Excel/BW Legal final letter advice needed

[MisterProzilla]

Hi everyone,

 

 

We paid to park for two hours at Gosforth Shopping Centre in Newcastle on 28/03/15

, were literally about 4 minutes late back to the car as the little one needed the toilet

at the last minute before leaving a party, and caught the Excel Parking Inspector ticketing the car

(he refused to let it go, obviously).

 

 

Got the usual letters which we ignored without acknowledging or appealing (Following outdated advice, our fault I know).

We thought they'd given up,

 

 

recently had a couple of letters from BW Legal demanding £154,

the Final Letter threatening county court action,

we have to assume at this point they're serious.

 

 

Not sure about the best course of action here,

I've put together a letter to the landowner,

 

 

any advice would be great on contents or alternatives.

 

 

The 'each component' section in bold is my own addition to the advice I've picked up through browsing forums,

though not sure if it's inadvisable for any reason?

 

 

14 June 2016

Dear Sir/Madam,

 

 

In response to a letter threatening legal action from BW Legal regarding the above reference, dated 6 June 2016,

acting on behalf of Excel Parking Services, who claim in turn to be acting on your behalf:

I do not believe I owe your company, or Excel Parking Services, any money.

 

 

Firstly, can you please confirm that you have given authority to Excel Parking Services to act on your behalf in the administration of your car park, and to pursue legal action against your customers, by providing me with a copy of the contract between landowner and client that assigns the right to enter into contracts with the public.

 

 

If Excel Parking Services are acting on your behalf, before I can consider your demand can you also please provide me with a reference number for the planning permission for Excel Parking Service’s signage and ticket machines at the site in question.

 

 

Can you also please provide me with a breakdown of the figures you are demanding and an explanation as to how the sum claimed represents your respective administrative costs and/or losses incurred by the claimed infraction.

 

 

Further, can you please provide an explanation as to why you consider me liable and responsible to pay each component of your claimed costs.

 

 

Can you please provide me with the above information before any claim is sent to the courts on your behalf, or within 14days, whichever is the sooner.

 

 

If you can provide me with the requested information, I may be willing to consider your demand.

 

 

I will send a copy of this letter to Excel Parking Services and BW Legal and await your reply.

 

 

Yours faithfully,

Edited June 15, 2016 by MisterProzilla

[dx100uk]

https://cse.google.co.uk/cse?cx=partner-pub-0964707606882478:652l7hswbgv&ie=UTF-8&q=exce/BW&sa=Search+CAG#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=exce%2FBW&gsc.page=1

[ericsbrother]

I wouldnt address any letter to Excel but to BW,

that way they will charge Excel to read it out aloud to them and it will create a better paper trail.

 

 

However, before sending any letter it would be prudent to tell us what the ticket slapped on the car says,

when exactly you got the NTK in the post and exactly what that says.

 

 

Excel dont rely on the PoFA but assume the driver and keeper are one and the same

so the letter has to use certain words to create a keeper liability, without that form of words they are stuffed.

 

Also there is supposed to be a grace period to allow you to enter and exit the car park,

read the signs and generally do the things you need to do.

That is a minimum of 10 minutes and is agreed by the ATA's that the parking co's

belong to or the parking co cannot access the DVLA Kadoe system.

 

 

I doubt if this will bother Excel/VCS much but when the time comes

a complaint about this may yield changes and will certainly make a judge look carefully

at any evidence of breach of contract very carefully indeed as few of them like having their courts used to bully people.

The breach would be "de minimis" in legal jargon so that will be something to use in your letter when you do send one.

 

BTW, the parking co is no longer obliged to offer a breakdown of charges,

that is one of the main points of the beavis decision

BUT if the wording of the contract offerd makes it a claim for trespass

then they will have to do that as that is a different law.

[MisterProzilla]

Hi ericsbrother,Thanks for the reply.

 

 

Today is actually the date BW specified on their 'Final Notice', so this may be theoretical at this point anyway.

 

 

I've gone with a short and sweet denial that I think you posted on another thread

- 'There was no breach of contract at the time.

Any claim will be defended vigorously as being vexatious and a full costs order sought.'

 

 

I don't want to give away any admission of liability by saying the wrong thing.

 

 

I'll just wait and see what they do.

If I get a court claim I'll respond, of course