*URGENT* BW Legal County Court Claim issued

MissR2319

Hi,

I have read the newbie thread and can't find anything similar to my case. I was issued a parking fine over two years ago, at the time I hadn't read any of these threads and stupidly appealed admitted I was the one who had been driving the car and admitted to being at fault for not getting back to my car in time. Since then I have had several letters which I have ignored thinking 'they can't enforce payment'. A few months back I received a 'letter before claim'. I replied to this via email within the specified time frame saying that I am willing to pay the original fine but not their added 'legal fees'. I heard nothing back from BWLegal and have now received a county court claim. Do I still have a defence as I have previously admitted being the driver and being at fault?

Thank you so much for your help in advance, I have just over a week to reply so any advice is much appreciated!

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on your County Court Claim Form?

Who is the Claimant?

Umkomaas

In your offer to pay the original charge, did you mark the letter 'Without Prejudice, Save as to Costs'? If not, they may file it as evidence that you have tacitly accepted liability.

The hill gets a little steeper.

MissR2319

The Issue Date is 31st October 2019 and the claimant is Total Parking Solutions

MissR2319

No, sadly I didn't mark it 'Without Prejudice, Save as to Costs'. I wish I had found this site earlier as I feel I have made several mistakes when corresponding with them

KeithP

MissR2319 wrote: »

The Issue Date is 31st October 2019.

With a Claim Issue Date of 31st October, you have until Tuesday 19th November to do the Acknowledgement of Service. If possible, do not do the AoS before 5th November, but otherwise there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. To do the AoS, follow the guidance offered in a Dropbox file linked 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 Tuesday 3rd December 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over four weeks away. Plenty of time to produce a Defence, but please don't leave it to the last minute.


When you are happy with the content, your Defence could 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.

MissR2319

Thank you for your help. Do you think I still have much of a defence as I have already admitted to being at fault?

Umkomaas

MissR2319 wrote: »

Thank you for your help. Do you think I still have much of a defence as I have already admitted to being at fault?

Everyone has a defence. How good it is depends on the effort individuals are prepared to put in, alongside help from the forum.

Coupon-mad

How many minutes overstay was it (EXACTLY, before and after paying for a ticket), or was it free for x hours, and how long were you there?

MissR2319

I can't remember how long I overstayed, it was over two years ago. I know it wasn't longer than an hour. I had paid for three hours. I'm thinking I might just pay it to get them off my back

Le_Kirk

In some part of the correspondence from the PPC or solicitor there should be POC which lays out the EXACT reason for the claim. In that, was there anything that you could use to your benefit such as "failure to pay for parking time/enough parking time/overstay/no permit etc?