Disabled Badge, Braehead Shopping Centre (Scotland)

Mosh

Hi folks,

I've been through the FAQ documents as best I'm able, but I have taken this issue on from my ex-wife who's just received a "Court Proceedings Are Imminent" letter and has none of the previous correspondence. I believe she has "appealed" in as much as contacted the original issuers (Premier Park Limited), and in doing so has effectively said she was driving at the time. She also can't tell me what exact date the incident happened. Apologies for the vagueness, I have tried to get as many details from her as possible!

Following on from reading the FAQ, I have emailed Braehead to complain about their treatment of a disabled customer so we'll see if I get a response from that.

The full details (as much as I have) are as follows. I apologise if this is within the FAQ, I'm just not sure where we stand due to us (well, her!) being so far through the issue at this point. Thanks.

My ex was at the shops (Braehead retail park) with her mum, who is a blue badge holder. I don't know the date, and she can't recall either. They parked in a disabled bay, went to the shops and came back to a ticket from Premier Park Limited asking for £60 if they paid now or more if they delayed.

I told her not to pay it and she took my advice. They chased her with the stock threatening letters and she contacted them to say that the badge was displayed. They sent her a photo of her dashboard to show that it was not. We can only assume it's been knocked loose while getting Grandma out of the car.

The stock debt collection letters followed, and again she ignored these.

This week she received a letter from Gladstones Solicitors stating:

WARNING - do not ignore this notice - court proceedings are imminent.

The Pre-Action Protocol period has expired and our Client is not prepared to enter into further correspondence with you without good reason owing to your lack of engagement thus far.

To ensure no further action is taken, you should make payment no later than 14 days from the date on this letter.

In the event we do not receive payment... our client reserves all its rights, including the right to commence Court proceedings without further reference to you, and further costs will be sought.

What are the chances of this realistically going ahead? She has already informed them that her mum has a blue card and given them details, though I don't know if this classes as a formal appeal, nor was it made clear to her (that she can recall) that she needed to do so. The POPLA page says she needs to use their services within 28 days of such an appeal and needs various numbers from correspondence that she no longer has.

The £60 charge is now £340. £60 was a push for her to pay. £340 is something she can't realistically afford.

Coupon-mad

Just ignore it. All hot air!

Gladstones don't sue in Scotland.  I thought most Scottish drivers knew to ignore private parking charges?  You don't appeal.

The law will change a bit in a year, granting keeper liability in Scotland for new PCNs but that won't affect existing ones.

Same advice as here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6462148/breakdown-at-service-station

You can see that person wasn't really listening and I had to repeat the same advice twice!

There is nothing else to add.

  

Mosh

Coupon-mad said:

Gladstones don't sue in Scotland.  I thought most Scottish drivers knew to ignore private parking charges?  You don't appeal.

Appreciated. I did tell her to ignore everything from the get-go and not even reply, but she didn't listen! She has also told me that they've started taking people to court ("in Scotland", apparently) and winning... but I can't find any details of any cases where this has happened. However, you can't find everything on the internet.

As I said, I've emailed Braehead to see if they'll call off the wolves. If it does continue to go further I've told her I'll pay any costs, charges, etc if it gets that far!

Coupon-mad

Carly Mackie case.  Multiple PCNs.

NOTHING like this little PCN!  And Gladstones wouldn't have the foggiest clue. They have NEVER litigated in Scotland.

Why not just send Gs the response I recommended?

Mosh

Coupon-mad said:

Why not just send Gs the response I recommended?

Because the response mentions that Scotland lacks "keeper liability", but my ex has (as far as I can ascertain from what she's told me) admitted she was driving. Doesn't this throw the keeper liability defence out the window?

Coupon-mad

Ah I suppose so!  Ignore them completely.

Fruitcake

No PPC will issue a claim in the Scottish courts against a motorist for an individual PCN.
Under the Scottish Act of Sederunt (Simple Procedure Rules), for claims less than £300, no expenses can be awarded.
For claims between £300 and £1500, the maximum expenses that can be awarded are limited to £150.

Mosh

Thanks to you both. I heard back from Braehead this morning and they're going to have the issue cancelled. They asked for copies of the original notice (which we don't have, but I'm sure this isn't an issue), the letter from Gladstones and the disabled badge.

I've also reported Gladstones to the SRA for all the good it will do.