Gladstone LBC - Park Direct UK Ltd

arteides

just received this on 12th September...i have read the newbies forum and looked at the Gladstones threads, not a lawyer so still a bit confused, apologies.....greatly appreciate any advice you may have, do i pay now to prevent a credit issue or do i go to court? I don't have any of the letters previously sent by the parking firm or their debt collectors (the letters i recall, had different letter heads but were signed by the same guy, bit wierd!) The letter below gave me 14 days to pay, and appears to have been dated significantly prior to posting. It indicates possible several incidents but refers to one.

TO PAY CALL GLADSTONES
SOLICITORS LIMITED ON
01565 655470


LETTER BEFORE CLAIM
Dear

Re : Our Client : Park Direct UK Ltd
Amount Due: 150.00
Vehicle Reg:

We act on behalf of the Claimant and we have now been instructed to commence legal action against you to recover the amount due above, as you have failed to settle the debts that are owing, or provide a valid reason for non-payment. We understand that our client has written to you to request payment but the amounts are still outstanding.

PCN Number Date of Charge Location Charge Amount
150.00

The debts relate to parking charges (detaled above) for which you are liable. Full details of the charges have previously been provided to you within the Parking Charge Notices and/or Notices to Driver/Keeper that have been served upon you. The Claimant will rely on these documents in the forthcoming action against you.
We refer you to the Practice Direction for Pre-Action Conduct under the Civil Procedure Rules and in particular paragraph 13-16 of the same which concerns the Court's powers to impose sanctions for any failure to comply.

We now require you to pay the full amount within 14 days. Alternatively, you should provide an acknowledgement of receipt of this letter and a full written response within 14 days. Your response should provide your full account of the circumstances that have led to the charges being Imposed and should include confirmation as to who the driver(s) of the vehicle were at the time of each incident and a current address for service for each driver.

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. The amount that is claimed may therefore increase in terms of costs and any interest that is recoverable.

If you are unsure about anything contained within this letter, you should seek advice from a solicitor or contact one of the following organisations who may be able to help you;
Yours Sincerely
Gladstones Solicitors

arteides

could i use the below as a response?

I note your Letter Before Claim dated 1st September 2016.

I deny any debt to your client. I will not be telephoning you but require further information in writing.

The driver is not identified in your letter and you have written to me as the registered keeper. I am not liable because I do not believe that your client invoked Schedule 4 of the POFA 2012 with fully compliant documents.

You cannot presume that I am in possession of all the documents referred to in your letter and I require a copy of the Notice to Driver and Notice to Keeper to inspect as I have reason to believe that any Notice to Keeper was non-compliant, and so copies of these documents will ensure that I can make an informed decision. Please send copies of these and any documents that will be produced in the event of your threatened action, including copies of all photographs taken and evidence of the contract itself (clear evidence of the terms on the signs at the time). I would also ask that you send me a copy of the Penalty Charge Notice, as I am unaware of any Penalty Charge Notice being placed on the vehicle.

I also require evidence of the contravention. If the driver is alleged not to have had a parking permit, I cannot be expected to know or answer to that allegation as keeper of the car. However, the burden remains with your client to produce evidence and I require that now (e.g. photographs of the driver leaving the site, if that is the allegation).

In order to understand my legal position, I also require the following information:

1. Is your client's intended action founded on a contractual charge, a breach of a contract or trespass?
2. What is the reason for the additional £50 charge?
3. Where was the £50 charge stated on signage? – Could you provide photo evidence of those signs?
4. If it is for legal services, has your client already paid it?
5. Could you supply evidence that there was no permit or authorisation to park?

When I receive the documents and your answers I will be in a position to make a more detailed response and as such, it would be wholly unreasonable and vexatious to proceed in the small claims track at the present time.

Yours Faithfully

beamerguy

arteides wrote: »

just received this on 12th September...i have read the newbies forum and looked at the Gladstones threads, not a lawyer so still a bit confused, apologies.....greatly appreciate any advice you may have, do i pay now to prevent a credit issue or do i go to court? I don't have any of the letters previously sent by the parking firm or their debt collectors (the letters i recall, had different letter heads but were signed by the same guy, bit wierd!) The letter below gave me 14 days to pay, and appears to have been dated significantly prior to posting. It indicates possible several incidents but refers to one.

TO PAY CALL GLADSTONES
SOLICITORS LIMITED ON
01565 655470


LETTER BEFORE CLAIM
Dear

Re : Our Client : Park Direct UK Ltd
Amount Due: 150.00
Vehicle Reg:

We act on behalf of the Claimant and we have now been instructed to commence legal action against you to recover the amount due above, as you have failed to settle the debts that are owing, or provide a valid reason for non-payment. We understand that our client has written to you to request payment but the amounts are still outstanding.

PCN Number Date of Charge Location Charge Amount
150.00

The debts relate to parking charges (detaled above) for which you are liable. Full details of the charges have previously been provided to you within the Parking Charge Notices and/or Notices to Driver/Keeper that have been served upon you. The Claimant will rely on these documents in the forthcoming action against you.
We refer you to the Practice Direction for Pre-Action Conduct under the Civil Procedure Rules and in particular paragraph 13-16 of the same which concerns the Court's powers to impose sanctions for any failure to comply.

We now require you to pay the full amount within 14 days. Alternatively, you should provide an acknowledgement of receipt of this letter and a full written response within 14 days. Your response should provide your full account of the circumstances that have led to the charges being Imposed and should include confirmation as to who the driver(s) of the vehicle were at the time of each incident and a current address for service for each driver.

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. The amount that is claimed may therefore increase in terms of costs and any interest that is recoverable.

If you are unsure about anything contained within this letter, you should seek advice from a solicitor or contact one of the following organisations who may be able to help you;
Yours Sincerely
Gladstones Solicitors

Park Direct UK Ltd are an IPC member and their kangaroo IAS so you have not missed much in not appealing

The clue to the scam is the name GLADSTONES.
Gladstones own and run the IPC /IAS so you have become a victim with the dark circle of incest.

Complaints have been flooding in to the SRA, Solicitors Regulation Authority, and I understand there is a current investigation into Gladstones.

Gladstones are owned by Will Hurley and John Davies and you should now read these posts from the Parking Prankster

Why Will Hurley and John Davies are Incompetent Scammers
http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/why-will-hurley-and-john-davies-are.html

When Gladstones get to court they bungle it and this costs the parking company a lot of money. Therefore Park Direct UK Ltd should really think twice if they believe that Gladstones will win. It could cost Park Direct UK £200 - £500 ???

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=gladstoned

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/link-parkingyouve-been-gladstoned.html

Maybe Park Direct UK are unaware of this which could prove costly

Gladstones are being very carefully watched and there are members here who will assist you

arteides

or would a reply similar to the below be most appropriate?

My advice would be to head this off and write to them

Dear Gladstones,
Re your letter of xxx
I have had no previous correspondence regarding this issue. Your client is therefore in error. If you believe otherwise, please send me copies of all correspondence your client alleges has been sent and I will then reply within 14 days.
Originally posted by hoohoo

arteides

got an example a response from Pepipoo....the letter on page 4 of that thread very similar to the one i received.

hxxp://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=100416&hl=gladstones&st=80

Dear Sir/Madam

Park Direct UK Ltd vs
Proposed Legal Proceedings PCN 9


Thank you for your letter of 1st September 2016

First, the alleged debt is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

Secondly, there is no reference to your letter being fully compliant with the Practice Direction it is in fact woefully defective and appears to be a deliberate attempt to mislead the recipient.

Please therefore provide a Letter Before Claim which complies with the requirements of the Practice Direction on Pre-action Conduct and Protocols.
Areas which you are not compliant are listed below:

2.1
The claimant’s letter should give concise details about the matter. This should enable the defendant to understand and investigate the issues without needing to request further information. The letter should include –

(2) the basis on which the claim is made (i.e. why the claimant says the defendant is liable);
(3) a clear summary of the facts on which the claim is based;
(5) if financial loss is claimed, an explanation of how the amount has been calculated; and


2.2
The letter should also –
(1) list the essential documents on which the claimant intends to rely;
(2) set out the form of ADR (if any) that the claimant considers the most suitable and invite the defendant to agree to this;


I confirm that I shall then seek advice and submit a formal Response within 30 days of receipt, as required by the Practice Direction.

Please note, a refusal to comply with the Practice Direction will result in an immediate referral to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for breach of the Principles contained in the SRA Handbook version 8, published on 1st October 2013.

I trust this will not be necessary, and look forward to receiving a fully compliant letter that covers the areas listed above that were not compliant with the Practice Direction in due course.

Yours faithfully


Will this work? As far as listing areas within the PD that they are inadequate I am trying to get them to see that they cannot simply send another LBC saying they think their letter complies with the PD. What can I expect next?

Thanks

Coupon-mad

Honestly, any of the above will do but no, they won't ''work'' if you think this response stage will stop the Gladstones machine, it won't.

The good news is the number of times Gladstones bungle a claim, as blogged here and in lots of other blogslisted on the right of the page there, by date:

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/hopeless-solicitors-gladstones-bungle.html

What can I expect next?

A court claim, be ready for it. Start reading 'Gladstones defence claim' threads on here or on pepipoo forum by searching for those words.

arteides

anyone else in a similar situation seeking how to deal with a LBC this link is really useful, change the xx to tt and paste in browser....

hxxp://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4754020

arteides

Letter sent; will advise once i have a reply, thank you so much for the help here.

I will likely try to seek a POPLA appeal, as well as note the deficiencies, with regard to the Practice Direction on Pre-action Conduct, in their correspondence/handling of the matter to date.

Coupon-mad

arteides wrote: »

anyone else in a similar situation seeking how to deal with a LBC this link is really useful, change the xx to tt and paste in browser....

hxxp://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4754020

Yes but it is old:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4754020

Was written ages ago, but the sentiment is still correct.

You will not get POPLA. PD are no longer in the BPA.

arteides

response received to my letter, trying to research a reply now, but will probably be on the lines that they still haven't complied with the Practice Direction on Pre-action Conduct and Protocols.

Re : Our Client : Park Direct UK Ltd
Amount Due : £150.00
We write further to your letter dated xx September 2016.
We confirm our Client is compliant with the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 Schedule 4, therefore can pursue you for the charge as the Registered Keeper.
As this Charge was issued by an ANPR camera the Parking Charge Notice was sent via post 12 September 2015. All documents will be provided in our client's Witness Statement when requested to by the court.
The balance of £150 remains outstanding and is due within 14 days of this letter. To make payment you can call our office or visit 'website'
Should payment not be made as stated above then a claim will be issued without further notice and you may incur further costs.

Coupon-mad

You could quote paragraph 4 of the POFA Sch4 at them, namely saying that 'double recovery' is not permitted and only the sum on a compliant NTK is possible to recover from a registered keeper, not an inflated £150 which the POFA sought to prohibit with a statutory ceiling.

You could conclude a brief reply:

However, my position is unchanged. I am the registered keeper and there is no obligation upon me to name the driver to a private parking firm, indeed the POFA protects my rights as keeper to defend this matter. You cannot presume that I am in possession of all the documents referred to in your original letter.

You have provided no evidence of the contract (any signage) that your client will rely upon to show 'adequate notice' of the terms and parking charge and which they believe gave rise to any 'relevant obligation' or 'relevant contract'. Further, you have provided no evidence of any contravention, nor can it be assumed that third party signage superseded any prevailing rights of way or easements at the location. Your continued prevarication and refusal to provide the most basic evidence of the contract/liability will now be reported to the SRA.

yours faithfully,




For SRA complaint ideas, see here:

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=107836

You just need to look at the SRA Code and put in an online complaint showing how Gladstones are failing. The Parking Prankster spells it out here where he cites the mandatory requirements and highlights those that Gladstones routinely ignore:

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/district-enforcement-youve-been.html

I would report them because an investigation is overdue and ties them up.