Armtrac Security/BW Legal Letter of Claim

Brynjminjones · 4 December 2019 at 1:51PM

Hi Everybody,

It's my first time having to post here, although I've used advice from the forum many times in the past.

Way back in 2015 I received a parking ticket from Armtrac Security at Sennen Beach in Cornwall. I had paid for a ticket but I moved the car during the day and it must have disappeared. It was so long ago that I really don't remember better than that!

Back then I ignored all the letters, but I recently received a Letter of Claim from BW Legal.

I followed the advice on the Newbie thread on here by sending a SAR to Armtrac, and a letter explaining this to BW Legal.

Armtrac have responded to the SAR by only sending copies of the ticket itself, plus the "free" photoshoot of our car.
BW Legal have replied with the expected letter refusing to put anything on hold.

I don't believe that I have yet received an actual court claim.

I'm very conscious that I don't want to clog this place with yet another thread, however I've been reading through as many threads as I can, plus repeatedly going over the Newbie thread and I can't quite figure out at what point I need to take the next step.

Would I be correct to say that the next step will be an AoS? If so, do I do that now, or wait for the actual court claim.

Thank you all in advance, I apologise if I've missed something obvious!

Umkomaas · 4 December 2019 at 2:01PM

Well done on your research and actions so far.

The next stage of the process will be the receipt of a court claim via the Northampton CCBC which will need acknowledgement (AOS), so you can't do an AOS until the Court Claim is actually received.

Brynjminjones · 4 December 2019 at 2:03PM

Thank you. I will await the court claim and go from there. I'm sure I shall be back with more questions when the time comes!

Umkomaas · 4 December 2019 at 2:07PM

You might want to do some targeted research via keywords Armtrac Court and read other similar (recent) cases. Most follow a similar pattern and you can reasonably expect yours to do likewise.

HOW TO USE THE FORUM SEARCH FUNCTION:

Hit your 'Back' button to get back to the forum thread list. On the bar just above the threads you'll see the 'Search' function. Click on the 'Advanced Search' button and on the following page place your keyword(s) in the 'Search By Keyword(s)' and make sure the 'Show Results As' button (at the foot of the window) is changed from 'Threads' to 'Posts'.

Brynjminjones · 4 December 2019 at 2:17PM

Thank you, I'll make sure to do plenty of research to find answers before asking questions here!

Brynjminjones · 27 February 2020 at 2:55PM

Hi Everyone,
I've now received the official Claim Form from NCCBC.
I've been onto their website and sorted out the Acknowledgement of Service.
From what I've read, it looks like the next thing I need to do is start putting together my defense. Is that correct?
This is the part where I'm starting to struggle. Any guidance on how to start this process?

Thanks,
Bryn

nosferatu1001 · 27 February 2020 at 3:34PM

DATE OF ISSUE needed, plus the date you AoS'd

No need to ask. the newbies thread is exactly 100% correct. Read it.

Brynjminjones · 27 February 2020 at 3:51PM

I've read the newbies' thread, as implied above under "From what I've read". It's as a result of that that I'm here, so please treat me with a touch more respect.

The part of the newbies' thread that lead me here was "Urgently start your own thread - ONLY if you have no thread yet - if you do, please 'reply' with a court claim update on your existing thread if you already have an old one - and show us your own tailored draft defence and we'll assist on a case by case basis."

I'm unsure of where to start with my defence, so I was asking for others' opinions.
The date of issue was 05/02/20 and I performed the AoS on 17/02/20, so it look like I've got until 04/03/20.
I'm in the middle of buying a house, hence why this has taken somewhat of a backseat lately and now a little short on time.

The main point I'd like to raise in my defence is that I did in fact pay for a ticket, but unfortunately I don't have evidence of this. This is the main reason I'm looking for advice.

Thank you in advance to anybody kind enough to contribute.

D_P_Dance · 27 February 2020 at 3:54PM

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams, so consider complaining to your MP, it can cause the scammer extra costs and work, and has been known to get the charge cancelled.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.

Le_Kirk · 27 February 2020 at 4:06PM

When you read the NEWBIE sticky, did you see links to 17 (16 as the first link is broken) pre-written defences? That is the (second) best place to start, the first now being to search for Coupon-mad's recently posted Template Defence IF the claimant has added the spurious £60 "contractual costs" or similar wording.

nosferatu1001 · 27 February 2020 at 4:10PM

You asked
- should you start a defence? Well, yes. given the claim form instructs you to either pay or file a defence, thats fairly clear!
- that youd read the thread, and had read at least one of the defences.

Armtrac Security/BW Legal Letter of Claim

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