Gladstone Brook County Court Claim - Defence Advice

[Guest]

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can help me please. I received several parking tickets from Gladstone Brooks and ignored them (for several reasons outlined below). I have now received a County Court Claim form and am unsure wether to file a defence or not. Please could somebody look at my reasons for ignoring / not responding below which would basically be my defence and tell me if I stand a chance against them -

1. I paid for a ticket and even though I got back to my car in time I left the car park 13 minutes late (the car park was super busy in the height of lockdown, we had to wait to get in our car due to social distancing with the car next to ours, had to sanitise, and then their was a queue to get out)
2. My original parking fines where from Minister Baywatch yet the carpark website states it is managed by Bransby Wilson so I was worried it was a scam
3. I arrived and left at the same time as my friend (in 2 diff vehicles) and she didn't receive a fine which furthered my suspicions it was a scam

Will any of this hold up in court or should I just give up?

Any help would be gratefully received.
Thank you

[ostell]

What do the signs say about who is running the car park? If one company is running the car park then another company cannot claim as the contract, and hence alleged breach, is with the first company.

This is the second time I gave seen this in the last couple of weeks. I think the other may have been on pepipoo forum, unless it was you.

For the claim you have to acknowledge within 14 days but do not enter your defence. After the ack you have the lesser of 28 days or 33 days from the date of issue to get your defence to the court.

To ignore will get you a default judgement against you and a CCJ recorded against you

[Nate89]

It wasn't possible to return back to the car park to look at signage at the time due to location so it was googled and on their website it states that Bransby Wilson manages the car park (it still says this on their website now), however a friend visited the park a few weeks ago and the signs on the actual car park are Minister Baywatch.

No it wasn't me who posted on pepipoo forum.

What do you think is best to do next? Thanks

[ostell]

You don't infer who could have been the driver so get editing.

Get your friend to check again. The sign I saw had both Bransby Wilson and Minster on the sign but the text on the sign says managed by Bransby Wilson. Both companies have common directors and addresses.

[Nate89]

If this is the case and the sign does have both Minister and Bransby on there then does this mean I can't use this as a defence? What about my reasons for exiting the car park 13 mins late, would that hold up in court?

Thank you.

[ostell]

Take an image of the web page.

Try looking at this thread: Court Claim - Parking Charge Notice - LegalBeagles Forum

The payment meter has the name Bransby Wilson on it as well as the statement that the car is managed by them so the contract was with Bransby Wilson.

Does this cover you?

[Nate89]

Just read it (thank you), and just wondering what is best to do now? Should I ask my friend to take some pics of the signs on the car park and if it says MB but also managed by BW then I have a defence? Isn't it enough that it states on the website it is managed by BW whereas MB are pursuing me? Thank you

[ostell]

It's what is on the ground in the car park that matters, though the content of the website will be useful. In the case I mentioned the payment machine had BW on it therefore it is reasonable to assume that you are paying, and have a contact, with BW.

A quick email to the DVLA to find out who asked for your details.SubjectAccess.Requests@dvla.gov.uk If one compnay are asking and another company are using then that could be in breach of their contract with the DVLA.

[Nate89]

Hi,

So we have re-visted the car park and all of the main signage including what is on the payment machine is Bransby Wilson, only the side signage which states you will be fined £100 shows Minister Baywatch (very small at the sides of the car park). I have images of these now and have screenshot the website so do you think I use this as my main defence? And if so, shall I just use the same template that is in the other thread you shared with me?

Thanks for all your help so far.

[ostell]

It wasn't a template, rather suggestions to put into a defence.

The start of the defence is that it us the wrong claimant.

if MB requested your details from the DVLA when there was no reasonable cause then this is a breach of the GDPR and you could perhaps counter claim because of this.

[Nate89]

The sign at the side with MB on says 'Do not park here unless you agree to the contractual charges' so would that suggest the contract is with them even though all the other signs and payment machine display BW?

[ostell]

The payment machine is saying MB so you are paying them money and therefore that would create the contract.

Confusion is to your benefit

[Nate89]

Hello again, thanks for being such a good help so far. I was just wondering if you had any free time to quickly check my defence please before I submit anything. I have never written one before and have no idea wether I have done it right or not? No worries if not. Thanks in advance.

[Nate89]

Also - do you know how much extra I could be charged if I defend my claim and loose in court?

[ostell]

If you lose then it's going to be £170 - £200, or should be if the don't try claiming silly money.

I'm losing track here, who is the claimant on the court form and whose name is on the signs?

What is the location?