Letter Before Claim from Gladstones Solicitors

[cornishkitt]

Hi
Could anybody help me please? I have received a 'Letter Before Claim' from Gladstone Solicitors dated 31.01.22 for a PCN issued on 12.08.20. They are demanding payment of £170 of potential court proceedings with fees estimating £285! Any advice on what to do next would be much appreciated.

[AndrewC]

You may be better off paying it unless you have a defence.

Generally, a parking charge company is entitled to issue charges to drivers who breach the parking regulations, provided the signs at the car park are clear. However, you may have a defence if:

• You weren't the car driver at the time of the breach. If you were the car owner but not the driver, that would be a complete defence, provided you're willing to let the claimant know who the actual driver was.
• The signs at the car park were not sufficiently clear, and as a result, you weren't aware of the regulations. Proving this is difficult because parking companies are usually careful to ensure that the signs are clear.
• There was a delay between entering the car park and finding a space and the parking company has treated you as though you were parking without paying during that time.
• You had permission to park in the car park, irrespective of what the signs say. For example, you may be a leaseholder at a block of flats, and the lease agreement gives you the right to park in their car park. There is some case law to suggest that the terms of the lease take priority over the signage at the car park[i].

For some free advice about whether to or how to defend a parking charge, you may want to look at the information provided by The Parking Prankster website:
http://www.parking-prankster.com/home.html

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[i] PACE Recovery and Storage v Mr N C6GF14F0. This is a County Court decision, which means that it's not binding on future court decisions. However, it may help to persuade a court. The case can be viewed here: http://nebula.wsimg.com/c269da31b314...&alloworigin=1