Gladstones threatning letter, action nedded?

Red_flag

Hi everyone
I had two parking charges from smart parking back in March at Riverside car park in Erith. Sadly for me it was two days in the row. I drive for a living so I was doing passenger pickup/drop-offs on both occasions. Upon entry I read 3 hours free parking and I thought of nothing else. Later I found out that the smaller print says you need to key in the registration. letters kept coming from smart parking DRP and zenith collections but I decided to carry on living my life. Everything went to the bin. About 5 days ago I had a letter from Gladstones solicitors. Its the one where they say that I have 14 days to pay or else "our client now has the option to commence proceedings in the appropriate civil court". On one hand they are saying that the claimant is smart parking on the other hand if I want to settle I have to contact DRP. the amount in question is £340 now
My questions are as follows;
Is this the letter before claim or not?
Should I respond to these people and what would an appropriate response be, considering that I never contacted any of them?
What should I expect next from these fraudsters?
Where do I stand on this and what are my chances?
Just to clarify I am not afraid to defend myself in court but I will welcome your valuable advice as I have zero experience in this. Your input is much appreciated.

Redx

It's a drp debt collection letter from drpl , not from Gladstone's

Ignore

The_Deep

Read what Pete Wishart MP said recently in the House of commons about Smart Parking

"I am sick and tired of receiving emails from people complaining about the behaviour of parking companies, telling me that they will never again visit Perth city centre because of the negative experience they had when they had the misfortune to end up in a car park operated by one of these companies. I have received more complaints about one car park in the city of Perth than about any other issue. That car park is operated by the lone ranger of the parking cowboys: the hated and appalling Smart Parking—I see that many other Members are unfortunate enough to have Smart Parking operating in their constituencies. It has reached the stage where one member of my staff now spends a good part of each day just helping my constituents and visitors to my constituency to navigate the appeals process.
…
The BPA does not have the ability to regulate these companies and has shown no sign whatsoever that it is trying to get on top of some of the sharper practices. The BPA gives a veneer of legitimacy to some of the more outlandish rogue operators by including them in their membership, allowing them to continue to operate. The Bill will oblige operators such as Smart Parking to amend their practices."

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.

Red_flag

Hi redx

Thanks for your fast reply. if this is a fake than how can I tell if/when a real one comes through
this one seems real, watermarked and logo on the top right corner.....

The_Deep

Red_flag wrote: »

Hi redx

Thanks for your fast reply. if this is a fake than how can I tell if/when a real one comes through
this one seems real, watermarked and logo on the top right corner.....

A real one will contain … (better still, read the stickies or google0.

Redx

It won't be from drpl for a start

It won't give 14 days to reply , it will be 30 days

It will include financial forms

It will be from Gladstone's from their knutsford office

It will have a reference starting with a 1 because it's from Gladstone's

All covered in the Newbies FAQ sticky thread near the top of the forum , post #4

Or it will be from Smart, same 30 days plus financial forms included

Red_flag

Thank you redx. I'll carry on living my life for now and will ceep you posted if anything else comes through. Have a lovely day

Coupon-mad

Everything went to the bin. About 5 days ago I had a letter from Gladstones solicitors. Its the one where they say that I have 14 days to pay or else

I agree with Redx.

A real Letter before Claim gives 30 days, doesn't ask for payment to a scum debt collector third party and encloses pre-action protocol 'reply forms' (that we do not use in any event!).

The_Deep

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.