HX/Gladstones Letter Before Claim - Salterhebble Hill, Halifax (Shell Garage)

TheBof

Good evening. I’m hoping you can provide some guidance on a parking charge my wife has received from HX Car Park Management Ltd.

The incident happened at the Shell Garage in Salterhebble, Halifax in early December. My wife and I pulled over to feed our 7-month-old baby. I didn’t see any signage saying we couldn’t stop, though there must have been signage somewhere. My wife received the first parking charge notice a month later. We were stopped for 12 minutes.

We have ignored the parking charge notices. Having read the advice on this site, it appears this was a mistake! Last week we received a Letter Before Claim from Gladstones Solicitors. I’m happy to see this taken to court, as long as I’m able to represent my wife.

My next steps are as follows:

1. Read as much as I can on this forum. (I have already found a few other threads relating to the Salterhebble site, so I have read them with great interest).

2. Send HX Car Park Management Ltd a Subject Access Request. I’m proposing sending this:

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

[Full name and address]

Please supply the data about me that I am entitled to under data protection law relating to myself, including:
- ALL photos taken
- all letters/emails sent and received
- all data held
- all evidence held that you will rely on to support the claim against me
- a full copy of the PCN
- a list of all PCNs you consider outstanding against me. Please note any claim must be for all PCNs in one claim, not several separate claims.

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.

3. Send an email to Gladstones requesting a restriction of data processing and that the case should be put 'on hold'.

Am I missing anything at this stage?

KeithP

Keep you eye on these threads, they appear to be ahead of you in this game:

HX Parking - Gladstones - Salterhebble Shell Garage Halifax

HX Parking "Stopping Charge" Draft Defence

Umkomaas

I’m happy to see this taken to court, as long as I’m able to represent my wife.

1. Your wife has to attend - no avoiding that.

2. Do Google searches on 'Lay Representative' and 'McKenzie Friend' to understand the different types of representation, in case the Judge asks precisely the role your wife wishes you to undertake.

Coupon-mad

Am I missing anything at this stage?

The Defendant (your wife) must also respond to Gladstones and tell them a SAR is being undertaken and that any debt is denied, but that she is seeking debt advice.

The reason for saying that about 'seeking debt advice' is that Gs must the put the case on hold for at least 30 days which matches the SAR time limit - nice!

Also she should take the opportunity to inform Gs that the debt is disputed because:

- the signage was not clear and the driver had no opportunity in those few minutes to learn of any terms, and

- the car was in fact only stopped for less than ten minutes, with the other three minutes being accounted for as relating to the time taken to drive in, find a place to briefly stop for the exempt purpose mentioned below, and then start the car and drive out and queue to leave onto the main road. The fact the ANPR cameras show 13 minutes total stay including time in moving traffic on site, bears out the fact that the car did not exceed the applicable period of grace (an observation period) of at least ten minutes stopped.

- the minutes are accounted for because whilst the driver was doing his best to look for a suitable place to stop, and to seek out any terms on signage and decide whether to stay or go, the keeper herself (this Defendant) was breastfeeding their baby of a few months old (be vague...the law only states up to 6 months old!).

As such, tell Gladstones that they are reasonably required to use the 30 days to revert to their client to investigate and reconsider their position in the light of the rights and remedies that are in the gift of a consumer who is a breastfeeding mother, including the criminal and civil law aspect of harassment of such a person, who is deemed to have protected characteristics and must be allowed to feed a baby without fear of suffering detriment. A demand for money clearly falls within that description.

TheBof

We have now received the Claim Form from the County Court Business Centre. I have sent the acknowledgment of service, giving us 28 days from the date of service (11th June) to respond.


Having reviewed numerous threads, I have prepared a concise defence:

1. The Defendant denies any 'parking charges’ are owed and any debt is denied in its entirety.

2. The facts are that the vehicle, registration **, of which the Defendant is the registered keeper, was passing through the Shell Garage after visiting the McDonald's on the same site and stopped for a short period of time to allow the Defendant to breastfeed.

3. It is denied that the Defendant, or any driver of the vehicle, entered into any contractual agreement with the Claimant, so no cause for action can have arisen.

4. It is denied that the claimant's signage sets out the terms in a sufficiently clear manner which would be capable of binding any reasonable person reading them.

5. The claimant has failed to show locus standi, so the defendant does not believe they have a right to bring an action against anyone.

I believe the facts contained in this Defence are true.

Any comments or suggestions?

KeithP

What is the Issue Date on the Claim Form?

TheBof

The 11th June, so technically the day of service would be Monday the 17th June.

KeithP

TheBof wrote: »

The 11th June, so technically the day of service would be Monday the 17th June.

With a Claim Issue Date of 11th June, and having done the Acknowledgement of Service in a timely manner, you have until 4pm on Monday 15th July 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over three weeks away. Loads of time to produce a perfect Defence, but please don't leave it to the 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 "defence received". If not chase the CCBC until it is.
   
6. Do not be surprised to receive an early copy of the Claimant's Directions Questionnaire, they are just trying to keep 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.

TheBof

I should also clarify the Particulars of Claim:

"The driver of the vehicle with registration xxx (the 'Vehicle') parked in breach of the terms of parking stipulated on the signage (the 'Contract') at Site 1085 Salterhebble Halifax HX3 0QE, on xxx thus incurring the parking charge (the 'PCN'). The driver of the Vehicle agreed to pay the PCN within 28 days of issue yet failed to do so. The Claimant claims the unpaid PCN from the Defendant as the driver/keeper of the Vehicle. Despite demands being made, the Defendant has failed to settle the outstanding liability. THE CLAIMANT CLAIMS £100 for the PCN, £60 contractual costs pursuant to the Contract and PCN terms and conditions, together with statutory interest of £5.51 pursuant to s69 of the Country Courts Act 1984 at 8.00% per annum, continuing at £0.04 per day.

It's not exactly poetry is it?

Coupon-mad

No it's a template and the £60 (and £50 added solicitors costs) are fake.

You need to add the usual ending we are suggesting for all cases (except maybe ParkingEye who don't add a fake debt collector sum) like there:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6009118/preparation-of-defence&page=2

And of course this is your wife's claim to defend - her name & signature on everything.

TheBof

Thank you for all your help. :-) How's this for the defence:


1. The Defendant denies any 'parking charges’ are owed and any debt is denied in its entirety.

2. The facts are that the vehicle, registration **, of which the Defendant is the registered keeper, was passing through the Shell Garage after visiting the McDonald's on the same site and stopped for a short period of time to allow the Defendant to breastfeed.

3. It is denied that the Defendant, or any driver of the vehicle, entered into any contractual agreement with the Claimant, so no cause for action can have arisen.

4. It is denied that the claimant's signage sets out the terms in a sufficiently clear manner which would be capable of binding any reasonable person reading them.

5. The claimant has failed to show locus standi, so the defendant does not believe they have a right to bring an action against anyone.


6. The Court is invited to make an Order of its own initiative, dismissing this claim in its entirety and to allow such Defendant's costs as are permissible under Civil Procedure Rule 27.14 on the indemnity basis, taking judicial note of the wholly unreasonable conduct of this Claimant, not least due to the abuse of process in repeatedly attempting to claim fanciful costs which they are not entitled to recover.

I believe the facts contained in this Defence are true.