Outside Bay, now got Letter of Claim claiming £100 fine instead of the signaged £90

Cat_Dave

Driver had a valid parking ticket, but was parked safely along a wall (no yellow lines) at edge of a full outdoor carpark. Fine issued for £90 for 'parking in an unauthorised manner and not within a bay'
Now B W legal are chasing for collection. They have sent an email response claiming ' £100.00 remains unpaid for the Parking Charge Notice. Additionally, you are also liable for our £60.00 instructions fee as your file has been passed to us.'
This is despite signage and earlier correspondence stating the penalty is £90 
1) Is there a route to dismissing the claim based on the £10 discrepancy/overcharge?
2) Is there any defence for not being in a marked bay but parking safely in a full car park? I believe the driver pulled over to buy a ticket whilst waiting to find a spot in a queue: after waiting 20mins for one to vacate the car was simply left safely alongside the wall

Thanks for your help!
 

nosferatu1001

1) it would obviously be part of a defence IF they file a claim for £100, but it is not a defence against the underlying claim of course
2) No, not really. If the car park was full they leave. THats the rules.  
but
That doesnt mean there is NO defence at all. Youve read the newbies thread by now?

Redx

1) no , but it can be a part of the dispute as to what may or may not be owed, only a judge can dismiss the claim if the CRA was broken or similar

2) not really , the signage decides on the terms and conditions, so signage plays a crucial part in whewre a vehicle can or cannot park, the signage forms the contract, lack of bays despite taking your payment is frustration of contract

which parking company ?

email a SAR to the DPO of the parking company to get your data , attachig a copy of the V5C under GDPR

there was no fine

there was no penalty

there was a pcn , an invoice

Browntoa

All the information and template letters are in the "newbies thread" at the top of this section .

Nothing bespoke about your situation

DoaM

If they raised a claim for £160 on the basis of £100 PCN + £60 recovery charges then part of your defence would be:

a) The original PCN was for £90 ... the claimant's claim for £100 shows that it is a robo-claim which has had no solicitor oversight at all (a solicitor would not be expected to miss such a fundamental detail) therefore the claim is fundamentally flawed;
b) The £60 is an attempt at double recovery and thus an abuse of process, as agreed by the Supreme Court in the Beavis case where the £85 PCN cost was adjudged to have included general business costs, including debt recovery costs.

D_P_Dance

1) Is there a route to dismissing the claim based on the £10 discrepancy/overcharge?

I think that this is a breach of PoFA, Schedule 4, have a read

Additionally, you are also liable for our £60.00 instructions fee as your file has been passed to us.'
No you are not, this charge is unlawful, read this
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081/abuse-of-process-district-judge-tells-bwlegal

and report them to the SRA for abuse.

https://www.sra.org.uk/

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP, it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and has been known to get the charge cancelled.

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.

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.