Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi,
I wanted to seek advice for a Court hearing weather I stand a chance to win or not.
I received a court summons for a PCN I received from Park Direct LTD in 2023 from Gladstone solicitors.


I parked my vehicle for 15 minutes in the car park in my buildings parking space in order to unload furniture. I do not have an allocated parking space in that car park however I was given access to carpark and advised by the caretaker at the time to park briefly in order to unload my furniture. The car was observed by the private parking inspector for 3 minutes before they issued a ticket. There is signage present in the car park from the company.
The caretaker refused to take responsibility as he was occupied. I contacted the housing manager who advised they do not have the authority to cancel the PCN.

My question is should I just pay the PCN now which has been inflated to £270 or do I have any chance winning in court?

I parked my vehicle for 15 minutes in the car park in my buildings parking space in order to unload furniture. I do not have an allocated parking space in that car park however I was given access to carpark and advised by the caretaker at the time to park briefly in order to unload my furniture.

You say you were 'given access' - does this mean that there is a physical barrier of some kind that would otherwise block access?

If someone (the caretaker) let you past such a barrier then this is super strong evidence as it demonstrates that you were reasonably given permission to unload at the location.

“Promissory estoppel” may well be an additional defence point - the driver was told it was OK to stop and unload.

Apologies have a family emergency I’m dealing with. Will upload all relevant information by tomorrow morning.

It doesn’t allow me to edit first post. Should I delete and repost?

Or delete and repost if you can. It’s not major but you should bear in mind to stick to using the third person from now on. In the case I referred to above, the issue wasn’t related to identification of the driver anyway.

If you received a N1SDT claim form (that’s a guess), then you have 5+14 days from the date on the form to submit a response, which will either be a defence or an Acknowledgment of Service. If the latter, you have an extra 14 days by which you have to submit a defence.

If you received a N1SDT claim form (that’s a guess), then you have 5+14 days from the date on the form to submit a response, which will either be a defence or an Acknowledgment of Service. If the latter, you have an extra 14 days by which you have to submit a defence.

The driver received Claimform late last year which they filled out and sent witness statement. In december there was a mediation call for settlement which the driver offered to pay nothing. Recently the driver received a Court hearing* letter for next month in country court along with an email from the Claimant of their witness statement and the following -  "without intending any discourtesy, hereby gives notice that it will not be attending the final hearing.
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Quote from: zak290 on March 04, 2026, 08:06:11 pm

You say you were 'given access' - does this mean that there is a physical barrier of some kind that would otherwise block access?

If someone (the caretaker) let you past such a barrier then this is super strong evidence as it demonstrates that you were reasonably given permission to unload at the location.

The carpark is gated access the only people who have the access fob is the owners of bay spaces in the carpark without it you cannot access the vehicle entrance gate. The driver in question was given access by the caretake at the time to unload. The caretaker has since changed as it was over 3 years ago.


I will attach all the paperwork the driver has received so far.

And, I agree, you’re further along the process than I thought you might be. My original statement that I doubted you had a court summons is wrong, sorry.