Wife almost certainly in the wrong but shall I pay?

Mr.Tickle23

My wife got a NTK letter and several others from Park Watch which we ignored but we've now got a Gladstone's letter.

The charge is £149 and it's for briefly stopping in a loading bay at Iceland. There is a sign but it was behind the car so my wife didn't see it. I mean, it's there and clear so she's in the wrong right?

So, do I just pay or ignore?

This isn't a Letter Before Claim by the way, it appears to be the one before that stage.

I've trawled these boards and can't find anyone in my situation where they know they were wrong.

Umkomaas

Know your enemy.

https://bmpa.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/203753731-Defence-Systems-Ltd

BPA member. Totally defendable. Occasional flutter on a court case.

http://www.bmpa.eu/companydata/Defence_Systems.html

It's either put the work in to deal with this (possible court case), or pay up to get shot. I don't see any half-way house. Have you complained to Iceland - they can get this cancelled for you?

Please read the NEWBIES FAQ sticky to learn how to handle this to your advantage.

Redx

Mr.Tickle23 wrote: »

My wife got a NTK letter and several others from Park Watch which we ignored but we've now got a Gladstone's letter.

The charge is £149 and it's for briefly stopping in a loading bay at Iceland. There is a sign but it was behind the car so my wife didn't see it. I mean, it's there and clear so she's in the wrong right?

So, do I just pay or ignore?

This isn't a Letter Before Claim by the way, it appears to be the one before that stage.

I've trawled these boards and can't find anyone in my situation where they know they were wrong.

mmmmm

if its a forbidding sign , then there is no offer to park, so they are in the wrong !!

and as they should have observed a reasonable grace period (which exist in both CoP,s) , then parkwatch would again be in the wrong !

so dont be so hasty as to jump to conclusions

Mr.Tickle23

So no, I haven't approached Iceland because she wasn't shopping there, she was dropping her mum for the bank next door, so assumed it was only worth doing if she was an Iceland customer?

I need to go back to the site and check what the sign actually says, pretty sure it says that you can't park on the loading bay.

I'll have another read through the newbie thread (it's not massively clear in the thread what I need to do right now if I'm honest), I think at this point I'm just waiting for the LBCCC letter?

Thanks for the help though

Mr.Tickle23

Is there any point in going through POPLA at this point given I'm admitting liability or should I do it anyway?

Umkomaas

I need to go back to the site and check what the sign actually says, pretty sure it says that you can't park on the loading bay.

Prohibitive sign. Likely only a trespass charge, which the landowner alone can pursue, not the PPC. Do some searches on 'prohibitive signs'.

I think at this point I'm just waiting for the LBCCC letter?

Well, see if it emerges. Everything is defendable, with some work. The likely cost of a loss at court is unlikely to be very much more (possibly less) than they're asking for now. Win against them at court and they're likely to be paying you!

Cajones!

Coupon-mad

Your wife can't use POPLA. She missed the appeal window so you can't approach POPLA at all.

Who has the letter, your wife? Is she the registered keeper?

Anyway Gladstones cases are always worth a laugh/defence. 99% chance of winning, here.

Umkomaas

Mr.Tickle23 wrote: »

Is there any point in going through POPLA at this point given I'm admitting liability or should I do it anyway?

Who's the registered keeper here? Very much like a car crash, you (or whoever) do not 'admit liability'.

On what (expert knowledge) does anyone 'admit liability', especially as its apparent that there's a serious doubt as to anyone coming at this from a strong position of expertise?

Mr.Tickle23

We've completely ignored all letters, was not suggesting I was going to admit any liability to them.

Just going to sit and see if the LBCCC comes then.

Thanks for all the comments, I'll check on prohibitive signs too

Mr.Tickle23

Wife is registered keeper, just thinking, what if she sends a letter saying it was me, not her. Would that set the process back to square one?

Coupon-mad

If this was on pepipoo forum you'd be warned for that - no lies here either. No point, stop panicking.