Looking for advice

sunlitlounge

I'll try and keep this brief. A couple of years ago a visited a large DIY store on a retail park to plan a kitchen, it took longer than expected. I later got a parking fine. I contacted the DIY store who said they do not own the land, but that they would contact them to have it revoked. They later said that they had spoken to the parking people who still wanted to charge me an admin fee. I felt that this was more than a little unreasonable. I have ignored several 'debt collection' letters. Yesterday I received another letter this time from a solicitors threatening to increase the amount and rambling on about CCJ etc. I'm not sure whether to ignore it and wait for a court summons? Any advice on this matter would be most welcome. Thanks.

Redx

You won't receive a summons , it's not a criminal matter !!

You may receive a Court claim pack from the CCBC in Northampton , MCOL if you Google it

Name the parking company below

Post a redacted picture of the latest letter below too , so we can see what you can see

Meanwhile , follow plan A , try to get the landowner inside and get it cancelled , nothing beats plan A ( most retailer stores are tenants , the landowner is rarely the store )

Lastly , read the newbies FAQ sticky thread near the top of the forum in announcements , because I don't believe that you have read it yet

D_P_Dance

I later got a parking fine.

It is not a fine, please read the newbies.   Have you compained to your MP?

IMO this would be likely to be laughed out of court by a judge, kitchen plans can take hours.   

Coupon-mad

You haven’t got a fine and you won’t get a summons.  Think Judge Rinder, a small claim.

You need to read the second post of the NEWBIES thread which is all about your stage.  Don’t use a phone to read this forum if that was the reason you missed the advice thread in capitals at the top.

sunlitlounge

Premier Park Ltd.

sunlitlounge

Solicitor letter is from Gladstones

D_P_Dance

Gladstones, read this,

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.gladstonessolicitors.co.uk

sunlitlounge

I tried emailing this to Gladstone's but it was blocked as SPAM? Any ideas?

No evidence of Landowner Authority - the operator is put to strict proof of full compliance with the BPA Code of Practice

As this operator does not have proprietary interest in the land then I require that they produce an unredacted copy of the contract with the landowner.

The contract and any 'site agreement' or 'User Manual' setting out details - such as any 'genuine customer' or 'genuine resident' exemptions or any site occupier's 'right of veto' charge cancellation rights, and of course all enforcement dates/times/days, and the boundary of the site - is key evidence to define what this operator is authorised to do, and when/where.

It cannot be assumed, just because an agent is contracted to merely put some signs up and issue Parking Charge Notices, that the agent is authorised on the material date, to make contracts with all or any category of visiting drivers and/or to enforce the charge in court in their own name (legal action regarding land use disputes generally being a matter for a landowner only).

Witness statements are not sound evidence of the above, often being pre-signed, generic documents not even identifying the case in hand or even the site rules. A witness statement might in some cases be accepted by POPLA but in this case I suggest it is unlikely to sufficiently evidence the definition of the services provided by each party to the agreement.

Nor would it define vital information such as charging days/times, any exemption clauses, grace periods (which I believe may be longer than the bare minimum times set out in the BPA CoP) and basic but crucial information such as the site boundary and any bays where enforcement applies/does not apply. Not forgetting evidence of the only restrictions which the landowner has authorised can give rise to a charge, as well as the date that the parking contract began, and when it runs to, or whether it runs in perpetuity, and of course, who the signatories are: name/job title/employer company, and whether they are authorised by the landowner to sign a binding legal agreement.

Paragraph 7 of the BPA CoP defines the mandatory requirements and I put this operator to strict proof of full compliance:

7.2 If the operator wishes to take legal action on any outstanding parking charges, they must ensure that they have the written authority of the landowner (or their appointed agent) prior to legal action being taken.

7.3 The written authorisation must also set out:

a the definition of the land on which you may operate, so that the boundaries of the land can be clearly defined

b any conditions or restrictions on parking control and enforcement operations, including any restrictions on hours of operation

c any conditions or restrictions on the types of vehicles that may, or may not, be subject to parking control and enforcement

d who has the responsibility for putting up and maintaining signs

e the definition of the services provided by each party to the agreement

Coupon-mad

Don't email something irrelevant to Gladstones.  None of the advice in the NEWBIES thread about LBC stage says to send a wall of words about landowner authority.

sunlitlounge

I took this from the NEWBIES thread. I am finding this incredibly confusing. 

Redx

sunlitlounge said:

I took this from the NEWBIES thread. I am finding this incredibly confusing. 

Then follow the advice you have already been given in previous replies , none of which seems to have been done

An LBC is short and to the point , the 30 days notice hold and denial of the alleged debt

You don't appear to have tried plan A either

If you think this stage is confusing , then you will find the court process very difficult