Gladstones LBC help please!!

System

It all turns on the top pic of page 45. The pic is of such poor quality it is difficult to come to any conclusion. Are there signs there?

hartynoll

In the paperwork sent to me you can see a white sign but not much else, no writing etc. Also the sign on the non-green boarding is easily missed due to the pattern of the board

System

Their argument is explained in para 5 of their WS and is based on the key case of Vine v Waltham Forest where it was held that if signs are there, there is an obligation to check them. However Vine won as the signs were there but difficult to read (Spurling v Bradshaw [1956]).

So the issue is not whether the signs were there but could anyone find them.

They also refer in para 5 to the checking done by "accredited trade association" which is the IPC which is run by United Trade and Industry. It had two directors - Davis and Hurley.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08248531/filing-history

Davis is the majority shareholder in Gladstones. Hurley is an ex-Gladstones director - but still a shareholder as far as Companies House goes. The reverse appears to be true for IPC/UT&I.

Raise the issue of "clean hands" when in court and print out the directors details for UT&I and Gladstones. Also print out the shareholding information too.

abab1212

This has now been re-heard in Parliament on July 19th, 2018.

Transcripts are at :
hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-07-19/debates/2b90805c-bff8-4707-8bdc-b0bfae5a7ad5/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill(FirstSitting[/url])

Great excerpts:


i. "The companies are jamming up parts of our legal system. When the Minister is putting the code of practice together, I urge him to consider on a cross-Government basis what we can do about roboclaims companies and solicitors’ firms that profit, often in shady ways, off the back of people who are just going about their daily lives and business."
ii. “I now pretty much know exactly how the parking companies and in particular the IPC have been running this scam for the past 5 years. Basically both of the appeals processes are a complete and utter sham, (and part of that sham is Gladstones Solicitors itself).” I should be clear that that is Gladstones Solicitors in Knutsford—other companies might have a similar name. The letter continues: “The appeals process at Excel/VCS is run by a team of minimum wage office workers with no legal knowledge or experience whatsoever, who are given 6 minutes to read an appeal, and 12 minutes to reply. Most of these replies are obviously cut and pasted from existing templated replies (sometimes referring to issues which are not part of the motorists appeal), with a few lines added in to make it look specific to your claim."

hartynoll

Wish me luck for tomorrow, guys!

Thank you all for your help, I will update you

nosferatu1001

Good luck!

System

Good luck. There are likely to be others alongside yours so you may want to touch base with them.

When you arrive, check the listings and ask the usher to point out any more cases for MPS. You should have a good go at the contract though they may have seen it before.

Don't let them rattle you as calmness is all. A cool head also allows you to remember to ask for costs.

hartynoll

Well that went well! Judge dismissed the case and awarded my costs just for a day holiday.

So I turned up 30 mins early, then Usher advised me that the claimant was already there, but when I went to the waiting room she was not there and didn’t appear until after we were called. I assume she was attending another case in another room.

Incidentally, the claimant’s representative was from MPS themselves not Gladstone’s, maybe they’re cutting their costs.

The judge was really nice and kept it informal. He started by asking MPS about the claim, and then my side of it. Once I stated about the unclear signage on the entrance to the site and the signs themselves, the judge agreed that if he was the driver he would not think of the site as being private land.

He then stated the signs themselves are not clear enough and also questioned the wording on the terms and conditions.

Finally, he was not happy with the amount of the charge and said it bordered on extortion.

I didn’t have to go into things such as the IPC ‘Clean Hands’ angle, nor the fact that it says permit holders only.

So that’s that. I can’t thank you all enough and each one of you should feel proud of the help that you give idiots like me with these cases, all in your own time. If I could buy you all a beer, I would do.
Thank you and I will keep an eye on this forum to help if I can

nosferatu1001

Thats great!

Coupon-mad

He then stated the signs themselves are not clear enough and also questioned the wording on the terms and conditions.

Finally, he was not happy with the amount of the charge and said it bordered on extortion.

Fantastic! :T

Another one bites the dust! Make sure they pay your costs in time...