer a safe 'do nothing' option.

1. Pay now, it costs you exactly what they are currently demanding.
2. Ignore it, a 'judgment in default' will inevitably follow for at least what they want - maybe with even more costs added; continue to ignore that, you're getting a CCJ with credit trashing consequences for 6 years.
3. Defend, yet lose in court, the cost award is likely to be noticeably less than their current demand ~£175.
4. Defend, and win in court, you owe them nothing and you could claim up to £95 for half a day's pay/loss of annual leave, plus travel costs @45p per mile, plus your parking cost for the day.

Your least costly option has to be 3, with hopefully a win as per 4.

But BWL/Britannia or NCP cannot physically take everyone to court, and there is evidence to show that with a well constructed defence, BWL can come along with a reduced 'offer to settle', which if refused, becomes a discontinuation. We can't give you guarantees on that, but as you have little choice other than to defend (if you don't want to pay), you need to give this your very best shot.

Whether you have a good defendable case to argue, you will need to read other similar cases at the defence (or beyond) stage and learn from those.

KeithP

lemonizer wrote: »

Foolishly when the county court stuff came...

What exactly is this 'county court stuff'?

Is it a Claim Form from the County Court Business Centre in Northampton?

If so, then please tell us the Issue Date of this Claim Form.

Redx

what is the DATE OF ISSUE on the claim form ?

send BRIT DPO a SAR by email and get all the data they have on you

do the AOS online if its not already been done

start drafting your DEFENCE and post it below

lemonizer

Date of issue 19 Feb 2019

KeithP

lemonizer wrote: »

Date of issue 19 Feb 2019

With a Claim Issue Date of 19th February, you have until Monday 11th March to do the Acknowledgement of Service, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. To do the AoS, follow the guidance offered in a Dropbox link from post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread. About ten minutes work - no thinking required.

Having done the AoS, you have until 4pm on Monday 25th March 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over 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.

lemonizer

So far this is what I've got:

One question remain:
[STRIKE]
1) does anyone have a link to the standard 'anpr does not imply non conpliance' type thing. As in the only 'evidence' provided by them is a picture of the car entering and exiting.[/STRIKE]
2) do I need to flesh out the part about POPLA. I have a 'notice to keeper' but it's bogus as it was send >28 days after the incident without any notice to driver or even if there was a 'notice to driver' it doesn't mention it (also a requirment)

Statement of Defence

I am XXXXX, defendant in this matter. It is admitted that the Defendant was the
authorised registered keeper of the vehicle in question at the time of the alleged
incident.
The Defendant denies liability for the entirety of the claim for the following reasons.

(1). The identity of the driver of the vehicle on the date in question is unknown and has not been
ascertained.
1. The Claimant did not identify the driver
2. The Defendant has no liability, as they are the Keeper of the vehicle and the Claimant
must rely upon the strict provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 in order to
hold the defendant responsible for the driver’s alleged breach.
3. The code of practice for BPA registered parking companies clearly states ‘The driver is responsible for paying the parking ticket.‘

(2) This is a speculative serial litigant, issuing a large number of identical 'draft particulars. The term for such conduct is ‘robo-claims’ which is against the public interest, demonstrates a disregard for the dignity of the court and is unfair on unrepresented consumers. I have reason to believe that this is a claim that will proceed without any facts or evidence supplied until the last possible minute, to my significant detriment as an unrepresented Defendant.

(3) The Claimant does not own the land therefore, there is reasonable belief that the Claimant does not have the authority to issue charges on this land in their own name and have no locus standing to bring this case.
1. The Claimant is not the landowner and is merely an agent acting on behalf of the
landowner and has failed to demonstrate their legal standing to form a contract.
2. The claimant is not the landowner and suffers no loss whatsoever as a result of a
vehicle parking at the location in question.
3. The Claimant is put to proof that it has sufficient interest in the land or that there are
specific terms in its contract to bring an action on its own behalf. As a third party
agent, the Claimant may not pursue any charge.

(4) The claimants Letter Before Action did not comply with the Practice direction on pre-action conduct. The Letter before Action can be seen to miss the following information
a) A clear summary of facts on which the claim is based.
b) A list of the relevant documents on which your client intends to rely, unless I am to assume they will be relying on no documents.

(5) The driver did not enter into any 'agreement on the charge', no consideration flowed
between the parties and no contract was established. The Defendant denies that the driver would have agreed to pay the original demand to agree to the alleged contract had the terms and conditions of the contract been properly displayed and accessible.


(6) The allegation appears to be based on images by an ANPR camera at the entrance and exit. This is merely an image of the vehicle in transit, entering and leaving the site in question and is not evidence of 'failed to validate stay or make a valid payment’.



I believe the facts stated in this defence are true.

KeithP

You haven't said... did you do the Acknowledgement of Service before 11th March?

lemonizer

Yes, of course. That was done instantly after the post above