Received Letter of Claim – Smart Parking / BWLegal – Collingham House, Wimbledon

JoeBloggs900

I've read the NEWBIES thread and I’m posting now for further guidance. I’ve received a Letter of Claim from BW Legal acting for Smart Parking Ltd and have attached it below (with personal details redacted). The letter is dated 20 March 2025 with a deadline of 19 April.

The alleged contravention dates back to January 2023 at Collingham House in Wimbledon (Over 2 years ago!!). Due to an old address being on the vehicle’s V5C at the time, no previous correspondence was received. This Letter of Claim is the first notification received about the matter.

The circumstances are unclear due to the time that’s passed, but it's likely that the driver intended to visit Evans Cycles (which has its own allocated bays above the shop) and may have accidentally parked in a different private bay. The images provided by Smart Parking are very dark (virtually black) and only show a cropped view of the number plate — no visible signage or wider context.

No action has been taken yet.
Nothing has been sent to BWLegal, Smart Parking, or the landowner. No SAR has been submitted yet, and no response has been made to the Letter of Claim. I wanted to post here first and make sure I’m going about this in the correct way and in the right order.

Would appreciate guidance on:

• What to do next and in what order
• Whether to send the robust BW Legal response (as per the forum guidance)
• Whether it’s worth complaining to Evans Cycles or the site owner of Collingham House

Thanks in advance for any help.

Gr1pr

1) Email the LoC response template in the newbies sticky thread post 2 to B W Legal 

2) plan A is always worth pursuing,  but dont assume that any business is the landowner,  always check 

3) do not submit a SAR to the DPO at Smart Parking 

Smart Parking never comply with Pofa so do not reveal who was driving 

JoeBloggs900

Thank you, to confirm I will send the below (with relevant details put in the XXX) Please confirm this OK, especially the bit about the alleged bays and what a driver may have misunderstood them as. If not necessary I will take it out.

---

Dear Sirs,

Your Ref. XXX
Proposed Legal Proceedings
Claimant: XXX

I refer to your letter of claim.

I confirm that my address for service for the time being - assuming you don't faff about and delay any claim - is as follows, and any older address must be erased from your records:

XXX

The alleged debt is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

I am sourcing and seeking independent debt advice and as such, I formally request that this matter be put on hold for an additional 30 days, in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims 2017 ('the PAP').

I note that the amount being claimed has increased by a hugely exaggerated amount which the Government called "extorting money from motorists".

Don't send me your usual blather about that.

This event dates back over two years and there is no clear recollection of the circumstances. The location appears to be a shared car park above a bicycle shop in Wimbledon, with bays presumably intended for customers. It is possible the vehicle was parked there by a visitor to the shop. 

I have two questions, and under the PAP I am entitled to specific answers:

1. Am I to understand that the additional £70 represents what you lot dress up as a 'Debt Recovery' fee, and if so, is this net or inclusive of VAT? If the latter, would you kindly explain why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT?

2. With regard to the principal alleged PCN sum: Is this damages, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking?

Yours faithfully

XXX

Gr1pr

Personally I would stick to the template response and not add anything else,  certainly not about the bays and bicycle shop  ( I never mentioned adding to the response   )

JoeBloggs900

I emailed disputesolution, info, complaints and customerinfo @ yet received only one response about email being blocked, but it is confusing as it does not state which one is invalid.

Should I proceed with writing the same letter in the portal?

Important Notice Please Read

 
This email address is no longer a valid email address to contact BW Legal. Your email has not been received. It is being returned as undelivered and we have not received any information from you.

We thank you for trying to contact us and have set out below the correct way to get in touch.

BW Legal has changed the way it communicates with its customers. We have done this so that we can help identify and understand your needs quicker and respond in a more efficient and secure environment.

To get in touch with us now, all you have to do is click on the 'Contact Us' button below and you will be taken to our Customer Contact Portal. Following a few very quick security questions to establish that you are our customer and to locate your account, you will then be able to complete a Contact Form which is a secure form that we will respond to.

For any future contact you can just visit our website at www.bwlegal.co.uk and select our help and support page.

Kind Regards

Customer Support Team

ChirpyChicken

you will get a claim regardless
Defend your claim on no keeper liability grounds

Coupon-mad

Doesn't matter which one bounced.  The others didn't. And it doesn't affect anything.

And the reply isn't designed to stop the claim, just to look reasonable later.

Le_Kirk

If you are bothered enough (notwithstanding the replies above) you could send four separate emails, one to each of the addresses you have and see which one (or more) bounces!

JoeBloggs900

Just an update - I received the following back to my email I sent to them:

Thank you for contacting us, please find our response below: Good Afternoon Please note that we have hold your address XXX A PCN is not subject to VAT as it is not an invoice. A PCN is a reminder of your contractual obligations to adhere to the terms and conditions of parking and notification that these terms have been breached due to unauthorised parking. Should you wish to dispute this matter further please seek your own legal advise.  Kind Regards  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. You can also log into our Customer Portal by clicking here, and go to the Contact History of your account to view the contact.

 

Yours sincerely,

BW Legal

Coupon-mad

Dear BW Legal,

I didn't ask you about VAT on the PCN.

Try again: VAT does apply to DRA fees, so who is expected to pay that element, in this case? Me?

yours faithfully,

JoeBloggs900

They once again evade the question. Should I carry on or not bother? Does it matter if I kick the hornets nest too much or irrelevant?

Good Morning, 

Thank you for your email.

The Parking Charge issued is for the sum of £100.00 and our additional costs amount to £60.00. The relevant Code of Practice laid out by the International Parking Community (IPC) states that £100.00 is a reasonable amount to charge for the breach of contract within our Client's car parks. The additional cost of £60.00 represents the nature and type of work undertaken by debt recovery agents in the collection of the balance of the unpaid Parking Charge.

Our Client is satisfied that you remain liable for the cost of the PCN and the costs of debt recovery, due to non-payment of the charge in question.