Gladstone Solicitors Letter Before Claim (please help)

Zippy7

Hi all, long time lurker here - keep up the good work.

I have read through the newbie thread but really not sure where I stand with this one or how to proceed, not helped by the fact I'm in a bit of a blind panic.
On Saturday (24/11) I received a letter from Gladstones solicitors who I gather are well known on here. They claim to be acting on behalf of their client Gemini Parking Solutions and are asking I make payment of £160 within 14 days (so of course, the letter I received just two days ago is dated 16/11). The letter refers to a parking contravention I supposedly made over a year ago. Unfortunately (perhaps?) this was made around the same time I moved house. The new letter claims they have been trying to reach an agreement with me at my old address ever since then (copy of previous letter before claim sent to my old address was attached). Presumably, the new tenant at my old address has been receiving letters in my name, binning them and only now got sick of them and posted back a "no longer at this address" and they've found me via the DVLA.
Now, I had NO idea about this. The letter shows the place and time of the alleged contravention and it's entirely possible I may have parked there for some reason but I have no recollection of it or what I'm supposed to have done. This is the first I've heard of it and naturally, they're now at the sending the classic bully boy spiel stage to get me to cough up.

Anyone...?

Redx

what PROOF have you got that this letter was posted to you by GLADRAGS ?

what address was it posted from ? their golf club address in knutsford ?

what phone number does it tell you to ring ?

does it say to pay gslcollections or somebody else ?

does the reference start with a 1 or something else like a 3 ?

as its only allowing 14 days to reply it sounds like a debt collection letter and so post #4 of that thread you say you have read applies

sounds more like a DRP begging letter to me and you have fallen for it due to the header (so if it said WWF you would tell us it came from the World Wildlife Fund ?)

in which case what help do you require exactly ?

there is only one thing to do with debt collector letetrs, - IGNORE

its the middle part of the game where no goals have been scored by either side

if it was a formal LBC you would have 30 days to reply and also received financial forms to fill in, but you havent mentioned either of those


ps@- they can only access the DVLA once, back when the pcn was issued, so they havent done that again, but you can check by asking the DVLA for all the dates your data has been requested, so do so


send the PPC an SAR under the GDPR and get all their evidence and paperwork etc, also informing them of the correct address for service of any papers

Coupon-mad

Now, I had NO idea about this. The letter shows the place and time of the alleged contravention and it's entirely possible I may have parked there for some reason but I have no recollection of it or what I'm supposed to have done. This is the first I've heard of it...

And that's why the NEWBIES thread tells you to send the PPC a SAR...and explains what that is, with an example.

And to complain to the retailer/landowner to get it nipped in the bud. All of this is already said in the NEWBIES FAQS, post #2 about LBC stage. No need for a thread about this stage; it is fully covered in the sticky thread and there are no exceptions (except ParkingEye as explained in the sticky, they are a bit different at LBCCC stage).

Zippy7

Thank you both for your help. Am typing out a letter as we speak.

@Redx, out of interest... I'm fairly certain they HAVE now gone to the DVLA twice. Assuming they have, what does this mean for them? Have they broken any law there?

Coupon-mad

A SAR should not be posted/a letter, especially not just before Christmas. The NEWBIES thread says how to find where to email a SAR.

Zippy7

Ah... just seen this. I have posted now. I wasn't sure whether to email Gemini or Gladstones... how is this likely to impact things?

Castle

Zippy7 wrote: »

Ah... just seen this. I have posted now. I wasn't sure whether to email Gemini or Gladstones... how is this likely to impact things?

Email Gemini the SAR and simply state the original is in the post.

Coupon-mad

Even though the NEWBIES thread tells you who to email and how to find the right email addy on any parking firm's website?

Zippy7

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Even though the NEWBIES thread tells you who to email and how to find the right email addy on any parking firm's website?

I really appreciate your help but no, it isn't clear on if it should have been the parking firm or the "solicitors" it has been passed to. I have dyspraxia and become stressed reading through long passages of text so I may have gotten confused.

Again, thanks for your help and I'll be back when I get a response

Zippy7

EDIT: Please see the post below

Hi all,

So they finally got back to my SAR - and pleasingly, they have provided NO evidence of the alleged contravention.. they have no photos, no original tickets issued, nothing. Simply the two letters they sent to my current and old address. Before I type up the e-mail saying I have no intention to pay something they cannot prove, is there any fancy wording I should go for or avoid? They're claiming anything I requested not included is because it is exempt if professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings...

Thanks

Zippy7

Hello again - I jumped the gun a bit there as they also emailed me. Not terribly good news, because they did manage to provide a picture of my car parked in the place they claim, with a ticket on the windscreen!!
Now this was some time ago now and in all honesty, I cannot remember parking at this place - obviously I must have done and I don't doubt it as it was close to my old address. However, I would most definitely remember seeing a PCN on the windscreen. I can only imagine it fell off or was removed.

Where do I go from here?