Solicitor's letter received

navyraffles

Apologies if this is covered but I think I'm at the stage where perhaps I need specific advice.

Premier Park Ltd have been chasing me since early 2019 and the fee they want has gone from £60 to £160. The original "offence" was for not paying for parking at an ice rink - I couldn't see where to pay so I asked staff at reception and they told me I didn't need to pay as I was using their facilities. I contacted the land owner a long time ago and never heard anything back. However I never responded to Premier Parking Ltd or the debt collectors.

I've kept every letter and followed the advice on here which was to ignore all the letters I received, including those from debt collectors.

I received a letter from Gladstones on 11th July but have only just seen it as it had fallen down the side of the cooker (!!!!!!). They quote the "Supreme Court case of Beavis vs Parking Eye" and say their client now has the right to commence proceedings in the appropriate Civil Court.

At this stage it says Premier Parking would like to "provide you with this opportunity to contact their agent to make full payment to the sum of £160 thereby avoiding consideration of any future court action and any increase in the amount claimed." The agent they direct me to to make payment is Debt Recovery Plus Limited.

Am I now passed the stage of just ignoring it? I've done so up to now as I considered the fees well out of proportion and I was advised that I didn't even have to pay (although having spoken to staff at the ice rink since, they of course deny that they would have ever advised that). I can afford the £160 but am now getting twitchy about what the final costs could be if I were to end up in court.

Apologies for the long post - and thank you very much in advance for your help and advice.

beamerguy

Gladstones are scamming you and as usual talking rubbish

The Beavis case has no bearing on your case and certainly the Beavis case did NOT acknowledge or agree with adding a fake £60 which is abuse of process.

Seems like you have another debt letter asking you to pay the idiots at DRP ....... YOU NEVER DO THAT

If Gladstones want to take it further they must send you a letter before claim giving you 30 days to respond and proof of their claim.

You do not owe £160, Gladstones are scamming you

READ THIS ABOUT ABUSE OF PROCESS
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081

The_Deep

Gladstones are scamming you and as usual talking rubbish

They are only entitled to claim £100. Ask them what the extra £60 is for, and read this

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6014081

At this moment, Gladstone are acting as debt collectors, not solicitors so complain to the SRA here

https://www.sra.org.uk/

Nine times out of ten these tickets are scams so consider complaining to your MP.

Parliament is well aware of the MO of these private parking companies, many of whom are former clampers, and on 15th March 2019 a Bill was enacted to curb the excesses of these shysters. Codes of Practice are being drawn up, an independent appeals service will be set up, and access to the DVLA's date base more rigorously policed, persistent offenders denied access to the DVLA database and unable to operate.

Hopefully life will become impossible for the worst of these scammers, but until this is done you should still complain to your MP, citing the new legislation.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/8/contents/enacted

Just as the clampers were finally closed down, so hopefully will many of these Private Parking Companies.

Le_Kirk

I've kept every letter and followed the advice on here which was to ignore all the letters I received, including those from debt collectors.

Please point out where you found the advice in bold. It has not been advice since 2012. If it is wrong, it will be changed, although it has always been advice to ignore debt collectors letters.

nosferatu1001

Indeed. Give us a link to the threads you read which said to ignore.

Coupon-mad

Why is the Beavis case being posted as if it's new? This is normal. It is a debt collector letter and has not actually com from a Gladstones solicitor's desk:

The agent they direct me to to make payment is Debt Recovery Plus Limited.

Post #4 of the NEWBIES thread covers you to ignore that, seeing as it is a debt letter (you should have appealed to PP ages ago but too late for that).

Never too late to complain to the retailers/landowner/ice rink of course. Do that now, yes AGAIN, and urgently, before PP Legal start a real

claim:
The original "offence" was for not paying for parking at an ice rink - I couldn't see where to pay so I asked staff at reception and they told me I didn't need to pay as I was using their facilities. I contacted the land owner a long time ago and never heard anything back.

Do it again and not by phone and not in person to whichever youngster stands at the desk, either!

navyraffles

Firstly my apologies... I've had a look back through some threads and have realised that I must have misread / misinterpreted the current advice, and / or read old threads. That said, I guess that's over and done with now... My bad, and time to deal with the consequences.

So to concentrate on where I am now... My original complaint to the landowner / manager was by email and was ignored (the phone call to the ice rink staff was a separate thing). But I will certainly follow it up with another one now.

I am no legal expert and that's why I've mistaken this for a genuine solicitor's letter rather than a debt collection letter... Again my apologies. But to clarify now - does this mean I'm still ignoring them? Coupon-mad, you say this hasn't even come from Gladstones - who has it likely to have come from then and is that even allowed??

My biggest concern / query is what is their next step likely to be - an LBC if I've understood the replies correctly? I have a distinct lack of knowledge and experience in this area but Google tells me that an LBC will be them attempting just once more to settle the matter before actually taking me to court...? What do I do upon receiving one?

Thank you all for your replies!

nosferatu1001

It isnt a LBC, as its telling you to pay DRP. Its from DRP.

navyraffles

No, that much I do know... My question was, is that the next step and what do I do when I receive one?

KeithP

navyraffles wrote: »

My question was, is that the next step and what do I do when I receive one?

Post #2 of [URL="https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4816822NEWBIES thread[/URL] explains the whole of the court process from receiving a Letter of Claim right through a hearing and beyond.

Perhaps you should be reading that now rather than waiting until you get a Letter of Claim.

navyraffles

Yep I've seen that now - the terminology is foreign to me so I'd initially missed it as that section talks mostly about a SAR (which of course I didn't know was related).

Would it be OK to keep this thread open in case I need some advice with the SAR? Or, as the thread says that a claim is likely should I receive a Letter of Claim, keep it open so I can reply if / when the court process begins?

Thanks