Gladstone Brookes Parking fine

jct1266

So I got a random text (initially I thought it was a scam) this afternoon from Gladstone Brooke’s telling me 

We have obtained a County Court Judgment against you.

Pay £291.00 now to avoid it being recorded on your credit file for the next 6 years. Contact Gladstones Solicitors on 01565 755 088 for assistance or pay now: gspay.co.uk/pay Gladstones Solicitors

I checked online and worked out they deal with parking fines. Tried to call them and it rang and rang for almost an hour and no one answered. I went to their website and entered my address and car registration and it said my details were incorrect. I finally worked out they were using my old address and it was my husbands car registration number. 

We left the old address on the 8th August, change our v5s immediately online and had them back by 28th August. We have honestly not had any letters about a parking fine at all. 

I’ve emailed Gladstone and it says they will respond in 28 days, which I presume would be after the date that the court will register a ccj against me. 

I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried searching for information on what court might have dealt with it, I’ve paid for a court search and it came back as clear. I can not risk a ccj. So do I just have to pay them? 

If I pay them can I then take some kind of action against them afterwards? As I really haven’t had any letters from anyone at all 😭😭😭 

Does anyone know how to find the court details? 

TIA very worried 😟 

KeithP

jct1266 said:

So I got a random text (initially I thought it was a scam) this afternoon from Gladstone Brooke’s ...

Check again. Who sent that text?   

Coupon-mad

This is nothing to do with poor, innocent (separate unrelated firm) Gladstone Brookes!

Why on earth are you trying to phone Gladstones Solicitors (the real perpetrators)  about a scam parking invoice?

Why not just apply to set aside the CCJ as shown in the NEWBIES FAQS thread?

Clearly the court claim went to your old address therefore the CCJ is easy to set aside. Costs a £303 court fee but you ask for the parking firm to be ordered to pay that back due to the rogue conduct of doing no checks and just using an old address for a claim.

And you'll never pay the actual 'PCN!' either.

Please don't ask where the NEWBIES FAQS thread is... look (my signature tells everyone where to click):

Gr1pr

Definitely not Gladstone Brookes, but a different Gladstones , in Warrington 

There may be a default CCJ issued by the CNBC in Northampton,  due to no reply or defence from the address they sent the claim to,  an address provided by Gladstones 

https://gladstonessolicitors.co.uk/

A set aside due to incorrect service of papers is your best option here,  as detailed above by Coupon-mad 

moneyhaven

Do not ignore this matter.

As unpleasant as they surely are, Gladstones Solicitors Ltd. are a real firm based in Warrington and 01565 755088 is the phone number shown on their website.

Unfortunately, £291 does also correspond roughly to the amount a private parking company would get from a successful undefended claim in the county court (here’s how it racks up: £100 parking charge + £60 contractual admin fee + £70 debt collection fee + £35 court claim fee + £22 court default judgment fee + 8% interest).

Firstly, as quickly as you can, obtain a copy of the judgment by emailing (Judgments.CNBC@justice.gov.uk) the Civil National Business Centre (formerly the County Court Business Centre - more details at https://www.find-court-tribunal.service.gov.uk/courts/civil-national-business-centre-cnbc). Give them as much information as you can, including your full name and address, date of birth, previous address and anything else you know such as Gladstones being the claimant’s solicitor. The CNBC will normally respond to this enquiry within a few days and this will clarify whether or not a claim has been started against you and its status if so.

Also, send Gladstones a Subject Access Request (dataprotectionofficer@gladstonessolicitors.co.uk) to get a copy of all the information they have about you and your case. This should reveal some images of the vehicle, where and possibly how it was parked, what notices they claim to have sent you, where and when, and any follow-up before going to court.

Armed with this information and assuming that the judgment really exists, which it probably does, your options are as follows:

1. Assuming you have no reason to dispute the claim or if you simply don’t want the hassle, pay the judgment amount to Gladstones in full within 28 days of issue. The CCJ will then be “cancelled” and should never appear on your credit reference agency file. Even if it does appear there temporarily, you can ask the CNBC for a Certificate of Cancellation (form N443 + £15 fee), which will ensure definitively that the CCJ is removed and forgotten as if it never existed. That would be the end of the matter.

2. If you don’t dispute the claim but cannot afford to pay in full within 28 days then the CCJ will be registered for 6 years from the date of issue. Once paid in full, which could be by instalments, it will be marked as “satisfied” on your credit file, which lenders might then view as less serious than an outstanding CCJ. As above, if there is then an error in credit reporting then you can ask the CNBC for a Certificate of Satisfaction (same form).

3. You can apply to the court to ask for the CCJ to be “set aside”. As already stated in this thread, this costs £303 unless Gladstones consent. You will have to demonstrate that you have a reasonable prospect of defending the claim (e.g. solid grounds such as the vehicle in question being stolen or sold prior to the event, an error in reading the number plate, cloned plate etc.) and explain convincingly why you did not do so in the first place (i.e. you moved house and had no prior knowledge of the matter - although this is your assertion and if they want to challenge it then Gladstones will have evidence of what they sent, when and to whom). If the set aside application succeeds then the CCJ is set aside, removed from your credit file and the claim is reset to the stage where you can file a defence, and you might get your £303 back but it’s not guaranteed. If the application fails then you won’t get your £303 back and you will still have to pay the £291 CCJ, which will stand as issued on its original date.

If you have clear reasons to prevent an outstanding CCJ from showing on your credit file, like a mortgage application, then choose carefully. If you don’t mind me asking, is there some reason why you “cannot risk having a CCJ”, please?

Whatever you choose to do - and I will leave that to you - good luck.

I dislike the private parking racket as much as anyone and I especially despise how such a small matter can escalate and effectively freeze people out of the more affordable options for credit, but you have to choose your battles in life.

Coupon-mad

No.

The above poster is new to posting here, with only nine posts. Hardly any more than you, @jct1266

Compare that to mine... 

Do not send Gladstones a SAR.

The choices given as 1 & 2 (above) are not what we would advise here as the recommended way forward. Why pay a scam? Hardly moneysaving!

The above paragraph 3 from the new poster is alarmist and incorrect.

The truth:
A person making an application under CPR 13.2 DOES NOT have any burden to "have to demonstrate that you have a reasonable prospect of defending the claim (e.g. solid grounds such as the vehicle in question being stolen or sold prior to the event, an error in reading the number plate, cloned plate etc.) and explain convincingly why you did not do so in the first place".

Not true. That's the position under CPR 13.3.  Not what the OP needs to do at all, and the set aside in this case is mandatory.

moneyhaven

Coupon-mad said:

Compare that to mine... 

I’m not going to argue with the number of posts you’ve made and I’m in full agreement that these claims are worth defending if the circumstances permit and people understand the risks and the considerable amount of work to be undertaken. Apparently, there is considerable sensitivity to a CCJ showing on their credit file in this case and that needs to taken into account.

It is entirely the OP’s prerogative to choose their course of action based on whatever advice they seek, professional or otherwise.

Coupon-mad

moneyhaven said:

Coupon-mad said:

Compare that to mine... 

I’m not going to argue with the number of posts you’ve made and I’m in full agreement that these claims are worth defending if the circumstances permit and people understand the risks and the considerable amount of work to be undertaken. Apparently, there is considerable sensitivity to a CCJ showing on their credit file in this case and that needs to taken into account.

It is entirely the OP’s prerogative to choose their course of action based on whatever advice they seek, professional or otherwise.

True.

But your post was not within the moneysaving ethos of this forum IMHO and positively misleads in your para 3, re the risk and burden that you say falls upon the Defendant.

It doesn't require any convincing of a Judge about prospects of defence, in a case where the claim was served to an old address.  The CCJ 'must' be set aside because an old address was used.

Have you read VCS v Carr (so far)? The Court of Appeal is already clear about the justice in setting aside an unserved claim form CCJ (even in that case, where the D took months to do the application).

moneyhaven

I think the money saving ethos needs to be considered against the bigger picture rather than on a strict case by case basis. As I found out myself many, many years ago and almost long forgotten, even a modest CCJ registered at the wrong time can have a major impact on the cost and availability of credit that is much more significant that the justice of a situation.

Regarding the option to apply for set aside, I have read about the case in question but it’s evidently still ongoing. It saddens me that parking companies and their lawyers want to drag these things out.

Anyway, I’m happy to defer to your view on set asides in any case.

Coupon-mad

jct1266 said:

So I got a random text (initially I thought it was a scam) this afternoon from Gladstone Brooke’s telling me 

We have obtained a County Court Judgment against you.

Pay £291.00 now to avoid it being recorded on your credit file for the next 6 years. Contact Gladstones Solicitors on 01565 755 088 for assistance or pay now: gspay.co.uk/pay Gladstones Solicitors

I checked online and worked out they deal with parking fines. Tried to call them and it rang and rang for almost an hour and no one answered. I went to their website and entered my address and car registration and it said my details were incorrect. I finally worked out they were using my old address and it was my husbands car registration number. 

We left the old address on the 8th August, change our v5s immediately online and had them back by 28th August. We have honestly not had any letters about a parking fine at all. 

I’ve emailed Gladstone and it says they will respond in 28 days, which I presume would be after the date that the court will register a ccj against me. 

I don’t know what to do. I’ve tried searching for information on what court might have dealt with it, I’ve paid for a court search and it came back as clear. I can not risk a ccj. So do I just have to pay them? 

If I pay them can I then take some kind of action against them afterwards? As I really haven’t had any letters from anyone at all 😭😭😭 

Does anyone know how to find the court details? 

TIA very worried 😟 

How are you getting on?

What is the date of the CCJ?

LDast

Not only are you ordering a set aside but you can also order that the claim be struck out for failing to comply with CPR 16.4(1)(a) and you provide copies of the persuasive transcripts of the relevant appeals in Chan and Akande.

Gladstones never issue PoC that are compliant with the CPRs. They are staffed by incompetent scammers.