BW Legal - Letter of Claim

easylife_2

Dear all, 

Firstly, thank you for all the excellent advice on this forum. I only post a thread as my case is quite particular, and to be sure I proceed in the best way.

I apparently over stayed in a retail car park in Exeter by 17 minutes (first two hours free) in Jan 23.  It was dark and I didn’t see the signs, although I assume they were there.  I work in Luxembourg and am resident there, and I was in a courtesy car at the time.  I never received the initial fine from the parking company, only the final notice at which point it was £70. I assume this delay was because the hire company gave an old UK address even though i hired it with my Luxembourg driving licence. The letters are addressed to an old addressin UK, although I no longer live there. I contacted the shop I used the car park to visit but they are unable to help. 

I am at the Letter of Claim point, with a deadline of 26 Nov 23.  The £60 charge has been added by BW legal so the penalty is now £130.

Although I think their behaviour is outrageous and they are effectively scammers I must admit I am feeling obliged to pay up. Spending most of my time in Europe makes it hard for me to keep on top of the letters as attending a court case would be very difficult.  I also don’t want to risk a CCJ and ruin my credit reference in UK. 

Alternatively, I contact them (by phone or email?) ask to have the £60 removed as I read elsewhere) , and then agree to pay the £70 in instalments?

I would be interested in peoples views/advice on the best way to proceed. 

Thanks in advance.

KeithP

You must ensure that both BWL and the parking company have your current address for service in Luxembourg.

Who is the parking company?

UncleThomasCobley

Did your wife admit to the PPC (which one?) that you were the "driver"?

Have a read of the Newbies/FAQ thread and the "Edna Basher" posts about how to deal with a hire/lease vehicle PCN. Golden ticket if the drivers identity has not been blabbed.

You need to send to the DPo of the PPC and the solicitor a data rectification notice instructing them to erase your old UK address and update their records with your current Luxembourg address for service. If necessary, do you have anything to prove your foreign address such as a utility bill or bank statement?

Coupon-mad

Your wife can't get involved as she is a third party.  That's why they ignored her.

 I work in Luxembourg and am resident there,

You need to email them yourself and say you no longer live in the UK and your permanent residence and service address is the Luxembourg address.

Attach proof such as tenancy/residency and your passport (number redacted).  Tell them to erase the old address as you were only visiting and hired that car.

DO NOT MENTION YOU HAVE A UK HOUSE.

easylife_2

Dear all, thanks for the helpful feedback. 

Regarding the questions - 1. my wife did not confirm the driver, she simply advised that the named person on the letter no longer resides at that address.
2. The PPC was G24 Ltd.

I will look through Edna Bashers posts as advised.

I will also email the DPO of PPC and the solicitor and advise of my Luxembourg residency. I will tell them to erase the old address as i was only visiting and hired that car.  I could attach various evidence, and was thinking of my residence permit and my LUX driving licence with numbers redacted.  I will prepare an email and post a redacted version here if okay to ensure I am not making any mistake

Thanks again for the help.

easylife_2

Dear all,

Please find below draft email to DPO of PPC and the solicitor.  Is this good to go?  Thanks for any further suggestions / guidance.

dataprotection@g24.co.uk

(FAO: Data protection officer, G24)

contact@bwlegal.co.uk

(FAO: Data protection officer, BW Légal)

Dear Sir/Madam,

Data Rectification Notice

PCN Reference: xxxxx

BWLegal reference: xxxxx

Regarding the above mentioned reference, I write to notify you that I no longer live in the UK, and haven’t done so for many years. 

My permanent residence and service address is Xxxxxxx, Luxembourg.  Please find attached a copy of my residency permit and my driving licence as confirmation.

You are hereby instructed to erase my old UK address as I was only visiting and hired the car.  Please update your records with my current Luxembourg address for service.

Yours sincerely,

(My name)

Coupon-mad

I would add that you were driving.  Just to be certain not to give them a sneaky reason to try taking it up with the hire firm again.

easylife_2

Thanks for all the helpful advice on this.

Would it be advisable to set up a new, temporary email address to send the above emails from? I would prefer to avoid getting into an email correspondence with the companies if possible?

UncleThomasCobley

easylife_2 said:

Thanks for all the helpful advice on this.

Would it be advisable to set up a new, temporary email address to send the above emails from? I would prefer to avoid getting into an email correspondence with the companies if possible?

No reason why you shouldn't.

easylife_2

OMG- BWLegal is simply awful.

So you can’t email them (I received a no reply message from their email address, directing me to the customer portal). The only way it seems to send them something electronically is via their customer portal which requires vast amounts of unnecessary data including date of birth etc. Plus it needs a UK address which I don’t have.

I guess I have no choice but to send them my data rectification letter by post with recorded delivery? Grateful for any advice on how to proceed. 

These companies should without doubt be illegal

easylife_2

Or do I access the portal using the incorrect UK address they keep writing to, and then try to submit the day rectification letter….

Thanks for advice