PCN escalated to Court proceedings **EDIT - I WON**

Littlewadie

HI,
I have tried to read through some threads but am a bit lost as to what I need to do to prepare myself.
I received a PCN in 2014 for an overstay in a halfords car park Darlington, which I did not know was a restricted stay car park as it was always free and part of the businesses that were there but the main one has since shut down.
I sent a letter and photos of the car park stating inadequate signage upon entry to the car park and signage around the car park, as well as my reasons I was there for a long period.
I never got a reply so sent another letter to them stating I had not got a reply. ( not sent recorded unfortunately). I still did not get any response so I put it to one side and forgot about it, a couple of months ago in 2019! I got a text message from BW Legal about contacting them with regards to a legal matter, (not sure how they got my number as it has changed from when I had the fine but I never gave it out anyway) but I blocked them thinking it was a scam and there was no way I was phoning them, they did not refer to the parking charge or reference anything in the text, so having blocked them I never got anything else from them, then I got a letter a couple of months later saying they were taking me to small claims court for not paying my parking fine?? I the received the court letter stating I they have started a claim against me the next day.
Now I am a little confused how they can leave it 4 years to get in touch with me about this, when they never replied or sent anything after I appealed against it.
I filled in my defence, denied the fine and all liability and sent photos from 2014 and present day, where the signs have changed and moved, the camera has moved and an extra sign has been installed, they are still not visible from all areas in the car park and I still think they are inadequate, which I have read on a previous thread that they did not comply to the standards, where can I get this information as proof? I have also read about writing to the land owner, what do you ask or say?
I have also read about saying things like: the amount of charge is disproportionate, or how is it justified, or what is the grace period.
I am freaking out about this as I have gone through mediation and it was a joke, they said things that were contradictory to what is written on there fine paperwork and said one thing and came back and said completely the opposite, then I was told that I can not use anything that was said in the mediation in court??? The things they said would of made a laughing stock of them and proved my case without a doubt.
I can add more info but wanted to just cover the basics as I wasn't sure what to put in this without revealing too much.
I am awaiting my court date and would like to start gathering more evidence or getting help with this matter please.

beamerguy

Who is the parking company ?

Has BWLegal added FURTHER £60 to their claim

The_Deep

From what you have told us, if this gets before a judge they are likely to struggle, how much do they want? Have they added interest?

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP after the election, it can cause the scammer extra costs and work.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, 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.

[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]

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

Littlewadie

It is Premier Park Limited
The original fine was £100 but reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days but I had 28 days to appeal.
The letter I got from BW legal states £269.42 - £100 fine - £34.42 interest - £60 contractual costs - £25 court fee & £50 legal representative costs.
thanks

Half_way

First of all its not a fine.
secondly, search this forum the abuse of process
And finally for now, where is this retail park?

Littlewadie

Hi, The retail park is in Darlington, the former MFI store on Russell street, it used to be free and have no restrictions the last time I was there and it was open, but has since become a limited parking of 2 hours.

Le_Kirk

when was the last time you were there? Could you see any signs warning motorists of a change from free without restrictions to 2 hours limit. Also might be worth getting hold of the council planning dept. to see if there were any covenants or restrictions imposed when the original planning application for parking was granted and asking if the PPC applied for a change from, say Free to restricted.

Littlewadie

Thanks for the info, I will have to take a trip to the council office, does anyone know how you find out if they conformed to the standards, as I read in another thread that they didn't?
And how do you find the land owner is that the council too?

The_Deep

The letter I got from BW legal states £269.42 - £100 fine - £34.42 interest - £60 contractual costs - £25 court fee & £50 legal representative costs.

They might struggle in court, read this

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

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP after the election, or to all likely candidates now, it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and often, if they know an MP is in the loop, they will cancel the charge..

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, 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.

[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, serif]

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

beamerguy

Littlewadie wrote: »

It is Premier Park Limited
The original fine was £100 but reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days but I had 28 days to appeal.
The letter I got from BW legal states £269.42 - £100 fine - £34.42 interest - £60 contractual costs - £25 court fee & £50 legal representative costs.
thanks

I hope you have read the abuse of process thread
Abuse of Process ... District Judge tells BWLegal
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081/abuse-of-process-district-judge-tells-bwlegal

You will find the full defence in post #14 by coupon-mad

This happened in the Southampton court and BWLegal appealed.
The case was heard on the 11th November to which BWL presented a barrister. THEY LOST THE APPEAL

Coupon-mad spanked BWL

Because of the rulings of this court and others, you should now issue a severe complaint to the SRA about the scam £60 add-on
https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems.page

Redx

Littlewadie wrote: »

Thanks for the info, I will have to take a trip to the council office, does anyone know how you find out if they conformed to the standards, as I read in another thread that they didn't?
And how do you find the land owner is that the council too?

You check who pays the non domestic business rates plus if they had planning permission for cameras and advertising consent for signs

You Google the site for landowner or managing agent information

You do a forum search in case it's come up before

Lastly , you can pay the Land Registry a small fee