A Little Advice

Jaywan85

Hey there. I know that I am about to enrage some people with my stupidity over the last few years regarding this matter but I don't really have anyone else to turn to, any advice is appreciated.

In my old private rental flat that I shared with two friends I received a number of parking tickets for parking in the visitors bay, although I had a badge, but was parked for longer than the allocated time allowed. I should mention that a couple of years prior to this I fell very ill and had some major surgery which resulted in having to wear a colostomy bag for a year at the age of 27. During the reversal of that operation a year later the hospital accidentally damaged the anterior compartment of my legs. They fixed my stomach which was good but the damage to my legs is permanent and I have carbon fiber splints that I have to wear under my clothes that help me walk. Now, this may not seem pertinent but it helps to try and explain the stupidity of my actions a little. The doctor signed me off work but I couldn't just sit around doing nothing so I decided to do a degree, that's when I moved to this flat with the !!!!!! parking. After the operations, I developed 5 surgical hernias around the massive wound in my stomach. I still have these and they can really cause some pain, my stomach looks like the alien started to break out and then changed its mind halfway through.

We only had one parking space in the flat which my friend paid extra to use. In hindsight, I should have just asked him to let me borrow it while I was sick but instead I just parked in the visitors bay. This visitors bay is always empty, and I never parked there during the day, only between 7 pm and 7 am mid week (i had finished my degree at this point and work in between those times), and the only reason I would park there is because I have to walk 200 meters up a hill to the car park that I normally park in, which was painful to do.

I have always kept up to date with this private parking situation but I hadn't checked in a couple of months. I was receiving tickets but I should have checked the latest info before doing the old school method of ignoring them. I think its also important to note that due to the pain I was prescribed a lot of amitriptyline and oxycodone, although this is not an excuse for my bad decision making, but it certainly didn't help me think straight.

I continue to ignore letters and after the second letters, I thought I better brush up. That's when I came back here, had a look and saw that my information is out of date and I had missed my opportunity to fix this. I moved a couple of months later when our tenancy ran out and managed to forget all about it over the last year. That was until I received a letter to my new address the other day. Its typical Gladstones 'you have 14 days or we are taking you to court'. I still have the hernias but I managed to get off of the opiates prescribed, its left me in somewhat a fragile state these days and this letter just seemed to heap so much anxiety on me and I currently suffering quite badly with depression.

I know my actions were stupid and I am willing to pay for that but I think (i don't know the exact number) I have around 10 tickets with them. I have only had a letter for one so far but I imagine more will follow. Do you think Gladstones or red rock property management would be willing to let me amalgamate all of the tickets and arrange a payment plan? I just don't have the fight left in me to have to worry about this anymore. My concern is that if I call them and explain to them, as I have to you, that I will be admitting liability and they will charge me the full 160 for each ticket and demand it all, because let's be honest, why the !!!! would they give a !!!! about me. I don't really know what to do.

Like I said before, I know my actions were stupid, I probably deserve what I get from Gladstones but I don't have anywhere else to turn for advice, so please go easy on me.

Quentin

All advice on how to deal with court claims (if it comes to this) is in the newbies FAQ thread near the top of the forum

See #2 there

Until you reach that stage there is nothing to do but keep ignoring debt collector letters

So get acquainted with the court process in that post of the FAQ so you know what will be involved BV should it arise

You can decide your approach then whether you want to fight or pay (which no-one here will advise)

onlyfoolsandparking

After reading your post I sympathise with your situation unfortunately the parking scammers wont and so you need to try?? and take the emotion out of dealing with this now BUT the good news is it can be dealt with.


You need to read the NEWBIES section and absorb what's in there and ironically there has been quite a few threads on here recently regarding residential parking, find them, read them and learn more about the game you are now firmly involved in and with potentially 10 PCN,s you are unfortunately firmly involved.


I understand your reason/s for not wanting to fight the scammers and with your circumstances you are definitely entitled to feel that way but the experts on here wont want to read that, there are some top people on here who will help you all the way but you have to meet them half way.


You say you have completed a degree and that's great, all credit to you that proves you have mental stamina and if you choose to fight the scammers you will need that stamina, as I said thumb around the forum much more, realise what your up against, what you can and have to do, then make your decision, fight or flight up to you.

Coupon-mad

That was until I received a letter to my new address the other day. Its typical Gladstones 'you have 14 days or we are taking you to court'.

Which parking scammer has done this to you? Certainly fight this in court.

Respond to that letter and state the following, which will help to clarify everything and will get the PCNs amalgamated:

- tell them that this address (re-state it in full) is your 'address for service' and the old address MUST be erased by them & their client.

- there are some more PCNs from this parking firm about the same location (be vague!) and you require that Gladstones revert to their client to amalgamate any claim to include them all, in the interests of justice and to avoid a costs/time/duplication burden on all parties and the court

- ask that Gladstones then come back to you to confirm a list of ALL PCNs the parking firm says are unpaid, and to set them out in detail, and to enclose a copy of all of the PCNs and Notice to Keepers (each and every one) and all dated photos taken in all cases on the material dates (all images of signage and the car)

- point out that thy cannot add a spurious £60 to each one because there have been no damages or loss or debt collector costs incurred

- tell them about your disability issues (inform them that you have protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010) and attach proof/hospital letter (Blue Badge?) if you are happy to divulge this in the interests of a full exchange of info, which I think you SHOULD...it's important to show them before a claim starts, that you meet the legal definition of disability and that you have asked for a 'reasonable adjustment' (i.e. the PPC scammer should retrospectively allow you more time, to avoid penalising you due to the fact of your mobility impairment).

- state that at all material times, you were parked with the full authority of the resident (your friend) and were not a trespasser, and merely needed a 'reasonable adjustment' of time as a visitor who found walking painful and was slower to get to and from the flat when parked, but had a compelling medical need due to your mobility impairment and pain, to use the visitors bay because your friend's car was in his/her own bay.

- ask for a copy of the information their client purports was issued to residents, and when, about the use of parking spaces including the visitor's bay. Not just a picture of a sign, but copies of the wording on the actual letters they say were delivered, and when.

DO NOT at this point indicate whether you were a resident there...

DO NOT PAY when they come back with some awful aggressive reply listing the PCNs, adding £60 to each on some spurious excuse, and telling you you have xx days to pay. You will be defending this as a court claim, and are likely to win - and if not, then at the very least, the £60 add-ons will not be likely to be granted by a competent Judge, because they are plucked from thin air (made up).

Come back and reply here and show us the reply you get, and tell us which PPC.

Jaywan85

Thank you so much for the advice. You guys have inspired me to fight. Felt very alone with all this, but not anymore. Thank you.

beamerguy

Jaywan85 wrote: »

Thank you so much for the advice. You guys have inspired me to fight. Felt very alone with all this, but not anymore. Thank you.

Glad to see you have joined us

Just a point about that fake £60

THE £60 SCAM OPERATED BY DRP ?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/74439905#Comment_74439905

Umkomaas

Jaywan85 wrote: »

Thank you so much for the advice. You guys have inspired me to fight. Felt very alone with all this, but not anymore. Thank you.

You missed answering one very important question from Coupon-mad.

Which parking scammer has done this to you?

This will give us the ability to advise how litigious they are (or not) and how likely (or otherwise) a county court claim might be made.