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

Curlyben

Phsihing at it's phinest, gotta love BWL's temerity...
Everything in writing, FTW..

RidgebackPlanter

Thanks for your replies. I called them because the letter told me to and I'm a trusting soul! I've never had anything to do with them before and I panicked (before turning to google and finding this forum!) - I'll know better next time. I was cautious on the phone and tried my best not to give too many details because they guy was pretty pushy and it made me suspicious. I've not heard anything from them since but we shall see. 

Yes I have now complained to my MP.

The car in question is long gone and I no longer have the V5C, so will be contacting the DVLA tomorrow when they're open as I can't get any backdated information for the reg number/address changes using their online system. Tried and failed. 

Possibly a silly question but why do I need to redact the PCN number and BW's reference number?

nosferatu1001

YES complain to the landowner
if you never complain, for sure nothing will help you
For the sake of an email, I'd contact them...
Becauswe then they can definitively connect this thread to YOU

Fruitcake

RidgebackPlanter said:

Thanks for your replies. I called them because the letter told me to and I'm a trusting soul! I've never had anything to do with them before and I panicked (before turning to google and finding this forum!) - I'll know better next time. I was cautious on the phone and tried my best not to give too many details because they guy was pretty pushy and it made me suspicious. I've not heard anything from them since but we shall see. 

Yes I have now complained to my MP.

The car in question is long gone and I no longer have the V5C, so will be contacting the DVLA tomorrow when they're open as I can't get any backdated information for the reg number/address changes using their online system. Tried and failed. 

Possibly a silly question but why do I need to redact the PCN number and BW's reference number?

For two reasons. As already mentioned, they can identify you as keeper/defendant on this forum, and can and will use anything you write or show on here to show the court. You may say something that harms your case, and as this is a public forum they would be perfectly within their rights to show it to the judge.

Secondly, a person or persons unknown might decide with malice aforethought to send the scammers false information using your unique identifying numbers, whilst pretending to be you. The scammers could show this to a judge saying that the only person other than the claimant that had this information is you, therefore on the balance of probabilities, it was you who sent it.

RidgebackPlanter

An update....and things seem to have gotten a lot worse! 

1. Upon pressing the SAR sent to Norwich Traffic Control stipulating that I had requested for all data on me to be supplied and had only received information on this specific PCN they wrote back confirming that yes, there was more. In fact there are 3 PCN's outstanding from the same car park! 

2. Upon writing to BW Legal to confirm that I was seeking debt advice, they responded say that that was a pre-action protocol and that this case was not pre-action. A CCJ was actually issues in 2018. 

I've attached the screenshot but honestly, I'm really panicked. How has this got this far with me having no idea?! What's going to happen to the other two PCNs Norwich Traffic Control apparently issued?? Why haven't I heard about the CCJ and what does me accidentally ignoring it for 2 and a half years mean now?! HELP. 

Le_Kirk

Have you moved address and not updated your V5C with DVLA at any time around or just before October 2018?  This would explain why you received no PCN, debt collector letters, letter before claim or claim form.

nosferatu1001

OK so that taskes us back to...WHAT DO YOU HAVE FROM BW that sparked this off? You didnt give us a precise statement on this that I can see!
If you think you have a CCJ, call the CCBC and find out if you do. 
Tomorrow. You wont get through today before they close. IF you do, you want ALL THE DETAILS FROM THE CLAIM FORM, including obviously the address the claim was filed to. 
You did not "accidentally ignore" anything. Good grief don't blame yourself! If you did not get served court papers you haven't ignored anything! 
Ignoring is - you got a claim form and went nah, rubbish, and threw is away. Not getting anything is not "ignoring"
Do not pay them. That will not help you at all if you have a CCJ from 30 months ago
but first, find out if you have a CCJ. BW have lied before about people having CCJs

Coupon-mad

As always, how to set aside a parking CCJ is covered in post #2 of the NEWBIES thread. with examples of what to do and how to win.

NB:  Setting aside a CCJ DOES NOT NOT NOT mean paying the money to the parking firm.  That does not remove it.  There is a set process.

RidgebackPlanter

Thank you for your replies, as always. 

Here's an update and answers to the above:

- I have moved house many times since mid 2016. The address BW Legal had on file was incorrect, I had moved house roughly 7 months prior to the original PCN. I have now contact the DVLA and they are posting a form that I need to send to the Driver Vehicle Record Enquiry Department to get a full keeper listing of VRN's and when I changed my address. Apparently this costs £5. I'd always thought I was pretty good at changing my details with each move...but BW Legal must have gotten this address from there so perhaps I didn't change it. (The bizarre thing is there's an entirely different address listed on the original debt collector letter that I eventually received this month, which I've never lived at?!). I have also written back to BW Legal correcting my details with an update to my records. 

nosferatu1001 I did attach a picture and was told it was a "debt collection letter" but I was also told I'd left identifiable info on it (the PCN and Norwich Traffic Control Ltd's reference no.) so I removed it. I shall further redact it and re-upload so you can see. 

- Now, the CCJ is interesting. After receiving the information above for BW Legal I've responded requesting information on which address the CCJ is linked to. I'm not expecting them to tell me, if they even can, but the weird thing is I went through Trust Online .org (apparently the register for judgements according to gov.uk?) and paid the princely sum of £6 to see any CCJ's against my name and one specific address (annoyingly they can't search multiple addresses). I used the address that BW Legal had on file for me and there is no CCJ. I could search again for other addresses and pay again, but the correct address for me at the time the alleged CCJ was ordered (October 2018 - over 2 years after the initial PCN) was my parent's address and I would definitely have received any correspondence that was sent at that time. Any ideas on where a court would pull your address details from when issuing a CCJ? Would it be given to them from BW Legal (in which case it doesn't exist)? 

nosferatu1001 what is CCBC? I can't see it in the acronyms list on the newbies thread. 

- @Coupon-mad yes I'm knee deep in #2 as we speak. Do you think I should pay the £250ish to set it aside and then try and claim it back during my court date? If I lost the "appeal", as it were, in court could I still be refunded the CCJ money or do the two go hand in hand? And my final question, what do I do about other 2 PCN's I have just discovered, but had no correspondence on (other than what I never received in 2016/17 because of the same address mix up debacle)? I don't yet know if they're with BW Legal, can I send an SAR to to BW Legal as well to see what they hold on me? 

Curlyben

Try using one of the credit reference sites.
I've found Credit Karma pretty good to find an old CCJ for my wife on a previous address that we knew nothing about and are in the process of fighting.
As ever there are alternative methods to divest a feline of their fur coat.