BW Legal PCN Letter of Claim

bowling_queen

Received a PCN Smart Parking and chased for years by debt collectors.  Received Letter before Claim from BW Legal now.  For background, I paid to park for a full 24 hours and did not overstay.  I sent proof of payment (cc statement) to first appeal but rejected.  Appealed to POPLA and again rejected.  Obtained correspondence from POPLA and discovered for the first time my alleged breach was an incorrect VRN (no evidence has ever been provided of whether it was minor/major).  A reduced offer was supposedly sent (but never received) and the expiry had already expired before I received via POPLA.  Never sent directly from Smart Parking - had no date, address, not on headed paper or email address - totally fabricated to make it look like they complied with their own code of practice in my opinion.  I have totally new to this situation and would welcome any advice going forwards.  I don't understand how I am being pursued for court action for something I paid in full (they have no loss) and Smart Parking have now acknowledged payment was made.  Plus additional costs of £70 have been added. 
Any help in the right type of reply as I wish to defend the case would be appreciated as I am concerned in replying to BW Legal I will not enclose the right information and jeopardize my defence.  Many Thanks.

Gr1pr

Study the 2nd post in the newbies sticky thread in announcements near the top of the forum 

Email the LoC response template to B W Legal,  no additions,  no stories either,  just the template response 

If you receive a subsequent N1SDT court claim pack from the CNBC in Northampton using MCOL,  come back to this thread for further assistance 

bowling_queen

Thank you for your response, very helpful. I have found the template for BW Legal. 
Currently, we have no evidence of the actual breach eg. VRN possibly entered incorrectly.  Should I ask at this stage for them to produce this evidence?

bowling_queen

Sorry meant to add in my earlier comment that the actual PCN was issued for breach details 'insufficient paid time'.  As said previously, we paid for a full 24 hours and did not overstay.

Gr1pr

Don't worry about it at this time,  less is more,   save the ammunition for the real fightback 

Coupon-mad

Yep do not ask for details. You positively want a claim form with no detail! 

I assume you're not in Scotland,

bowling_queen

In the UK.  Returned the template 'letter' to BW Legal yesterday via email.  Didn't fill out any of their forms enclosed regarding financial details etc. Just used the 'upload documents' facility to send back reply (website not user-friendly).  All about getting paid!  Will wait and see what happens now.  Have I got a realistic chance of defending this based on the facts I supplied?  I am absolutely determined that I want to try.  Thanks for the reply and advice.

bowling_queen

Sorry that should of said in England - not Scotland.

bowling_queen

Please could I have further  help and advice on any response to BW Legal.  I have asked some specific questions below.

Reply received from BW Legal - following our response to their letter before claim.
Dear .......
It is the overriding objective of the courts for parties to settle matters amicably without the need for a formal hearing. This includes raising any disputes and concerns with either party, prior to the issue of a County Court claim, to ensure court time is not wasted and additional costs are not incurred unnecessarily.  

Please be advised that this mater has been placed on hold for 30 days.  

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 insufficient paid time. 

This is neither damages or consideration for parking, it is for breaking the terms and conditions of the site. 

Please could you provide us with proof of ticket purchase inclusive of your vehicle registration so we may investigate this matter further.  

Please note that we will not be providing a copy of the agreement between our Client and the landowner. The document is commercially sensitive and shall only be produced if the matter progresses to formal hearing at Court. 

However we can confirm that our Client holds the necessary right with the landowner to issue PCN's and take legal action to recover outstanding balances where needed.  

Please be advised that this matter has been placed on hold and a query has been raised with our client for the relevant terms and conditions.  

Once we have received further information from our client, you will be contacted with an update.

Questions -

1)  Do I supply evidence of payment which was by credit card statement, this was already supplied previously at appeal so they should have it? (I do not have original ticket).  The credit card statement shows the name of the car park in question and the date of payment, plus my name & address plus proof of payment for a full 24 hour period.

2)  Do I at this stage request evidence from them of any potential keying errors?  They are claiming the breach is for insufficient time paid. Paid a full 24 hours and no overstay.

3)  Any other comment regarding how I address their above reply regarding the statement the £170 charge is neither damages or consideration for parking, but for breaking the terms and conditions of the site.

Thank you for any help.

Coupon-mad

When you get replies from such idiots please don't post them here like they are new & different!

Search the forum for some words from the reply instead. I just did that search and found this in one second flat:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81382305/#Comment_81382305