Default Judgement In Favour Of Glagstones Solicitors- Please help!

mrmench

Hi all,


I have found myself in a situation many have found themselves in before me. The story goes as follows:


I used to park in Sainsbury's car park for a short period before finding a new job, I believed the parking tickets were not enforceable and ignored all correspondence.


I received a claim form on 22nd December 2016 Northampton County Court:


Claimant: Horizon Parking Limited
Address for sending documents and payment: Gladstones Solicitors Limited
Defendant: Me


Particulars of claim: ''The driver of vehicle registration **** (the 'Vehicle) incurred the parking charge(s) on 02/042014, 04/04/2014, 01/05/2014, 06/05/2014, 12/05/2014, 22/05/2014, 28/05/2014, 30/05/2014 for breaching the terms of parking on the land at Sainsbury's (location and address listed). The Defendant was driving the Vehicle and/or is the keeper of the vehicle. AND THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS: £880 for Parking Charges/Damages and indemnity costs if applicable, together with interest of £179.58 pursuant to 269 of the County Courts Act 1984 at 8% pa, continuing to Judgement at 19.28 per day.''


I filed an acknowledgement of service, however failed to file a defence due to personal family issues I was dealing with at the time.


I subsequently received a Default Judgement in favour of the claimant Horizon Parking Limited, ordering me to pay a total of £1246.14.


I know I need to fill out a form N244 (cost of application £255) to set aside the default judgement as soon as possible, as I have some real prospect of defending or some other good reason'.I will need to attach a copy of my defence, something I am hoping you can help me with!


Can I please get some help in relation to making a defence, I didn't know these tickets were enforceable and stupidly ignored all correspondence. I have a chance to defend myself as I can make an application to set aside the judgement, I truly believe the costs are grossly inflated and unfair!

pappa_golf

JUDGE "reason for set aside"

YOU "I was to busy to fill the forms in "

however 8 x £100 (max allowed by law) dies not = £880

also the figure of £179.58 is very questionable , as no court appearance happened


OR edit your posting , as you finally remember that you DID post your defence in , and it must have got lost

Guys_Dad

Here is tha hard truth. Apart from the point pappa golf raised, just why do you not owe the money?

Did you/driver actually park there?
Did you contravene the t&c as they state? (we don't know whether you overstayes, left site, didn't buy a ticket or what?)

So, if on the face of it, you are "guilty", then you will have to prove in court that there was something procedurally wrong in their paperwork or signage.

Can you do that? If so, give us a head up on what failures they have made.

If you can't and unless you have a really good defence, then you will be chucking good money after bad in going for a set aside. The fact you made no attempt to contact them and ignored will not go down well in court.

So, think hard about just what reasons you have for not being liable. Lots of reasons in nearly all the threads on here, but you need to see which ones you can use.

Finally, have you kept the NtKs that the PPC sent to you?

Coupon-mad

You will have a job convincing the judge to set it aside, particularly if he/she is a stickler. I would edit your first post above to remove any admissions (and you have a silly amount of info admitted there).

However, if it were me, for that sum I would go for a set aside but you need to research Gladstones defences, not ask us. There are so many on here it is fairly easy to learn what would be needed in defence. I fear you will struggle, this was a case of sleepwalking into a loss unless you can turn this around.

If you can just do enough to get the set aside granted so the case is heard though, at least you will have a decent chance.

Guys_Dad

C-M says it. I would back her with much more favourable odds to win this, but as she says, you are likely to struggle and it's like a serious illness - if you get it in time, you have a good chance of beating it, but leave it too late (as in your case) unless you have a first rate consultant surgeon on board, your chances are not good.

pappa_golf

Default Judgement In Favour Of Glagstones Solicitors


did they buy the aledged offences?

beamerguy

This is very sad and had you visited this forum for help before, this situation probably would not have happened

For new people to this forum, you must understand that this only happened because the OP did not follow through with the claim and let totally incompetent solicitors as Gladstones obtain a default.

Any old fool and his dog can get a default if the other party does not turn up.

That's the way the county courts work.

In reality, the two clowns who run Gladstones are clueless and are being whooped in court for their incompetence ... but only if you defend.

Gladstones only won because the OP did not turn up

No bonus points for Gladstones, they are not clever, they are not intelligent, they are simple shammers

hoohoo

I would say you have a reasonable change of getting a set-aside to reduce this to £800 from £1200.

If you get that, then you can file a data breach claim for 8x£250, or £2000, which should recoup your losses. The reason would be they they are using your personal details to ask for more money than is fair or lawful.

patman99

Don't forget that there is a high likelyhood that the signs in the carpark may well not have planning permission.
Therefore it is worth sending in the N244. Make sure that you mention on the form that you received no further correspondence from the Courts after you posted in your defence, so had no idea that a date had been set.

Coupon-mad

He/she didn't file a defence, so would need a very good reason why not. Significant personal family issues might be enough if he/she explains this in the application to set aside and to the Judge. And secondly that he/she shows they have good prospects of successfully defending the case.

bargepole

The chances of getting this set aside would appear to be about the same as those of finding Elvis serving at the local chip shop. The OP had every opportunity to file a defence, and failed to do so. We all have family issues, but dealing with this court claim for a significant amount should not have been overlooked.

In the unlikely event of a set aside being granted, the chances of a defence based on "I truly believe the costs are grossly inflated and unfair" succeeding, are about the same as John Lennon found to be assisting Elvis at said chip shop.

A person in Scotland ignored multiple tickets because they believed the charges to be unenforceable, and ended up being ordered to pay £24,500 to VCS by the Sheriff. Judgment here: https://theipc.info/uploads/3BhP8idTwMPR1klCnakid8qZugLQTjuYmakceNNOuLE/Vehicle%20Control%20Services%20Ltd%20v%20Carly%20Mackie%20-%20JUDGEMENT%2013.01.17.pdf