Letter of Claim - retailer offers to pay original fine

Madman1969

Guys,

I'll be quick - I understand there are a lot of these threads posted regarding this subject, but just a bit of background...

I received a letter from BW Legal around May this year chasing for a PCN from TPS from 2015 (alledged overstay - TBF and SAR kind of proved it by ANPR / times etc)

All original chasing letters sent to my old address so had no idea I was being chased.. now obviously good old BW are now involved!

I recently wrote to all retailers in the park and got a response from one, essentially offering to pay the original fee of £70, but couldn't accept to pay any "charges" (extra £54 BW had slapped on)

Now - question I'm actually asking is, can I just email TPS to tell them the above, as I'm willing to get this done by way of the Retailer stumping up on my behalf, or am I now stuck in a wrangle with BW for the silly £54 extra's?

Sorry it's vague, but any help would be appreciated

Redx

TPS are unlikely to agree, but you could try it with a "Without Prejudice" letter or email to tps

B W Legal will want the full amount with their fee included

The_Deep

That sounds like one very disgruntled retailer. If this got to court a judge might wonder why they took four years to lodge a claim. Could it be that they fear forthcoming unpleasantness from HMG?

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. i

Umkomaas

TPS are likely to accept the £70 from the retailer, but will continue to pursue you for the balance. The retailer gesture is not a get out of jail card for you.

Whether it's £124 or £54, you're going to have to go through the process of defending this.

Have you had a formal court claim via the Northampton CCBC yet?

How to deal with any claim involving the county court is dealt with in the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #2. The whole process is there, written in some detail by legally qualified/court experienced posters.

In addition there are numerous threads about TPS/BWL which should be read, especially as there is a reported glitch in the TPS system that prevents them providing the original Notice to Keeper which has seen them withdraw their claim in a number of cases.

Do a forum search on keywords 'TPS BWL' and read up on those threads. Take note of the advice in them.

HOW TO USE THE FORUM SEARCH FUNCTION:

Hit your 'Back' button to get back to the forum thread list. On the bar just above the threads you'll see the 'Search' function. Click on the 'Advanced Search' button and on the following page place your keyword(s) in the 'Search By Keyword(s)' and make sure the 'Show Results As' button (at the foot of the window) is changed from 'Threads' to 'Posts'.

Madman1969

FYI - I'm now at LOC stage with BW and have until 3rd August to submit some kind of response to them...

My initial thought would be to send them a "reasons for non payment" response and send details of the Retailer's offer to TPS in the meantime, to buy a bit of time...

Thoughts?

Redx

you need to include the "drop hands" offer with the £70 "without prejudice" offer to TPS, telling them to call of B W LEGAL under the drop hands option as a condition of payment

I wouldnt send anything at all to B W LEGAL at this time

a SAR to TPS by email may also concentrate their minds and they may fail to produce the early documents too, due to their technical issues , which may mean that they accept the settlement and tell B W to back off

beamerguy

Madman1969 wrote: »

FYI - I'm now at LOC stage with BW and have until 3rd August to submit some kind of response to them...

My initial thought would be to send them a "reasons for non payment" response and send details of the Retailer's offer to TPS in the meantime, to buy a bit of time...

Thoughts?

Assume you have this offer in writing from the retailer

I would advise BWL of this which you will provide to a court.
This would scupper the amounts they claim in the LOC.
As such, get the retailer to pay TPS direct, which will be rejected
and more power to you to claim unreasonable behaviour

Also in the LOC are they claiming a fake £60 ???

READ THIS
Abuse of Process ... District Judge tells BWLegal

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081/abuse-of-process-district-judge-tells-bwlegal&highlight=abuse+of+process

Madman1969

Thanks beamerguy...

Yes - I have this offer in writing (email) from the Retailer - officially headed with their details etc.

...however, just looking through the response to my SAR sent by TPS, I see no evidence of an official NTK, just 3 x reminders sent to an old address with ANPR to pay up.. never had a windscreen PCN as far as I know..

Can I request this a another SAR?

Being told I don't need to respond to BW's LOC. Would it be an idea to do this?
They've sent a "Reply Form" with sections regarding income / "reasons for not acknowledging" etc
....or just ignore for now?

In the LoC they're claiming £54 Debt Recovery Costs, on top of the original £70 invoice..

Redx

you do not fill in those financial forms, and I would not reply to B W , others have a different opinion, forums are about opinions, there is no one step painting by numbers option

seems to me that TPS have failed on the initial paperwork like we said earlier , so you can press them for the actual NTK etc as keeper, which they wont have, the reminders are irrelevant, its the NTK that holds a keeper liable, if it passes the POFA test

failure to produce this NTK can be fatal to their case, which is why Umkomaas mentioned it , so you would email a reply to the SAR or send another one with a one week deadline due to the missing NTD and missing NTK

no invoice = no payment , so there may well have been a windscreen notice , then an NTK as well, but they are unlikely to have copies due to their IT systems change a few years ago


if they provide a copy of the original NTK, this is the one the retailer is offering to pay, then its a without prejudice plus drop hands offer in order to pay that invoice

Madman1969

Hi,

About to send the following to TPS on the back of their SAR reply...

Dear Sir / Madam,

Thank you for your response - the details of which have been duly noted.

Unfortunately, there is data missing from my original request, which I would like to be supplied -

1. An original "Notice To Keeper"

2. A copy of the original WINDSCREEN PCN

Please supply the above for my records within one week of the date of this email. I can then refer to these in a view to moving forward with our correspondance regarding this matter.

Kind Regards


.....anything need to go to BWL as an "I'm in talks with TPS" type response?

Redx

yes, you can use the typical letter asking them to place the matter on hold whilst you seek further information via a SAR from their client, and are also seeking debt management advice too