PCN escalated to debt collector– never got original notice, what next?

crumbs2323

Coupon-mad said:

No please show the LiveChat not the template letters.

  

Here you go, thank you for all of your help so far btw:

Crumbs 12:43

I dispute this alleged debt in full.

• I did not receive the original PCN or reminders, and therefore had no opportunity to appeal. I am responding at the first opportunity on receipt of your letter.
• I was a genuine customer of the cinema on the date in question and enclose my receipt as proof.
• The bay beside me was blocked by a bollard, and when I parked another vehicle was straddling the lines, leaving me no reasonable option but to position my vehicle slightly outside the markings. This caused no obstruction or loss and any alleged breach was de minimis.
• The added £70 “debt recovery” sum is not legally recoverable and amounts to double recovery.

BWlegal 12:43

Please allow me just one moment to review for you.

BWlegal 12:45

On the date of contravention, our Client applied to the DVLA to ascertain the details of the Registered Keeper as at the Contravention Date, which returned your name and an address of Crumbs.

If this address was not correct as at the date of the contravention, this is entirely of your own doing as the onus is upon you to ensure that the DVLA are kept up-to-date with your correspondence details. It is entirely the responsibility of the Registered Keeper of the vehicle, to ensure the address on the vehicle logbook is always correct with the DVLA and it is an offence to fail to do so, under Regulation 18 (1) The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002. Our Client cannot be held responsible for mail, arriving at a correct address provided by the DVLA, remaining unread, as a result of the failure to update the vehicle logbook.

BWlegal 12:46

I can confirm the full balance remains due and owing.

BWlegal 12:46

Please be advised, the signage in situ makes reference to additional costs of debt recovery being incurred due to the non-payment of a PCN. It is our Client’s position that a contract was formed when your vehicle entered and remained on the land in question, in excess of the grace period, and this included the terms and conditions regarding additional costs. Our Client is satisfied that under the parking contract, the additional costs incurred are recoverable and you are liable for the same.

Crumbs 12:47

I acknowledge the photographs you have provided. However, these do not reflect the circumstances at the time I parked. The vehicle in the bay to my left was encroaching considerably into my space, leaving me no practical option other than to position my car slightly over the line. The bay to my right was not in use, being blocked by a fixed bollard, so my parking caused no obstruction or loss to anyone.

In these circumstances, any alleged breach was entirely trivial and unavoidable. Pursuing a genuine customer for £170 under such conditions is disproportionate, unfair, and wholly unreasonable.

BWlegal 12:48

Whilst we sympathise with the circumstances described, this does not negate your liability under contract and our Client is satisfied you remain liable for the PCN issued and subsequent outstanding balance. We would also note, our Client provided you with the opportunity to appeal this matter and provided details of the appeals process on the Notices sent to you. You failed to appeal within the prescribed time frame and our Client will not consider an appeal at this late stage.

BWlegal 12:48

Should you wish to continue disputing this matter, it is recommended that you seek your own legal advice.

Crumbs 12:48

I note your response.

For the avoidance of doubt:

• I did not receive the original PCN and therefore had no opportunity to appeal in the usual way. I am now responding at the first opportunity.
• On the date in question I was a genuine cinema customer, and the positioning of my vehicle was unavoidable due to the adjacent car encroaching into my bay and the neighbouring space being blocked by a bollard. My parking caused no obstruction or loss and any alleged breach was de minimis.
• The added £70 “debt recovery” fee is not legally recoverable. Whether or not it is mentioned on signage, courts consistently regard this sum as an attempt at double recovery. I put you on notice that I will robustly contest this in any proceedings.

BWlegal 12:49

I will not be reiterating the points I have already discussed with you.

BWlegal 12:49

I have provided you the evidence and advised the costs are noted on the signage in situ, you chose to park in the car park and not within the terms and conditions displayed and the parking charge was correctly issued.

BWlegal 12:50

Should you wish to set up a plan, please confirm the amount. Failure to set up a payment plan could result in further collections activity and could result to issuing legal proceedings against you.

BWlegal 12:51

The photos clearly show your vehicle parked over the lines which breached the T&C’s displayed, I would recommend you seek your own legal advice to avoid further costs.

Crumbs 12:51

For the record, I dispute this alleged debt in full.

I have explained my position, including that I was a genuine cinema customer and that my parking caused no obstruction as the bay beside me was not in use.

The added £70 is not legally recoverable.

Please ensure all further correspondence is sent in writing only to my address.

Thank you

BWlegal 12:52

Please seek your own legal advice.

BWlegal 12:53

Is there anything else I can help with today?

Coupon-mad

BWlegal 12:53
Is there anything else I can help with today?

LOL! I can think if a few things they can do with themselves!

crumbs2323

Coupon-mad said:

BWlegal 12:53
Is there anything else I can help with today?

LOL! I can think if a few things they can do with themselves!

Is the general advice now to wait for any more correspondence?

Gr1pr

crumbs2323 said:

Coupon-mad said:

BWlegal 12:53
Is there anything else I can help with today?

LOL! I can think if a few things they can do with themselves!

Is the general advice now to wait for any more correspondence?

Correct,  you will react   ( or not   ) at the appropriate time to appropriate paperwork 

kryten3000

Hopefully you have ensured BW Legal and the parking company have been instructed to update their records with your current "address for service".  That protects you if they "accidentally" issue a claim to the old address.

jd576

crumbs2323 said:

The allegation is that my car was parked over the bay lines. 

Does the signage in the car park explicitly contain a term on it that says you must park within the bay lines and if you don't a parking charge will be due? 

crumbs2323

I have just gotten this email which is the first time they have contacted me since the last letter I received.

This is what it says:

We have written to you on numerous occasions and your balance remains outstanding. If you can pay the balance now and stop the matter from escalating, please click the make a payment link below.

If you need to pay over a plan, we can help, but you must contact us. The benefits of a plan are: -

Benefits of setting up an arrangement to pay

• Once you have a plan in place, you will not receive further letters, calls, emails or SMS chasing the balance.
• This would prevent your case from escalating through our collections process, which could, if applicable, reach a legal stage.
• If this account is being reported to credit reference agencies, then setting up a repayment plan may help improve your credit score as the balance reported each month reduces.

This is an important matter and should not be ignored. Let us help you take control of clearing the balance based on your affordability, providing you with peace of mind.

If you have a query, you can log this via our customer portal. Send us all the details and we will investigate and ensure any contact attempts are stopped whilst we investigate.

Remember, we are here to support you and want to help you resolve this. Don't let this matter escalate.

Get in touch now so we can find the right solution to repay the outstanding balance of £170.00.

Don't let this matter escalate. Get in touch now

• Get in touch by calling us on 0113 487 0432
• Chat with us by clicking the 'Live chat' link below to connect to an agent
• Fully manage your account and set up plans via our customer portal at portal.bwlegal.co.uk
• Raise a query or tell us something via our contact form at myaccount.bwlegal.co.uk/help

Do I continue to ignore?

I am also moving address again now and have updated my VS5 to reflect this - is it their responsibility to check my updated address before sending more letters or do I have to tell them?

Please advise and thank you all!

crumbs2323

jd576 said:

crumbs2323 said:

The allegation is that my car was parked over the bay lines. 

Does the signage in the car park explicitly contain a term on it that says you must park within the bay lines and if you don't a parking charge will be due? 

Annoyingly I think it does and they sent a pic of that to me… Just didn’t think at the time that they would be so pedantic about it given the circumstances how the part of the car that was outside of the bay lines wasn’t even in use and not obstructing anybody…

crumbs2323

kryten3000 said:

Hopefully you have ensured BW Legal and the parking company have been instructed to update their records with your current "address for service".  That protects you if they "accidentally" issue a claim to the old address.

I am not sure if I did but I will know if they send anything to my old address as my friend lives there. And yes it is very annoying how he did not tell me about the initial letters I think he was just piling them up and did not think they were important… I have spoken to him since about that so don’t think it will happen again lol

Coupon-mad

Just ignore them.