County Court claim - Minster Baywatch

SJRRJS

I had my hearing today and lost  The judge awarded them everything they asked for which is around £270.

It's all a bit of a blur but I felt completely out of my depth and the judge wasn't especially sympathetic to my arguments. They said a lot of my WS was irrelevant. e.g. "government policy quotes from the internet", online reviews of the site are not fact, and generally a lot of things that are "not usual in a WS".

The judgement basically said:

• Signage was adequate.
• They do not need signs in every bay.
• Minster Baywatch did have standing to enforce the contract.
• Rejected that the "side-on" signs are not clear and the onus is on the motorist to exit their car and check for any parking signs.

I don't feel that I came across especially well due to nerves and a lot of stuff that was going over my head from the claimant's side, and the judge opened with asking if my defense was from the internet which kind of put me off from the start.

At least I tried I guess, thanks again for the help all the same .

Le_Kirk

Sorry to read that you lost, especially as we have held up your WS as an exemplar.  That's the difficulty with Judge Bingo; on another day it could have been a different outcome.  Did the judge remove the spurious debt admin fees or is that part of the £270?

Slainte1

I’m so sorry for you. I have a case with Minster Baywatch pending. If you think there are lessons I can learn from this please get in touch. Sending hugs. You must feel battered. 

SJRRJS

Le_Kirk said:

Sorry to read that you lost, especially as we have held up your WS as an exemplar.  That's the difficulty with Judge Bingo; on another day it could have been a different outcome.  Did the judge remove the spurious debt admin fees or is that part of the £270?

That is part of the £270. Apparently it was displayed on one of the signs in the car park, albeit in small print.

SJRRJS

Slainte1 said:

I’m so sorry for you. I have a case with Minster Baywatch pending. If you think there are lessons I can learn from this please get in touch. Sending hugs. You must feel battered. 

Thanks, yes I feel pretty drained. Glad it is over with now as it's been hanging over my head for months.

I guess the only thing I could have done differently is practice what I was going to say more, I had made notes and bullets points but possibly could have prepared better. Although I pretty much said everything I wanted, so who knows. Good luck with your case!

Not_A_Hope

You may have lost this battle as a result of a judge not understanding the scam tactics used by the parking industry. I hope he gets a PCN sometime soon and learns the hard way as he clearly doesn’t get it.

If I were you I would provide a review of parking at the site on Tripadvisor. You can also stick around and comment shortly on the forthcoming consultation on the new code of practice. That should help filter out the worst practices of the parking industry.

SJRRJS

As you know, I lost my hearing on the 24th May, and after receiving an email with Gladstones’ bank details I paid them on 2nd June. I also asked for confirmation that they received the payment, which I didn’t get until 14th June.

Today I have received a threatening letter stating that they have obtained a CCJ against me (on June 8th) for the sum awarded. Obviously I have already paid and have proof of it leaving my account + the email from Gladstones saying "received with thanks".

It says if I pay within one month the CCJ “should” be removed, and that I can request a certificate of cancellation which may involve a court fee.

These scumbags have caused me so much stress, and even after paying they are continuing to harass me because of their incompetence.

 

Has anyone dealt with this sort of thing before? How easy is it going to be to get this CCJ removed?

There is no court reference on the letter other than the original claim number. Do I need to contact the County Court Business Centre or my local court?

Coupon-mad

Yes, read Gladstones' disciplinary record in the public domain in the SRA website.  

You'll see why it's relevant.

Then email Gladstones, complain about this latest threatogram and say you have read their disciplinary record and WILL report them to the SRA within seven days, if they fail to apologise and confirm that they have informed the court that the amount relating to claim xxxxxx was paid in full, only a week after the hearing. 

Coupon-mad

Then come back here in August and do the vital PUBLIC CONSULTATION so this never happens again.

Discussed every day here. Diarise it. See you then!

Slainte1

Maybe this is the reason. Tried to copy the link and it didn't work. I Google Gladstone solicitor struck off. The sole director and sole shareholder John Davies says they receive payments of £600000 PER MONTH!!!