Response from Bw legal

Sunflower15

I am at the state of letter before claim and sent an email to BW legal after reading the newbies thread asking the required questions re additional costs, this is what they have responded with, any advice on what to do or say going forwards?

The signage in situ makes provision for our client to recover any additional costs (Contractual Costs) incurred by them in relation to the PCN. The Contractual Costs referred to above formed part of the terms and conditions (of the parking contract) which were accepted by you in the course of staying at the Car Park. Save for the fact that the sum of £60.00 attributable towards these costs are entirely reasonable for nature and type of work involved in recovering the parking charge, such costs are recoverable under the relevant parking code of practice.

The PCN charge is regarded as a charge for contravening the terms and conditions. The sum payable following the issue of the PCN occurs on the happening of a specific event (i.e. a material breach of the terms and conditions) and is therefore a core term of our Client’s contract with you. It is irrelevant whether or not the charge as displayed bears any relation to the cost for parking (even where there is no cost involved). Our Client relies on the leading authority of ParkingEye Limited v Beavis [2015] UKSC 67, where the Supreme Court held that PCN charges, like this charge, serve a legitimate commercial interest. The relevant car parking Codes of Practice, also give guidance that £100.00 is a reasonable sum to charge.

If you have any further issues or new questions that you would like us to assist you with, we kindly request that you use the contact options below to submit a new query.

KeithP

OK, presumably you have a parking ticket.
Can you please tell us a little more about the alleged parking event?

It looks like any of the background information that may have been in your earlier posts has been deleted for some reason.

Sunflower15

KeithP said:

OK, presumably you have a parking ticket.
Can you please tell us a little more about the alleged parking event?

It looks like any of the background information that may have been in your earlier posts has been deleted for some reason.

I parked in a car park that I’d parked in previously but it was taken over by a different company and they changed the signage and the tarrif, I drive a van and they changed the parking tarrif for vans to £15 a day, previously it was just the same as a car, I didn’t check the signage I just went to the machine to pay, the machine was the same as before and it has no option to select a tarrif, you just put in your hours selection and then pay, so I just did that as normal, I then got a parking fine which I tried to appeal and the appeal was rejected as they said the signage was clear, nothing came of it since then until I received 2 letters from bw legal 

Coupon-mad

Dear BW Legal,

You didn't answer my VAT question.

Am I to assume that you are not accounting for VAT on your £60 DRA 'fee'?  You can't tell me to pay a DRA fee without telling me if the £60 is nett or inclusive of VAT, which I specifically asked.

Do not reply telling me that PCNs are VAT free.  I'm not asking you about your client's meritless parking charge. I'm asking about your £60 enhancement.

I will show your response to HMRC because nothing you have said has told me that you do account for VAT on your so-called 'fee', collecting an extra 20% from your client and properly sending that part to HMRC.

Or am I being charged the VAT element within the extortionate £60?

It's a really simple question.

Yours faithfully,

 

Sunflower15

Coupon-mad said:

Dear BW Legal,

You didn't answer my VAT question.

Am I to assume that you are not accounting for VAT on your £60 DRA 'fee'?  You can't tell me to pay a DRA fee without telling me if the £60 is nett or inclusive of VAT, which I specifically asked.

Do not reply telling me that PCNs are VAT free.  I'm not asking you about your client's meritless parking charge. I'm asking about your £60 enhancement.

I will show your response to HMRC because nothing you have said has told me that you do account for VAT on your so-called 'fee', collecting an extra 20% from your client and properly sending that part to HMRC.

Or am I being charged the VAT element within the extortionate £60?

It's a really simple question.

Yours faithfully,

 

Thankyou!! 

Any ideas what the legalities are around the actual payment machine not giving the option for different tariffs, when I queried this with the parking company they said you can only pay for vans via the PayByPhone app which it states on the sign but surely they can’t refuse cash payments? 

Coupon-mad

Yes they can do anything.  Whether it is a fair and prominent term is quite another matter!