ES Parking Enforcement and Gladstones Court Letter, help.

ChrissyBee

At the risk of being shouted at, I have read all the newbies threads and all the template letters but I need advice as I am a bit confused and afraid I may have made a mistake. In a nutshell, I received a PCN from ES Parking. If I am honest, I can't dispute that I was parked there (photo evidence) but I simply did NOT see the signs, although when I received the notice I was SO sure there were none, I went back and they were there. I had to visit the emergency vet with my poorly and bleeding cat, nowhere to park outside the vet (In the Rock, Bury), I called the receptionist to ask where I could park and she said there were "some spaces round the back". In my distressed state, I simply did not see the signs, truthfully.
I was only in the vets for about 15 minutes, there was no ticket provided on my car, the first I knew was a photo and a PCN.
I think my mistake was in writing to appeal, stating the reasons as above. When I look at the template letters now, are they useless as I have already appealed and therefore may have unwittingly admitted liability?
I now have a court letter issued by Gladstones and I don't want to ignore it but am confused about what is the right course of action. Any advice please?

Redx

as per post #2 of the NEWBIES sticky thread , you

ACKNOWLEDGE online to give an extra 2 weeks to prepare your defence

you read a dozen or more GLADSTONE defences by other members with ongoing or completed court cases from this year ONLY

you then prepare your own draft defence , minus personal info and references , and post on here for critique

once agreed its good to go , this is saved as a pdf , printed , signed and dated , scanned and emailed to the CCBC before the 28 days have elapsed

ChrissyBee

Hi RedX - Many thanks for your advice, I have now registered on the MCOL site and I have my Response Pack. I will read other letters as you suggest on the newbies site this evening, but I would appreciate advice/opinion on what is likely to happen given that I DID park on a street which had signs, just did not see them. Will the fact that I was in a bit of a tizz as I had a sick cat cut any ice with anybody, and the fact that the charge was over £100 for less than 20 minutes parking is extortionate, or should I just pay up? I am reluctant to do that as I just think that they are throwing their weight around, but is it inevitable unless I have a technicality I can use?

The_Deep

The signs are important, they are what forms a contact, were they prominent, positioned correctly, not too high off the ground, Was the amount if for breaching them in large letters? Read this


http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/motorist-wins-18-month-ticket-battle-870812


.

Redx

your state of mind is unlikely to help win your case , but a judge "may" have sympathy if this is in your later witness statement

the "extortionate" claim will be met with derision due to the BEAVIS court case 2 years ago, where he lost 3 times to 11 judges (10 out of 11 voted against him) - so that idea has no legs unless you can argue a legal case based on "penalty" (complicated)

even if you lost , a judge decides how much should be paid and this may be less than the figure they are claiming , plus they will likely lose more than they gain in monetary terms

read about Lord Dennings red hand rule, where signage must be so prominent and self explanatory you cannot fail to see it , so not seeing signs means they cannot be very good or prominent eh ?

signage is crucial to any claim, as is landholder authority

Coupon-mad

Will the fact that I was in a bit of a tizz as I had a sick cat cut any ice with anybody,

No

and the fact that the charge was over £100 for less than 20 minutes parking is extortionate,

No

or should I just pay up?

No.

Read the NEWBIES thread for example defences that DO cut the mustard. Copy & adapt!