CPM PCN, followed newbies advice...

superlight

Hi All,

Parked outside a shop, no yellow lines. asked the shopkeeper for permission, they advised parking was OK! approx a week later postal 'parking charge notice' appears. It's from a company going by the name CPM who as far as the letter shows are members of IPC.

Dear Mr. xxxx
We have issued Parking Charge Notice (PCN) xxxxxxx to your vehicle because
it was parked in a manner whereby the driver became liable for a parking charge
at xxxxxx that we are authorized to manage on the
xxxxxx. The terms and conditions of parking on this
private land are clearly set out on the Signage installed within the car park. By
parking within this car park you are bound to these terms and conditions am;
liable to pay a charge if you breach these terms and conditions. The period of
parking to which this notice relates is the period that immediately preceded the
incident date and time above.

A discounted charge of £60.00 applies if this Parking Charge Notice is paid
within 14 days of issue. If you choose to not pay at this amount, the full value of
£100.00 will be due.

We have requested your details from DVLA as the registered keeper of the
vehicle (through the Reasonable Cause criteria of pursuing an outstanding
parking charge).The reason we issued the PCN to the vehicle is as follows: No
Parking Outside Of A Designated Area

We now request this amount is paid using one of the payment methods
described overleaf. If you were not the driver of the vehicle, you may notify us (in
writing using the form attached) of the name of the driver and a current address
for service for the driver AND pass this Notice on to the driver.

Please be warned: that if, after the period of 28 days beginning with the day after
that on which the notice is given - the amount of the unpaid parking charge
specified in this notice has not been paid in full, and we do not know both the
name of the driver and a current address for service for the driver we will have
the right to recover from the keeper so much of that parking charge amount as
remains unpaid. This notice is deemed to have been given to you on the second
working day after the Date of Sending above.


After reading the newbies section,our response was sending out the IPC template with proof of postage. Approx one week later they reply with the following...



I am writing in response to your letter received 9th January 2017

UK CPM does not own the land the vehicle was parked upon, however we do hold a
legal contract that authorizes our enforcement officers to monitor and maintain
the parking areas on behalf of the landowner. This therefore entitles UK CPM to
issue and uphold all parking charge notices given to those who have breached the
parking restrictions, UK CPM cannot supply a copy of the contract or our client
contact information due to the Data Protection Act.
On the 4th November 2015 the Supreme Court made Judgment in the case Parking Eye
Vs Beavis. In the Judgment the Lords found the case 6-1 in favour of the parking
company over the motorist. They ruled that "the parking charge is neither
extravagant nor unconscionable." Having found that the charge was not excessive
and reflected a deterrent rather than being extravagant. This latest ruling has
brought a rapid cease to the propagated debate concerning genuine pre-estimate of
loss. Therefore in your letter your claims of a disproportionate fee not
reflecting a genuine pre estimate of loss cannot be used as a reason for an
appeal. I encourage you to look into the below publicized case as the Judgment
delivers much needed clarity to motorists, landowners and the Parking Industry
and is binding upon the Small Claims Court, the High Court and any Independent
Appeals Service. A full copy of the Judgment can be found here:
xxxxx non working url xxxxxx
We can confirm that at this stage UK Car Park Management are the creditors and
are making the claim as the issuer of the charge. We reserve the right to
continue to cover the unpaid parking charge, the subject of the above PCN.

The IPC operates a Code of Practice that encourages good practice and facilitates
the fair release of data where there is a right to recover parking charges. The
fair release of data is instrumental in protecting the rights of land owners and
now has statutory recognition since the 1st October 2012 with the enactment of
the Protection of Freedoms Act.

The photographic evidence of your vehicle shows that you are within a clear view
of one of the many warning signs throughout the development and all Signage
states the terms and conditions of parking within the restricted area. Upon
reading the Signage you have contractually agreed to pay a parking charge fee
if restrictions were breached. It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure parking is
permitted prior to leaving the vehicle unattended within the restricted area
To view these images please visit xxxxx
IMPORTANT NOTE : If we have not been made aware of the name and a current
addressf or service of the driver, from 1 October 2012 under Schedule 4 of the
Protection of Freedoms Act 2012,
we do have the right, subject to the requirements of the Act, to recover the unpaid
amount from the registered keeper of the vehicle at the time it was parked.

To avoid incurring additional charges you are required to make the outstanding
payment without delay. Parking Charges that are not paid in full are pursued
through a Debt Recovery Agency.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us
Yours sincerely
H McCarthy
UK Car Park Management Ltd
0845 463 5050


I would like to add that in their second letter, the PCN ref is the same but they have provided completely the wrong vehicle registration, location and date. They clearly belong to someone else even though it is addressed to me.
Also the URL link to the supreme court does not work. Surely this is not worth the paper it is printed on?

Any advise on where to go from here, greatly appreciated. thanks..

Redx

yes , IGNORE unless you get an LBC or an MCOL within 6 years

the NEWBIES sticky thread explains it all , please read it

fisherjim

What did the shopkeeper say when you complained?

Fruitcake

Complain to the DVLA that you have received someone else's details which you believe is a breach of the DPA. Ask them to investigate.

superlight

Yes, I thought that was a bit naughty to receive someone elses details... sorry if this is a daft question but what is the DPA please?

Thanks for the replies

superlight

Sorry just worked it out... Data protection act. feel a bit silly ATM. Thanks again

Redx

Data Protection Act (google it)

it covers our personal details and they are in breach so definitely complain and scan the letter and attach it when complaining to the DVLA and the ICO etc

Coupon-mad

superlight wrote: »

I would like to add that in their second letter, the PCN ref is the same but they have provided completely the wrong vehicle registration, location and date. They clearly belong to someone else even though it is addressed to me...

Yes, I thought that was a bit naughty to receive someone elses details.

Yes, and a VRN is personal data of someone else. You can report that to the ICO but you can (even better) also at the same time, report the misuse of your data if you feel they obtained your DVLA data without reasonable cause:

https://ico.org.uk/concerns/handling/

It wasn't a shop in Ashley Road in Poole was it?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5562158

In that one, the sign is hidden on the bottom of another shop door...so when the door it open it can't be seen at all and when it is shut it is far from prominent or obvious that it relates to parking (looks like an advert in the shop, no-one would give it a second glance).

If your signage was as bad as that then you have grounds for complaint to the ICO that there was no 'reasonable cause' to obtain your data at all, to send that first demand. And the second letter has someone else's data on it, just to compound the mishandling of information by these ex-clampers.

superlight

It wasn't the shop in Dorset like you mentioned, but the signage is equally as bad. I know you can't post photographs on here, but briefly the sign is mounted on the shop wall. Same colour as wall so no contrast. The bottom of the sign is over 2 m from the floor. The only way you will be able to read it is if you have a step ladder or you happen to be over 7 feet tall!! The lettering is very very small, obviously on purpose.
We have been doing a bit of digging and it appears that this company recruit nearby residents, wearing obviously civilian clothes to photograph victims like ourselves and then offer to pay them commission. It's all on their website, very underhanded.
We are currently collating all of our evidence and recordings et cetera and are beginning to send them out to the relevant organisations.
Would it be wise to write another letter to CPM to make them aware of our findings and their errors ?

Thanks for the replies

Coupon-mad

You can post photos and we will convert the links to work.

Host pics in Dropbox or in tinypic or photobucket or similar, then show us the URL 'broken' so the link doesn't work, changing http to hxxp.

superlight

Ok have opened a dropbox account and the photo is uploaded.
This site will not let me preview or post with the pasted url.
Even changing http to hxxp, i even went as far as replacing the colon with the word 'colon', the same with the dot. I just can't seem to make the 'link' unrecognisable?!?!