Good afternoon

First of all I thank everyone for any advice you may be able to offer.

On the 24th March 2016 at 19:14 I was parked at the rear of some shops on Slough High Street. I visited a Supermarket (one of those shops) and was in there no longer than 20min.

On my return I discovered a parking ticket from Parking and Property Management Ltd with the issue reason 'Not displaying a valid permit'. It was dark so I obviously didn't see the sign post which outlined the conditions of parking there.

The following day I went away for work and totally forgot about the ticket.

Almost 3 months later I have recieved a 'LETTER BEFORE CLAIM' from Gladstones Solicitors.

This letter is dated 7th June, was sent 2nd class and I recieved it a week later??

Having done extensive Googling online I read there should have been a NTK before this?

I cannot recall having received one of these.

I will be trawling through all my post again just to make sure.

They are asking for a payment of £150 or they will take legal action?

The easy option would be to pay the fine,

however the bay I had parked in was for a Carpet Shop,

which was way past closing time at the time I got the ticket!

Where do I stand with contesting the ticket?

Looking forward to the advice and I appreciate it!

Hello and welcome.

I imagine there is a way to fight this, but I'll leave the forum guys to tell you more. They'll know what to do.

Fwiw, Gladstones are the parking industry's rentathreat lawyers. Does the letter say they will take court action or that they may?

HB

Thanks for the response

Ahh right ok so they are the ones who send horrible letters expecting people to get scared and pull out their debit card, I see!

The letter states, 'Unless a satisfactory response is provided, we are instructed to start proceedings against you without any further notice in order to recover the amounts due and costs associated with the recovery of them.'

I think this is disgusting, there was only one other car in the whole park and not once did my car inconvenience anyone. Loss of earnings from me being parked there, absolutely nothing as the carpet shop was closed!

Also in regards to the letter from Gladstone - I don't understand how they have the nerve to say I have to respond in 14 days when the letter took more than 7 days to get here from the date stated

can you please check on their paperwork and tell us where it uses the word FINE?

and why did you not receive any previous paperwork?

have you moved recently?

dx

Hi DX,

I have checked both PCN & the Gladstone letter however neither mention the word fine.

They both state 'Parking Charge' & the Gladstone letter mentions 'Debt'.

I have attached a copy of both items minus personal details so you can have a look.

I was away from home for the end of April & also the majority of May due to work commitments.

I have looked through all my post and cannot find the NTK, will keep on looking.

Thanks

docs1.pdf

good I thought you'd made a mistake in post 1 by using that word.

its a speculative invoice.

well,

if you need a permit to park and you havent got one

then you are a trespasser and cannot be chased for a breach of contract as you havent been offered one!

Again.

a lack of NTK makes any claim against you very shaky

as the parking co has to prove they did everything right

or the claim fails and it will fail to show any keeper liability

all you have to do on this point is not tell them who was driving at the time

and they are stuffed as their only claim is against the unknown driver.

what to do

- give us the exact address of where the car was parked to get this ticket

and we will look at the signage

and then offer a short response to Gladstones

along the lines of the above lack of contractual obligation

hopefully they will go quiet as they know that their client would be on to a loser.

Hi Ericsbrother,

I have turned my house upside down and no NTK to be found. They have obviously gotten the details from the DVLA so bit suspicious if they hadn't sent one.

I was parked exactly where the PCN was issued. I am heading in that direction later on today and will stop by to get pictures of the location and also where I was parked.

I'm approaching the 14days which Gladstones have give. However they obviously didn't send the letter on the date they write it as I recieved it a whole week later. Having read another thread the poster experienced the same!

I thank you for taking time to advise me on how to clear up this mess and will definitely be making a donation to the site. I am glad there are people like you out there to try and kerb these cowboys!

Thank you

the 14 days is a minimum,

they tend not to issue claims immediately afterwards because they dont have the authority to do so.

They can only act on the instruction of their client and that would make the client spend another £75 doing so

and if they know the claim is dodgy they may well think twice about it.

Saying nothing isnt advisable though,

they tend to go on the theory that they will get a court win by default if you ignore everything

so getting a rebuttal letter of to them will not only make it cleat that you are not burying your head in the sand

but you have a good reason for ignoring them up to this point.

You can then claim for a full costs recovery when you beat them

as it can be shown that they were acting with malice or vex by carrying on

when they know that they dont have a leg to stand on.

When you have the piccies we will advise what to say based on their content

but also recommend that you look into the planning permission aspect of their signage,

again just demanding sight of that will make them think very hard about what they could lose in the long run

and may well just go very quiet at that point.

Hi Ericsbrother,

I have the pictures however cannot seem to upload them from my mobile.

I will pop them on here when I get home and you can have a look.

Thanks

This is the picture of the signage and also the exact spot where I was parked (left of the Mercedes)

pix1.pdf

well, it is a contractual consideration so exact dates of any correspondence received will be needed

and preferably sight of said correspondence.

I would bet that they say they sent out an NTK in time

one response is to write to Gladstones and say that no notice to driver was applied to the vehicle at the time of the event

and no NTK under paras 8 or 9 of the PoFA were received either

you put it to "strict proof" that their client has a claim against the keeper of the vehicle

by showing true copies of the said notices and to let their clients know

that the metadata for the production of these notices will be sought

should they continue to assert that the proper notices were issued

as you contend that no such paperwork was received.

This will force them to at least take some time to dig out something

and in the meanwhile you can check who the landowner is and whether they have permission to make contracts with the public. Also ask the council about whether they have planning permission for their signage.

If they have a p+D machine then the Vlauations Agency will be worth a call

to see if they are paying business rates for the public car park.

Occasionally this can create enough of a problem for the landowner they get the boot

but I dont think it is a criminal offence unlike the lack of planning permission for signage

Hi,

I received the letter from Gladstones on 14th June & nothing else before/after.

I will write to them informing them the process has not been followed as per PoFA & see what their response it.

I have already tried to find out who the landowner is however hit a deadend as the shop owner could not tell me for whatever reason.

I will also try the council and see what they say.

Is it a good idea to email or write to them and post?

Thanks

Is it a good idea to email or write to them and post?

Thanks

Written correspondence is best. Obtain proof of posting which is free from the PO counter.

always by formal letter. Email only invites further harassment.

Hi both,

Apologies for the lack of reply, was on call for work and was fairly busy.

I will write the letter now and before sending it just get it proof read.

Is this letter ok to send or does it come across rather demanding?

Dear sir/madam,

As the registered owner of the above vehicle I am writing in response to the letter which was received on 14th June on behalf your client ‘Parking and Property Management Limited’.

First and foremost, this claim is not accepted.

There was no notice to driver applied to the vehicle at the time of the alleged incident.

Also you should be aware under paragraph 8&9 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, it states there should be a NTK (notice to keeper) sent to the registered owner.

I am writing to inform you this was not sent to me as the registered owner of the vehicle in question.

You put it to ‘strict proof’ that your client has a claim against the keeper of the vehicle

however it is apparent they have not abided by the above act and the necessary correspondence was not sent as required.

Should your client continue to assert the appropriate notices were issued, I will be requesting the metadata for the production of these notices.

Without this any claims made will be deemed invalid.

Based upon the purpose of this response, I am requesting this case is re-visited and the points above noted and take action of before this goes any further.

Yours Sincerely,

scrap the bit about revisiting and tell them to drop the matter or suffer the consequences instead.

Bugger, things have escalated. Received a letter today from the courts. 'Claim Form' from the 'COUNTY COURT BUSINESS CENTRE'.

Does this mean a letter to Gladstones is a waste of time? I wasn't expecting that so soon.

Thanks

Please fill this out

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?465231-.Received-a-Court-Claim-From-A-Private-parking-Speculative-invoice-How-To-Deal-With-It-HERE***(1-Viewing)-nbsp

Name of the Claimant ? Parking and Property Management

Date of issue – 22 June 2016

Date to submit defence = XX (33 days in total) – by 4pm Friday 22nd july -revised - dx

What is the claim for – the reason they have issued the claim?

- DATE 24/03/16 -

- AMOUNT - £150 -

- DUE DATE - 27/04/16 -

Total Due - £150

AND THE CLAIMAINT CLAIMS

The claimant claims the sun of £152 for Parking charges and indemnity costs if applicable including £1.81 interest pursuant to S.69 of the County Courts Act 1984 Rate 8.00% pa from dates above to 21/06/16.

Some rate of Judgment or (sooner) payment

Daily rate to Judgment £0.03

Total debt and interest £152

What is the value of the claim? £226.81

Has the claim been issued by the original creditor

or was the account assigned and it is the Debt purchaser who has issued the claim? Parking and Property Management

Were you aware the account had been assigned – did you receive a Notice of Assignment? Yes

note revised defence filing date

the debt hasn't been assigned

you cant receive a notice of assignment - the claimant name is the PPC.

..............

pop up on the MCOL website

goto AOS and ack the claim

defend all

leave juris unticked

exit MCOL

Hi dx100uk,

Done & submitted, how I get the ball rolling with a defence?

Thanks

Ps. Thanks for the corrections not done this before

not diff and you have weeks

we'll all help

I appreciate it. Slight problem I have - I'm out of the country for the whole of August for work & then holiday.

Hope this won't go against me

Hi all,

Just to check, I didn't send the letter to Gladstones as I thought it was too late?

Shall I still send it or deal directly with court case?

Thanks

useless exercise now