Gladstones - Court Proceedings Imminent

Albatros92

Based in Scotland

Background:
I am the registered keeper of the car, my wife was the driver. She was parked in the car park at her place of work (NHS office). She had previously filled in a form with the car reg to allow her to park there. In Aug 2023 she received a ticket and £100 fine (this is the one and only ticket despite parking there dozens of times before and since). 

She complained to building facilities who were entirely unhelpful and said it was in the hands of the car park management company. She was asked to complete the exact same form she had done previously with the car reg and no further tickets. 

Since then I have ignored letters from UK Car Park Management Ltd, Debt Recovery Plus, and now Gladstone Solicitors.

The charge now stands at £170. 

Today received the below letter stating that court proceedings are imminent. 

This letter refers to a LBC dated 13th of March. The letter I received dated as such is this: 

Am I right in saying this is NOT a legitimate LBC? It does not say the words ‘Letter Before Claim’ anywhere and does not refer to a 30 day window. 

I’ve read the newbies thread but still a bit unsure of what I should do now. I think I have a strong defence (should it get to court) on the basis my wife is allowed to park there for work, but not sure if I should go down that route or just insist in the keeper but was not the driver? Should I now be contacting Gladstones?

Any advice appreciated!

Coupon-mad

"Gladstones - Court Proceedings Imminent"

Errrm ... no they are not.  It's Scotland.

Search the forum.

Albatros92

Coupon-mad said:

"Gladstones - Court Proceedings Imminent"

Errrm ... no they are not.  It's Scotland.

Search the forum.

Good to know!

Is the advice in Scotland still to ignore these entirely on the basis of there being no keeper liability yet? Or should I email Gladstones and tell them to !!!!!! off? 

Gr1pr

Not the latter, but you could write back as RK and state that you were definitely not the driver, so as POFA 2012 doesn't apply in Scotland then as keeper you have no liability and the driver will not be named so their threats of court are meaningless 

You do know that its the sheriff court and simple procedures that matter in Scotland. ?

Court claims do occasionally happen in Scotland , usually for multiple pcns or when the driver has been disclosed etc, especially if the total exceeds £300. So never say never, but unlikely in this case because the PCN was only one and the keeper was NOT the driver, perhaps its better to say so now in a reply, without emotion 

Things will probably change later this year in Scotland, but should not affect historical cases, so don't be a stranger 

Albatros92

Gr1pr said:

Not the latter, but you could write back as RK and state that you were definitely not the driver, so as POFA 2012 doesn't apply in Scotland then as keeper you have no liability and the driver will not be named so their threats of court are meaningless 

You do know that its the sheriff court and simple procedures that matter in Scotland. ?

Court claims do occasionally happen in Scotland , usually for multiple pcns or when the driver has been disclosed etc, especially if the total exceeds £300. So never say never, but unlikely in this case because the PCN was only one and the keeper was NOT the driver, perhaps its better to say so now in a reply, without emotion 

Things will probably change later this year in Scotland, but should not affect historical cases, so don't be a stranger 

Thank you. 

Would it be worth mentioning in my response about their LBC being nonsense? Surely it’s not ok for them to refer to a LBC that they haven’t properly issued?

Gr1pr

I wouldn`t take them to task over any of it, just point out your legal position and leave it at that !

this is about a reply to a solicitor in England, its not about egos or one-upmanship etc

its a reply that sets out your stall, irrespective of what they may write , they already know the real score, so I fail to see how it would help here. the reply is what you said about writing, but not impolite or confrontational, but detached, unemotional and clearly sets out your non liability due to not being the driver, but were just the non driving keeper on that incident day

if a scottish solicitor or sheriff for your local scottish judicial system wrote to you, then it may be different advice , but that hasnt happened yet

Coupon-mad

Search the forum for the words:

 Specsavers Scotland 

and look ONLY for the result on this parking board. Use that reply.