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!!

 

A trip to London and a day in court would cost me a whole lot more than £60.

 

Parking company was based in Birmingham but manage the car park in London, but you choose where you want to go to court as a defendant, I choose my local court which was Walsall county court and took me 10mins to get there(plus £2.80 to park there)!!

Ive been told to add up my costs to defend myself and put it to them that they owe me a days wages/parking/petrol/my time to write defense/staitionary etc, So I want £250 costs for wasting my time taking me to court, I'll give them 14 days to pay and if I dont get a cheque for the full amount it will go upto £275 as I will write them a letter and then I will be passing the details on to a debt recovery agent, as the county court have a already gone in my favour!!!

 

nice one

 

Nicely done.

 

Love it.... one over the scammers

 

Brilliant!
Will definitely consider this if i ever find myself in this situation.
Thanks for posting!

 

Excellent result

 

Well good for you old son.


A while ago someone used my debit card number to pay off several overdue London tickets and some college tuition fees. About £1500 in all. I did some background work and found out who individual was and told Barclays and the cops. They just didn't want to know Got full refund from bank.


DL

 

Thanks guys, I was nervous and it did cross my mind just to pay it so it would go away, but I stood my ground and decided to fight it at least its over now.

 

Haha yesssss, I love it when **** like this happens.
I bet you can't write the letter without smiling

 

Well done for seeing it through

What was the name of the parking company

 

I used to get clamped by phoenix security over in Wimbledon years ago.
Even though I had a permit where I lived.
It was just a small space for about 5 cars without any markings.
I cut about 3 clamps off in my time there and one for my neighbour, I could do it in about 10 mins with a hacksaw.
They used to send me all kinds of letters even trying to charge me for clamps as I would take them and put them in the skip at work.
I even spoke to them on phone and said please take me to court they were livid.ha ha.
Nothing ever came from it.
I don't live there anymore but they have since put signs up and road markings.
Phoenix security also cover putney and once clamped my sons nursery mini bus just before they were due to go on a day trip and the horrible funkers made the lady driver pay there and then.
Despise them.

 

Well done bud - great result

 

Euro Parking Services!!

Complete wasters, I read online that if you respond to there initial letter for the penalty charge and contest it they say that you can appeal to the IPA(independent parking association) at a cost of £25, problem is the guys who run the IPA are the same guys who run Gladstone solicitors who where trying to get the debt from me, and in other words you would lose your appeal and the £25.

 

Massive well done to you, fair play.

 

Its illegal for parking companies to clamp cars on private land since 2012 so they now have to come up with another idea to scam the motorists, hence parking companies now manage car parks and send letters to scare you into paying!!

The letters they send are like official letters with police like boarding and threatening court action and you will be blacklisted etc, maybe some vulnerable people who would open such letters would find it worrying and pay the £60 for peace of mind.

 

Good stuff.

 

I got a ticket on my car at asda in walsall last xmas for parking outside of lines. It was an early sunday morning and my car was the only car on car park. I ignored ticket and had same letters saying i will be taken to court etc. Ignored them and have not heard anything since. Well done tho mate

 

Thats what they usually do Si, Send a few letters/scare tactics and then give up, I had the same about 5 years ago with Parking Eye when I parked on Fistral Beach in Newquay, I didnt respond to them and they sent 4/5 letters and they gave up.

I was shocked that the Parking Company took it this far, but im guessing Gladstone solicitors who are representing them are fleecing the parking company with a promise of getting them money from taking motorists to court, The solicitors are in a win win situation as they are still charging the parking company for writing letters and taking me to court, so they still get paid. Poor parking company my heart bleeds for them

 

love it! companies like that need to be taken down

 

This should be a sticky.


I might change my numberplate slogan to "my parking is fantastic, see you in court"

 

You'll probably find that 'Gladstone Solicitors' are actually an offshoot of Euro Car Parks - so its all in the same den of iniquity.
When they say they've passed it to their solicitors, it means dodgy John has passed it across the desk to dodgy James.....

Parking Eye are the worst - they WILL take you to court and turn up too - they don't always win though ;o)

All of them are utter utter scummage - out to fleece the public for their own private company gain.

Gotta love capitalism!

 

As you have said there is 1000s of people out there that pay the fine as the letters they send use bully boy tactics. As you also said you didnt enter into any contract. I went alton towers 2 weeks ago and spent over £100 on the day out. On trying to leave the car park the barriers where down and they wanted £4 for all day parking. I refused to pay any they said its either pay or i wouldnt be getting out. I quoted i hadnt entered a contract with them and id phone the police as they was now keeping me against my will. They soon opened the barrier

 

Parking Eye Versus Beavis has been running for years and he lost in the end.........

http://www.parkingcowboys.co.uk/parkingeye-vs-beavis/

I guess it was the very poor signage that won it for you

Shaun

 

What a set of thieving ****$

 

Congrats, mate. Fair play for seeing it through. Companies like this are scum. And it sounds like you did a great job of putting together your case. If I ever need legal representation, I'll know who to call.

 

Thanks mate Must be those episodes of Ally Mcbeal I used to watch as a kid Fancy myself as a solicitor now

 

I've taken two separate parties to court. Even after the judge ruled in my favour, the first scumbag didn't pay. I had to try to take further measures to recover the debt, which all proved unsuccessful. That's when I realised the so-called justice system in this country is a joke. The second scumbag wrote to me about four or five times via their solicitors, trying to threaten me, but I knew my case was water-tight. Finally, they made me an offer just before the court hearing, which I accepted. So I'll count that as a 100% success rate!

Unless it's a complex matter that requires specialist legal skills, I think anyone with a bit of nous can do a better job of representing themselves than a solicitor can, because when you've been personally wronged, you're so motivated to win the case, nobody is going to tackle the matter with more vigour. Plus, a solicitor will probably have dozens of cases ongoing at any time, so won't truly know all the intricacies of your case as well as you will.

 

Yeah I got a feeling that my expenses/time wont get paid, but worth chasing them up over it, I'll send a letter Monday to the parking company with a 14 days to pay or it goes up if I have to write another letter again.