BW Legal 'Letter of Claim' 5yo PCN

[BagelBake123]

Hello all,

I'm looking for some help. On Friday my friend received a 'Letter of Claim' from BW Legal for a 5 year old PCN, Feb 2015, that they allege was received due to not displaying a valid ticket.

My friend would like some advice about whether to pay this or defend it. He acknowledges that he may have indeed forgotten to display a valid ticket due to being very late for work and not having any change. He does say that he remembers displaying a note which promised to be back as soon as he got change, but that when he did return he had received the PCN.

He told me he wrote to the issuing private car park firm and told them, as advised by his research on the internet, that he was defending the notice. This was due to inappropriate signage and disproportionate fine compared to loss of revenue. Although he knew this was a longshot he thought he'd try his luck and sent the letter regardless. He also requested their contract to issues tickets on that land.

My friend had no response to this at all and thought he had been successful. Like most people, it drifted from his mind until Friday last week and 5years later when this letter was received.

The difficulties are that firstly my friend admits he likely left no ticket and secondly he has no records of the appeal letter he sent. He is, however, hoping that the 5yrs passed might be adequate to nullify this claim or that there might be some other caveat that can save him a few hundred quid.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated...for my friend.

PS: I've copied the details below.

Principal Debt + Initial legal costs: 160.00
Estimated interest: 44.49
Estimated court fees: 25.00
Estimated solicitor's cost: 50.00
Estimated total: 279.00

https://i.imgur.com/k0dmFu2.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Bg089yu.jpg

[Bluey4543]

Like most of these companies they are trying to 'double dip', which is to increase the revenue in a roundabout way to try and get around the Parking Eye judgement. Courts have thrown these cases out as an abuse of process. Not even trying to disguise it as 'Initial Legal Costs' would cut much ice with the court.

The last one I am aware of was at Southampton County Court on the 11th November 2019, when District Judge Grand found that "£160 parking claims represented an abuse of process that tainted each case". He went on to say, " It was not in the public interest for courts to allow exaggerated claims to proceed and merely disallow the added £60 at trial on a case by case basis. To continue to do so would restrict the proper protections only to those relatively few consumers robust enough to reach hearing stage".

In response to the lateness of issuing a claim, I would point out the legal maxim of Laches:
"Equity aids the vigilant, not those who slumber on their rights".
Laches recognizes that a party to an action can lose evidence, witnesses, and a fair chance to defend himself or herself after the passage of time from the date the wrong was committed. If the defendant can show disadvantages because for a long time, he or she relied on the fact that no lawsuit would be started, then the case should be dismissed in the interests of justice.

[ostell]

So a SAR to the parking company to get all the documents.