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Parking Control Management

Some days ago I received a final reminder from this company in respect of an invoice I received earlier (I'm not paying!). I'm a little confused. Their letter gives the address as being Northampton but their registered office is in Slough so I'm guessing it's the outfit with outstanding CCJs. There are a number of parking companies with a similar name but a variety of addresses. In fact, on the Companies House website there dozens - all with similar names and mostly dissolved. There is also the issue of the paymypcn-uk.co.uk website - how many PPCs use this particular facility? Are they all part of the same organisation?

I'm anticipating further action so want to be well prepared. Do they have a history of litigation? Which Debt Collection Agency do they use? I've no intention of entering into contact but would like as much info as possible so I can look into any opportunities to discredit them.

BTW, I find the constant references to CCJs in their letter quite offensive and threatening. I also find it unacceptable that the letter is unsigned. Are they real?

Thanks for any help!!

Comments

  • Coupon-mad
    Coupon-mad Posts: 149,361 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 26 April 2013 at 7:00PM
    Paymypcn-uk.co.uk was developed by Roxburghe Debt Collectors so they own it and they 'sell the service' as a payment website to lots of different PPCs to use.

    I also think PCM UK Ltd use Roxburghe letters and Graham White letters (which also come from the Roxburghe call centre and can be ignored too!).

    Although PCM UK's entry on the thread below only shows the PCN, if you look at other PPCs you can see the usual Roxburghe/Graham White letter chain which now only differs in some sentences where they've added misleading guff about the Protection of Freedoms Act:

    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2329119

    If your fake PCN was only last month and this is the first letter that's been sent to the keeper, then there should still be an appeal offered. Which is worth doing if this was in England/Wales, because the POF Act brought in POPLA (see sticky threads about POPLA).

    Here's an appeal against PCM UK which has recently been submitted to POPLA on pepipoo forums, where I post as SchoolRunMum:

    http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?showtopic=78026

    If you are still in time to appeal as the registered keeper then I would do that. Because POPLA can cancel the whole scam (at PCM's expense!) if you get the appeal wording strong and persuasive enough.

    If you are beyond the first letter to keeper then just IGNORE the letters now as long as you don't actually get real Court Papers (which funnily enough do get issued from Northampton Courts - and of course would be heard in a small claims County Court local to yourself, and you'd win...!). PCM UK are not known to litigate because they are ex-clampers and used to collect CCJs against them instead. They've probably changed the address and the name of the firm a bit, so as to get a new company number not associated with the CCJs...
    PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
    CLICK at the top or bottom of any page where it says:
    Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD
  • bizzles
    bizzles Posts: 12 Forumite
    Thank you Coupon-mad. This invoice is actually a few months old. I did appeal it but without the knowledge of the information and support on this and other sites. The appeal was declined on what I believe are spurious grounds which I would be more than happy to challenge in court. It was a minimal overstay in a pay and display in a busy shopping centre. I was aware of this bunch though as they have been in the press quite a bit over the years. I am quite amazed that companies with outstanding judgements against them are given a licence to operate in a field that allows them to gain information about members of the public. There are many variations on Parking Control Management, Parking Control Management South Ltd, PCM-UK Ltd etc and I would be very interested in whether they are connected in some way. All those I've looked at so far have either dissolved, have financial issues or have outstanding orders against them. Yet, they are members of the BPA! I find this astonishing. I certainly won't be disappointed if it doesn't go to court but if it does, I do want to be well prepared.
  • Coupon-mad
    Coupon-mad Posts: 149,361 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 27 April 2013 at 3:35PM
    bizzles wrote: »
    Thank you Coupon-mad. This invoice is actually a few months old. I did appeal it but without the knowledge of the information and support on this and other sites. The appeal was declined on what I believe are spurious grounds which I would be more than happy to challenge in court. It was a minimal overstay in a pay and display in a busy shopping centre. I was aware of this bunch though as they have been in the press quite a bit over the years. I am quite amazed that companies with outstanding judgements against them are given a licence to operate in a field that allows them to gain information about members of the public. There are many variations on Parking Control Management, Parking Control Management South Ltd, PCM-UK Ltd etc and I would be very interested in whether they are connected in some way. All those I've looked at so far have either dissolved, have financial issues or have outstanding orders against them. Yet, they are members of the BPA! I find this astonishing. I certainly won't be disappointed if it doesn't go to court but if it does, I do want to be well prepared.



    Yep, look at this example, it's not just CCJs it's criminal records as well that the BPA (by their own admission) don't bother to look at:

    http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Notorious-clamper-Peter-Del-Grosso-Hull-boss-new/story-18076684-detail/story.html#axzz2RfpdspC6

    ''After the Mail informed the BPA about Del Grosso's criminal past, managers ordered an investigation.

    The BPA admitted police background checks are not carried out on prospective members of its organisation.

    Auto Security is a new member of BPA, having joined on December 20, last year.

    To become a member of the BPA, applicants are checked in line with our organisation's terms of membership. Additionally, those wishing to become approved operators must adhere to a strict code of practice before their membership is confirmed.''

    And what do we see if we check the current AOS memebers' list now, in April?

    http://www.britishparking.co.uk/AOS-Members

    You guessed it, Auto Security are there along with a lot of familiar ex-clampers like PCM. All of these companies can see a snazzy motor and just apply to the DVLA to find out the address where that vehicle is kept...and can spam that address with all sorts of demands with menaces too.

    :mad:
    PRIVATE 'PCN'? DON'T PAY BUT DON'T IGNORE IT (except N.Ireland).
    CLICK at the top or bottom of any page where it says:
    Home»Motoring»Parking Tickets Fines & Parking - read the NEWBIES THREAD
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