Private parking ticket, Court threat

Shadow0ftheday

Hey!
I've had a good read through the information that was advised and there's some great stuff on there but i'm just looking for some advice on what to do in my case. Allegedly the car was claimed as overstayed by 20 or so minutes in a private car park run by Countrywide Parking management. They have photographs of the reg plate, but there was no notice affixed to the windscreen (the letter received claimed there was in the small print). When I first received the letters, I ignored them partly because they seemed as though they were fraudulent, given that they mis-spelled the registered keepers street name and addressed the title incorrectly. I have obtained pictures of the signage which is poor considering the alleged overstay took place when the car park was dark, and the signs are completely unlit. The letter arrived a month after the alleged overstay.
There has been no admittance that I was driving the car or in any way at fault. I now realise i was wrongly advised to ignore the letters and it has reached the stage where the company have enlisted Gladstones solicitors to chase me and threaten me with court.
Obviously i know i need to be prepared for when i eventually receive the summons to court. I have read through the drafts but I am not very good with these things and could really use some help to know where to start and what to do.

Many thanks.

Quentin

If you have read the newbies faq thread then you should know the advice never to reveal who was driving


You need to edit your post to remove details of who was driving


The ppcs monitor here and can use your posts against you


How to deal with a lbcca (if that is what you now have) is covered in the FAQ #2


Same post for advice on preparing a defence

Redx

a few inaccuracies above in post #1

for a start they are not alleging that a person was there, they are alleging that the vehicle with the VRM ref of AB123XYZ was there and that a driver was at fault in some manner that infringed the onsite rules

they have no idea who was driving , so are harassing the keeper

this is a civil matter so no "summons" will be sent , it is dealt with in the civil courts by means of an MCOL from the claimant or their solicitors

if gladstones have indeed been engaged they are required to send a formal LBC under the new guidelines from oct 2017 , so if you have one of these then respond as per post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread

if this so called "gladstones" letter is actually from DRP or a debt collector , then gladrags didnt send it and have no current involvement , so check it carefully to see if its a debt letter or an actual LBC

any MCOL will come from Northampton CCBC and eventually your local civil county court will deal with it

Shadow0ftheday

I have edited is that better?
ill have a look at that there was a lot of information to take on and i guess im just a bit overwhelmed xD

Shadow0ftheday

Redx wrote: »

a few inaccuracies above in post #1

for a start they are not alleging that a person was there, they are alleging that the vehicle with the VRM ref of AB123XYZ was there and that a driver was at fault in some manner that infringed the onsite rules

they have no idea who was driving , so are harassing the keeper

this is a civil matter so no "summons" will be sent , it is dealt with in the civil courts by means of an MCOL from the claimant or their solicitors

if gladstones have indeed been engaged they are required to send a formal LBC under the new guidelines from oct 2017 , so if you have one of these then respond as per post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread

if this so called "gladstones" letter is actually from DRP or a debt collector , then gladrags didnt send it and have no current involvement , so check it carefully to see if its a debt letter or an actual LBC

any MCOL will come from Northampton CCBC and eventually your local civil county court will deal with it

I have not actually received an LBC yet, but another threat of court if payment is not made, shall i just hang tight until i receive one? been studying the newbie thread in the mean time so im not clueless. Just wondering if theres anything else I can do for now other than just wait.

Thanks.

Redx

the letter is probably from DRP and says they may refer it back to their client for possible court proceedings

post #4 of that thread deals with ignoring debt collectors and their letters

you are the person saying that it is from GLADSTONES, but although it may have their letterhead you have no proof that its from them, if it says pay DRP then its a DRP letter

in which case, IGNORE

and read this thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5035663

a formal LBC or an MCOL from Northampton are what you need to deal with in the future (nobody here is interested in debt collector letters)

Shadow0ftheday

Thank you for the fast reply. I've been at work so I will study the letter as soon as I'm home. So I guess I'll hang tight until I get an Lbc or Mcol.
I'm probably worrying too much but I've never done anything like this before.
Thanks for your help !

Umkomaas

but I've never done anything like this before.

Nor have Countrywide Parking Management Ltd!

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

The_Deep

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of contracts for alleged parking offences.

Parking Eye, Smart and a smaller company have already been named and shamed, as has Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each year). They nearly always lose) and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P.

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.

http://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/2f0384f2-eba5-4fff-ab07-cf24b6a22918?in=12:49:41

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.