BW Legal Letter of Claim (Britannia)

Lunar2019

Hi all,
I have received a Letter of Claim from BW Legal, dated 07/03/2019. Before I take any action, I wanted to gather opinion on the next best steps. My previous correspondence to Britannia, the claimant, has fallen on deaf ears, and so I have drafted a response to BW Legal outlining my position and requesting a breakdown of charges as per the advice in various threads. Before I send this,
1) Is this a sensible course of aciton, should I also contact Britannia once again?

2) a little detail on the context:
The ticket in question was issued for an overstay of the 10 minute 'grace period' while the driver at the time was waiting in a car park allocated to an apartment block (13 minutes according to ANPR), which is managed by Britannia. The initial appeal cited the lack of safe alternative locations to wait while collecting a resident, the distinct lack of clarity/ complete absence on the signage around the aforementioned grace period, and the distinction that the driver at the time did not leave the vehicle and therefore how could an agreement of the parking Ts & Cs have been made through the signage.The appeal response from Britannia states and I quote "By leaving your vehicle in the car park you have broken the terms and conditions"... however it has already been stated that the vehicle was not left unattended at any point, and there is also an assumption as to the driver of the vehicle, who has not been identified.

3) Is there grounds here to cite Pre-Action protocol, for there being no attempt by Britannia to understand this position?

4) Initial PCN jumps between 28 and 29 days in the text - is this grounds for non-compliance with POFA should it come to court proceedings?

I have contacted the landowner separately.
Any advice greatly received.

onlyfoolsandparking

Hi and welcome,


The answers to ALL your questions are here amongst the threads. Start with the NEWBIES section great and essential info for all new posters, then search the forum for Brittania and BW lying legal, loads of threads here regarding that particular scammer and that dirty scumbag pretend legal company.

Lunar2019

Thanks - I have been reading various threads incognito for a while (certainly is a wealth of info available so credit to you all for being so responsive!), was just seeking that final clarification on next steps!
I will keep this thread updated also.

onlyfoolsandparking

And nothing wrong with seeking clarification, you will definitely get that here, the regulars are very experienced in helping deal with these parking scammers.


Yes stay on this same thread, the key to success is READ READ READ and you will answer your own questions. When the time comes you need more help it will be here.

Lunar2019

Hello all, by means of an update on this one - court claim has been received and acknowledged via MCOL. Working on a defence which I'll post up for a chance to review before I submit (Defence deadline = 15th June FYI). Will be interested to see your thoughts on my defence points when it's finished. Thanks!

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Lunar2019

Can I also ask for a bit more information on the statement made in the NEWBIES thread, in the section on requesting a SAR... it states to request a list of all PCNs in my name, which I did and they gave me the wrong answer, but also that all outstanding claims must be brought to court at the same time rather than independently. I have good reason to believe that obtaining this PCN in 2018 has triggered an older 'dormant' PCN from 2016 to be reactivated, these were under different car registrations and so a search of my name must have been the cause. However when I requested them to tell me how many PCNs I have under my name I got an answer of one, twice! I hope to use this as a point in my defence here, but I'm just trying to figure out the breach of code/practice that's been made. Is it the fact that they've given me incorrect information in a SAR or that they are using a new PCN to reactivate an older one, but aren't processing them at the same time to avoid this argument? Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

FYI - my other claim is a little more progressed at the N180 stage, and is being managed in the same way using the advice on these threads!

Lunar2019

Keith P - issue date was 13th May, so using your posts on other threads I calculated that to be a 15th June submission (although will submit before this date) !

The_Deep

I am surprised, very few residential car parks use ANPR cameras. Are you sure this was an ANPR capture? Also, are these cameras regularly serviced and calibrated? I doubt it.

As you were a genuine visitor to a resident, what does his/her lease/AST say about parking, read this:

https://parking-prankster.blogspot.com/2016/11/residential-parking.html

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams so complain to your MP.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.

Lunar2019

Thanks for your response The Deep. It was a camera captured ticket - showing the car enter and exit the car park. Unsure as to the service schedule... my letters to the landowner fell on deaf ears too.

I'll make a start on a letter to my MP citing this legistation.

KeithP

Lunar2019 wrote: »

Keith P - issue date was 13th May, so using your posts on other threads I calculated that to be a 15th June submission (although will submit before this date) !

Pretty close, but as 15th June is a Saturday you have until 4pm on the next working day.


With a Claim Issue Date of 13th May, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 17th June 2019 to file your Defence.

That's two weeks away. Loads of time to produce a perfect Defence, but don't leave it to the 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 "defence received". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive an early copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to keep 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.