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Gladstone Letter (Previously Roxburghe & Vinci Parking)
Comments
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As far as I am aware, it is not common practice for law firms to allow a third party to use their letter head to write letters, and in fact I am sure that to do so would be fraudulent behaviour by the third party (it is a criminal offence to wrongly hold yourself out as a solicitor or to impersonate a solicitor). I am also fairly certain it would also be a disciplinary offence by the solicitor.
What is more likely to have happened (I think) is that Roxy agreed the wording with the solicitor. Then Roxy periodically sends a list of names and addresses by email to the solicitor and an automatic mail merge results in computer generated letters being sent to the individuals.
However, if postmarks show the letters to originate from the locality of the third party, rather than that of the solicitor, the SRA should certainly be alerted.
Edit - having now seen the copy of Gladstones letter, I'd put money on it being an automatic mailmerge from their debt recovery department, rather than directly from Roxy, although I agree the solicitors probably have no idea who the letters are going out to, or what the situation is in any given case. However, any reply directly to Gladstones *should* result in an actual person at the solicitors firm reading and dealing with the letter as a failure to do so would breach the SRA Principles (which all solicitors firms are obliged to comply with)I'm a retired employment solicitor. Hopefully some of my comments might be useful, but they are only my opinion and not intended as legal advice.0 -
I will follow the steps outlined in your original response then, Daisy. Thank you for clearing it up and clarifying things for me! This whole thing has been causing a load of stress and headaches over the last month or so.
Will the automatic e-mail receipt be enough to prove the appeal, as it was all done though the paymypcn website?0 -
Yes add it , also make complaints to the dvla and bpa, you have proof that you have appealed , and they have not replied, so you haven't had the opportunity to go to popla if they rejectWhen posting a parking issue on MSE do not reveal any information that may enable PPCs to identify you. They DO monitor the forum.
We don't need the following to help you.
Name, Address, PCN Number, Exact Date Of Incident, Date On Invoice, Reg Number, Vehicle Picture, The Time You Entered & Left Car Park, Or The Amount of Time You Overstayed.
:beer: Anti Enforcement Hobbyist Member :beer:0 -
Also, another question in regards to the second lot of fees discussed in that letter (the £162-odd ones, in addition to the £154-odd fine.) Would I be liable to pay those if this did go to court, and I lost? I'm not entirely clear on that.0
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It's highly unlikely to go to court, but if it did go there and you lost it won't be anywhere near the figures they quote, it's part of the intimidation of this scam. It would be circa £200 maximum if you lost. But you have a very good defence, part of it would be their refusal to let you go to ADR at poplaWhen posting a parking issue on MSE do not reveal any information that may enable PPCs to identify you. They DO monitor the forum.
We don't need the following to help you.
Name, Address, PCN Number, Exact Date Of Incident, Date On Invoice, Reg Number, Vehicle Picture, The Time You Entered & Left Car Park, Or The Amount of Time You Overstayed.
:beer: Anti Enforcement Hobbyist Member :beer:0 -
Would either of you be willing to do a proof read of the amended letter template before I send it off? Just to make sure I've covered everything?0
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Yes post it upWhen posting a parking issue on MSE do not reveal any information that may enable PPCs to identify you. They DO monitor the forum.
We don't need the following to help you.
Name, Address, PCN Number, Exact Date Of Incident, Date On Invoice, Reg Number, Vehicle Picture, The Time You Entered & Left Car Park, Or The Amount of Time You Overstayed.
:beer: Anti Enforcement Hobbyist Member :beer:0 -
OP, just in case you have missed Jimmy Shand's thread - another case involving Gladstones that got as far as court - he has just had confirmation that Gladstones have discontinued the case
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4779596
So keep the pressure up and let us know what happensI'm a retired employment solicitor. Hopefully some of my comments might be useful, but they are only my opinion and not intended as legal advice.0
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