Gladstones Solicitors Letter Before Claim ( Parallel Parking LTD PCN ) Advice

TValentino

Evening, Trust all are well.

I have had a thorough run through of the ‘NEWBIES’ thread regarding the stages once receiving an PCN, although i would still appreciate any experienced advice on this situation. 
I’ll do my best to keep brief and to the point.

I Was delivered an NTK/PCN from PPL last November ‘23. Their reason being for parking on private land for 13 minutes total without authorisation. 
These letters were ignored until later receiving the LBC from Gladstones in January ‘24 requesting £170 on PPLs behalf before further action is taken.  

I disputed this with Gladstones promptly explaining my reason for being on said land. This reason being due to obtaining a motor vehicle issue whilst in motion and the nearest and closest place for me to pull over at the time was the car park to access damages. Once assuring the vehicle could be driven safely I promptly left and had the issues rectified the following day.
Evidence was added with dated invoices ect proving the work had to be carried out the following day on the vehicle. This was late evening after 8pm, the car park was unlit, with signage so bad i genuinely didn’t realise i was on private land until exiting. i understand within this appeal i may have made a mistake as it admits to me being the driver.

I now have images proving these terrible conditions which I didn’t have at the time of my first dispute with Gladstone.

This week they sent an email reading as follows with attached daylight images of the car park and signage:

Good Afternoon,

Thank you for your correspondence and apologies for the delay in responding. We write regarding the above matter.

Whilst we note your comments you still remain liable for the charge.

Unfortunately as the driver you were responsible to check for signs and park accordingly. The signage at the site is clearly visible and the information on the signage informs the driver of the parking conditions at the location. Signage location, size, content and font has been audited and approved by the International Parking Community (“the IPC”). It is the driver’s responsibility, to check for signage, check the legality and obtain any authorisation for parking before leaving their vehicle. The signage on site is the contractual document.  

Please not the grace period for this site is 5 minutes.

 Our Client remains satisfied this charge was issued correctly and we invite you to make payment of the outstanding balance, in full, within 30 days of this email.

Amount Due: £170.00

Kind Regards, 

Olivia

Legal Assistant 
  

Of course they will be receiving no such payment, my concern is in now knowing the correct steps to take. I’m assuming it could more than likely be taken to small claims court if i ignore. Also i understand the parking company being with the IPC any appeals with them would be futile.

Would much appreciate some experienced suggestions on the best course of action from here as my knowledge is currently limited.

Respectfully 

T

TValentino

I would like to add i have only landed on this forum since receiving the latest response from Gladstones unfortunately, missing the chance to use the pre populated templates on my previous appeal/Dispute with them.

Gr1pr

Just wait for the LoC to arrive, probably followed by a court claim, especially since you revealed who was driving 

The only other avenue worth pursuing is plan A, getting the landowner to cancel it 

Fruitcake

Gr1pr said:

Just wait for the LoC to arrive, probably followed by a court claim, especially since you revealed who was driving 

The only other avenue worth pursuing is plan A, getting the landowner to cancel it 

The OP received a LBC at the beginning of the year, so the next thing to arrive will probably be the claim form itself, unless the letter in January was actually a debt crawler letter.

Plan A is still the best option, and a complaint to your new MP, plus reading the guide to court written by bargepole, in the first post of the NEWBIES, plus the further information about defending a court claim in the second post of the NEWBIES.

Coupon-mad

Send the LBC response now.  The one asking about VAT on the debt recovery fee.

Then report Gladstones to HMRC for VAT concerns (search the forum about that).

TValentino

Gr1pr said:

Just wait for the LoC to arrive, probably followed by a court claim, especially since you revealed who was driving 

The only other avenue worth pursuing is plan A, getting the landowner to cancel it 

Ill chase this and establish who the landowners are tomorrow, thanks for the response 

TValentino

Coupon-mad said:

Send the LBC response now.  The one asking about VAT on the debt recovery fee.

Then report Gladstones to HMRC for VAT concerns (search the forum about that).

On it! Appreciated.

TValentino

Coupon-mad said:

Send the LBC response now.  The one asking about VAT on the debt recovery fee.

Then report Gladstones to HMRC for VAT concerns (search the forum about that).

Both complete. Will update the forum accordingly.

TValentino

Gladstone's response On VAT ect:

Good Morning,

 

Thank you for your email.

 

1. The Amount Due/ Debt includes £70.00 claimed by our Client for the time/resources spent facilitating the recovery of the unpaid parking charge notice(s) pursuant to its ATA’s Code of Practice and the Terms and Conditions of the Contract, which was entered into upon the driver of the vehicle entering the Relevant Land. The amount is a pre-determined and nominal contribution to our Client’s losses as a direct result of your non-payment. VAT is not applicable as the parking charge notice which was issued to you is a contractual charge.  

  

2. Motorists can park on the site in accordance with the terms and conditions on the sign, without incurring a charge but to park without incurring a charge they may need to display a permit; purchase a pay and display ticket; become an authorised user, it is whatever the sign states. If a motorists wishes to park ‘as they please’ within reason, they can do so but pay a charge for this ‘privilege’, the charge is set out on the signs and by a motorist parking otherwise than in accordance with the signs they accept the charge at the point of parking and a valid contract is formed. The charge is due within 28 days of being incurred, if the charge remains unpaid after this date the contract the motorist entered into is breached and a debt is owed to our Client, they are then entitled to damages that have occurred as a result of the breach. 

Our Client's position in this matter has been made clear in previous correspondence and this position remains the same.

 

Should payment not be forthcoming within the time frame previously specified we are instructed to issue legal proceedings to recover the outstanding balance in full. Should it become necessary to issue legal proceedings, we suggest you follow the steps on the Claim Form upon receipt of the same.

 

Kind Regards,

Olivia

Legal Assistant