Is this a letter before court?

Dudleydave

I know I am probably going to get a slapped wrist here and accused of not reading previous threads/advise but I really have and have to admit I'm still confused as to which stage of proceedings I'm at, and more importantly what to do next. To cut the old long story short, a few months ago I received a parking charge from NCP stating that my car was parked longer than was paid for. Anyway rightly or wrongly I've not responded to that or the two subsequent letters (mistake now I fear) It has now reached the stage that I have just received the letter below from gladstones. The amount they want from me now is an extortionate £170. Any advise as to the best way to respond to this would be very much appreciated. Letter as follows: You have previously been written to requesting settlement of a parking charge.
Due to the absence of of payment or a valid appeal against the charge, our client has instructed us to recover the total amount
due to them as shown above. As all other attempts have failed, our client may now instruct us to take legal action against you in the county County Court. To prevent such action, we invite you to make payment immediately.
In order to avoid any further action
You should pay the full amount outstanding within 14 days
You can make payment online at gslcollections.com or by calling 0333 0230 049.
it is important that you understand that if judgment is registered against you then this could seriously
affect your chances of obtaining credit in the future as this information can be made available to any
interested parties via the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, and will remain there for 6 years.
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

Umkomaas

Please paragraph to make the wall of text more readable. We are dealing with dozens of posts a day, so make it a bit easier for us.

Many regulars don’t respond to large text blocks, which may be why you’ve had no other response.

fisherjim

NCP risk of court very very slim:

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

You have a debt collectors letter clues are there:

£170 (includes debt collection scammers fee) paid to gslcollections.com

Debt Recovery

Turn your lost revenue back into real income. We can create a bespoke debt recovery process, tailored to your business needs, to help you recover money that is owed to you.


I suggest you don't ignore next time!

Dudleydave

Point taken, sorry.

I know I am probably going to get a slapped wrist here and accused of not reading previous threads/advise but I really have and have to admit I!!!8217;m still confused as to which stage of proceedings I!!!8217;m at, and more importantly what to do next.

To cut the old long story short, a few months ago I received a parking charge from NCP stating my car was parked longer than was paid for.

Anyway rightly or wrongly I!!!8217;ve not responded to that or the two subsequent letters (mistake now I fear)
It has now reached the stage that I have just received the letter below from gladstones. The amount they want from me now is an extortionate £170.

Any advice as to the best way to respond to this would be very much appreciated.

Letter as follows:

You have previously been written to requesting settlement of a parking charge.
Due to the absence of of payment or a valid appeal against the charge, our client has instructed us to recover the total amount
due to them as shown above. As all other attempts have failed, our client may now instruct us to take legal action against you in the county County Court. To prevent such action, we invite you to make payment immediately.
In order to avoid any further action
You should pay the full amount outstanding within 14 days
You can make payment online at gslcollections.com or by calling 0333 0230 049.
it is important that you understand that if judgment is registered against you then this could seriously
affect your chances of obtaining credit in the future as this information can be made available to any
interested parties via the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, and will remain there for 6 years.
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

Dudleydave

Maybe obvious to all but am I replying to gladstones or to the original NCP letter? Cheers

Umkomaas

Standard advice to anyone with a debt collection letter (even if it comes with a solicitor’s logo at the top) is to ignore it.

Further standard advice, come back if you receive a LBCCC or MCOL Claim (see the NEWBIES FAQ sticky, post #2). The forum can help with defences.

We cannot guarantee which way this will go. Ordinarily NCP don’t pursue via court, but the latest Gladstone ‘no win, no fee’ offer, with them hassling motorists in the hope they cough up to avoid the intimidation, NCP may see this as a way of them pursuing through the court with no real first-hand involvement of their own.

http://parking-prankster.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/courts-buckling-under-number-of-claims.html

Dudleydave

I think I’ve decided to take your advice and not respond to the gladstones letter above and fight them all the way if necessary! Do you Agee?

I would have liked to state my case to somebody at this stage but I’m not too sure the process is designed to allow that!

In all likelihood I’ll be back before too long requesting some further kind advice from yourself.

Cheers

Redx

I agree with you and umkomaas above

thats the way it is, get used to it, like we have had to

there is nothing fair in this sordid murky world of private parking charges

Dudleydave

Hi,
Regarding my issue previously mentioned involving NCP and now Gladstones, I have now received an LBC.

The contents of which you are probably very familiar with, ‘we have now been instructed to commence legal action ‘ if the outstanding debt is not paid in full’
Then the paragraph...
If you believe you have a valid reason for non payment, you are able to reply pursuant to paragraph 4 of the pre-action protocol for debt claims under the civil procedure rules 1998 (the PAP)
A version of the information sheet and reply form taken from the PAP can completed on our website gladstonessolicitors. Before completing the the online form you must create a login......alternatively you can request a paper version.
We refer you to paragraph 2.1(c) of the PAP which obliges the parties to act reasonably and proportionately.
Then goes on to say I must reply within 30 days.
I would really appreciate any advice please on the best course for me take in response.

Cheers

Quentin

Responding to a lbcca is covered in #2 of the Newbies FAQ thread, along with advice on how to deal with the court claim when it arrives

The_Deep

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Parking Eye, Smart and a smaller company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, (who take hundreds of these cases to court), who have also been reported to the regulatory authority. [/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]The problem has become so rampant that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Watch the video of the Second Reading in the HofC recently.[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41[/FONT]

[FONT=Times New Roman, serif]and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind most of these companies may well be put out of business by Christmas.[/FONT]