Gladstones LBC

plenclaim

Hello,

Back in october last year i parked in an area which i believed to be part of the public pay and display parking area although it was actually a private section which was poorly signed.

When i parked my car in these spaces i was under the impression i was parking in the public pay and display area, i even have the e-receipts to prove that the full duration my car was in these parking spaces were paid for via the pay and display app for the public area.


I emailed the company(Gemini Parking Solutions) stating my confusion as to why i have been charged despite paying for parking (I also sent them the e-receipts for the parking spaces i paid for).

They responded stating that the area i parked in wasn't actually the public area but was for the Hotel's guests which i was not aware of in the slightest. The public car park has never filled up for the two years i have been using it and i would have gained no benefits for parking in this area as to the public one.

Anyways they stated they would still like me to pay this money, at this point i send of an POPLA appeal which they unfortunately agreed against me in this case.

This was the last communication i had with any party and i was then bombarded with threatening letters stating possible legal action and so on. These i ignored for months until today i received my first 'Letter before claim' from a company called Gladstones.

This is the first letter which i am slightly worried about and would like to know what my best approach would be from here, I am able to provide images of all of the letters i have received to date inclucing the letter before claim if that would help at all?

Any information about how to proceed from here would be great.

Thanks in advance.

KeithP

Your best bet is to start reading the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread.

Post #2 on that thread should help you write a response to that Letter Before Claim.

Coupon-mad

yes but NOT a template - please not an old 2017 template reply to a LBC!

Right that's it, I am off to edit the sticky...I may be some time.

plenclaim

Thank you both for your responses.


So to get this ball rolling it looks like i should be sending a SAR request at first to the Parking company before responding to the Solicitors in regards to the LBC.


If the response to the below took longer than the time period provided in my LBC, would i be able to refer back to this letter stating i am awaiting a response in regards to this? or are they separate?

Would a SAR request like below be sufficient ? (Any personal information has purposely been left out and will be filled in at a later date).

My Address

My phone number

22/11/2018

Gemini Parking Solutions London Ltd
PO Box 2525
Buckhurst Hill
IG8 1HR

Dear Sir or Madam

Subject access request ( Data Protection Act 2018 / General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) )

My personal details identifying myself

Please supply the data about me that I am entitled to under data protection law relating to myself.

Please provide the following:
- ALL photos taken relating to any of my outstanding claims, including a close up of any signage relevant to these claims.
- evidence supporting your claim of an extra £60 due to resourcing and time spent facilitatin the recovery of the charge via Gladstones Solicitors.
- all letters/emails sent and received, including any appeal correspondence earlier.
- all data and evidence held in relation to the claims along with full copies of the outstanding PCNs.
- Confirmation that all relevant outstanding PCNs are being grouped under a SINGLE claim.

If you need any more data from me to confirm my identity please let me know as soon as possible. It may be helpful for you to know that data protection law requires you to respond to a request for data within one calendar month.

If you do not normally deal with these requests, please pass this letter to your Data Protection Officer, or relevant staff member. If you need advice on dealing with this request, the Information Commissioner’s Office can assist you. Its website is ico.org.uk or it can be contacted on 0303 123 1113.

Yours faithfully

My signature

The_Deep

This is an entirely unregulated industry which is scamming the public with inflated claims for minor breaches of alleged contracts for alleged parking offences, aided and abetted by a handful of low-rent solicitors.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, and others have already been named and shamed in the House of Commons as have Gladstones Solicitors, and BW Legal, (these two law firms take hundreds of these cases to court each week, hospital car parks and residential complex tickets have been especially mentioned. They lose most of them, and have been reported to the regulatory authority by an M.P. for unprofessional conduct

The problem has become so widespread that MPs have agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. It has even been suggested that some of these companies have links with organised crime.

Watch the video of the Second Reading and committee stage in the House of Commons recently. MPs have a very low opinion of this industry.

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 they will be out of business in the not too distant future.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2018-07-19/debates/2b90805c-bff8-4707-8bdc-b0bfae5a7ad5/Parking(CodeOfPractice)Bill(FirstSitting

KeithP

I would not be supplying my phone number.

Coupon-mad

Yes (that looks fine) and read this if the PPC try to demand excessive ID:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/75074367#Comment_75074367

sparkyhx posted some useful info there to hit PPCs in the face with.

plenclaim

Thanks again,


And just to confirm, the 30 day period which Gladstones Solicitors have given me to respond to the LBC will not be paused by the process of contacting the parking company with my SAR request?


If so regardless of response from the parking company within two weeks or so, would you recommend i still send an email response to the LBC just incase?

Coupon-mad

Yes - which is why I edited the NEWBIES thread only last night, to say exactly that!

plenclaim

Thanks,

Would the below be reasonable?

Hello,

This email is in regards to the 'Letter before claim' letter i have received through my door on 21/11/2018.

I have sent a SAR to your client 'Gemini Parking Solutions' on 22/11/2018 and in doing so require a restriction of data processing along with my case(s) in question to be put on hold.

See below my address for service along with your reference number:

[name + address]

Reference: 1*****.***0

Yours faithfully

[name]

Coupon-mad

Yes that's fine.

You could finish by saying you will report them and their client to the Information Commissioner's Office, if they refuse to put the case on hold during the short duration it will take to receive SAR data and additionally, be afforded a fair opportunity to read the data and documents in order to narrow the issues of dispute and then re-start the pre-action protocol (PAP) 30 day period.

State that they do not have an overriding justification to plough ahead with a claim regardless, because time is not of the essence and a claim can just as easily be filed in early 2019, as it could before Christmas, and in fact to issue a claim under these circumstances now would be premature and will breach the PAP and the GDPR/DPA and you will report them for it.