Gladstones County Court Claim - One Parking Solutions

[Solhoss]

Good morning

I am in desperate need of some help. About 18 months ago I parked next to my flat but in an area where apparently I needed a different parking permit to the residents permit I had from the council. I was parked here for 2 days and received 2 parking charge notices from OPS within about 36 hours of each other,

There are no signs on entry to the car parking area but there apparently some signs by bays at the back of the car park which I had missed. The car is in my wife's name but she does not drive. We appealed and it was rejected and at the time did not acknowledge the driver. When the issue escalated I acknowledged to OPS that I was the driver, however they referred both charges to Gladstones against my wife's name and added £120 "admin charges" for doing so.

OPS will not speak to me further on the matter. I completed a SAR to get the info from OPS which shows all the photos (the photo of the sign in both cases is too blurry to read) but the pictures due show the location of the signs in the car park and that the car had only been "parked" once.

Gladstones have now sent the claim to the court, again despite me saying that I was the driver. I categorically cannot have my wife get a CCJ because I parked in the wrong place.

I have attached details of the parking notice etc - is there anything I can do here?

1) Can I defend the claim
2) Can I ask Gladstone to reissue to me if I set up a payment arrangement?
3) Can I make a statement to the court saying I was the driver and I want to take liability?
4) Should I try and fight it?

Any help would be gratefully appreciated here. I have acknowledged the claim to buy me 28 days to formulate a defence.

Many thanks

Sol

[ostell]

There is no claim against your wife as OPS know the identity of the driver.* They can only clai against the keeper if they do not know the identity of the driver.

More later.

[Solhoss]

Thanks Ostell I appreciate you getting back to me so soon.* The problem is the county court claim has been issued against my wife by Gladstones on behalf of OPS. I still need to understand how I defend this claim. If you need any further documentation please let me know and thank you again so much for any help

Many thanks*

Sol

[Solhoss]

They didnt know this before it went to Gladstones though

[ostell]

Were they informed of the driver details before the court claim was issued?* You are contradicting yourself

HAve you got a copy of the docs identifying the driver?

Only the person named on the claim can defend it.

Have you actually got a claim form from Northampton ?* If so you acknowledge using the details and password on the form.* Nothing in the defence.* This gives you 33 days from the date of issue to get your wife's defence to the court

Can you post up the original PCNs and photos of the signs.* Use the imgur website to hold the photos and link to here* Do the signs say per 24 hours or are they silent on the matter

If they know the identity of the driver before the court claim was issued then they cannot issue a claim against the keeper, your wife.* They are issuing the claim* against the wrong person

What does your lease say about parking?



*

[Solhoss]

Hi Ostell

Thanks for coming back to me. So I called OPS to make them aware I was the driver once they passed the case to Gladstones. They wouldn't discuss it as they said it had been passed over to their debt collectors. I did a SAR on OPS but this wasn't in the discovery (presumably because they wouldnt discuss it). Gladstones wont speak to me because the papers are in my wife's name.

I have acknowledged the claim on my wife's behalf to buy time for the defence. The signage is illegible in the photos.*https://imgur.com/a/ftAugYn

Where I live is council parking residents permits for which I have one. Where I parked, apparently is a different permit which I didn't have. The only defence I can think is that sign didn't specify it was a different residents permit?

I'm happy to email Gladstones, advise them formally I was the driver and see if they would discontinue the case but I'm not sure if they will go for it. Failing that if you look at the pics in the URL let me know if I have any grounds to get the case dismissed.

Thanks again for your help.

[Solhoss]

Hi Ostell

Thanks for coming back to me. So I called OPS to make them aware I was the driver once they passed the case to Gladstones. They wouldn't discuss it as they said it had been passed over to their debt collectors. I did a SAR on OPS but this wasn't in the discovery (presumably because they wouldnt discuss it). Gladstones wont speak to me because the papers are in my wife's name.

I have acknowledged the claim on my wife's behalf to buy time for the defence. The signage is illegible in the photos.https://imgur.com/a/ftAugYn

Where I live is council parking residents permits for which I have one. Where I parked, apparently is a different permit which I didn't have. The only defence I can think is that sign didn't specify it was a different residents permit?

I'm happy to email Gladstones, advise them formally I was the driver and see if they would discontinue the case but I'm not sure if they will go for it. Failing that if you look at the pics in the URL let me know if I have any grounds to get the case dismissed.

Thanks again for your help.

Hi ostell*

Do you have any response to the photos etc? I just want to know what my best option is here.

Thanks

Sol

[RossCo196x]

I had a run in with Gladstones via a PCN they tried to enforce and if you looking into Gladstones there was a clear conflict of interest in as much as you are allowed to appeal and if you look at the sign it will state either IPC or the other appeals section.

Who did you appeal to , if it was IPC i'm not surprised your appeal was turned down , have a look at this, https://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/gladstones-solicitors/

Gladstones tend to simply file a claim in the County Court stating you have not paid an invoice as thats what a PCN is, its just and invoice that they claim should be paid as you entered into a contract with OPS

First thing to do is see what they submit to the court as evidence and you can either write to the court stating the basis of the appeal or how you wish to contest the PCN.

Next thing to do is write to OPS requesting the following:

Proof they are authorised to issue PCNs on behalf of the land owner,*

A map of the area they are authorised to issue PCNs for.

I doubt they will reply with your request and hopefully a judge will ask why this hasn't been provided in the court bundle and order Gladstones to provide this to support the claim within a set period of time.*

So when you get the court paper work you need to see if Gladstones have provided this.

What do the signs state relating to your authorised permit, is there a map ?

If they do not submit what you have requested the court to order them to submit to support their claim on behalth of OPS within the time period allowed you can then apply to the judge to have the claim struck out.

The next thing you need to do is draw up your own map showing the location of the signs relating to OPS as these should be clearly visable and legible.

If there are more than 1 sign compare the txt because if there is any difference you can claim that signage was confusing and your unsure which sign formed the basis of the contract they claim you breached. * Gladstones may submit a totally different sign as they did in my case*

There are a few smaller companies that will fight the case for you at a very reasonable cost if you don't have the confidence to do this your self.

Look at this also, https://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/right-of-audience/* and make notes that will form the basis of your challenge

This web site has a lot of info.* All you need to do is find 1 point and the case should be struck out, good luck

Please note these are my opinions and does not form any basis as legal advice.

[ostell]

So they were informed before the court claim started that you were the driver.* Part of your wife's defence is that they were informed of the driver but chose to ignore

[Solhoss]

So they were informed before the court claim started that you were the driver. Part of your wife's defence is that they were informed of the driver but chose to ignore

But I have no proof of this sadly. Surely the burden of proof is on me to show that I told them? I performed a SAR but there is no record of this information

[Solhoss]

RossCo196x*thank you for your reply the links are really interesting. I need to write the defence but I don't even know where to start. I can't read the signs in the photos (I no longer live in the area where the tickets were received)*

My residents permit was for the area shown in the attached picture. Where I was ticketed (shown with the red dot) apparently required a different permit.* The whole area is controlled by Brighton and Hove Council but OPS do the parking patrol for this spot (as I found out the hard way)*

[RossCo196x]

Hi Sol

Ive sent you a PM as Gladstones monitor these forums.*

Hard to tell from the map where your car was but i'm assuming it wasn't an a Brighton and Hove council car park but an off road carpark in a private block of flats where parking is limited
*

[XMO]

I had a run in with Gladstones via a PCN they tried to enforce and if you looking into Gladstones there was a clear conflict of interest in as much as you are allowed to appeal and if you look at the sign it will state either IPC or the other appeals section.

Who did you appeal to , if it was IPC i'm not surprised your appeal was turned down , have a look at this, https://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/gladstones-solicitors/

Gladstones tend to simply file a claim in the County Court stating you have not paid an invoice as thats what a PCN is, its just and invoice that they claim should be paid as you entered into a contract with OPS

First thing to do is see what they submit to the court as evidence and you can either write to the court stating the basis of the appeal or how you wish to contest the PCN.

Next thing to do is write to OPS requesting the following:

Proof they are authorised to issue PCNs on behalf of the land owner,*

A map of the area they are authorised to issue PCNs for.

I doubt they will reply with your request and hopefully a judge will ask why this hasn't been provided in the court bundle and order Gladstones to provide this to support the claim within a set period of time.*

So when you get the court paper work you need to see if Gladstones have provided this.

What do the signs state relating to your authorised permit, is there a map ?

If they do not submit what you have requested the court to order them to submit to support their claim on behalth of OPS within the time period allowed you can then apply to the judge to have the claim struck out.

The next thing you need to do is draw up your own map showing the location of the signs relating to OPS as these should be clearly visable and legible.

If there are more than 1 sign compare the txt because if there is any difference you can claim that signage was confusing and your unsure which sign formed the basis of the contract they claim you breached. * Gladstones may submit a totally different sign as they did in my case*

There are a few smaller companies that will fight the case for you at a very reasonable cost if you don't have the confidence to do this your self.

Look at this also, https://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/right-of-audience/* and make notes that will form the basis of your challenge

This web site has a lot of info.* All you need to do is find 1 point and the case should be struck out, good luck

Please note these are my opinions and does not form any basis as legal advice.

Can any tell me what OPS means ?

[pt2537]

Can any tell me what OPS means ?

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