BW Legal Letter, confused about what stage I'm at!

RidgebackPlanter

Hello, 

I've been avidly reading the newbies thread and am confused what stage of the process I am now at and what to do next. The ticket is 4 years old, I have no memory of receiving it. Apparently all correspondence was sent to a very old address (not sure how or why, I thought I was quite careful at updating with the DVLA). BW Legal have now "found me" and are asking for £270. This is the first letter I've received from them and was dated February 3rd. 

Before finding this forum I called BW Legal on the date I received the letter (Feb 3rd). Since reading this forum seems that may have been a mistake! I can't tell what the letter is exactly as it doesn't have a title... no mention of court, it simply says "without prejudice" at the top. It begins "It's been a while..." and then goes on to request the money. Am I right in thinking it's not a CCJ? Do I simply wait for a CCJ to arrive?! On the phone the man was extremely unhelpful (shock) and said I had past the point of appeal and must seek independent legal advice. I then contacted citizens advice and they have put me in touch with a possible legal service who could help.

That was when I found this forum and, since reading up,  I have now contacted the traffic control company asking for data access, they have responded with all of the information of the original ticket plus pictures.

So. What do I do next? The company are an ITC member so from reading it seems I should not appeal and there's no point? Should I reply back to their email with the photographic evidence and explain my case or not bother? Should I say anything to BW Legal about formerly appealing? There are no options listed on the letter other than how to pay. Should I just give up and pay the money?! They have pictures of a ticket on my driver window, but I didn't receive it. I feel a bit stuck!

Any help greatly appreciated and I'm sorry if I've missed the answer somewhere in the threads! 

D_P_Dance

I've been avidly reading the newbies thread and am confused what stage of the process I am now at and what to do 

It is fully explained therein, keep reading it until everything becomes clear.  Have you complained to your MP?

 I have now contacted the traffic control company asking for data access, 

You have contacted whom?.  In matters such as this accuracy and clarity are a sine qua non.  

Fruitcake

Please tell us the name of the PPC. I hope you didn't give away the driver's name when you 'phoned.

It looks like you may have received a debt collector letter. The fourth post of the NEWBIES tells you why it is safe to ignore it. A LBC or LoC should have a heading telling you that you are being taken to court. If you haven't already received a court claim, you will be getting one at some point, so start preparing for it now.

You need to contact the DPO of the scammers in writing with a correction notice, telling them to erase your old data and replace it with your current address for service.

Also, double check the details on your V5C to make sure it is all correct. I think it will also tell you when you updated the keeper's details.

Please tell us the location of the alleged event as it may have cropped up here before. Please also tell us what happened when you complained to the landowner.

Umkomaas

Just post up a redacted scan/photo of the letter please. I'm not sure what they are offering on a 'Without Prejudice' basis. 

Redx

It is far too late to appeal , those first 2 stages expired several years ago

You are either at the debt collector letters stage giving 14 days notice , stage 3

Or more likely you are at the LBC stage with 30 days notice given , the pre court stage , stage 4

Post 2 of the newbies FAQ sticky thread tells you to reply to b w legal plus to eMail a SAR to the DPO at the PPC to obtain all your data

The next stage is stage 5 , a court claim pack from the CCBC in Northampton

You need to deal with stages 4 and 5 , you do not want a default CCJ to arrive

Ralph-y

all found here ...

direct link to court section in newbies thread
.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/64350585/#Comment_64350585

and  

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6108153/suggested-template-defence-to-adapt-for-all-parking-charge-cases-where-they-add-false-admin-costs#latest

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6130456/telephone-hearings-re-parking-firm-claims-can-we-all-discuss-strategy-and-outcomes-here/p1

Ralph

RidgebackPlanter

Hi everyone, 

Thanks you for your responses. I'll continue reading the links posted. To answer the questions that came up:

- No I've not yet written to my MP, I'll do that this morning. I think I saw a template on here somewhere so I'll dig that out. 

- I haven't complained to the landowner as 4 years later there doesn't seem much point. Should I? 

- I don't think I have my V5C for this car any longer, I'm no longer the keeper and haven't been for several years. I will see if I can get hold of any records from the DVLA about address changes. 

- The PPC is Norwich Traffic Control, I don't know how to find the DPO? Currently I've sent the SAR template just generally to the PPC and the replied.

- I don't think I gave away the name of the driver when I called BW Legal. I confirmed my own name and address when pressured to and when given the license plate of the car simply said "OK" without confirming either driver or keeper....I think!

- I have attached the redacted letter. The scribblings are from my call with Jay at BW Legal who provided an overview of how the charges had gotten so large. The first line of redacted information in the body of the letter is the address BW Legal said they sent some correspondence to in addition to an old address of mine. I am in no way affiliated with this address, never lived there, but I redacted it anyway because it must be someone's address! 

Thanks so much for the replies, really appreciate your time!

D_P_Dance

 BW Legal have now "found me" and are asking for £270. 

They might struggle with that sum in court.  More than likely in contains unlawful amounts, read  this,

Excel v Wilkinson

At the Bradford County Court, District Judge Claire Jackson (now HHJ Jackson, a Specialist Civil Circuit Judge) decided to hear a 'test case' a few months ago, where £60 had been added to a parking charge despite Judges up and down the country repeatedly disallowing that sum and warning parking firms not to waste court time with such spurious claims.   That case was Excel v Wilkinson: G4QZ465V, heard in July 2020 and leave to appeal was refused and that route was not pursued.  The Judge concluded that such claims are proceedings with 'an improper collateral purpose'.   This Judge - and others who have since copied her words and struck dozens of cases out in late 2020 and into 2021 - went into significant detail and concluded that parking operators (such as this Claimant) are seeking to circumvent CPR 27.14 as well as breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015.   DJ Hickinbottom has recently struck more cases out in that court area, stating: ''I find that striking out this claim is the only appropriate manner in which the disapproval of the court can be shown''.

and copy the correspondence to the SRA, it is time they put a stop to this deception by these bargain basement law firms.

Fruitcake

You have left your PCN number and BW's ref number showing. As a Newbie you probably can't edit your post so you need to ask a board guide to delete the image. Do this by using the Notification (envelope) icon near the top right of this page.
Board guides for this forum are savvy, soolin, and Crabman. (case sensitive).
It's a debt collector letter by the way, but you can expect a LBC followed by a court claim in the near future.

Normally the DPO's contact details will be on the PPCs "Contact Us" part of their website.

You don't wait for a CCJ. That's the last thing you want. 

Coupon-mad

The scribblings are from my call with Jay at BW Legal who provided an overview of how the charges had gotten so large. 

No he didn't!  He didn't provide an overview of anything.  Why on earth did you phone them?    Now they have your phone number and have been known to bombard people with texts and calls.  Why do people pick up the phone and believe this is a firm to talk to and listen to?

D_P_Dance

Never ever phone a scammer.  If this gets to court a judge will want a paper trail.  Have you complained to your MP?