BW Legal claim form received

simms1927

Hi guys. Great forum and i really appreciate anybody that takes the time to respond and help me. I have received a claim form from BW legal on behalf of National car parks limited. Issue dated 20 nov 2019. It relates to a PCN for parking contravention on 27/02/2019. My wife paid for a parking ticket but overstayed (stuck in dentist's chair) by approx 30mins. I stupidly threw all the forthcoming letters in the bin thinking it would go away. Obviously they are chasing me as the registered keeper of the vehicle but my wife was driving that day. I have sent a SAR to BW legal and one to NCP. I have also completed the acknowledgment of service. I am heading to the car park tomorrow to check signage etc. The claim is for 245.64. breakdown is amount claimed 170.64, court fee 25.00, legal rep cost 50.00. In the particulars of the claim it states, "The claimant's claim includes 60.00 costs as set out in the terms and conditions.

1) My first question is, do I start my defence with the fact that I was not the driver? Maybe a silly question but please go easy on me! I am a complete newbie to all of this.

I will update with details of signage etc when i have been for a look.
Thanks again for any help. Very much appreciated

KeithP

simms1927 wrote: »

Issue dated 20 nov 2019. I have also completed the acknowledgment of service.

With a Claim Issue Date of 20th November, and having done the Acknowledgment of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 23rd December 2019 to file your Defence.

That's 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. No need to do anything on MCOL, but do check it 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 trying to keep you under pressure. Just file it.
   
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.

simms1927

Thankyou for such a quick response. That is a great help. I will be doing some research over the coming days for my defence and trying to put a draft together. Once again thanks, any help is greatly appreciated.

The_Deep

The claim is for 245.64. breakdown is amount claimed 170.64, court fee 25.00, legal rep cost 50.00.

Let them take you to court where, hopefully the judge will throw the claim out and report them to their disciplinary body, 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]




[FONT=Times New Roman, serif] .[/FONT]

beamerguy

simms1927 wrote: »

The claim is for 245.64. breakdown is amount claimed 170.64, court fee 25.00, legal rep cost 50.00. In the particulars of the claim it states, "The claimant's claim includes 60.00 costs as set out in the terms and conditions.

1) My first question is, do I start my defence with the fact that I was not the driver? Maybe a silly question but please go easy on me! I am a complete newbie to all of this.

I will update with details of signage etc when i have been for a look.
Thanks again for any help. Very much appreciated

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

The_Deep

Good stuff Beamish let us up the pressure on these low rent dirty shirts.

simms1927

Thanks guys. I had read the above threads and it was the southampton case that particularly gave me hope of a win. It would give me great satisfaction to beat this!!

Le_Kirk

1) My first question is, do I start my defence with the fact that I was not the driver? Maybe a silly question but please go easy on me! I am a complete newbie to all of this.

Not a silly question at all, asked often on here. What you have to ask yourself is "was I actually the driver or just cannot remember? What will I say if/when asked by a judge in court?" If you will be able to answer truthfully that you were not the driver, you could try it as RK and the claim fails if the PPC have not successfully transferred liability to the RK due to failing POFA. If you cannot answer truthfully about being the driver, it might be better to defend as driver, as least that way, all the evidence you give later in the process will be from your own knowledge and observation.

simms1927

Thankyou Le_kirk. Yes i can truthfully state that i was not the driver at the time of the offence. My wife had parked in the car park to go to the dentist directly opposite the car park. I would imagine if needed, she could get evidence of her appointment that day which would coincide with the parking charge (not sure if that would be any help). With regards POFA, i have read paragraph 9 which says about timescales for them issuing the pcn but i have no idea of when i received any of the original documentation or therefore if it was within the given timeframes. I have been up to the carpark and had a look at the signage. I am far from an expert but all the signage seems pretty clear. If i was being fussy i could say the writing on the terms and conditions sign was very small. I will try and upload images of the signage and maybe an expert could pick holes in it.
So i am still unsure where to start with my defence. I assume i should start with abuse of process and cite the southampton case.
1) should i mention in my defence that i have reported the £60 add on scam to the SRA or is that irrelevant?
2) is it even a defence saying i wasnt the driver?
3) how do i defend throwing all the letters in the bin and not responding to any?
Once again thanks for any help. Really appreciate that you guys spend your time helping out people like me who havent got a clue about all this!
Ps. I tried to add link to photos of the signage but as i am a new user it prevented me adding it.

Coupon-mad

I tried to add link to photos of the signage but as i am a new user it prevented me adding it.

Please just change the http to hxxp and add a gap as well, if need be, and just post the (deliberately broken) image URL - don't try to upload or link it.

Also show us the Notice to Keeper sent to you. The 'PCN' (first letter).

Was there a windscreen PCN?

Was this a railway car park?

How long exactly is this alleged overstay - how long before paying?

How long after expiry of the ticket?

Your defence needs to start with the facts which includes that the D was not the driver. Base it on other grace period PDT machine NCP defence threads, we have several recent ones for the sake of a split second forum search!

simms1927

Thankyou coupon-mad. I'll try the link again and then answer the questions.
hxxps://photos.app.goo.gl/3uVkgchV9Hb39Gou9