ES Parking / Gladstones

RedDevil12

Hello All,

I am new to this forum so be gentle.

I have received a parking charge from ES Parking ltd after a car that I am the registered keeper of was parked in Seymour Grove Retail Park in Manchester on the 25/04/2018. The circumstances on the ticket are that it is free to park on this retail park for up to 90 mins, if you are a customer of one of the stores on this retail park. I ignored all the letters ES Parking sent me after I thought ( incorrectly) they would simply stop writing to me. Then I received a letter from Gladstone which was the LBCCC and thought this to be an idle threat. I have now had the claim form from Northampton County Court. I have gone online and invoked the AOS to give me some more time for my defence and I plan to go to the car park tomorrow to take photos of the signage which as everyone can imagine is inadequate and vague of what constitutes a shop on the site.

I can provide all photos needed and can scan all letters for people to see online, of course I will redact all sensitive information.

This case rests on if they have evidence the car was parked in the carpark and the driver didn't shop in one of the retail stores. There is no proof the driver went into the shop but in the same respect from ES parking there is no evidence that didn't, because that would have to have been obtained by surveillance footage or a entrapment vehicle. As there is only an ANPR camera at the site and it is only on the entrance to the site.

Any help drafting my defence will be most appreciated this is really worrying me and taking up a lot of my time at a time when I am stressed with Christmas coming up

Many regards

Fruitcake

There is a step by step guide to court in post 2 of the sticky thread for NEWBIES. This takes you through the whole process, with screenshots of what to expect, from LBCC to the court appearance itself.

The rest of the NEWBIES will tell you about the whole unregulated process. The advice to ignore has not been given here since the law changed in 2012, so you have a bit of catching up to do.

Inadequate signage should figure prominently in your defence. You should get pics of the signage now if possible, and also see if there is anything online such as google earth showing contemporary signs.

What happened when you complained to the landowner or managers of the stores the driver visited?

In addition to the above, please also complain to your MP.

''Rip-offs from car park Cowboys must stop''; unfair treatment; signage deliberately confusing to ensure a PCN is issued; ''years of abuse by rogue parking companies''; bloodsuckers; ''the current system of regulation is hopeless, like putting Dracula in charge of the blood-bank''; extortionate fines; rogue operators; ''sense of injustice''; unfair charges and notices; wilfully misleading; signage is a deliberate act to deceive or mislead; ''confusing signs are often deliberate, to trap innocent drivers''; unreasonable; a curse; harassing; operating in a disgusting way; appeals service is no guarantee of a fair hearing; loathed; outrageous scam; dodgy practice; outrageous abuse; unscrupulous practices; ''the British Parking Association is as much use as a multi-storey car park in the Gobi desert''; and finally, by way of unanimous conclusion: ''we need to crack down on these rogue companies. They are an absolute disgrace to this country. Ordinary motorists and ordinary residents should not have to put up with this''.

These are the exact words used, so you should quote them to your MP in a complaint and ask him/her to contact Sir Greg Knight MP if he wants further information about this scam.

RedDevil12

Thank you so much for your prompt reply Fruitcake

I went into Iceland (one of the stores) and one of the checkout girls stated they were sick of ES parking and she had got about 30 tickets in the last 1 year alone. I asked who the landlord was and she said she didn't know she said her manager just called either the landlord or ES parking to get the tickets cancelled. I suppose my next strategy would be to get the details of the landlord but is it worth it now as I have to write my skeletal defence?

I plan to get the pictures of the site signage in good light I have one on street view of the entrance to the site I can see if I can post it here.

It wont let me as I am a newbie but you can see the entrance sign on google streetview

Regards,

Redx

its a full defence (not a skeletal defence) you will be drafting, start by reading those examples in post #2 of the NEWBIES thread


you can add a dead url to your replies, just change http to hxxp, its that simple


use tinypic if you need to host any photos and add a dead URL


post your DATE OF ISSUE, the full POC details (but no personal info) and the breakdown of charges plus total in your reply below


then start to draft your defence and post it for critique

Fruitcake

It's still worth complaining to the landlord/store manager. Be careful not to reveal the driver's identity at any point, to anyone.

Pictures of the entrance and signage should be in the same light conditions/time of day as the alleged event if possible, without flash if it was dark.

The_Deep

It is the will of Parliament that these scammers be put out of business. Hopefully that will take place in the near future. The Bill has passed through the HOC without hitch, and goes to the Lords soon. In the meantime involve your MP, the poor dears are buckling under the weight of complaints about these scammers. Read this one which I wrote earlier

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. Is has been suggested by an MP that some of these companies may have connections to organised crime.

Parking Eye, CPM, Smart, (especially 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.

Sir Greg Knight's Private Members Bill to curb the excesses, and perhaps close down, some of these companies passed its Third Reading in late November, and, with a fair wind, will become Law next year.

All three readings are available to watch on the internet, (some 6-7 hours), and published in Hansard. MPs have an extremely low opinion of the industry. Many are complaining that they are becoming overwhelmed by complaints from members of the public. Add to their burden, complain in the most robust terms about the scammers.

RedDevil12

[IMG][/img][IMG]hxxp://i68.tinypic.com/2cmng41.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]hxxp://i63.tinypic.com/ng6p1d.jpg[/IMG]

This is the final demand as I cannot find the 1st and second letters. I also will upload the Gladstones letter. I have included the front and back letter of the demand as the parking violation is stated as "Leaving a site whilst in a 'Free parking whilst in the premises only' carpark.

However they have not produced any evidence that shows the driver leaving the site and I believe they could not produce this seeing as it will have to be produced either from a entrapment vehicle or CCTV which has been banned since 2014 from being used as surveillance for parking tickets.

Le_Kirk

Here is your link made live: -
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2cmng41&s=9#.XBtmmmf3JVo

RedDevil12

[IMG]hxxp://i68.tinypic.com/miyq2d.jpg[/IMG]

Here is the letter from Gladstones which I ignored. I know I should have replied to this and I was basically listening to advice from 2012. I am now going to read the forums and create my response. At dinner I am going to pop out to the site and take some photos of the site signs and will post them here

beamerguy

RedDevil12 wrote: »

[IMG]hxxp://i66.tinypic.com/vfz0i8.jpg[/IMG]

Here is the letter from Gladstones which I ignored. I know I should have replied to this and I was basically listening to advice from 2012. I am now going to read the forums and create my response. At dinner I am going to pop out to the site and take some photos of the site signs and will post them here

Before a link is made live, you must redact your personal info such as your name ?

This is a letter before claim but with a major flaw

£60 is time spent by their client who suffered losses.??
NO NO .....

GLADSTONES ADD ON A FAKE £60 ?
In addition to the 'parking charge', the Claimant's legal representatives, Gladstones, have artificially inflated the value of the Claim by adding costs of £60 which has not actually been incurred by the Claimant, and which are artificially invented figures in an attempt to circumvent the Small Claims costs rules using double recovery. >>>> thanks to bargepole

Did the letter enclose full proof of their claim ??

So, it's dated 1st Nov giving 30 days and time is up to rebut.

Expect court papers and it's now up to you to provide evidence they are wrong ........ DOUBLE RECOVERY must be pointed out in your statement to the court

RedDevil12

I have received court papers I am currently writing a defence. I have stated earlier that they have claimed the driver was parked in the car park but left the site which is the reason for the ticket