TICKET FOR PARKING IN MY OWN SPACE / UK CPM & Gladstone Solicitors

alexreid1234

Quick Summary
Hi All, I received 4 tickets for parking in my allocated spaces (more info below). I have appealed to UK CPM explaining I am a resident but obviously they didn't care. Ignored debt collecter letters until I received a letter from Gladstone 'Solicitors' which saying they would commence court action but had the opportunity to explain my side of events. So with the fear that it would look bad on me in court, I replied (stupidly) however surprise surprise they rejected my reasons despite proving I am a resident... They now are threatening me with court action if I do not respond or pay by the 25th Sept.


What do I do? Keep responding with proof and quoting parking cases? Or is this essentially giving away my game plan if it goes to court?



Really not sure how to play this now. I have NOT received LBCC letter. Full details and background of my situation below.


Background
I live in a block of flats that has residential parking (pool bays) which are share by the residents. The land is owned by my landlord Moat Housing. I have lived here since May 2013. In November and December 2016. I got a new car which meant I asked for a new permit. I was having problems receiving the V5 which meant I had to keep extending the temporary permits until I got my V5 so I could apply for a permanent permit. I wasn’t using my car that much and ultimately kept forgetting to re-new the temporary permit which led to me getting 4 tickets as my permit was not valid (out of date) despite it being my own space.

Appeal
I appealed 1 ticket but it was rejected on the fact I have ‘breached the contract’. I explained I am a resident but obviously they didn’t care. After this I did not bother to appeal any further tickets.

Debt Collectors
I received debt collectors letters but these were ignored.

Gladstone Solicitors
As I received a letter from a ‘solicitors’ I thought I had to reply. They said I could reply within 14 days to give my side of the story which I did, explaining I was a resident and providing proof. Again this was declined and I have been asked to pay £640.00, for parking in my own space which I have right to be in ?

I have been going back and forth with them and they are not accepting my reasons for appeal and are completely disregarding my circumstances. My reasons are:

·[FONT=&quot] Charges are unfair because I am a resident and have a genuine right to be there.[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] I was not abusing the car park. Moat have confirmed that UK CPM’s purpose is to deter people abusing the car park.[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] My tenancy agreement does not state anything under the parking clause that I require a permit, bound by 3rd party parking conditions or that my tenancy can be amended from time to time.[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] It’s not fair to penalise a resident who has proved I live there and have a right to use the car park[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] I have not lost their client any revenue, as I am a customer of their client![/FONT]

Gladstone Solicitors claim is the following:

·[FONT=&quot] 4 charges were issued because I did not have a ‘valid permit’[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] Due to the above, I was in ‘breach of contract’ with them, regardless of the fact I am a resident.[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] They claim my tenancy agreement is ‘silent’ on the fact I have any right to park (when in fact I have written permission from Moat). They have referenced ‘Link Parking Ltd V Blaney (May 2017) saying that any land owners rights were subject to regulations brought in from time to time and therefore any tenancy agreement must be subject to this as well. (Nothing in my contract states tenancy can be amended by a 3rd party)[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] Because I asked for a ‘temporary permit’, they are saying that I “accepted a permit needs to be displayed hence bound myself to the parking scheme which was, in my part for your benefit, i.e to have the bay managed” – can they legally tie me into a contract because I asked for a temporary permit (didn’t sign anything at this stage)?[/FONT]


My findings / opinion from the research I have conducted

It feels like Gladstone Solicitors are looking at this from a Civil Law perspective and do not care that I am a resident and have not abused the car park, they are bullying me and just want to get paid.

·[FONT=&quot] Yes my temporary permit was expired, but I eventually got one.[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] When I received the tickets from CPM, I did not have anything signed with them on paper.[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] I was not abusing the spaces nor causing an inconvenience to anyone, these are the spaces I have always parked in.[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] I am a resident and have a right to be on the land[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] Nothing in my contract states I require a permit, nor bound by a 3rd party parking agent – can I use ‘Primacy of contract’?[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] The charges are excessive (£160.00 per ticket) how have I lost them that amount of money?[/FONT]

Landowner situation
Moat Housing will not help me as they say this is a contract dispute between me and CPM, they do not want to get involved.

I have asked Moat for a copy of their ‘Long Term Service Contract’ with UK CPM under the S.20 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.

Current situation
It has been left with me to respond by the 25th September or they ‘may’ take court action.

·[FONT=&quot] What should I do now, shall I respond? It feels that any reason I give, they just say no and will not stop.[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] Is giving my reasoning’s essentially giving away my defence which they could then use against me?[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot] Is there any way out of this? If not, what would be my best form of defence?[/FONT]

I would appreciate any advice on this situation, especially on what should I do next and also if I have anything as a defence in court based on the information I have given . This is such a stressful situation and was close to paying it but then I read the forums, it seems I shouldn’t pay this and I don’t feel I should either L I live there, just for the sake of an expired permit they can charge me £640.00?! Unfair.

Many thanks

Guys_Dad

Your case is very similar to many that we have had on here. You need to do 2 things till others find time to answer you specifically.

1. Read the NEWBIES thread at top of forum. Of nothing else, you will get the acronyms.
2. Do a search on this form for "Own Space" or similar on here and read any threads over the last 3 months. You can see how these have progressed and also what advice is already out there.

You should also look at the Parking Prankster's blog for a couple of similar cases over the last year.

safarmuk

Things to do, check the letter that has come from Gladstones and tell us if the reference starts with a #1 or a #3. If you don't know what I mean then scan the letter redacting all information that can identify you (including all but the first number of the reference) host it on a picture hosting website and post a broken link here (e.g. hxxp://<url>)

Then, ultimately this will come down to the AST and the lease of your landlord (I am presuming your rent the flat). Do you know the landlord and can you ask him for a lease?

On "regulations", I am presuming they are referring to the "Estate Regulations" clauses put into leases ... however remember the lease is between the lessee and the lessor ... it has nothing to do with the PPC and it was in existence before the PPC put signs up trying to form a contract with you - so it is what exactly is said in that lease for which your AST should give you the same right that is the key.

Has anyone else in your block of flats run into this problem?

alexreid1234

Thanks for your reply Safarmuk and sorry for the late reply, I didn't realise I had got replies on this!

So with the letters from Gladstone Solicitors, the letters start with a 1. The header of the letter is 'LETTER BEFORE CLAIM' which I believe is that they have started the legal proceedings?

What is the AST? Yes I am renting the flat from a housing association who own the land. I already have the tenancy agreement saved from when I moved in.

You say that the lease is to do with the lessee and the lessor and has nothing to do with the parking company but how would I put this across to the court? Or will the judge see that from a UK law perspective?

Yes there are about 5 or 6 other residents all faced with the same problem with UK CPM. 1 has filed a defence, another needs to prepare a defence, some are at DRP stages and me at this stage with Gladstone Solicitors. UK CPM are clearly abusing their power to issue tickets to resident's. Luckily I have an email from my landlord stating that UK CPM's purpose is to have a 'deterrent' affect... But clearly they are just penalising residents.

My landlord will not help any of of us and does not want to get involved in a 'civil matter'.

Thank you

safarmuk

So with the letters from Gladstone Solicitors, the letters start with a 1. The header of the letter is 'LETTER BEFORE CLAIM' which I believe is that they have started the legal proceedings?

Correct, you must respond robustly to this. Look at the NEWBIES thread for suggestions and also search this forum for other recent "Own Space Residential Car Parking" cases that are at or are past your current stage to see what they did. Once you have your draft response, post it here for review.

What is the AST? Yes I am renting the flat from a housing association who own the land. I already have the tenancy agreement saved from when I moved in.

Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement. Basically, your rental agreement.

You say that the lease is to do with the lessee and the lessor and has nothing to do with the parking company but how would I put this across to the court? Or will the judge see that from a UK law perspective?

You would indicate this in your defence and witness statement as and when required by the court.

Yes there are about 5 or 6 other residents all faced with the same problem with UK CPM. 1 has filed a defence, another needs to prepare a defence, some are at DRP stages and me at this stage with Gladstone Solicitors. UK CPM are clearly abusing their power to issue tickets to resident's. Luckily I have an email from my landlord stating that UK CPM's purpose is to have a 'deterrent' affect... But clearly they are just penalising residents.

Yep, that's exactly what they do. They do it all over the country in various Residential Car Parks. Having the letter from your landlord is good - does he/she own the flat?

My landlord will not help any of of us and does not want to get involved in a 'civil matter'.

He may not get the choice I am afraid.

Search for "Hairrays" thread. In that you will find three letters before claim drafted by user LoadsofChildren123 (a solicitor by profession). Read them to understand more the position you will be taking. Those letters to the landowner, management agent and car parking company got his ticket cancelled.

Also to be clear, who is your landlord, is it a person or the housing association?

Your points above saying that your tenancy agreement does not contain any clause about showing a permit and/or being able to be charged money to park is in your favour.

Loadsofchildren123

Was the PPC operating when you moved in or was it brought in later?


Send them the written evidence of your right to park if it's confirmed in writing but not in the tenancy agreement


Your right to park, and the conditions of the parking, is between you and the landlord, not between you and the PPC. This is a greyer area if the PPC was already operating there before you were granted the rights.

nosferatu1001

Does your AST give you any rights to peaceful enjoyment, anything on use of communal areas, etc?
Any rules in there about "from time to time" bringing in new "regulations"?

If you can post a redacted version of the whole thing - wording can change as there is noi set term, just the more common ones.

The_Deep

If there are six of you, then the PPC is targeting legitimate tenants for gain.
and attempting to interdfere with your leasehold right to peaceful enjoyment of your property.

If Moat Housing are a registered charity, (most HAs are), complain to The Charity Commissioner. Also complain to the Council Housing Department, and the Housing Ombudsman Services. The HA appointed these vultures, they must accept responsibility for the actions.

System

Have you received a N1 Claim Form from Northampton? If so what is the date in the top right hand box?

alexreid1234

Hi LOADSOFCHILDREN123 UK CPM were here before I moved in but even so, when I did move in there was nothing in my tenancy agreement stating that I am required to have a permit or bound by 3rd party management conditions.

I have already sent them my tenancy agreement as proof and told them I have written confirmation from my landlord yet it falls on deaf ears.

alexreid1234

Hi IAMEMANRESU I have not received this letter yet, just a Letter before Claim from Gladstone Solicitors