ANOTHER Euro Parking / Gladstones bites the dust - Not parked in (non-existent) marked bay or space

brummie108

Status & Updates:
July 2019 - Claim Form Issue Date
July 2019 - AOS completed online (Intention: Defend all of this claim)
Feb 2020 - Court date received
May 2020 - Court date

Background:
Parking Company: Euro Parking Services Limited
Legal Company: Gladstones Solicitors

In February 2018 I parked on a gravel car park that occupied a vacant bit of wasteland in an industrial city centre. It had no marked bays. I purchased my ticket, paid and displayed, did not overstay my time.

When I went to re-tax my car in 2019, to my surprise I discovered I couldn't as my details were incorrect; the company I purchased the car off registered it on the log book to the wrong address, unbeknown to me ( this was my first car so I had no idea I was supposed to be expecting a log book through the post ). Anyway, I corrected this error, updated the address in the log book to the new address, taxed the car etc, and then a few months later (March 2019) received a letter from a Solicitors firm with a fine notice from a company relating to the February 2018 parking, which had increased from £100 to £160 due to 'time'. They'd been writing to me at this incorrect address that my car was registered to at the DVLA since March 2018!

I called the company to explain that I had not received any correspondence that they'd sent to the incorrect address the DVLA had on file, and asked them to send me evidence as I had a valid ticket so didn't understand what the fine was from.

They sent through photos of the car (8 weeks after requesting - in May), no bays are visible anywhere in the car park, there are half-buried bits of wood that are just a few feet long randomly placed around but no one in their right mind would view these as 'marked bays'.

I've been drafting my response and seeking advice from people, trying to get an audience with a city councillor and MP, but today I've received a Claim Form from the County Court Business Centre. They've upped the total amount now to £250, and I have to respond within 14 days.

Initial Questions:
1) If I were to appeal to the court, will my defence stand up? (Happy to provide images to anyone if they have experience of fighting this kind of thing).

2) If I do appeal to the court, and I lose, aka the court rules in favour of the company, will the amount I have to pay increase further? Will they make me liable for additional costs? Or is this £250 now the max it will be? (If no, it can't increase further, then I somewhat have nothing to lose).

3) Is it worth contacting the solicitors directly and appealing to them, or at this stage is it too late and any appeal/communication should be direct to the county court business centre?

Any advice whatsoever would be grateful. I don't have enough money to cover this fine, I don't know anyone in the legal profession, and I feel incredibly unfairly treated seeing as I paid and displayed with a valid ticket, and responded immediately to the first communication I actually received. Even the initial £100 fine was unfair in my eyes, a £250 fine is just unbelievable.

Please help!

Redx

if the ISSUE DATE is 23 July you have 33 days to get a defence in , providing you do the AOS online , promptly, so not that urgent in reality (but we know you are concerned)

Having done the AoS, you have until 4pm on Monday 26th August 2019 to file your Defence.

the £100 default daily tariff has been around for a decade , so nothing new there, plus there is no "fine" , its an invoice

the £250 is the £100 invoice plus all the court fees and bolted on charges etc , so definitely not a £250 fine , just an accumulation of charges, an unpaid council one can go a lot higher

1) , unknown , only a judge can decide , in court , hence why its going to court (how long is a piece of string ?)

2) you can try for an out of court settlement at any time up till the hearing in chambers , but usually you negotiate with the claimant themselves

3) much too late for any appeal, its pay up in full or defend (or negotiate a settlement)

name the parking company involved

ability to pay or not is irrelevant , even homeless people get summoned or fined if they break the law etc (like shoplifting etc)

this is about an unpaid invoice and a court deciding the value and who to, not about your debt management issues

yes it probably is unfair, but that wont stop the juggernaut

confirm the claim arrived from the CCBC in Northampton and was ISSUE DATED the 23 july 2019

KeithP

You've mentioned the word fine five times in your post.

I hope you won't mind me saying - you have not received a fine and you will not receive a fine.

beamerguy

Will they make me liable for additional costs? Or is this £250 now the max it will be?

Be aware that part of the amount is a scam/fake charge, normally they add £60

Is the legal BWLegal ???

Whoever it is, this is abuse of process which you can read here

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081/abuse-of-process-district-judge-tells-bwlegal&highlight=abuse+of+process

brummie108

Thank you all for your speedy responses first of all.
The company is 'Euro Parking Services Limited'

1) The AOS, do I have to fill in by hand, sign, scan in, and then email, or can I do this all directly online with no printing to be done?

2) Thanks for mentioning the negotiation / out of court settlement, however, if I don't try this and do go to court to contest, is there any risk/possibility of the amount increasing further? Or is the £250 total invoice amount (which is a combination of i) Amount claimed, ii) Court fee, iii) Legal representative's costs), the highest this could go?

3) Based on history/experience, is it worth contacting the claimant and trying to settle for the original £100 amount? Or would this be wasted effort? Also hesitant to admit acceptance of my liability by trying this if I'm then going to contest the whole amount in court later on.

beamerguy

brummie108 wrote: »

Thank you for your speedy response first of all.
The company is 'Euro Parking Services Limited'

Euro will use a legal, who is that ?

brummie108

Legal is Gladstones Solicitors.

Redx

AOS is done online , following the walkthrough you found in post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread , post #2 , this extends the 14 days to 28 days , do it now but do not enter anything whatsoever in the defence box, not even a full stop

your defence will be emailed as a pdf document to the CCBC, when completed

same with the DQ as well

KeithP

With a Claim Issue Date of 23rd July, you have until Monday 12th August 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 file linked 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 Tuesday 27th August 2019 to file your Defence.

That's over four 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.

brummie108

Update: AOS completed online (Intention: Defend all of this claim)

Redx

now email a SAR to the DPO at EPS to get all your DOCS , PICS and DATA held on YOU and the VEHICLE , attaching a scan or picture of the N1 claim form as proof of ID under GDPR