Originally Posted by scoobyboy1

Finally finished my court case today where I was defending myself at the County court against a parking company, Been on going for nearly 7 months, and because of the low amount/charge the parking company wanted, I had to represent myself so not to occur any solicitor costs/fees on the bases I could lose, so im glad its over now and I can finally say I WON!!

Anyway the story is: I parked on a free car park(a bit of private land) in London around Christmas time, didn't think anything off it until a month later I got a Parking charge notice from a Parking company who manages the car park with the charge of £60 but I have 14 days to pay or it goes to £80.

So as usual(had them before) I throw them in the bin and after a few scare tactics they usually go away as Parking companies dont usually like to go to court(or so I thought), Council car park fines/charges are best to respond to, but these scamming parking sharks they can go get fu6ked.

Anyway got a few more letters from this parking company, saying that they wil pass my debt onto a debt collector if I did not pay the parking fine/charge that they have been trying to get from me(think it went up to around £125 as they where charging to send letters and there time)

So I get a letter from there solicitor(Gladstones solicitors) saying that they are acting on behalf of the parking company and I need to pay the debt or they will take me to court(Now the charge is £150) I have a 14 days to pay or they will take court proceedings against me!!(As usual this also ended up in the bin)

So a couple of months pass, and I get a letter from Northampton courts saying that the parking company are taking me to court, and I need to decide if I want to turn up at court or have my case against me heard by mediation(this is when you have your case and the claimant(parking company) on a 3-way phone conversation at a convenient time for both parties) If I dont want to go to court I must now pay £275(court fee £25, legal representative £75, amount claimed by parking co £175)

I get a e-mail from there solicitor(Gladstone solicitors) saying its in my best interests to have the case heard by mediation as it will be cheaper for me if I lose with her last comments with "dont you agree" I send a e-mail back saying "No I dont agree, and I want my day in court to provide my statement" I get NO e-mail back from the solicitor(shock)

So I read up on other cases like mine and prepare for my defense, takes me 2 days to get a decent defense sorted out and I go back to the scene of the so called crime and take pictures of the car park/land as evidence, and I highlight the following:

1, That the signs where not visible as I entered the car park and the terms & conditions where so small that you could not see it as I left my vehicle.

2,Its a free car park, and there was no genuine-pre estimate of loss for parking there, the landlord was not out of pocket, and as I was the only car there I was not blocking/preventing anyone else from using the car park

3,The parking charge of £60, there was no contract between myself the registered keeper and the parking company, so how can I agree to the terms and conditions of paying £60

4,How can the parking company decide to charge £60 if I was parked there for 10mins or 24 hours, the same charge apply so there was no consideration given on calculation a genuine pre-loss

5,The claimant is not the landowner of the car park, and damages should then be the land owners decision to sue for damages for tresspass

I added a few paragraphs of "Breach of Unfairness in consumer contract regulations" and "Office of fair trading, Guidance re Unfair contract terms and conditions"

So armed with my defense statement and evidence(pictures), I went to court today, and on arrival I had the full body check and walked through the metal detector thing, gave my name and waited in the waiting room(watching the nice looking women solicitors walk in/out), I was told that there was no one representing the parking company today in court and that there witness statement is all the evidence they will be going by.

So I get called in by the judge into there chamber, and she said that she read my defense statement and it was rather good, asked me a few questions on why I parked there etc, and she looked over my evidence(car park pictures) and she agreed that the signs are not clear and that she strikes the claimants claim from court, when I left she said that it was the 3rd case today from the parking company and she strike all 3 out(that what I call a home run)

So anyone who gets a parking ticket from a private parking company, dont reply to them, and let them take you to court(usually they dont), just do your homework if it does comes to that, and make sure you spend a bit of time on your defense statement, and dont get bullied by the parking company or there solicitor into paying the amount they want!!
But if you get a ticket from a council car park/parking attendant then be more vigilante if they have a case against you they will take it to court and you have got more chance of losing, Private parking companies are sharks and with a bit of work they can be beaten!!

Originally Posted by Chowders63

Hello


I had a parking ticket in Ocftober 2019 at Wembley stadium .
I parked in office car park where i paid a guy on street who was directing any cars in that area who was looking for parking for £10 , i paid the £10 and 2-3 weeks later i get letter from parking company at £60 charge .

No PCN was placed on my car so i ingored and after a few more letters i did same , no Saturday last week i get letter from Gladstones stating i have to paid £160 or go to court .

Never had this before so any advise please on this matter .

Thanks

Phil

Originally Posted by Steve001

Well done you

Can you post your defence statement etc as a guide for anyone else who wants to take the sharks to court?

Also, mods can you make it a 'sticky' ?

Originally Posted by Chowders63

Hello


I had a parking ticket in Ocftober 2019 at Wembley stadium .
I parked in office car park where i paid a guy on street who was directing any cars in that area who was looking for parking for £10 , i paid the £10 and 2-3 weeks later i get letter from parking company at £60 charge .

No PCN was placed on my car so i ingored and after a few more letters i did same , no Saturday last week i get letter from Gladstones stating i have to paid £160 or go to court .

Never had this before so any advise please on this matter .

Thanks

Phil

Originally Posted by gpssti4

I actually got done by these *******s. My car has been borrowed by either my wife, her son or my friend and they parked in a DIY store for 3 hours (time limit was 2 hours). The parking company used ANPR and sent* me the parking invoice (fine) for £60. I never received it, nor the second letter as some of my post was going missing and being delivered to a new development with a similar name to my road. I found this out as I was receiving other people’s letters from the new development. I approached the post office who investigated and sent me a letter to state as such.
Fast forward 3 months and I get a court summons similar to the OP’s. Mediation and then court - I’ll have my day too! I Proved that I wasn’t the driver and named 3 people who could have driven but as it was several months before no one could remember, or admits to it. Apparently once the letter from Parking Muppets has been posted it’s deemed to have been served. The judge was a tosser who barely listened to my defence - so my day in court cost me around £200.
*be warned that not responding due to not receiving the letter is no defence.

Originally Posted by pimmo2000

Appeal it?