Gladstones solicitors "Letter Before Claim"

chrobakx

Hello everyone.

The 1st of September my wife parked at Mansfield street car park, she bought the ticket and after a while, she left home. The 7th of September she received a Parking charge notice of £100 pounds because the system did not recognise her reg. Wife said the pay machine did not ask her to enter the reg. and she was able to print the ticket.

She appealed, but failed. She has the picture of the payment on the bank account statement. The Parallel parking ltd stated that on the car park there was sign all over the car park clearly stating that you have to enter the reg.

We ignored the fine and on the 1st of November she received "Letter Before Claim" from Gladstones solicitors where there was now an extra sum of £70 for time and resources spent facilitating the recovery. I believe this is unlawful.

Friday the 5th of November I sent the SAR to Parallel parking. They sent it back in 30 minutes with pictures we already had plus pictures of signs around the car park. I also asked for the PDT machine record, but they refused saying there was more reg. of the other cars and due to GDPR they could not send it.

I also sent email to Gladstones this email:

(a) I am seeking debt advice but I deny any debt and the case must be put 'on hold' for not less than 30 days under the PAP for debt claims 2017.

(b) I have sent your client a SAR

(c) also confirm your correct 'address for service' if you've moved and the PPC has two addresses.

We haven't heard from them yet.

Now I'm trying to find out the next steps.

Shall I send Gladstones the following email?

 

Gladstones Solicitors

Unit B, 1st Floor

210 Cygnet Court

Centre Park

Warrington

WA1 1PP

Address 

My address

Date

Current date

Dear Gladstones Solicitors

Parallel parking Ltd v [Name]

Proposed Legal Proceedings

Thank you for your letter of [1st November 2021].

First, the alleged debt is disputed and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

Secondly, despite the wholly inaccurate statement that the letter is 'fully compliant with the Practice Direction' it is in fact woefully defective and appears to be a deliberate attempt to mislead the recipient.

Please therefore provide a Letter Before Claim which complies with the requirements of Annex A Para 2 of the Practice Direction on Pre-action Conduct:

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pro...action_conduct 

I confirm that I shall then seek advice and submit a formal Response within 30 days of receipt, as required by the Practice Direction.

Please ensure that someone does actually read and respond to this letter, providing the specific information relating to the county court claim that your client intends to make against myself as the defendant to the proposed legal proceedings. Please DO NOT send a generic FAQ letter in reply as to do so does not meet the requirements of the Practice Direction and will take this matter no further forward.

Please note, a refusal to comply with the Practice Direction will result in an immediate referral to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for breach of the Principles contained in the SRA Handbook version 8, published on 1st October 2013.

I trust this will not be necessary, and look forward to receiving a fully compliant letter before claim in due course.

Regards

PRINT NAME (sign with a squiggle.)

Or should I fill up the  MCOL form and Send our defence to the CCBCAQ?

I didn't find out who the land owner is. I'll complain to the SRA about the Gladstones.

Coupon-mad

So, in the few weeks from September till now, how can their client show they spent £70 over and above the £100 parking charge that has to cover the letter chain?

What 'time/resources spent facilitating the recovery'?

IMHO, this appears to be akin to extortion, and is certainly 'extravagant and unconscionable'.

The CPRs already allow £50 capped legal fees and the full PCN is high especially to cover a 'chaser chain' of letters (that does not occur in cases where the consumer pays within the first month) so where exactly has a further whacking great +£70 been incurred by either Gladstones or their client?

Where were the chaster chain of letters then, where are the additional costs in terms of time/resources?

Le_Kirk

Have you actually received a claim form and if so what is the date of issue please?  If you let us know that, then @KeithP will be along to give you some deadlines for submitting your defence.  Do not finish a formal letter with "regards".

D_P_Dance

Gladstnes may have a sloght problem, read this

https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/register/organisation/?sraNumber=559050

notto mention this

They have added what appears to be an extra unlawful amount for debt collection. Judges have dismissed an entire claim because of this. Read this and complain to your MP.

Excel v Wilkinson

At the Bradford County Court, District Judge Claire Jackson (now HHJ Jackson, a Specialist Civil Circuit Judge) decided to hear a 'test case' a few months ago, where £60 had been added to a parking charge despite Judges up and down the country repeatedly disallowing that sum and warning parking firms not to waste court time with such spurious claims.   That case was Excel v Wilkinson: G4QZ465V, heard in July 2020 and leave to appeal was refused and that route was not pursued.  The Judge concluded that such claims are proceedings with 'an improper collateral purpose'.   This Judge - and others who have since copied her words and struck dozens of cases out in late 2020 and into 2021 - went into significant detail and concluded that parking operators (such as this Claimant) are seeking to circumvent CPR 27.14 as well as breaching the Consumer Rights Act 2015.   DJ Hickinbottom has recently struck more cases out in that court area, stating: ''I find that striking out this claim is the only appropriate manner in which the disapproval of the court can be shown''.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/16qovzulab1szem/G4QZ465V%20Excel%20v%20Wilkinson.pdf?dl=0

Also read this

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6279348/witness-statements-2-transcripts-re-parking-firms-false-costs-recorder-cohen-qc-judgment-2021/p1

and this

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

chrobakx

Le_Kirk said:

Have you actually received a claim form and if so what is the date of issue please?  If you let us know that, then @KeithP will be along to give you some deadlines for submitting your defence.  Do not finish a formal letter with "regards".

Is the Faithfully better finish? I received only papers I posted copy of them. On the back of the letter from Gladstones is a request of information sheet and reply form.

So what next? Is that letter next step for me?
Thanks

KeithP

chrobakx said:

Le_Kirk said:

Have you actually received a claim form and if so what is the date of issue please?  If you let us know that, then @KeithP will be along to give you some deadlines for submitting your defence.  Do not finish a formal letter with "regards".

Is the Faithfully better finish? I received only papers I posted copy of them. On the back of the letter from Gladstones is a request of information sheet and reply form.

So what next? Is that letter next step for me?
Thanks

Formal letters always start Dear Sirs and are terminated with Yours faithfully.

Le_Kirk

Yours faithfully is the correct salutation when closing a business letter that starts Dear Sir.  But none of those papers are a N1 claim form from CCBC.

D_P_Dance

This advice is readily available on google.  Consider using it in future, Google is your friend.  

chrobakx

Le_Kirk said:

Yours faithfully is the correct salutation when closing a business letter that starts Dear Sir.  But none of those papers are a N1 claim form from CCBC.

So do I need to contact the Gladstones and request the form? Or is their duty to send me one? 

D_P_Dance said:

This advice is readily available on google.  Consider using it in future, Google is your friend.  

So from my findings the received LBC does not comply with the PD  and I will send them above mention letter.

Not_A_Hope

My son had a similar experience on a car park managed by HX Car Park Management where a ticket was issued without his registration number being entered. Despite providing them with a copy of the ticket they issued a claim which we successfully defended. Gladstones didn't bother providing the court with a telephone number for the court hearing.

You should ask Parallel Parking to provide a copy of the machine log with registration numbers partially redacted to overcome their GDPR excuses. Also take your own photos of the signs and their location on the car park. You might find although signs exist the requirement to provide a full and exact registration number is hidden in the small print on terms and conditions signs remote from the payment machine.

Le_Kirk

chrobakx said:

Le_Kirk said:

Yours faithfully is the correct salutation when closing a business letter that starts Dear Sir.  But none of those papers are a N1 claim form from CCBC.

So Do I need to contact the Gladstones and request the form? Or is their duty to send me one? 

You will receive the N1 claim form pack from CCB in Northampton; I would not be prompting anyone to send me one sooner than due process.