BW Legal / Premier Park £1,300 debt / Letter of Claim

Le_Kirk

Normally it is not possible to introduce new rules and regs unless the freeholder/owner/management company has carried out a consultation and more than 75% agree with the change with no more than 10% disagreeing. This as per the landlord and tenants act.

Kenny_Powers

Hello again. I now have all thd details back from Premier Park I requested in the SAR.

I have 10 pcns. Just 2 are actually related to non display of parking permit and 8 relate to parking in a disabled bay without clearly displaying a valid disabled badge.

All the PCNs are dated from January 2014 to August 2014.

Basically the underground parking was on a first come first served. Some evenings when I arrived home, if there were no spaces available I would park in the disabled bay. So my own fault.

Theg have supplied all photographic evidence which seems clear enough, but I cannot read the private parking notice signage on the photo they supplied, so will ask for a clear photo of this as I cannot see any evidence of these pcns on pcnpayments.com where it says I can view all photographic evidence.

In addition I have sought some legal advice from a free service offered through my firm and they suggested trying a 'without prejudice' offer letter and offering a sum to clear this debt. I'm not clear how successful these have been historically.

So you can see I am in a tricky position.

I'd appreciate any advice on my next move and if any of this can be defended in a county court.

Thanks in advance.

Kenny_Powers

Does anyone have any comments/ advice given the details of the reasons why the majority of the PCNs issued has changed?

Given that I had parked in one of the disabled bays within the private underground car park (just so I had somewhere to leave my car overnight when it was full) , do I now not have a leg to stand on and is my case indefensible? Thanks

Kenny_Powers

Refreshing this thread with new details. I have recently received a letter of Claim from BW Legal representing their client Premier Park Ltd stating I owe a significant sum for 10 outstanding PCNs

I sent off my SAR and these PCNs date from Jan 2014 to August 2016.

This covers the time period when I rented a flat with a private car park.

2 of the PCNs relate to parking without a permit. I did receive a parking permit from the letting agent, but on 2 occasions did not have it displayed in my car. I have a copy of the lease and tennancy agreement and there is nothing contained in those documents that state a parking permit is required, so I had an unfettered right to park there.

8 of the PCNs relate to parking in one of the disabled bays in the private car park. To give some context, the parking was unallocated and operated on a first come first served basis. On some occasions when I arrived back from work there were no spaces available so parked in the disabled bay overnight. There were no disabled people living at the apartment complex at the time and recieved no complaints.!

The signage at the time of the PCNs reads:

Warning Private Land:
This land is Private Property. Entry & Parking is only allowed under the following contractual terms & conditions as indicated below.

All vehicles must fully display a valid permit in the windscreen area and park in a marked bay. A valid blue badge and permit must be fully displayed in any blue badge bay, no exceptions.

If you enter or park on this land contravening the above terms and conditions you are agreeing to pay:

PARKING CHARGE NOTICE (PCN) £100

I'm particularly concerned about trying to defend parking in a disabled spot, so not hopeful of success here and if that is indeed even defensible? From the photos I received all bay markings are clear.

The new letter from BW Legal now suggests that I have until the 28th September to respond to them or risk further collections and legal action. So not long now. Is it worth attempting to draft a defence?

I have also had advice to submit a 'Without Prejudice' offer to Premier Park, but not sure if that's a good way to go.

A lot to go through, but would be appreciative of any advice.

Thanks in advance

Kenny_Powers

Any guidance? Would really appreciate some advice here as need to contact BW Legal by the 28th, as I am either going to pay it or try and make an offer to them

BrownTrout

You shouldnt be doing either!!

Coupon-mad

You are going to struggle with the disabled bay...that is there for visitors surely, as much as for tenants, and you cannot know when it will be needed. However, any BW Legal claim must be defended to try to get some PCNs dismissed by the Judge due to lack of evidence, and certainly to avoid the fake £60 and £50 add ons.

I am either going to pay it or try and make an offer to them

No you are not! Utterly daft, and you would be paying a 4 figure sum pointlessly.

Where in the NEWBIES thread second post, do I say that is an option at LBC stage?

Kenny_Powers

Ok, you mention a lack of evidence, but they have photos of my car in the clearly marked bay, so not sure I can defend this.

Regards their fake £50 or £60, they are chasing 10 PCNs at £100 each, so BW Legal 'charge' would be £300.

I may be able to defend the two PCNs where my permit was not displayed, they have clear photos, but mylease states a lermifis not required. What past cases or evidence can I use to defend these 2 PCNs?

Thanks

Umkomaas

Kenny_Powers wrote: »

Regards their fake £50 or £60, they are chasing 10 PCNs at £100 each, so BW Legal 'charge' would be £300.

Don't you mean £500 - £600? Worth going to court just to get rid of these [STRIKE]try-ons[/STRIKE] add-ons, even if you lose. Settling out of court by paying what they're asking for means you'll be fleeced for the full whack. That's a lot of money to which they are not entitled.

Kenny_Powers

It doesn't sum to be 500-600, but they have added an amount.

But if I lose, they'll be court costs? What should I expect to pay for court fees etc if I lose?

Also, given the background here, how should I structure my defence document?