Gladstones Letter Before Claim (Leeds University Parking)

daalboy

edit: can't seem to post any links, will try in post below

Received a letter before claim from gladstones dated 24th September. Same as the one below from another thread. Opened the letter very late hence the late reply. Yes the letter is a legit gladstones letter

The driver parked on Leeds university private land. The driver had a proper look for any signs or info but didn't see anything around the area they parked. Signs were 300ft (100m) away from the place the driver parked and very small in size. Replied with a template reply below to the first parking fine then ignored all debt collector letters.

Replied to the PCN with

I am the keeper of the vehicle and am aware of your purported parking charge. The driver will not be
identified. I require the following information so that I can make an informed decision:
1. Who is the party that contracted with your company?
2. Is your charge based on damages for breach of contract? Answer yes or no.
3. Please provide photos of the signs that you say were on site and which you contend formed a
contract with the driver.
4. Please provide all photographs taken of this vehicle.
5. Please provide proof that the timing of any camera used was synchronised with all other cameras
and/or systems & machines.
Do not send debt collector letters and do not add any costs which would be a thinly-veiled attempt at
"double recovery". I will not respond to debt collectors and to involve a third party would be a failure to
mitigate your costs as well as deliberate and knowing misuse of my data.
Should you obtain the registered keeper's data from the DVLA without reasonable cause (e.g. if you do
not fully comply with the BPA Code of Practice in terms of signage at this site, for example) please take
this as formal notice that I reserve the right to sue your company and the landowner/principal in your
contract, for a sum not less than £250 for any Data Protection Act breach.
For the avoidance of doubt, I do not give you consent to process data relating to me or this vehicle,
whether you have already obtained it or not. I deny liability for any sum at all and you must consider this
letter a Section 10 Notice under the DPA. You are required to respond within 21 days.

Have read the newbies thread, the lbc thread and done a search for other lbc replies

Here is a response to gladstones, am I OK in sending it?

Dear Sir/Madam,

Ref: xxxx

SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST AND OBJECTION TO PROCESSING

I have received your Letter Before Claim dated 21st September in the post.

In your letter, you refer to the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (the Protocol); however, your Letter Before Claim does not comply with paragraph 3 of the Protocol as it does not contain the following information:

1. The manner in which the debts have arisen whether orally, in writing or conduct (3.1(a)(iii) to 3.1(a)(iv)).
2. Provide details of where the Reply Form should be sent (3.1(a)(viii)).
3. Enclose a copy of the Information Sheet and Reply Form (3.1(c)).

Although your letter mentions the use of a Reply Form and Information Sheet through your website, I am not required to do so, nor do I wish to register my personal information on your website. Please find enclosed my request for hard copies; until I have received these documents, I do not consider the 30 day reply period to have begun.

Without prejudice to the above, I require further information from you (please see below) to assess my position. Without this information, I am unable to provide a full response to your client’s allegations. Therefore, please can you provide me with the information below:

• Details of the original charge including all documentation, all photos and detail any interest and administrative or other charges added.
• Details of the claim – where it is claimed the vehicle was parked, how long for, how the monies being claimed arose and have been calculated.
• Whether I am being pursued as the driver or the keeper
• Whether they are relying on the provisions of Schedule 4 of POFA 2012
• Whether the claim is for a contractual breach? If so, what is the date of the agreement? Please provide the names of the parties to it and provide me with a copy of the contract.
• Provide me with a copy of the contract between the claimant and the landowner under which they assert authority to bring the claim (as required by the IPC code of practice section B, clause 1.1 “establishing yourself as the creditor”)
• A plan showing where any signs were displayed
• Details of the signs displayed not limited to e.g. size of sign, size of font, height at which displayed)

In accordance with paragraph 5 of the Protocol, until your client has complied with my request for further information I would therefore suggest that any action your client is considering be deferred. Upon receipt of the requested information, I anticipate that a full response will be provided within 30 days (I refer you to paragraph 4.2 of the Protocol).

If, however, your client pursues its claim without supplying the further information as requested above, I reserve the right to draw this letter to the attention of the court and seek an adverse cost order due to non-compliance with the Protocol as well as any other order the court deems appropriate.

I look forward to hearing from you in due course.

Yours faithfully,

Thank in advance

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, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and another 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 lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P.
for unprofessional conduct

Hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned.

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 House of Commons recently

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

and complain in the most robust terms to your MP. With a fair wind they will be out of business by Christmas.