Horizon Parking/Gladstones Solicitors - Tesco Stretford P+C

PhoenixMask

Hi all,

I need some advice on how to defend my case against Horizon Parking Ltd regarding a PCN issued for my vehicle. The matter has now been escalated to Gladstones Solicitors, but they failed to respond for nearly 30 days despite my formal request for information.

Timeline:

• Date of breach: 16/09/2023
• First PCN issue: 21/10/2023
• Second PCN issue: 30/12/2023
• Notices from Debt Recovery Plus: 01/2025 and 02/2025
• Gladstones LBC issue date: 27/01/2025

Background:

• The alleged PCN was never received within the 14-day period required under POFA 2012.

• I have complained to Tesco to cancel the PCN, without success.

• I have disputed the charge with the claimant, the appeals operator, and now the solicitors.

• I requested evidence that the original PCN was sent and delivered to my address, but I have yet to receive it.

• I also challenged the additional £70 ‘Debt Recovery’ fee, asking whether it includes VAT and the legal basis for this charge.

• Additionally, I asked whether the principal PCN sum is being claimed as damages or as a contractual charge.

Current Situation:

• I responded to the Letter of Claim and formally requested a 30-day hold under the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (PAP) to seek independent debt advice, in early March.

• After chasing them for an answer this weekend, today I finally received their response. They state:

  "Our Client is therefore satisfied the case against you should proceed unless the debt owing of £150.00 is discharged in full. To ensure no further action is taken, you should make payment on or before 7th April 2025."
  "For the avoidance of doubt, we confirm we will not accept any further submissions from you."

• They did not answer the specific questions I raised under PAP, including my request for evidence of the first PCN being sent and delivered, the justification for the extra £70, and the nature of the principal charge.

• When I called their office today to seek clarification, they didn’t seem to be very helpful. A summary of the call can be seen below.

My Questions:

1. Am I entitled to more time under PAP if they have only provided the requested information now?

2. How should I proceed given that they have failed to provide reasonable answers to my PAP questions and are now refusing to engage with me?

3. Should I still complete the dispute form on their website, or is my email correspondence sufficient? They previously advised me over the phone to use the website form.

Documents:

Please let me know if any further documents are needed, I only included the below as we're at the LBC stage and I'm unsure if the PCN/other letters are still relevant.

My dispute to Gladstones (enquiries@gladstonessolicitors.co.uk)

Hello,

Reference (redacted)

Proposed Legal Proceedings

Claimant: Horizon Parking Ltd.

I refer to your letter of claim.

I confirm that my address for service for the time being is as follows, and any older address must be erased from your records:

(Redacted)

The alleged debt is disputed, and any court proceedings will be vigorously defended.

This is due to the fact that, under POFA 2012, the postal PCN should have arrived by day 14, which never happened. This was discussed with the claimant, the appeals operator, and now with yourselves.

I‘m yet to receive evidence of the first PCN being sent and delivered to my address.

Should you continue processing my data and, in the event of filing a court claim, be aware that I will file a Part 20 counterclaim for damages exceeding £500.

This claim will be based on distress resulting from clear breaches of the Data Protection Act 2018 and/or the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

I will rely on the case of Simon Clay v Civil Enforcement Ltd and similar successful cases. Therefore, I request that you cancel the Parking Charge Notice (PCN) and take immediate action to rectify the situation.

Kindly inform your client from me to comply with the upcoming statutory Code of Practice.

Groundbreaking improvements would include issuing future Notices of Parking Charge accurately and fairly, avoiding the involvement of bulk litigators in this practice that has been identified as a market failure by the Department for Local Government and Housing (DLUHC).

I am sourcing and seeking independent debt advice, and as such, I formally request that this matter be put on hold for an additional 30 days, in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims 2017 (‘the PAP’).

I note that the amount being claimed has increased by a significantly exaggerated amount, which the Government referred to as “extorting money from motorists.”

Please refrain from providing me with your usual explanations.

I have two questions, and under the PAP, I am entitled to specific answers:

1. Am I to understand that the additional £70 represents what you charge as a ‘Debt Recovery’ fee? If so, is this net or inclusive of VAT? If the latter, would you kindly explain why I am being asked to pay the operator’s VAT?

2. With regard to the principal alleged PCN sum: Is this damages, or will it be pleaded as consideration for parking?

Gladstones Legal answer

Good Afternoon,

We write further to your email.

May we take the opportunity to thank you for your patience whilst awaiting a response.

Your comments have been noted, however our Clients position remains the same.

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.

Our Client is therefore satisfied the case against you should proceed unless the debt owing of £150.00 is discharged in full. To ensure no further action is taken, you should make payment on or before 7th April 2025.

If you do not make payment, 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.

Payment can be made to the account detailed as follows:
(Redacted)

Please quote the above reference number (Redacted) when making payment to ensure the payment can be allocated correctly.

For the avoidance of doubt, we confirm we will not accept any further submissions from you. 

Summary of call 24/03 (I have a recording if needed, and transcription)

I called Gladstone Solicitors to follow up on an email I sent regarding a disputed PCN. I raised concerns that my dispute and formal request for information under the Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) were not fully addressed. The call handler confirmed that my email was considered but that my dispute had been rejected. They stated that I now must wait for a court claim form if I wish to challenge the charge further.
I pointed out that one of my key questions regarding the additional £70 charge and whether it includes VAT was not fully answered. The solicitor insisted that the response I received was sufficient, despite my clarification that it did not address the VAT question. 
The solicitor repeatedly stated that they will not accept any further submissions from me. When I asked why, they simply said, "That's just the stage it's at now," without providing a proper justification. I asked if I had been rude or done anything wrong to warrant being ignored, but the solicitor did not provide a clear reason.
I asked to speak directly to someone from the legal team to get proper answers. The solicitor refused, stating that the legal team only communicates via email and that they will not respond further.
If I do not pay £150 by April 7th, 2025, the next step will be court proceedings. Any further concerns or complaints must be emailed, but they will not accept additional dispute submissions.
I stated that the solicitors have not fully complied with PAP as they failed to properly answer my questions. They are refusing to engage further, which could be seen as unreasonable conduct if the case goes to court. They insist that I must now wait for a court claim instead of answering outstanding concerns.

Coupon-mad

We don't need to see anything except the Claim form if they try a claim.

LBC stage is something and nothing and Gladstones don't always have instructions to litigate anyway. Often it fizzles out and ends up with DCB Legal for the claim.

The alleged PCN was never received within the 14-day period required under POFA 2012.

The alleged PCN wasn't POFA worded anyway! So the keeper can't be held liable. Horizon only started using POFA compliant wording for the first time ... last month.

Don't bust a gut pointing that out. For goodness sake stop wasting your time on this! No more phone calls.

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Car1980

"For the avoidance of doubt, we confirm we will not accept any further submissions from you."

Always worth sticking in a paragraph in any defence to highlight any unreasonable behaviour and refusal to abide by the PAPs.