Newbie Help Letter Before Claim

megalomaniac4u

I received a letter before claim from Gladstones on behalf of Horizon Parking Ltd where it stated that they carried out a UK Search trace, which produced a possible alternative address. I replied to them via email, informing them of the change of address, using the template in the newbies threat,d and this is the reply I received from them today is:

Good Morning,

 Thank you for your email dated 21st July 2025.

 As this is a generic template readily available on the internet, it is not our intention to reply substantively to the content.  

 Our Client is therefore satisfied the case against you should proceed unless the debt owing of £170.00 is discharged in full. To ensure no further action is taken, you should make payment on or before 8th August 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:  

Gladstones Solicitors Ltd   

Barclays Bank     

Account Number: (Removed by Forum Team)    

Sort Code: (Removed by Forum Team)   

Please quote the above reference number (Removed by Forum Team) when making payment to ensure the payment can be allocated correctly. 

 Kind Regards

 (Removed by Forum Team) 

Legal Assistant  

Could somebody please advise me on what I should do next?

Nellymoser

You can only wait for the Claim form pack to arrive. They made no reference to your change of address.
If you haven't done email Horizon DPO inform of your new address for service and to ERASE your old data and to inform all and any of their agent and sub-contractors of same.  

Coupon-mad

Ignore that. See if a claim follows. Often it doesn't with Gladstones. Sometimes cases get farmed out later to another solicitor. It's all about intimidation and frightening people at this stage.

BUT we do need you!  

Please read this message and do the vital,  current Public Consultation in August:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81552148/#Comment_81552148

It's important that the Government hears from people with unfair charges who are facing horrific, scary court claims.

The link shows the two vital points to concentrate on, IMHO:

- banning DRA fee add-ons completely

- making sure a new SINGLE appeals service replaces POPLA and the IAS which are seen as not fully independent and involved in a 'race to the bottom'.

Click through to the main thread about the Consultation, Do not be deterred by the fact that some questions are for the parking industry only.

We are currently discussing how to respond. The issues above are the main two IMPORTANT ones in my view. We need to be clever, pick our battles and as such - mainly because it means the Code will come in quicker (no signs will have to be changed) - I have no issue with PCs 'up to £100 cap'...

...AS LONG AS DRA FEES ARE BANNED OUTRIGHT BECAUSE THEY ENRICH THIRD PARTIES WHO USE THE MONEY TO FUND A TSUNAMI OF COURT CLAIMS & CCJs AND PROVIDE ZERO SERVICE THAT CONSUMERS SHOULD BE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR.

Please join us in doing this Consultation.

This is your one chance to make a difference re the proper regulation of private parking.

megalomaniac4u

Nellymoser said:

You can only wait for the Claim form pack to arrive. They made no reference to your change of address.
If you haven't done email Horizon DPO inform of your new address for service and to ERASE your old data and to inform all and any of their agent and sub-contractors of same.  

I've emailed Horizon's DP. Do I email Gladstones too?

megalomaniac4u

Coupon-mad said:

Ignore that. See if a claim follows. Often it doesn't with Gladstones. Sometimes cases get farmed out later to another solicitor. It's all about intimidation and frightening people at this stage.

BUT we do need you!  

Please read this message and do the vital,  current Public Consultation in August:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81552148/#Comment_81552148

It's important that the Government hears from people with unfair charges who are facing horrific, scary court claims.

The link shows the two vital points to concentrate on, IMHO:

- banning DRA fee add-ons completely

- making sure a new SINGLE appeals service replaces POPLA and the IAS which are seen as not fully independent and involved in a 'race to the bottom'.

Click through to the main thread about the Consultation, Do not be deterred by the fact that some questions are for the parking industry only.

We are currently discussing how to respond. The issues above are the main two IMPORTANT ones in my view. We need to be clever, pick our battles and as such - mainly because it means the Code will come in quicker (no signs will have to be changed) - I have no issue with PCs 'up to £100 cap'...

...AS LONG AS DRA FEES ARE BANNED OUTRIGHT BECAUSE THEY ENRICH THIRD PARTIES WHO USE THE MONEY TO FUND A TSUNAMI OF COURT CLAIMS & CCJs AND PROVIDE ZERO SERVICE THAT CONSUMERS SHOULD BE EXPECTED TO PAY FOR.

Please join us in doing this Consultation.

This is your one chance to make a difference re the proper regulation of private parking.

Do I still ignore them even though I didn't respond to/receive any of their previous letters, as the car was genuinely registered at another address? I only got their Letter Before Claim after they conducted a search and found my alternative address. 

Coupon-mad

Yes. They aren't going to help you!

megalomaniac4u

Hey guys. So I just received the following email from Gladstones:

"Good afternoon,

Thank you for your email.

Please see attached our Client's evidence pack.

 Should full payment not be forthcoming on or before the 15th August 2025, we carry instruction to issue legal proceedings. In the event it becomes necessary to issue legal proceedings, we recommend you follow the steps on the Claim Form upon receipt of the same.

Without wishing to be discourteous, we confirm we will not accept any further submissions from you.

 Kind regards,"

They attached the PCN that was issued. 

Don't they have to verify who the driver was? Because it wasn't me driving. 

Coupon-mad

No they don't.

Await the claim - sometimes no claim comes after a Gladstones LBC anyway. If it does, use our Template Defence.

Please join us in doing the Public Consultation. This is your one chance to make a difference re the proper regulation of private parking. We'll discuss the questions more this week,

megalomaniac4u

Just received this letter from Gladstones







This is most probably in response to my asking them to delete my previous address from their database. Is this standard?
FYI the payment they mention they received is from a few years ago. Not related to this PCN

Coupon-mad

Yes that's standard.

megalomaniac4u

Hi Forumites. I have just received the following SMS message this morning from Gladstones:

Dear XXXX. You now have a judgment against you of £267.45. To settle the judgment and avoid leaving a mark on your credit file for 6 years please pay within 28 days via gspay.co.uk/pay or call 01565 755088. Quote Ref: XXXXX.XXXXX. Failure to act will lead to your case being passed to an enforcement company whereby bailiffs will be instructed. Gladstones Solicitors Ltd

I am assuming I wait for the Claim letter to respond.