Gladstones claim form

Lpppparker

Hey all!

Very new to this site so please bear with me.

I received a claim letter after ignoring a parking ticket on private property (not mine, a new housing estate). I know it might have been stupid however the 2 friends that lived there have been getting them for a year and nothing has happened (silly now I know)

I’ve read a few threads but wanted some advice on how to fight this as it looks like it could be going to court? I’ve received a claim form from county court business centre (st katharine’s ST) in Northampton on behalf of Gladstone’s solicitors.

Do I go forward and fight or shall I pay it?

Amount claimed- 160
Court fee- £25
Representation £50
Total- 245.49

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

KeithP

Hi and welcome.

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?


You now need to be reading post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread.

Who is the parking company?

ShakeItOff

Your friends may want to know that the parking company has 6 years to bring a claim.

No one here will advise you to pay it But they will send you in the direction of the NEWBIES thread (post 2). It's a long and detailed post, so grab a cuppa and read it carefully.

If you haven't already done the Acknowledgement of Service, you need to do that, and you would be wise to send off a subject access request to the parking company too. Send it via email to their DPO (email address will usually be on their privacy page). They have 30 days in which to respond, so you may get it back before you have to submit your defence.

Lpppparker

Hi,

That ticket was from UK car park management.

I’ve been looking through the newbie thread and it’s quite confusing! Am I in for a long ride here?

I’ve had a search for a subject access request on the newbies thread and cannot seem to fine it- can you explain please

Thanks!

ShakeItOff

Post 2 in the NEWBIES thread, approx. 4th para down says about the SAR template.

Yes, it might be a long ride (the judicial system isn't the fastest moving ship) - but reading the Small Claim (post 2) of NEWBIES will help show you the steps required. If you also search "another one bites the dust" in the advanced search for this board only, it will also show you the wins that have been achieved with the help of this forum.

KeithP

Again.....

KeithP wrote: »

What is the Issue Date on your Claim Form?

Lpppparker

Sorry I didn’t see this! 25th of this month

Lpppparker

Can I assume that I’ll be sending this SAR to CPM not gladstones?

The_Deep

£245 is far more than the Law allows for this sort of claim. The down market solicitors whom the PPCs engage know this, but, because they are solicitors, know that a lot of people will pay up.

It is in fact double charging and non claimable debt collectors' add ons. Imo, this is fraud, or, at the very least, improper conduct.

Were this to get to court and they won, the judge would be unlikely to award the claimant more than £175 - £200.

I urge you to report this grubby law firm to their regulatory body, the SRA, and complain to your MP

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 become so widespread that MPs agreed to enact a Bill to regulate these scammers. Hopefully, this will become law by Easter . .

https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/handbook/code/content.page

as I am sure they do not condone this conduct.

ShakeItOff

Lpppparker wrote: »

Can I assume that I’ll be sending this SAR to CPM not gladstones?

Correct! You could also ping one off to the DVLA too for good measure.

KeithP

With a Claim Issue Date of 25th February, you have until Monday 18th March to do the Acknowledgement of Service, but there is nothing to be gained by delaying it. To do the AoS, follow the guidance offered in a Dropbox link from post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread. About ten minutes work - no thinking required.

Having done the AoS, you have until 4pm on Monday 1st April 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over a month away. Loads of time to produce a perfect Defence, but don't leave it to the very last minute.


When you are happy with the content, your Defence should be filed via email as suggested here:

Print your Defence.
1. Sign it and date it.
   
2. Scan the signed document back in and save it as a pdf.
   
3. Send that pdf as an email attachment to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk
   
4. Just put the claim number and the word Defence in the email title, and in the body of the email something like 'Please find my Defence attached'.
   
5. Log into MCOL after a few days to see if the Claim is marked "defended". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive a copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to put you under pressure.
   
7. Wait for your DQ from the CCBC, or download one from the internet, and then re-read post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread to find out exactly what to do with it.