BWLegal £800 fine

Umkomaas

I'm currently unable to fill out my defence. I am trying to login into my money claim online account to fill in the defence

You're not using MCOL to submit your defence. Read step 4 of the 12 steps in the Template Defence Announcement. 

troublemaker22

You were never supposed to file the defence online at MCOL in the first place.  The advice on this forum is always to file the acknowledgment of service online and thereafter regard MCOL as read-only, filing your defence by emailing it to the court office at ccbcaq@justice.gov.uk and posting it to BW Legal or emailing it to BW Legal if they have provided an email address for this purpose.

But your post is alarming because if you can't get into your MCOL account, how did you file your acknowledgment of service?  Please answer this question ASAP   

Nexa

troublemaker22 said:

But your post is alarming because if you can't get into your MCOL account, how did you file your acknowledgment of service?  Please answer this question ASAP   

Thanks for the quick replies. The acknowledgements were both definitely filed through my MCOL account I must have forgot the password between the 21st and now. 

I will re-read the defence thread and update when they're prepared and ready to send.

Nexa

Writing the defence and the circumstances are coming back to me.

Essentially this was a car park next to my flat block operated by countrywide. I'd buy monthly permits to park there and because it didn't auto renew they would catch when there were 1 and 2 day gaps between the purchased permits. Is any of this worth including in the defence?

troublemaker22

The MCOL password for a particular claim isn't relevant after the first time you logged into that claim.  What you should be using for any subsequent MCOL visit is the Government Gateway ID and password you used at the start of that first visit.  Being old and borderline senile, I forget mine all the time. The boys and girls on the helpline have always managed to sort me out  0300 200 3600.  I think you should also be able to do it online https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services/problems-signing-in

Nexa

I have now drafted the defence exactly as Template defence to adapt for all parking cases with added 'admin/DRA' costs - edited 31st July 2023 — MoneySavingExpert Forum

The only point I have tailored is bullet point 3 which is a combination of the points recommended here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80343627/#Comment_80343627 (the breach was stated but vague). and the points about myself being a regular paying customer of the car park.

3. Preliminary matter: The claim should be struck out

The Defendant draws to the attention of the allocating Judge that there is now a persuasive Appeal judgment to support striking out the claim (in these exact circumstances of typically poorly pleaded private parking claims, and the extant PoC seen here are far worse than the one seen on Appeal).  The Defendant believes that dismissing this meritless claim is the correct course, with the Overriding Objective in mind.  Bulk litigators (legal firms) should know better than to make little or no attempt to comply with the Practice Direction.  By continuing to plead cases with generic auto-fill unspecific wording, private parking firms should not be surprised when courts strike out their claims based in the following persuasive authority.

 

A recent persuasive appeal judgment in Civil Enforcement Limited v Chan (Ref. E7GM9W44) would indicate the POC fails to comply with Civil Procedure Rule 16.4(1)(e) and Practice Direction Part 16.7.5. On the 15th August 2023, in the cited case, HHJ Murch held that 'the particulars of the claim as filed and served did not set out the conduct which amounted to the breach in reliance upon which the claimant would be able to bring a claim for breach of contract'. The same is true in this case and in view of the Chan judgment (transcript below) the Court should strike out the claim, using its powers pursuant to CPR 3.4. 

 

Moreover, I contest the claim on the grounds of being a paying customer actively engaged in purchasing monthly permits from the car park. The portal facilitating these permits lacked essentials reminders or automated payment functionalities. Consequently, the intermittent issuance of parking tickets occurred due to the 1-2 day gaps between my procurement of monthly permits, an oversight owing to the system’s failure to provide adequate alerts or streamlined payment options.

 

This recurring discrepancy in the permit portal’s functionality underscores a flaw within the claimant’s operational framework. The absence of automated reminders or seamless payment mechanisms contributed substantially to the issuance of purported unpaid parking charges, placing undue burden and confusion on a regular paying customer endeavouring to comply with the payment protocols

*Chan case attached here*


I will submit this to the email address ccbcaq@justice.gov.uk tommorow morning to meet the 4th Jan deadline

Nexa

Coupon-mad said:

Do the single one first.  Ideally this week.

Then in January - leave a fairly big gap between the two - do the multi-PCN one including the Henderson v Henderson point. Search the forum.

The henderson point won't stand as the two claims are from different companies at different car parks 

KeithP

Nexa said:

I'm currently unable to fill out my defence. I am trying to login into my money claim online account to fill in the defence and am being directed to a government gateway login.

The password I have for this is obviously incorrect and there is no facility to change it online and the forgotten password option simply grants you a temporary code and access to the main site.

I've called through to the HMRC number and am being prompted to call through to the 03300 200 3600 number and select 2 for personal tax account. I've spent much of the morning sat in this queue and am not getting anywhere.

Is there another way I can submit the defence?

I see that you have already overcome this problem but...

My most recent post on your thread said...

KeithP said:

Do not try and file a Defence via the MoneyClaimOnline website.

It also said:

KeithP said:

To create a Defence, and then file a Defence by email, look again at the second post on the NEWBIES thread - immediately following where you found the Acknowledgment of Service guidance.

See the words by email in there?

Nexa

Sorry for ignoring that @KeithP that would've made life easier

Trainerman

Nexa said:

Coupon-mad said:

Do the single one first.  Ideally this week.

Then in January - leave a fairly big gap between the two - do the multi-PCN one including the Henderson v Henderson point. Search the forum.

The henderson point won't stand as the two claims are from different companies at different car parks 

This is getting confusing